Culture and Achievement

At an upper level of education in Fiji especially Forms 5 6 and 7 of secondary schools Indo-Fijian students often perform better than their ethnic Fijian counterparts.This book argues that there are cultural differences between values beliefs and practices in affecting achievement among Indo-Fijians and ethnic Fijians. Indo-Fijian culture respects and values education highly. They believe that education changes people for the better and the only way to success is through education. Thus Indo-Fijian parents believe that helping children to strive for their academic excellence is one of the most important tasks for them. By contrast ethnic Fijian culture encourages children to become good members of their community. For this purpose one's total commitment to communal activities and requirements is of vital importance. Ethnic Fijian parents spend a large amount of time money and labour on making contri­bution to ceremonies and church at the possible expense of providing for the formal eudcation of their children. Consequently the educational achievement differences between these two ethnic groups are revealed substantially during the secondary schools.