Towards cultural democracy in university teaching and research with special reference to the Pacific island region

Abstract

This chapter attempts to document some of the initiatives taken by Pacific educators to address the issue of underachievement of Pacific Island students in higher education, more specifically at university. In this, their main concern has been to urge higher education teaching personnel, especially teacher educators, to create more culturally democratic learning environments for students. In so doing, Pacific educators draw on their indigenous pedagogical resources to develop the capacity of the teaching personnel. The author also reflects on the challenges they face in bridging traditional knowledge systems and the contemporary higher education context. Cultural democracy is a philosophical precept that requires teachers to take into consideration students' cultures in their teaching: more specifically to understand students' learning styles; how they think and, most importantly, communicate with one another. Specific references will be made of the Re-thinking Pacific Education Initiative (RPEIP), of which the author is a founding member, which has been in the forefront of advancing cultural democracy in Pacific education in general, and university teaching and research, in particular.