Solomon Islands Research

In my dissertation The challenges of education and the motivations for Solomon Islands youth to do well in school, I explore the educational experiences and opportunities of youth, ages 15-30, in Solomon Islands. Based on research at two secondary schools in Solomon Islands and the communities surrounding them, this project examines the challenges young people face when pursuing secondary schooling and the cultural values that motivate them to continue in spite of those challenges. I analyze how the experiences that students gain in secondary schools influence their identities as they intersect with the skills, values, and knowledge that are needed once they complete school. Through this narrative, I ask what drives students to keep going when the odds are against them? To answer this question, I explore the people, places, and things youth use to ground themselves and keep moving forward.


This project is based on seventeen months of ethnographic research in Honiara, the capital city of Solomon Islands, and Buala, the provincial headquarters in Isabel province. Drawing on data collected through participant observation, interviews, surveys, photo elicitation, and social network analysis, I seek to highlight the voices of young people and share their stories. I describe the obstacles to educational success that young people face such as overcrowded schools, exam-based education, and learning in a foreign language. I explore the tensions youth face as they attempt to maintain kastom practices but are also drawn to new behaviors and practices through education and a rapidly globalizing world. The ethnographic narrative throughout the dissertation presents a picture of youth who are balancing cultural practices and connections to home while developing modern identities through education, friendships, and connections with the outside world. Despite these challenges, I argue that cultural values and community relationships motivate young people to “skul gud” (do well in school) so they can one day contribute to the kin who supported them. Connections to their Indigenous “home,” relationships with family, and commitments to kastom values are key in developing a personal identity and are motivations for educational success.


You can find a full copy of the dissertation here.


On this page, I provide summaries of some of the presentations I have given based on this research.

I am working to present these findings in a way that is accessible to Solomon Islanders and educators. If you would like to know more about specific aspects of this research or have suggestions on how to make it more accessible or what kinds of resources would be useful to you, please send me an email at  rachel@rachelemerine.com

Hicks Defense Slides To SHARE.pdf

Dissertation Defense 2024 

The challenges of education and the motivations for Solomon Islands youth to do well in school

These slides were part of my dissertation defense in November 2024. They provide a layout of my dissertation and some key findings and contributions. I explain the ideas of "home," "kastom," and relationships that are central to my dissertation. I also discuss some methodological considerations and contributions to Solomon Islands and Anthropology of Education.  All of these points are elaborated in my dissertation. 

MEHRD Presentation 24 Feb 2025 TOSHARE.pdf

MEHRD presentation 2025 

The challenges of education and the motivations for Solomon Islands youth to "skul gud" 

This presentation was given to staff at MEHRD at the invitation of Permanent Secretary of MEHRD Dr. Franco Rodie in February 2025. It explains my dissertation project and highlights some of my findings but does not cover everything in the dissertation as I was limited in time. 

In this presentation, I provide suggestions for Solomon Islands teachers and policy makers to consider as they work to improve the Solomon Islands education system. I do not believe it is my place to tell Solomon Islanders what to do, but I hope that this presentation and the larger dissertation inspire tok stori among teachers, staff at MEHRD, and other stakeholders as they consider the role of education in Solomon Islands. 

Conference Presentations on Pijin and English 

My overall dissertation research looked at the challenges and opportunities for youth in Solomon Islands. Toward the end of my fieldwork, I began exploring the role of Solomon Islands Pijin and English in secondary education.  I have developed some of these findings into two chapters of my dissertation: Chapter 2  Solomon Islands Historical, Ethnographic, and Linguistic Context and Chapter 4 English and Pijin in Secondary Schools. I have also presented some of my findings for two different presentations at the American Anthropological Association Annual Meetings. For drafts of the papers presented, please email rachel@rachelemerine.com

These papers are a work in progress and an area of research I hope to develop further in the future. 

Hicks2022Unsettling English education in Solomon IslandsTOSHARE.pdf

Unsettling English education in Solomon Islands secondary school

American Anthropological Association 2022

Selection from paper abstract: With over 70 indigenous languages and Solomon Islands Pijin (i.e. Pijin) as the lingua franca used to communicate with people of other languages, Solomon Islanders learn English as their third or fourth language only once they have entered school. Because of the lack of English knowledge and the lack of curriculum in vernacular languages, most teachers use Pijin to explain concepts to students. In this paper, I share examples of how three English teachers capitalize on the knowledge students already have of both vernacular languages and Pijin in order to teach English. I suggest that using Pijin in the classroom becomes a foundation to build English knowledge, which unsettles the dominance of English in Solomons schools and increases the linguistic value of Pijin in Solomon Islands.

