Edward Booth, Michael Wilson, Govinda Lingham and Gurmit Singh

Faculty of Education, Univesity of Wollongong, Australia

The research is a collaborative project by staff from Lautoka Tearchers' College, University of South Pacific and Wollongong University which is to explore the changes in primary teachers' work in Fiji over a five year period. The survey based inquiry explored a wide range influences on the work of teachers. These included professional development initiatives, curriculum and administrative changes as well as local and personal factors.

198 primary teachers from all administrative divisions of Fiji were surveyed by beginning second year students from the Lautoka Teachers' College while they were on a home based practicum in February 1998. The survey included both structured and opened ended questions to facilitate as wide a range of changes and contributing influences from the teachers. Sections of the instrument covered each teacher's prior training and professional development, changes [positive and negative] that had taken place in their schools and specific changes in their classroom pedagogy. Each teacher had an opportunity to explore what changes and possible consequences they would like to see happen in the future. The responses to the final reflection question suggested that few teachers had ever been asked to review and reflect on their work. The exercise stimulated extensive discussion in many of the schools.

This research is a collaborative project by staff from Lautoka Teachers' College, University of South Pacific and Wollongong University. The inquiry explores the changes in primary teachers' work in Fiji over a five-year period to 1998. The purpose of the survey-based inquiry is to explore the wide range influences on the work of teachers. In the ten years since the 1987 coups there have been extensive curricular and personnel changes in school education in Fiji. While the Ministry of Education has been progressively moving toward eight years of basic [primary] education, many primary teachers were only trained to work with grades one to six and have ten years of schooling themselves.

While the focus of this paper is on the changes in the work of a sample of primary teachers in Fiji, there is a much wider international discussion on teachers' work and teachers' capacity to effectively cope with or alternatively manage change in schools. Writers in North America Hargreaves (1994) and Clandinin (1994), Britain Boyle & Woods (1996)) and Australia Mander (1997) and Seddon (1997) have developed the themes of intensification, accountability and testing within contexts of decentralisation and devolution. Countering in part these de-professionalising trends are evidence of collaboration and strategic adaptation of centre imposed changes.

The wide-ranging survey included questions about teachers professional development, curriculum and administrative change as well as local and personal factors. Teachers were also asked what could happen if a number of other changes could be made in their work as teachers and in their school environment. In this paper, the focus will be on the changes that have occurred in teachers' professional lives over the past few years.

The more recent coup in June 2000 has created tensions in all aspects of public administration in Fiji. The levels of damage to primary education and teacher perceptions of their work are yet to be assessed. Many Indo-Fijian teachers left the school sector following the 1987 coups. It is anticipated that this loss of skilled expertise will only be exacerbated by the recent political upheaval in Fiji.

The data gathering exercise itself stimulated extensive discussion in many of the schools. The student teachers' involvement in data gathering enhanced their perspective about what it was like to be a teacher. The outcomes of the inquiry will be of particular interest to teacher educators, beginning teachers, Fiji Ministry of Education and it's Curriculum Development Unit, schools and the major review of education by the Fiji Islands Education Commission 2000 (Fiji Government, 2000).

Prior to the Commission commencing its review, Education Fiji 2020 was prepared to give focus and direction for education in the Fiji Islands. The development of the document denoted an increased focus on planning at all levels of education, and provided a framework for strategic management.

The Commission has commenced its review and assessment of the nation's educational system and programs and the quality of the education which is currently being offered in schools throughout the country. This study will contribute data on the management of quality in the primary sector of the education system. The Commission's focus is on how to prepare young people for active and productive lives within a context which faces rapidly changing national, regional and international challenges. An understanding of teachers current work priorities and professional development experience will add to the platform 0n which these emerging priorities and developments must be grounded.

Geography

Fiji lies in the heart of the Pacific latitudes 15 degrees and 22 degrees south. Fiji's exclusive economic zone containing approximately 330 islands, of which about one third are inhabited covers about 1.3 million square kilometers of the South Pacific Ocean. Fiji's total land area is 18,333 square kilometers. 83% of the land is owned by indigenous Fijians while 9% is state and 8% is freehold land. Only 16% of Fiji's landmass are suitable for agriculture. The major urban centres are Suva [the capital], Lautoka, Labasa and Nadi.

