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Sanga, Reynolds, et al. 2018 Tok Stori
Abstract
The fit between methodology and context is an important matter in research. This article discusses the suitability of one research methodology, tok stori, in its indigenous location, Melanesia. Tok stori is a Melanesian Pacific relational mode of communication, widely practiced and understood, capable of application in a wide variety of Melanesian contexts. In this article, tok stori is first located in the relational web of the wantok system, and subsequently discussed through literature which draws on historical, cultural and regional perspectives. The relationship between tok stori and talanoa, its regional counterpart, is then explored. A tok stori session about tok stori provides the basis for a thematic analysis of tok stori as a form through various lenses: as a cultural norm; as process; as a space for relationality; and in intersections with the West. Finally, five findings are presented. These focus on the potential contribution of tok stori in a number of non-traditional fields, including deliberate leadership development and formal research. Advocating for Melanesian methodology as a fit with Melanesian research is an act of decolonisation. However, the relational core of tok stori also provides others with the opportunity to rethink the importance of valuing people in knowledge creation and learning. Thus, tok stori offers a counterpoint to decontextualized and dehumanised knowledge generation and advocates for the importance of relationality.
... The 2017 conference, held in Nouméa, hosted the first OCIES conference tok stori session, a step that promoted Oceania oralities as conference topic and mode. Subsequently, a body of OCIES conference-related tok stori-centred articles has developed, including Sanga et al. (2018), Fasavalu and Reynolds (2019), Sanga, Johannson-Fua, et al. (2020) and Mahuri et al. (2023). Away from conference-related publications, oralities-centred articles published in the OCIES journal have included Fa'avae (2018), Iromea and Reynolds (2021), Dorovolomo et al. (2022) and Koloto (2023). ...
... Frameworks tend to be more open and encompassing than generally specific, contextual and descriptive models. The openness of the OOF provides a grounding for dialogue between diverse oralities researchers and their interests and between holistic (Sanga et al., 2018) and analytically structured (Sanga and Reynolds, 2019) accounts of oralities. Indigenous groups whose connections with land, sea and sky have developed the customary dialogic practices that researchers progressively seek to leverage in new contexts should be the primary beneficiaries of oracies research. ...
... Briefly, tok stori involves dialogic storying in a space made safe by relational care and the sense of being a wantok, one who has obligations to others, in this case, other tok stori actors. Agreement or consensus is generally redundant in a tok stori (Iromea & Reynolds, 2021;Sanga & Reynolds, 2020b;Sanga et al., 2018), where mutual understanding is prioritised. The co-authors of this paper were either invited tok stori participants from the conference session, variously from Fiji (Vilive Cagivinaka), Sāmoa (Tepora Wright), Vanuatu (Amton Mwaraksurmes), and Papua New Guinea (PNG) (Anna Joskin), or session instigators from Solomon Islands (Kabini Sanga) and the United Kingdom (Martyn Reynolds). ...
Oralities research has a central place in supporting sustainable education in the Oceania region because it has the potential to reveal what education does and could mean to communities at the local level. In this way, oralities research can assist interventions that key into and make sense of local ontological positions. The Oceania Oralities Framework (OOF) is an analytical tool that supports links between Oceania oralities and research. It provides a grounding for theorising Oralities research, supporting research design and shaping analytical scope in data treatment. This article extends the reach of the framework by drawing from a tok stori session held at the OCIES 2023 Conference at the National University of Sāmoa, Apia. In the article, we approach the OOF in a way that points to some of the layers in the potential contribution of the OOF to oralities research. These focus on holism, framework elements, cultural principles and oralities as performance. The approach adds to the framework’s value to support an appreciation of Oceania oralities across the region and points to how oralities research can support sustainable education. Formal education can be adjusted to fit the needs and perspectives of Indigenous groups and minorities only when their voices can be heard on their own terms.
... The second phase (core component) employed tok stori, where individuals engage in dialogues to share narratives and emotions as a crucial aspect for truth-telling (Sanga et al., 2021). It is a relational approach that fosters understanding and holistic individual development (Sanga et al., 2018). In the researcher's cultural context in the Reef Islands, in the Temotu province of the SI, different terms are used to describe tok stori based on the cultural significance of storytelling. ...
... Despite being pre-prepared, they were only used as guides. The probing questions were written in English, however, it is contextual with the tok stori method (Sanga et al., 2018) to rephrase and paraphrase certain questions in the storytelling process, into pidgin English (Solomon pidgin) to provide more clarity and meaningful responses from individual participants, as it provides a wider space for deep relational conversation to occur. There were 22 other discussions held outside the tok stori sessions that are also considered, from other individuals who have studied using online mode; therefore, each session generally takes longer than the standard interviewing techniques elsewhere. ...