HicksThe stigmatization of Pijin and English in SecondaryTOSHARE.pdf

The stigmatization of Pijin and English in secondary education in Solomon Islands

American Anthropological Association 2024

Selection from paper abstract:  In this paper, I examine the stigmatization of English and Pijin in Solomon Islands and how it affects student learning. Relying on the data collected during the World Literacy Day events in 2019 and other interactions at schools, I examine students’ perceptions of Pijin and whether it helps or inhibits their learning. I compare this to the use and uptake of English in other postcolonial contexts, examining why English has not been as widely accepted in the Solomon Islands context as it has been elsewhere.


Conference Presentations on Educational Obstacles

I elaborate on and refine this argument in Chapter 3 of my dissertation, "Schooling Journeys and Obstacles to Student Success." For drafts of the papers presented, please email rachel@rachelemerine.com. These papers are a work in progress and an area of research I hope to develop further in the future. 

Hicks 2021 AAA .pdf

AAA 2021 Paper 

Structural barriers to education and upward mobility in Solomon Islands: Critiquing a colonial legacy

Paper abstract: In Solomon Islands, as throughout much of the Pacific, education is valued as the key to paid labor and better futures. Students pursue education in hopes of a certificate that will open the doors to new opportunities, but for many, even with the certificate, the opportunities never come. Some students stay the course until they attain a certificate, but many students find themselves on paths that weave in and out of school or they are pushed out of school when they fail key exams. Although Solomon Islands has been an independent nation for over forty years, I argue that these structural barriers to education have roots in the colonial legacy embedded in the educational system. Despite this colonial remnant and the challenges students face, education is something highly valued by Solomon Islanders, which inspires students to continue pursuing educational opportunities in the face of adversity. As I share the struggles that many students face and the ways they overcome these obstacles, I also challenge my own positionality in telling these stories. When I was invited into the country and schools, policymakers and teachers asked me to examine the challenges that youth face in hopes that I would find solutions. Following the call of this year’s conference theme, I grapple with the different roles I played during fieldwork, as an anthropologist, colleague, and friend. I seek to represent the truths I encountered through the lived experiences of the students, while critiquing the colonial legacy that continues to undermine their opportunities.  

Additional Presentations

HicksSINUTalk 2019 English&PijinSIEduTOSHARE.pdf

SINU Talk 2019 

English and Pijin in Solomon Islands Education

This presentation was given in 2019 at Solomon Islands National University. In the presentation, I share some of my initial findings about the use of English and Pijin in secondary schools in Solomon Islands. I elaborate on and refine this argument in Chapter 4 of my dissertation "English and Pijin in Secondary Schools." 

HicksMEHRD2019PresTOSHARE.pdf

Vivinei Tok Stori 2019 

Obstacles to Students' Educational Success in the Solomon Islands

This presentation was given in 2019 to staff at the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development in Solomon Islands. In this presentation, I explained some of my initial findings about the challenges young people were facing while pursuing secondary education in Solomon Islands. I elaborate on and refine this argument in Chapter 3 of my dissertation "Schooling Journeys and Obstacles to Student Success."

Hicks Fulbright75Conference 2021 Poster Presentation.pdf

Fulbright Poster 2021 

Exploring Cultural Values and Building Friendships Through Photo Elicitation

This was a virtual poster presentation given as part of the Fulbright Association Annual Conference in 2021. In this presentation, I share my experience using photo-elicitation to build relationships with students and better understand their perspectives. For further explanation of the photo-elicitation methodology and how it reduced power differentials and opened doors to deeper conversations see my co-authored article Hicks, Rachel Emerine, and Ninna Villavicencio Miranda. 2024. Voicing Contradictions: Photo-elicitation as an Ethnographic Method in Youth-Centered Research. Departures in Critical Qualitative Research 13(2). https://doi.org/10.1525/dcqr.2024.13.2.27 

For a PDF of the article follow this link