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The plans and aspirations of teenage students in semi-rural Timor-Leste

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thesis
posted on 2023-09-22, 02:15 authored by Mitchell, Anna

While there is wide agreement that education supports development, there is also much scholarship to suggest that the potential benefits of education are only fully realised when education systems are well-adapted to local needs. Systems left by colonial in newly independent developing countries, for instance, can impede the achievement of their development goals.  This project focused on the plans and aspirations of secondary school students in Ermera subdistrict, a semi-rural region of Timor-Leste, in order to explore the relationship between education and local livelihoods. Three case study communities in Ermera vila, Ponilala and Mirtutu were examined. Guided by the concept of the ‘good life’, I sought to reveal what students, parents and educators hope to get out of education and development. This enabled me to assess whether the schooling that students are receiving is supporting their future goals.  The methodology combined ethnographic observation with other qualitative and quantitative data collection. It comprised twenty-two weeks in-country: volunteering, and conducting surveys and interviews. The ensuing data analysis draws on education theory, alternative development theory, and decolonisation theory.  Overall I found that the secondary school curriculum is Western-oriented, and focused on getting students into university rather than on preparing them for the kinds of lives they are likely to lead. Students overwhelmingly aspire to university or vocational study, once they leave school. Conceptions of the good life in the three communities centre on social connectedness and opportunities for the next generation. While there is an evident disconnect between the content of available secondary education and local livelihood realities, there have been successful initiatives from within all three communities to expand education over the past twenty years to include local skills and epistemologies. An extension of these efforts to create a more diverse education, with the inclusion of agriculture as a learning topic, could give students the best chance of gaining secure work and leading comfortable lives in the future.

History

Copyright Date

2020-01-01

Date of Award

2020-01-01

Publisher

Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington

Rights License

CC BY-ND 4.0

Degree Discipline

Development Studies

Degree Grantor

Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington

Degree Level

Masters

Degree Name

Master of Development Studies

ANZSRC Type Of Activity code

1 PURE BASIC RESEARCH

Victoria University of Wellington Item Type

Awarded Research Masters Thesis

Language

en_NZ

Alternative Language

other

Victoria University of Wellington School

School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences

Advisors

Overton, John