COUV ACTES - Psychologie communautaire

Community Psychology: Common Values, Diverse PracticesVisually, Tokelau is stunning, with white coral beaches and azure lagoons fringed by palm trees. However,agriculture is non-existent and fish the only plentiful food resource. Residents rely heavily on imported goodsalong with scant local resources. Fishing is popular with the men; the catch is shared among the communityaccording to a complex distribution system based on family size and need (Huntsman & Hooper, 1996).Increasingly there is concern about the sustainability of resources, particularly the fisheries.Schools on each atoll provide education from pre-school to secondary. Students who complete school mustcontinue their education elsewhere or through USP foundation courses before beginning tertiary study. In 2005,all teachers in Tokelau redesigned the school curriculum, incorporating traditional Tokelauan knowledge intoseveral subject areas.Western knowledge will continue to be valued in Tokelau, since it is important for students to gain skills to enablethem to continue study elsewhere. However, curriculum redesign showed the importance of including Tokelauanknowledge and demonstrated the importance of teachers participating in decision-making. Collectively they wereable to design a comprehensive and appropriate curriculum. This model is also inherently political, since itrequires decisions about what knowledge is most important. Similar revision may in future be needed to ensureuniversity curricula are relevant to indigenous development, and Pacific values included alongside Westernknowledge.USP CampusIn Tokelau, USP has a modest campus on one atoll. A large satellite dish and solar power enables vitalequipment to function and connects the campus to high-speed internet through the main campus. Several thingsmade the campus a significant community resource.A comprehensive library of books about all aspects of Pacific life and a broad range of general topics wasavailable to the community, and widely used by students. Two PCs were an important resource, used constantlyby students and community. High speed internet meant they could communicate with family elsewhere via emailand social networking sites. The printer was used for printing out photos, CVs and scholarship applications.Solar power was a useful resource. During power cuts the campus freezer was full of food from people’s freezersto avoid spoilage. The campus was used as a quiet study space; some also came to socialise. In a communitywith very few social services, my perceived expertise meant I was asked to give “expert” advice on many topics,from psychological advice, career planning and writing scholarship applications.While the resources were modest when compared to a metropolitan university, in a small community with limitedaccess to the outside world they were of considerable value. Being able to communicate with family livingelsewhere had huge cultural significance. In many respects, the Tokelau USP campus operated as a “resourcecentre” utilised by the entire community.303