International Journal of Educational Research and Development Vol. 5(1), pp. 010-018, February 2016 ISSN 2327-316X ©2016 Academe Research Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Reorienting education and indigenous Fijian ecological knowledge: An analysis of indigenous Fijian students’ traditional ecological knowledge of environmental sustainable practices

Vilive Cagivinaka

Fiji National University, Fiji. E-mail: vilive.cagivinaka@fnu.ac.fj.

Accepted 15 September, 2015

Abstract

Reorienting education promotes the idea of using Traditional Knowledge to achieve the goals of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. This study investigates the knowledge of indigenous Fijian students and their understanding of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) in particular environmental sustainable practices. The effect of urbanisation and the culturally biased nature of the Fiji school curriculum is a contributing factor towards the lack of appreciation placed on Fijian TEK. The study acknowledges the need to reorient education by strengthening the importance of Fijian traditional knowledge and integrating the school curriculum as a mechanism to promote and sustain Fijian TEK.

Key words: Fiji, traditional knowledge, reorient, education.