intersections between pacific leadership and international development

280 Pages·2016·1.49 MB·English

by  Sean Fernandez

INTERSECTIONS BETWEEN PACIFIC LEADERSHIP AND
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

BY

SEAN ALVIN FERNANDEZ

A thesis
Submitted to the Victoria University of Wellington
in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy

Victoria University of Wellington
2016
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Abstract
As part of the Millennium Development Goals, the United Nations has a long-
held commitment to universal primary education for all children. Aid donors
in wealthy nations have taken up this call and international development
programmes have subsequently been set up in recipient countries where
education is not available to everyone. Despite this, an estimated 1.6 million
school-aged children in the Pacific region do not currently have access to
formal primary schooling. As the timeframe for achieving the Millennium
Development Goals draws to a close it is now clear that this aspiration will
not be realised in many parts of the Pacific and a generation of children will
grow up without a primary education. This raises questions about the design,
delivery and management of international aid programmes in the education
sector that are often led by people who are not members of the Pacific
communities that they seek to assist.

This research explores the frustrations felt by recipients of education
development programmes in two nations in the Pacific, Tonga and Fiji
focusing on the relationship between international development in the Pacific
and leadership styles and cultures in the education sector. A key problem
that was articulated by aid recipients is that international aid relationships in
the Pacific continue to be dominated by the discourses and priorities of donor
nations and important opportunities to develop grassroots and local forms of
leadership that respond directly and knowledgably to the rapidly changing
needs of Pacific communities have yet to be fully realised. At the same time,
new forms of Pacific leadership are emerging as global economies
increasingly affect the lives of people living in remote communities and there
is a need to respond to these changes because they have a direct impact on
schooling for children who live in those areas. Donor nations have not
contributed significantly to local leadership development in the education
domain and this is an ongoing source of tension for many people because
there are so few formally trained indigenous leaders in the education field.
The lack of local leaders in this area has an impact of the level of buy-in that
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Pacific communities give to educational aid projects. This thesis argues that
if donor nations are serious about providing universal primary education,
leadership development needs to be supported more comprehensively.

Keywords: Pacific leadership, leadership development, international
development, development programmes, donor partners, Millennium
Development Goals, recipient nations, Re-thinking Pacific Education Initiative
for and by Pacific Peoples, indigenous leadership, wantok.

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Acknowledgments
Tukua te wairua kia rere ki ngā Allow one’s spirit to exercise its
taumata potential
Hai ārahi i ā tātou mahi To guide us in our work as well as
Me tā tātou whai i ngā tikanga a in our pursuit of our ancestral
rātou mā traditions
Kia mau kia ita Take hold and preserve it
Kia kore ai e ngaro Ensure it is never lost
Kia pupuri Hold fast.
Kia whakamaua Secure it.
Kia tina! TINA! Hui e! TĀIKI E! Draw together! Unite!

Firstly, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my PhD supervisors;
Dr. Kabini Sanga and Dr. Joanna Kidman, who have been instrumental in
shaping my thinking and writing throughout the course of this work. The
journey that I have been on has been profoundly guided by their motivation
and support in completing this work. Without their ongoing support I would
have left the PhD programme part way through, and I did attempt to do so.
Clearly level heads prevailed during a moment of weakness.

It is only at the lowest point in the PhD journey that you fully realise how
much trust and faith you need to have in your PhD supervisors. You also
have the opportunity to see the faith that they have in you. The PhD journey
undulates like a wave in the open ocean. The heights of greatness are
immediately contrasted against the chasms of loss as you attempt to find
your footing in an unknown world. It is the role of the student to be
emotionally prepared for the turbulence of the PhD rollercoaster ride. But the
journey itself will test the limits of even the most battle hardened students.
This is where a good PhD supervisor will light a small flame, and show you
which way to walk.
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I was very fortunate to have two amazing supervisors to help me on this
journey. Finishing the PhD process is a mix of happiness that it is completed
and sadness that I am about to leave the safety of the having two amazing
people guide my work. However the anticipation of making a change in the
wider world cannot and should not be underestimated. So much has been
done, but there is so much more to do. Only time will tell if I am able to
translate the lessons I have learned through the PhD journey into action in
the wider world.

This thesis may have my name on the title page but it is not reflective of the
support that I have received from my family and friends. I would like to take
the opportunity to thank some people who have been instrumental in helping
me through this journey. By no means is this list extensive. It is merely
reflective of the people who have helped me on a day to day basis. There
are so many other people to thank but that in itself would be a chapter in this
thesis.

I would like to acknowledge the support of the participants in both Fiji and
Tonga. If it were not for your wise words I would not have been able to
participate in or complete this thesis. I hope that I have been able to
represent your voice sincerely and truthfully.

Victoria University of Wellington has been instrumental in supporting this
completion of this thesis. Victoria University of Wellington provided the
funding to allow me to complete my data collection phase and awarded me a
completion scholarship. I am thankful for all the help.