Climate

Fiji enjoys a tropical South Sea maritime climate without extremes of heat or cold. The islands lie in an area which is occasionally traversed by tropical cyclones between the months of November to April. On average, there are two to three very severe cyclones per decade which affect some parts the Fiji group.

Population

Fiji's population on August 25, 1996 stood at 772,655. There were 358,131 persons in the urban areas and 414,524 in the rural areas. Of the total, 394,999 were Fijians (51.1%), 336,579 were Indians (43.6%) and 41,077 others (5.3%). Fiji has a relatively young population with about 53% are below the age of 25 years.

Education

Missionaries set up the first mission schools, beginning with primary level and extending later to secondary. In 1916, the first Education Department was established by the British colonial government to co-ordinate the provision of educational services in the country. The Department registered schools and centralized many educational services from curriculum to the recruitment of teachers. The ownership and local management of schools was often left with local communities and religious authorities. One of the strengths of the mostly local management of schools is its capacity to be responsive to the local community and its socio-cultural environment. It has also engendered parental commitment and partnership in education at all levels.

Just prior to independence in 1970, the Education Report (1969) established a set of proposed directions for education to support the country in its first steps as an independent nation. Reflecting the knowledge, understanding and needs of education at that time the Commission provided an analysis of the most pressing requirements in education and gave impetus to a series of significant reforms and innovation. Teacher training was improved and extended, a locally based curriculum was developed and introduced up to Form 4. The community places a high priority on the role of the teacher and the importance of learning in the lives of young people. There are high participation rates at all levels of the system. The 1990's have seen a rapid increase in the number of young people completing year 7 at high school. (UNESCO, 2000)

Primary schooling in now considered to be classes 1 to 8. In some schools all these classes are under the same school organisation with high school commencing at grade 9 [Form 3]. Some high schools have Forms 1 and 2 [Classes 7 and 8]. The gross enrolment ratio for Classes 1 to 8 show that the females have a better retention rate and have better performance outcomes in the assessment exam at the end of primary school. Enrolment in primary schools [Grade 1-6] was 99.38% [1998]. There has been a net drop in enrolment rate between the years 6 and 8, possibly linked to the examination system. (Ministry of Education, 1998 - Department of Statistics Annual Report) Primary pupil teacher ratios were 23 per teacher in 1998, down 1.6 from 1994. There has been a progressive increase in expenditure on primary education between 1991 and 1998.

The academic qualification required to enter primary teacher training college is now Form 7. Most teachers who do not have the required qualification are those who entered teacher training while the qualification for entry was lower, Form 5 or Form 6. There has been a slight drop from 99.5% (1994) of trained primary teachers to 97.5% in 1998.

Education Fiji 2020 recognised the considerable achievements of the past and seeks to build upon them. It also recognised the importance of keeping pace with the accelerating rate of social and technological change and adapting to the needs of the future. It seeks to build upon the existing strengths of the education system and proposes some significant changes and strategies to meet these challenges.

Access to quality basic education with high levels of literacy acquisition, have recently been addressed by strategies which include:

i. Implementation of government policy on tuition fee assistance and compulsory education

ii Implementation of special projects to raise literacy levels e.g. Basic Education and Literacy Support (BELS) (Singh, 1996) and Australian Basic Education Management and Teacher Upgrading Project (BEMTUP)

iii Improve pre-school participation and readiness for primary education via rural pre-school support and New Zealand ODA pre-school project.

Fiji

The "Education for All" [EFA] goals and targets in Fiji have been (UNESCO, 2000):

i. Improvement of educational facilities and resources in rural areas

ii. Increase in the school participation rate and reduce dropout in basic education

iii. Improvement in the quality and relevance of education to all.

Since the Jomtien Conference in 1990, the UNESCO report suggests that Fiji has made good progress in "supporting basic education focussed on capacity building for expanding access to, and improving the quality of education" (UNESCO, 2000, p4).

