Editorial Note
The appearance of the inaugural volume of the DWU Research Journal was a significant event for our community. It opened a new forum for academic discussion and sharing of research findings that was much needed. The editorial team has been very encouraged by the feedback it has received to the first volume. The increasing number of submissions demonstrates that the journal is indeed responding to a great need to publish locally on matters of importance to the DWU and wider PNG academic community.
The second volume is bringing together a number of articles that focus on education and community from a variety of perspectives. The journal received a large number of submissions on educational topics, reflecting not only an area of research activity that is prominent in our community but also a preoccupation with educational issues that are at the centre of the nation’s development.
The first part of this volume is devoted to alternative approaches to school curriculum. Doug Young discusses how, through the study of literature, history and social sciences, students can develop their moral reasoning and further their feelings of empathy for others. Shandy Chakko assesses the impact of the Values Education Program on dropout students while Francis Kari shares the findings of his research on the implemented mathematics curriculum.
The following two articles debate the university’s role through its curriculum and relationship to the community. Daniel Stollenwerk gives a critical view on DWU’s purpose as a Christian university, arguing against the university’s focus on practical education and for a higher synthesis of knowledge that brings in not just skills but culture, development and ethics. Jan Czuba’s article provides a different view of the university’s functions and its contribution to society through active community service.
Boe Lahui-Ako’s article concludes this section on educational issues with observations from his research on student evaluation of lecturing at UPNG. The rest of the articles bring in a remarkable collection of topics, starting with Catherine Levy’s personal account of her experience in doing linguistic research in the small community of Awar. Patrick Gesch’s article deals with the sensitive issues of reconstruction on Bougainville and the dilemmas aid agencies face in this process. Finally, Patrick Howley concludes this volume with insights into Melanesian custom law and how it should be acknowledged so that it can work alongside the Westminster system.
The editorial team would like to thank the two departing members, Patricia Morris and Dan Stollenwerk, for their invaluable contribution to the establishment of this journal, as well as Pat Gesch and Mark Solon for their advisory role in this volume.
Evangelia Papoutsaki
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