Title: Curriculum development in Tonga : then and now

Abstract: [ Abstract not available ]

Title: Language and culture in the Pacific region: issues, practices, and alternatives

Abstract: Dr Taufe.ulungaki.s USP workshop paper was based on her speech given at the Forum Secretariat meeting of education ministers held in Apia 2004. In it, she discusses a wide range of issues dealing with .what languages, to be used by whom, for what purposes, and at what level of education..

Title: Language community attitudes and their implications for the maintenance and promotion of the Tongan language

Abstract: This article is a valuable summary of Dr Taufe’ulungaki’s doctoral thesis research. It is a crucial discussion, not only for language planners throughout the Pacific region, but also for anyone concerned with bilingual issues generally. The article is somewhat rare for Directions, as it reports and reflects on research carried out by a Pacific Island researcher. We firmly believe that the more such research and commentaries we have, the more we can fully tap the store of traditional knowledge, a process which will surely enhance cultural democracy in education, as sought by Konai Helu Thaman.

Title: The role of research : a personal perspective

Abstract: Dr Taufe’ulungaki, herself a researcher of renown in the Pacific, interrogates the way that Pacific research has been largely undertaken by westerners, using western methodology, and underpinned by western belief systems and epistemologies. She argues that Pacific research should be undertaken by Pacific Islanders who interpret their cultures and experiences through Pacific ‘lenses’, and it should have as its primary purpose the reclamation of Pacific values and knowledge for Pacific peoples. If development plans are to be more successful than hitherto, they must be grounded in a Pacific worldview.