The prospects [Part III] of the EFA country report (UNESCO, 2000) identifies 24 challenges which include the provision of a "flexible, innovative and rigorous curriculum", "maintaining community partnerships" and "strengthening primary education resources as well as the knowledge and skill base of teachers and ensuring that their professional needs are supported. " Further in 11.10 the document states "the need to focus on quality and improvement in educational provision..." and this is reinforced in terms of the context of this inquiry in 11.18 by which "... to develop and support a professional teaching force which is responsible and responsive to both learning and the learner." The report reinforces the importance of this critical relationships between teachers and learners.

The Education Fiji 2020 document has a strong emphasis on educational development for Fiji with objectives focusing on participation, a learning culture with community recognition and partnerships in management, recognition of multicultural heritage as well as having students becoming informed citizens in a technological world. From the value perspective, Baba (1993) argues for emphasis to be given to what the Fijian culture and language terms Yalomatua - the development of a sense of wisdom (maturity of mind and spirit). Thaman (1995) in the Tongan context argues in a similar manner that in the attainment of a modern 'job' orientated education, it is imperative that traditional indigenous discourses, structures and processes are not lost.

International

The complexity of teachers' work has been well documented by Hargreaves (1994), Sungalia (1991), Seddon & Brown (1997) and Mander (1997). Curriculum and structural change has become a constant factor in school systems and in the workplaces of teachers. The change literature debates the relative importance of the coping reactions versus the resistance strategies employed by teachers in the face of successive top down, management driven change. Mander (1997) argues that the analysis identifies the significance of teachers' defensive coping reaction as well as the individuality of teachers' professional identities where they see changes providing opportunities. She highlights the often contradictory impact of change on teachers and their work.

Some theorists Apple (1996), Ball (1994) and Popkewitz (1994) argue the processes of capitalistic and corporate managerial control which woorks toward the de-professionalisation of teaching through decentralisation, increased accountability through formal assessment and attempts to diffuse dissent. In many large systems, Hargreaves and others argue that teachers are generally excluded from policy debates except in their role as 'qualified technicians'. The binary debate between an autonomous professionalism versus a determined instrumental role for teachers through structural and curricula controls identified by Mander misses the subtle ways in which teachers adapt and modify their work. Maulder argues that teachers have raised their professional status by focussing on improving their knowledge base and practices with a focus on improving outcomes for their students.

Over 200 primary teachers from all administrative divisions of Fiji were surveyed by beginning second year students from the Lautoka Teachers' College while they were on a home based practicum in February 1998. Each second year student teacher arranged for the completion of at least one survey. The respondents were most often experienced teachers with at least five years of service or executive teachers with at least twenty years of teaching experience [Table 1].

The survey included both structured and opened-ended questions to facilitate a wide a range of changes and contributing influences from the teachers. Sections of the instrument covered teacher's prior training and professional development, changes [positive and negative] that had taken place in their schools and specific changes in their classroom pedagogy. Each teacher had an opportunity to explore what changes and possible consequences they would like to see in the future. The responses to the final reflection question suggested that few teachers had ever been asked to review and reflect on their work.

The survey instrument was developed collaboratively by the research team over a two year period and trailed with a small sample of teachers and the lecturers at Lautoka Teachers' College.

The open-ended responses from 198 more or less complete surveys were thematically coded and entered into an Excel spreadsheet along with the fixed response data. Data tables were extracted from the spreadsheet using the Pivot Table Wizard in Excel. The findings are presented using a number of biographical characteristics of the teachers. The teachers were specifically asked not to identify their ethnicity

The findings in this paper will focus on the characteristics of the sample primary staff, the formal and informal professional development opportunities they have participated in and finally the identified changes in their work. The data tables report the findings in most cases by position in school and years of teaching.

The teachers sampled reflected a wide range of years of teaching service (1 to 37years) and position in the school [Table 1]. Approximately half were teachers who held some form of promotion position in the school. Respondents were experienced professionals with an average experience of 23.9 years for Head Teachers, 22.7 for Assistant Head Teachers, 19.7 for Executive Teachers and 24.4 years for those who identified themselves as teachers. While the range for the sample of primary teachers surveyed had approximately 20 to 24 years of teaching, over 30% were in the narrower experience band with five to ten years of teaching [YOT] experience.

