Konai Helu Thaman

Biography

Professor Thaman holds a Personal Chair in Pacific Education and Culture from the University of the South Pacific since it was established in USP in 1998. She is a Tongan national and has worked at the USP since 1974. She has a BA in Geography from the University of Auckland, N.Z., an M.A. in International Education from the University of California at Santa Barbara, and PhD in Education from the USP. Her doctoral thesis, entitled ‘Ako and Faiako: Cultural Values, Educational Ideas and Teachers’ Role Perceptions in Tonga was based on studies of the relationships between cultural values and educational ideas and how these were reflected in teachers’ perceptions of their professional role. She has conducted research, consultancies and published widely in the areas of teacher education, curriculum development and culture and education and has held senior administrative positions in the USP including Director of the Institute of Education and Pro Vice Chancellor and Acting Deputy Vice Chancellor. She is a Fellow of APEID and a member of several international and professional organisations including the UNITWIN/UNESCO Asia Pacific Higher Education Network and the Joint ILO/UNESCO Committee of Experts on the Application of the Recommendation on the Status of Teachers (CEART), and the Asia Pacific Regional Scientific Committee on Research in Higher Education. She is also a widely published poet (five collections of her poetry have been published).

Research Interest

Arts and Design