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If it was not for the love and support of my smart and beautiful daughter
Bailee Fernandez I would not have been able to complete this work. Her
understanding that I needed to spend a significant amount of time away from
her to complete this work has been amazing. Bailee’s ability to grow and
develop into the amazing person that she is, has shown me that she will be
able to accomplish anything in life. I wish Bailee all the best in the future and
hope that she follows her dreams and makes her dreams a reality. I love you
Bailee Boo.

My family have been supportive of me both emotionally and financially
throughout this process. Kathy Patira-McGill and Kevin McGill have been
there for me during every aspect of this process and without their support I
would not be here today, in this space, in this place completing this work.
Their understanding and support have been amazing. I truly believe that
every person who has completed a PhD need people in their life like Kathy
and Kevin. They represent all that is good in the world. Words cannot
express my gratitude towards them.

Much love and appreciation is sent to my great-grandmother Kathleen
“Nana” Patira Netana Nathan who has provided spiritual guidance and
support over this journey. If it was not for the wise words of Nana while
growing up, I would not have thought to begin the PhD journey. In many
ways this PhD is a reflection of the dreams that Nana had for me. I only
hope that I have been able to meet them.

I would also like to thank my sisters Kimberley Lawry and Celestine Hawkins.
The two people that you can rely on to put you into the insane asylum when
you start acting crazy. Thank you and love you both.
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Lastly I would like to thank all of the other PhD candidates who have shared
their PhD journey with me. We have all had our ups and downs. But now
that mine has drawn to a close I can see how the other candidates have
been instrumental in providing advice and moral support. I hope that I have
been supportive of others as they have been of me.

At times the PhD journey seems long and lonely, however it is not until the
end that you are able to see that it was always being supported by your
friends and family.

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Table of contents

ABSTRACT .................................................................................................... III
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................... V
TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................................... IX
LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................... XVI
LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................... XVII
LIST OF APPENDICES .................................................................................. XVIII
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................... XIX

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................... 21
SUMMARY OF THE PROBLEM ......................................................................... 23
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM ...................................................................... 26
FOCUS OF THE RESEARCH ............................................................................ 27
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY .............................................................................. 27
RESEARCH QUESTIONS ................................................................................ 28
DELIMITATIONS ............................................................................................ 28
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESEARCH .................................................................. 29
SELECTION OF LITERATURE .......................................................................... 30
LIMITATIONS ................................................................................................ 31
RESEARCHER POSITIONING .......................................................................... 32
REASON FOR SELECTING TONGA AND FIJI ...................................................... 34
SUMMARY OF CHAPTER ONE ......................................................................... 36

CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH CONTEXT ......................................................... 39
WHAT IS MISSING FROM THE LITERATURE? ..................................................... 39
HISTORY OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT .................................................. 41
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ORGANISATIONS ............................................ 46
WESTERN VALUES AND PACIFIC SCHOOLING SYSTEMS .................................... 51
RETHINKING PACIFIC EDUCATION INITIATIVE FOR PACIFIC PEOPLES................. 53

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EDUCATION AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO POVERTY............................................. 55
THE CYCLIC RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EDUCATION AND POVERTY ...................... 56
SUMMARY OF CHAPTER TWO ......................................................................... 58

CHAPTER 3: LITRATURE REVIEW ............................................................ 61
A PACIFIC VIEW OF POVERTY ........................................................................ 62
GLOBALISATION AND NEOLIBERALIST IDEALS WITHIN AN INTERNATIONAL
DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK ......................................................................... 63
INTERNATIONAL AID AND THE EDUCATION SECTOR ........................................... 65
POVERTY REDUCTION AND THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS ................. 68
RESOLVING ISSUES IN THE DONOR RECIPIENT RELATIONSHIP ........................... 69
SMALL NATION STATES ........................................................................ 70
INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT FOR THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS ........... 71
A POST-DEVELOPMENT LENS......................................................................... 75
SUMMARY OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ................................................. 79
LEADERSHIP IN SCHOOLS .............................................................................. 80
Claim 1: School leadership is second only to classroom teaching as an
influence on pupil learning ..................................................................... 82
Claim 2: Almost all successful leaders draw on the same repertoire of
basic leadership practices ..................................................................... 83
Claim 3: The ways in which leaders apply basic leadership practices,
rather than the practices themselves, demonstrate responsiveness to,
rather than dictation by, the contexts in which they work ...................... 83
Claim 4: School leaders improve teaching and learning indirectly and
most powerfully through their influence on staff motivation, commitment
and working conditions .......................................................................... 84
Claim 5: School leadership has a greater influence on schools and
students when it is widely distributed .................................................... 84
Claim 6: Some patterns of distribution are more effective than others ...85
Claim 7: A small handful of personal traits explains a high proportion of
the variation in leadership effectiveness ................................................ 85
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT FROM AN ACTION LOGIC PERSPECTIVE ................. 86
The opportunist ..................................................................................... 87
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