Female teachers comprised 64% of the sample. Women were under-represented in Head Teacher [HT] positions (6%) as a percentage of their gender compared to men (20%) [Table 2]. However in Assistant [AHT] and Executive Teacher [ET] roles women were more or less equally represented as a proportion of their numbers in the sample.

The sample is balanced between staff teaching junior [1 to 5] and senior [6 to 8] classes [Table 3]. No non-teaching Head Teachers were identified in the sample as most full time heads also take some classes during the week. Executive staff [HTs and AHTs] were primarily teaching grades 5 to 8. Executive teacher staff taught through the full range of grades.

The majority of primary teachers (81%) have an initial two-year Teachers' Certificate [Table 4] from the old Nasinu College or Lautoka Teachers' College. Many of the teachers with many years of service [in the 'other' category] may not have a Certificate and have progressed in the system on the basis of good service. A very small number of staff have an initial degree [2] or a Diploma [6], three of these teachers were graduates of Fulton College which has a three year program and two had a USP extension course.

A number of teachers had completed formal upgrading programs through the USP Extension program. Two had completed a degree and 14 a Diploma. In 1998, 20 teachers identified that they were undertaking some form of external upgrading program [Table 5]. USP Extension was the most important provider of courses. Those undertaking inservice at Nasinu TC were involved in an Australian funded upgrading program [BEMTUP] to enhance their skills and knowledge for teaching in years 7 and 8. There was a larger proportion of women who had completed a diploma level qualification.

At the school level the survey allowed for three responses for in-school courses or workshops over the past five years [Table 6]. English was by far the best covered area with 42 per cent of the Executive teachers and 37 per cent of teachers attending a course or workshop. Hindi and Mathematics ranked as the next most attended courses, followed by attendance at Social Science and BELS workshops. The other category was quite diverse and included a number of administrative type meetings, particularly for Head Teachers who rarely attended the subject based workshops.

Executive teachers and assistant head teachers were the most active attendees of in-school level workshops or courses with an average of 1.7 courses over the five-year period. Teachers, with an average attendance of 1.2 activities were the least likely to have attended an in-school professional development workshop. A search of the data base indicated that ten per cent of teachers did not record attending any in-school PD activity.

Out of school inservice activities [Table 7] reported varied from undertaking formal USP extension courses, formal Ministry or teachers union courses or workshops to 'social activities'. Many activities too diverse to list were categorised as 'others'. Space was available on the questionnaire for several options. There was some similarity in the responses to this question with the data presented in Tables 5 and 6 above. Teachers, head and assistant head teachers were well represented in the USP extension programs (17% to 19%) as a proportion of total activities. Overall 22% of the primary staff survey reported that they were involved in formal USP inservice programs in 1997.

Teachers were well represented in sports club involvement, which they considered a form of 'professional development'. Heads and AHTs were understandably well represented in workshops and leadership seminars. There were some respondents who did not answer the question.

In an attempt to explore the changes in each teacher's work, the survey asked the open ended question: "What changes have taken place in your work place as a teacher over the last 5 years?" Four spaces were provided and the adjacent blank page asked the respondents to "give an example with each point if possible".

Nine major categories were identified in a sampling of the responses as well as nil or no response. The data are presented by gender (Table 8) , the teachers position in the school (Table 9) and by years of teaching [YOT] in Annex 2.

The major finding is that teachers" reported experiencing a very wide range of changes. Changes in facilities and educational resources (itself covering a wide range) was most frequently mentioned followered by new teaching methods and new school leadership. But the largest category was the too diverse to categorise or 'other' responses.

Male teachers were slightly more influenced by the new resources, new teaching methods and changes in the school roll [Table 8]. Women reported a wider range of 'other factors', new programs, subjects and curricula as influencing their work. Changes in school leadership, professional development activities and the childrens' attitudes were not significantly different on the percentage responses.