... This system, known as the Melanesian way (Narakobi, 1983), is considered an economic saviour (Nanau, 2011). Trust relationships in this context create opportunities for sharing through dialogical engagement, enabling learners to become part of each other's world (Sanga et al., 2018;Sanga et al., 2021), which is vital for a community of inquirers. The relaxed atmosphere allows them to share jokes and challenge one another, which has been recognized as important for deep learning. ...
Since stepping into education delivery, technology continues to revolutionise education, responding to access and equity. This has made online learning to be the choice for access and equity like never seen before. Unfortunately, it has not only provided solutions but also introduced issues that have created the divide in technology and online learning for learners and institutions. The study explored online learning in the Solomon Islands from students' narratives at the Solomon Islands National University via tok stori; seeking to understand what they perceived as enablers and barriers of online learning. The study employed the sequential mixed-method approach and was guided by the theories of transactional distance and interaction, with the latter's extensions. The findings show that the level and strategies of support in administration, academics, and technology determine what transpires as an enabler or a barrier to online learning.
... A key aspect of many methodologies that have Pacific roots is face-to-face interaction (Affonso et al., 1996;Sanga et al., 2018;Vaioleti, 2006). Consequently, when circumstances enforce physical separation, methodological renegotiation is required in Pacific contexts. ...
... Tok stori is an oral mode of communication commonly practised in Melanesia (Kabutaulaka, 2015). It has been described as both an ontology and methodology (Sanga et al., 2018). The focus of tok stori is dialogical engagement (Evans et al., 2010) in a safe relationally constructed space. ...
... The presence of tok stori has grown in formal academic engagement in the form of conference offerings. For example, at the Oceania International and Comparative Education (OCIES) 2018 conference, hosted at Université Nouvelle Calédonie, Nouméa, some sessions were constructed cooperatively 'in the round' as tok stori (Sanga et al., 2018). The following year at Victoria University of Wellington/Te Herenga Waka (VUW), Aotearoa New Zealand, the OCIES 2019 conference hosted a suite of 'talanoa/tok stori/round table' sessions (Cobb et al., 2019;Fasavalu & Reynolds, 2019). ...
Understanding, articulating and managing relationality, the state of being related, is a central feature of research, teaching and other people-centred matters in the Pacific. Although various groups in this diverse region, Indigenous and otherwise, bring their own concepts and protocols to relationships, physical, social and spiritual connection are salient. Connection is most visible between people but also extends to other entities, including land. Recent events have accelerated the significance of connections constructed in virtual space, such as through conference calls augmented to facilitate presentation and discussion. This phenomenon, relatively new in Pacific academic practice, re-draws attention to relationality in a novel context. In this article we look at one such initiative through the lens of relational leadership to understand the role of leadership in the deliberate curation of a virtual space. The setting is the inaugural Wellington southerlies virtual tok stori. This event, attended by over 90 students and academics from across the region, is discussed through the experiences of four of the events’ instigators who were also active during the session as co-presenters, chair and Hautohu Matua or advisor. The discussion examines how the experience of Pacific orality affected our (re)framing of leadership in a digital space. Our learning points to ways relationality may be invoked, enabled and shaped by dialogic, relational leadership in virtual spaces so as to mediate limitations and construct new possibilities in a world where technology is fast affecting the ways we gather information and communicate one with another.
... The research approach adopted in our fieldwork was to investigate cross-domain relationships between leadership ideas through appropriate oracies. In Tonga, the team applied talanoa (Fa'avae et al., 2016); in Marshall Islands, bwebwenato ; and in Solomon Islands, tok stori (Sanga et al., 2018). Because tok stori was also the mode named for the 2021 OCIES conference session 'Leadership negotiations in education: Stories from Oceania', we offer a summary of the form here. ...
... In tok stori, speakers and listeners construct a shared reality in a safe space attuned to relational harmony (Sanga, Reynolds, Houma, et al., 2021). Fluid power dynamics are an aspect of tok stori (Davidson, 2012;Fasavalu & Reynolds, 2019;Sanga et al., 2018). Speakers and their stories do not compete but contribute to mutual learning. ...
This article takes a relational approach to Pacific leadership by presenting three layers of discussion. First, we provide findings from our research team members about the relationships between the Pacific community and school leaders' understandings of leadership. We include accounts of how leaders negotiate in context between forms of leadership from different domains. Second, we reflexively probe ideas of relationality, distance and closeness in leadership research by considering researchers' experiences of the research process. Third, we show how Indigenous oracies such as tok stori can provide space and opportunity to rethink leadership as the ethical negotiation of positionality tensions. The overall findings centre relationships as a key concern of leadership practice and research, and discussion of Pacific-origin ideas of leadership, activities where the relational context behind the context is ignored at one's peril.
