318
T. A. Raman and J. M. Luetz
groups such as the Arya Samaj and Muslims had begun operating schools for Indians
from 1916 (Tavola 1991).
While the Fiji Education Department registered all schools and centralised all
educational services, from the curriculum to the recruitment of teachers, it did not
centralise the ownership of schools but left this instead with the communities and
other local-based authorities. This form of ownership has been acknowledged as a
‘strength’ of the education system in Fiji for “often in the face of economic hardships
and adversities, communities devote significant human and physical resources to raise
funds in the name of educating the young people of the nation” (Senibulu 2000, p. 3).
An arrangement with the New Zealand Department of Education that lasted from
the 1920s to the 1970s saw teachers working in Fiji enacting the same schooling
system as in New Zealand which “enabled a European system to exist as an isolated
enclave, with a totally New Zealand orientation: syllabus, textbooks, examinations
and teachers” (Tavola 1991, p. 15).
In Fiji, environmental education became incorporated in formal education through
its inclusion in the 2007 and 2013 Fiji Islands National Curriculum Framework
(Ministry of Education 2007, 2013).
The Research
This research project aimed to identify the forms of environmental education
provided in Fiji secondary schools that are most effective in creating sustained proenvironmental behaviour. It also looked at the role played by other factors such as
influence from peers, parents, religion, culture and the media in students adopting
and sustaining pro-environmental behaviours. These issues are also addressed in
a recent study that looked at Fijian adolescents’ understanding and evaluation of
climate change (Scott-Parker and Kumar 2018). In order to respond to these questions, in 2014 and 2015 data were collected from current students attending a tertiary
institution in Suva, Fiji, to determine how environmental education had been taught
in their secondary schools, the forms of pro-environmental behaviours they adopted
while they were in secondary school, and the forms of pro-environmental behaviours
they maintained after leaving school. Data were also collected about how various
‘influencers’ influence their pro-environmental behaviours.
Data were collected from students via a questionnaire, followed by focus groups
and semi-structured interviews. Non-probability sampling was used to reach the
tertiary students as the tertiary institution was approached and purposively requested
to gain access to students enrolled in both science and non-science subjects. A total of
208 students completed the questionnaire: 116 (56%) females and 92 (44%) males.
28 students participated in the focus group discussions and 13 students in semistructured interviews.
The questionnaire started by requiring participants to provide ‘demographic’
information. This included their gender, age, where they attended secondary school
(to determine whether they attended school in Fiji or overseas), final year in secondary
T. A. Raman and J. M. Luetz
groups such as the Arya Samaj and Muslims had begun operating schools for Indians
from 1916 (Tavola 1991).
While the Fiji Education Department registered all schools and centralised all
educational services, from the curriculum to the recruitment of teachers, it did not
centralise the ownership of schools but left this instead with the communities and
other local-based authorities. This form of ownership has been acknowledged as a
‘strength’ of the education system in Fiji for “often in the face of economic hardships
and adversities, communities devote significant human and physical resources to raise
funds in the name of educating the young people of the nation” (Senibulu 2000, p. 3).
An arrangement with the New Zealand Department of Education that lasted from
the 1920s to the 1970s saw teachers working in Fiji enacting the same schooling
system as in New Zealand which “enabled a European system to exist as an isolated
enclave, with a totally New Zealand orientation: syllabus, textbooks, examinations
and teachers” (Tavola 1991, p. 15).
In Fiji, environmental education became incorporated in formal education through
its inclusion in the 2007 and 2013 Fiji Islands National Curriculum Framework
(Ministry of Education 2007, 2013).
The Research
This research project aimed to identify the forms of environmental education
provided in Fiji secondary schools that are most effective in creating sustained proenvironmental behaviour. It also looked at the role played by other factors such as
influence from peers, parents, religion, culture and the media in students adopting
and sustaining pro-environmental behaviours. These issues are also addressed in
a recent study that looked at Fijian adolescents’ understanding and evaluation of
climate change (Scott-Parker and Kumar 2018). In order to respond to these questions, in 2014 and 2015 data were collected from current students attending a tertiary
institution in Suva, Fiji, to determine how environmental education had been taught
in their secondary schools, the forms of pro-environmental behaviours they adopted
while they were in secondary school, and the forms of pro-environmental behaviours
they maintained after leaving school. Data were also collected about how various
‘influencers’ influence their pro-environmental behaviours.
Data were collected from students via a questionnaire, followed by focus groups
and semi-structured interviews. Non-probability sampling was used to reach the
tertiary students as the tertiary institution was approached and purposively requested
to gain access to students enrolled in both science and non-science subjects. A total of
208 students completed the questionnaire: 116 (56%) females and 92 (44%) males.
28 students participated in the focus group discussions and 13 students in semistructured interviews.
The questionnaire started by requiring participants to provide ‘demographic’
information. This included their gender, age, where they attended secondary school
(to determine whether they attended school in Fiji or overseas), final year in secondary