When the changes over the past five years were analysed by the position in the school (Table 9), there was a number of variations. Executive teachers were the most likely to cite 'other' factors (36%) and AHTs were the most likely to have 'no response'. Teachers most frequently identified new subjects, curricula or classes as the basis of change (11%), new teaching methods and a change in school leadership (7%), new programs (6%) and childrens' attitudes and changes in the school roll (2%).

Head teachers (27%) and to a lesser extent AHTs (23%) and ETs (24%) were influenced by new facilities or educational resources coming to the school. ETs and teachers (8% and 7%) were influenced by a new school management or the arrival of a new HT (7 to 8%).

When years of teaching was considered [Annex 2] two 5 year periods were identified for initial analysis. Those in the five to nine years of service group represented 27 per cent of the sample. This group reported changes in their work as a consequence of new programs [44%], new teaching methods [39%] and changes in school roll [36%], PD [30%] and new subjects [25%].

Teachers in the more experienced group with 16 to 21 years of experience represented 33 per cent of the sample. This longer serving group identified new facilities and resources [41%], new subjects and classes [41%], new HT or school manager [34%] and less frequently new teaching methods.

The number and percentage of teachers specifically identifying changes are reported in Table 10. The means of the weighted scores [MWS] were calculated by multiplying the frequency score by the specific change weight [4 - major through to 1 - minor) and dividing by the sum of scores by the actual number of teachers who specifically identified that change in their work. The final column identifies the rank of the assigned importance to each change. Annex 3 reports each specific change by the position in school.

Ten of the twenty specific changes listed in the survey were identified by more than 80 per cent of the respondents. While many changes were identified, there was a marked variability in the perception of their importance as far as the teachers were concerned. The short open-ended explanations requested for three or four of the changes that were marked as 'major' provided some insight into teacher thinking about the issues. The changes listed and then subsequently scored by the sample of primary school executive and teachers ranged across areas where there had been in-service initiatives, distribution of new resource materials and Ministry policy initiatives. Other areas listed as being important have their origins in more local and personal sources.

The ranking by MWS [Table 10] will be used to order a brief discussion of the eleven most highly ranked changes. Some information of any variation in response by position in school will also be given as well as some of the open-ended reasons given by the teachers.

• Changed my teaching methods was ranked 1^st of the MWS. Almost all (93%) of the primary school respondents considered changes in teaching methods had impacted on their work. 81 per cent of school personnel who identified this change marked it as 'important' or 'major'.

A female teacher with six years of experience but new to her current school reported that she had to change her methods to suit the new curriculum as well as to challenge the children "...whose knowledge and understanding is much broader than the last school I was in."

• Changed student activities in class by organising students working in-groups were ranked 2nd. Most [90%] staff reported a move to group work with 76 per cent reporting it to be an 'important' or 'major' change. Except for Head Teachers, over half of all other staff ranked this change as 'major' for them.

A female Executive teacher with 19 years of experience, 16 in her current school reported how her upgrading experiences [USP Diploma and Whole Language Approach workshop] had reinforced the approach of "getting children to interact with one another for discussion".

• More involved in counseling students was ranked 3rd. 88 per cent of staff identified this change as being a significant change for them. Of those who did, 75 per cent considered it 'important' or 'major'.

A female teacher with 30 years of experience reported that "counseling students with their parents on their progress, personal health, books and other things is a good way to get achievement".

• Used different assessment approaches was ranked 4th. 83 per cent identified this change and 75 per cent of these teachers identified it as 'important' or 'major'. Assistant head teachers [70% as 'major'] were the strongest reporters of this change.

A female Head Teacher with over 30 years experience suggested that the workshop "Classroom Skills" had helped her in recording daily work of pupils using running records on informal work which she said was used when reporting to the parents.

A female executive teacher with five years in her current school reported how they have been trying to complete our Blue Print for each subject taken. "We have found out that the questions are distributed evenly using the various skills of questioning."

• Changed student activities in class by using new materials or resources were ranked 5^th. Although 86 per cent of primary staff reporting this change, it was surprisingly executive staff who most reported 'important' or 'major' use.

