Attitudes to national identity among tertiary students in Melanesia and Timor Leste: a comparative analysis

Abstract

"This paper presents the findings of an 18-month research project on the attitudes of tertiary students in Melanesia and Timor-Leste to national identity and key issues of nation-building. The research was conducted at tertiary campuses across four sites: Dili, Port Vila, Honiara and Port Moresby. The study examined the attitudes of the young educated elite likely to dominate the next generation of leaders and decision makers. Their views are pivotal to understanding the challenges to building a more cohesive sense of national identity and political community in Melanesia and Timor-Leste. Findings highlight the ongoing importance of family, religion and maintaining traditional customs in student conceptions of political community. Depending on the case study, they also illustrate the importance of geographical region of origin, language orientation, and gender in explaining differences in key attitudes towards national identity. This article presents a comparative analysis of those findings across the four target sites ..." - page 1