A female teacher with 22 years of experience reported that the "... new Maths texts makes it easier for the children as they can work at their own pace while the advanced learners can move on and work independently while I can work individually with the weaker ones."

• The use of a new syllabus was ranked 6^th in the identified changes. 79 percent of staff checked the item and 72 per cent of all respondents identifying the change as reported 'important' or 'major'.

The female Head Teacher reported above acknowledged the importance of the new "Moral [family] Education syllabus and the added interest and valuing that pupils show in the new Elementary Science syllabus.

A new AHT with 25 years of experience reported that new subjects makes teaching more interesting for the children and me. There's lots of extra preparation!"

• Changed ways of reporting to parents was ranked 7^th of the changes. While a large number of the sample [87%] identified this change, there was a wider spread in its considered level of importance. While 75% of Head Teachers ranked it as 'major', the priority slipped in importance down the status level of the school to where over half the teachers scored it as only 'some' or 'important'.

A female teacher with 20 years of experience and eight years at her current school as Executive teacher of year 8 identified the use of the BELS program in reporting and counselling parents.

• Changes in school leadership was ranked 8^th using the MWS. 81 per cent of staff identified the change with 69 per cent reporting it to be an 'important' or 'major' change. Not surprisingly 90 per cent Head Teachers considered it a 'major' change with the significance dropping through AHT [74%], ET [73%] and 69 per cent of teachers considering it 'important' or 'major'.

A female teacher with 18 year experience and four years in her current school reported that the "... new head was exposed to all types of teaching and learning which he was able to share".

A male teacher who had been 17 years in the one school said that a change in Head Teacher had enabled him to "...learn from two different ways of administration".

• Being promoted was ranked 9^th of the changes. While only 60 per cent of the respondents [118 of the 198] reported this change in their experience (Table 10), all Head Teachers and AHTs not surprisingly, considered it 'important' or usually 'major'. Most teachers on the other hand considered this change as being 'minor'. Promotion for teachers may have been considered a movement up the teacher pay scale.

A female Head Teacher in her third year as head after 34 year of teaching reported that "...to know that my long years of service is appreciated and acknowledged".

"This is my first year as head of a rural school in Vanua Levu. Learning about the community has been a big challenge for me coming from an urban school."

• Helping to resolve student disputes was 10^th of the ranks. A high proportion [85%] of primary staff reported this to be a change in their work. Executive teachers were the least likely [65%] to report this change as 'important' or 'major'. Teachers and the other executive staff [82 - 85%] indicated this change to be 'important' or 'major'.

• Changing schools was 11^th in the MWS ranking. While the number reporting this change was higher [84%] than the impact of a new head there was a wide spread, almost polarized set of teachers' views on the importance of this change. Head Teachers and AHTs were particularly strong in their views about the importance of this change.

A male executive teacher with five years at his current school and a 20 year career said, "It is good to change schools every three years. Too long in a place is no good."

A female teacher with 19 years of experience who was promoted to Executive teacher in a rural school commented, "I'm now able to appreciate and learn more about my own culture being here in a rural school".

The data reported in the paper has for the most part been surveyed from a more experienced and longer serving cohort than the actual primary teaching population in Fiji. The proportion of executive staff [HTs, AHTs and ETs] in the sample [51%] is biased toward the experienced end of the teaching establishment. This bias was not unexpected from two counts. First student teachers are traditionally placed with the more experienced staff and second, if there is a survey to be completed for return to a college, teachers would defer to the head of AHT for its completion.

Female primary staff represented 64 per cent of the sample. There was also a balance between lower primary and upper primary teachers surveyed. Most teachers [81%] had completed a certificate. It is pleasing to report that one in five teachers in the sample were undertaking additional formal studies through the University of South Pacific. Female teachers were better represented by a gender analysis to be undertaking formal courses to upgrade their qualifications.

Apart from the formal diploma or degree level enrolments, a wide range of professional development activities were reported in the findings. At the local school level English was the most frequently attended curriculum based course, followed by Hindi, Mathematics and Science. Inschool English courses were attended by almost one in two primary staff. Executive teachers and AHTs attended an average of 1.7 courses in the period, HTs 1.5 and teachers 1.2 courses.

The diversity of change reported by the teachers in the survey was extensive. Nine major categories were identified but approximately 30 per cent of the responses had to be categorised as 'other'. No response was most frequent from AHTs [23%] to an average of 14 per cent by all other position groups.

For the unprompted open ended responses to changes over the past five years changes in facilities and educational resources was the most frequently cited change. New school head or school manager was the second most reported specific change, followed by new teaching methods, new programs, new subjects or classes. Professional development experiences were noted by three percent of the teachers. School roll changes and changes in the childrens' attitude were the least cited changes from the identified categories.

On a gender basis, the female staff were more likely to report changes in school leadership, new programs and new subject or classes. Male staff identified resource and facility changes and new teaching methods. Head teachers (27%) and to a lesser extent AHTs (23%) and ETs (24%) were influenced by new facilities or educational resources coming to the school. ETs and teachers (8% and 7%) were influenced by a new school management or the arrival of a new HT (7 to 8%).

The data was then gathered from 21 specified changes which had been identified during the development and trial of the survey. A mean weighted score was determined for each change. The ranking of the identified changes using the MWS resulted in changes in teaching method as the first ranked change. This was followed by the way teachers had organised students working in groups, being more involved in counselling students, using different assessment approaches and changes student activities using new resource materials as the fifth ranked change. The othe changes and their ranks are summarised in Table 10 and detailed data by position in school is in Annex 3.

The concurrence of free choice changes reported by the teachers overlaped and complemented as well as extended the structured responses. The new 'facilities and resources' category was not a useful combination in retrospect. There was obvious overlap which could not be differentiated in the data set. Teaching new classes, changes in the school roll and changes in children's attitudes for example were changes not identified in the development of the survey instrument but have come out in the free response section.

Teachers' voices about the changes in the professional experience was most powerful in their free responses and explanation about how the changes impacted on their work as teachers. Only a small sample of this rich data has been presented in this overview paper. The special situation of each teacher or executive member [HT, AHT or ET] became evident as their years of teaching, years in the one school and classes taught (some teachers had taught the same grade for over 20 years!) could be seen to frame their responses.

The localisation of school management has been a core feature of formal schooling in Fiji since its inception. While localised control of school budgets has been in-part been softened by Ministry funding of most teacher salaries and the provision of block building grants, the 'extras' for quality enhancement are often locally funded.

The formal knowledge based exams have been a traditional feature of schooling in Fiji. Class 6 and 8 exams are now mostly used for high school selection rather than for exclusion from school.

Educational change has a high priority in Fiji as well as everywhere else. Types of change which are devised and which actually occur may be different but they are both numerous and complex. The data reported here from Fiji indicates that teachers there are aware and are experiencing both a considerable amount and a wide variety of change. Some of it takes place as a result of the routine pressures of the profession. Teachers change schools, are promoted, have a new Head Teacher appointed or there is a new school committee. Other change is from central or Ministry policy initiatives. New materials or syallabi are national whereas inservice and professional development initiatives may be initiated at the school, division or national levels.

In Fiji change has been initiated and supported in a number of ways. Teachers report considerable involvement in PD activities which range from formal study programs at the University of South Pacific to local involvement in sporting associations and womens' clubs.

Teachers in Fiji have worked in a context of 'control' by the curriculum and external examination at the primary level for many years. Their professional context now approximates what many teachers in the west are now beginning to experience.

This preliminary analysis indicates the diversity of change which Mander links to the diverse phase and status position of individual teachers. The Maulder thesis that teachers focus on improving their knowledge base and practices with a strong focus on their students, we would argue has been illustrated in the data presented in this paper. The diversity and variability of experience represented in the open-ended comments, which has not been adequately reported here, supports this position.

The next stage of the analysis of this data will be a search for relationships between desirable (and undesirable) change and change agents. What has stimulated change, peers, personal experience, informal contacts or the formal professional development programs.

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