... These domains compete for influence over individuals and groups, but their power is generally ordered as given. In accounting for matters such as leadership, one must consider in what domain leadership is being practiced, through what domain the legitimacy of a leader is established, and how leadership in one domain negotiates with leadership from others (Sanga et al., 2018Sanga and Walker, 2012). In this account of Indigenous leadership, although much attention is paid to the kastom domain, we also show the strength of kastomoriginated leadership as it influences other domains, particularly through the example of education. ...
... This moment is informed by research conducted through the auspices of Victoria University of Wellington and the Institute of Education, University of the South Pacific, funded by the Development Leadership Project and supported by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The data were collected by research partners Grace Rohoana and Graham Hiele of Solomon Islands National University from school and community members in various Solomon Islands locations using a tok stori approach Reynolds, 2019, 2021;Sanga et al., 2018). Tok stori is a Melanesian kastom relational orality used for many purposes including conversation, pedagogy , evaluation (Paulsen and Spratt, 2020) and research (de la Torre Parra, 2021). ...
Indigenous leadership springs from, and is embedded in, the holism of an Indigenous society. It seeks sustainability as the common good in socially, culturally, cosmologically, geographically and temporally appropriate ways. In this chapter, we offer a storied exploration of Indigenous Solomon Islands leadership through five moments—an account of the labu (sacred island space); a rara'aba or calming of nerves meeting; intersections between kastom (customary) leadership and school leadership; attention to climate change; and a reflection. The strength of Indigenous Solomon Islands leadership is framed around community cohesion in pursuit of a sustainable future responds constructively to changing circumstances.
... Recognising the importance of Pacific diversity, we are a culturally and linguistically diverse team, reflecting the locations where our study is implemented. A range of Pacific-Indigenous (ethnic specific) storytelling approaches are employed: talanoa (Tonga, Tokelau) (Tecun et al., 2018;Vaioleti, 2006), tok stori (Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands) (Sanga et al., 2018), maroro and karaki (Kiribati) (Schütz, 2022;Yates et al., 2023) and sautalaga (Tuvalu) (Farbotko et al., 2023;Yates et al., 2023). ...
Why should storytelling approaches be used for policy in the Pacific? And how should storytelling approaches be used to improve policy and practice to address climate mobility and other development issues in the Pacific? Check out insights in this policy brief from the Rising Stories research - more information can be found at www.manapacific.co.nz/rising-stories
... Tok stori is another Pacific (Melanesian) research method (Sanga & Reynolds, 2021;Sanga et al, 2018). Tok stori occurs in a trust-based relational space where people listen well, connect deeply and contribute to the conversation. ...
This report provides a synthesis of research investigating climate (im)mobility in the Pacific through 10 in-depth family case studies. The research was conducted in 6 Pacific countries. High-level themes of circular, connected, collective and concrete (im)mobility are presented. More information, including case studies, digital stories and policy briefs can be found at www.manapacific.co.nz/rising-stories
... 12). Relationality is negotiated over time and space (vā) with the utilisation of indigenous methods such as talanoa (Farrelly & Nabobo-Baba, 2012;Vaioleti, 2006) and tok stori (Sanga et al., 2018;Sanga & Reynolds, 2021) and employing ethics familiar and reflective of the cultural contexts (Anae, 2016;Sanga & Reynolds, 2022). ...
... This is the context in which tok stori operates. Being a wantok through tok stori implies the creation of a negotiated understanding of the world through communication (Sanga et al., 2018). Consequently, tok stori offers to researchers an opportunity to follow a relational route that focusses on the connectedness of humanity in their investigations. ...
Tok stori can be used to study any area of human experience, particularly in a Melanesian context or in a context which seeks to embrace elements of Melanesian relationality as expressed through the wantok system. This is because tok stori is discursive, flexible, relational and processual, and will be recognized by those to whom the wantok system and storying are parts of everyday life.
... In such circumstances, providing a tool where those who wish to can give an image or a moment of learning from their own context is useful. Tok stori (Sanga, Reynolds, Paulsen, Spratt, & Maneipuri, 2018) is a Melanesian cultural communication form which invites a joint construction of reality through the verbal interaction of storied lives. It may be that the affinity of an open-ended question such as "Any other comments?" ...
School plays an important role in the social, cultural and psychological adjustment of a child. It is an environment where most development of young children takes place. It is an undeniable fact that a child spends most of his/her waking time in school (Van Rossem et al, 2015). A classroom in a school is an opportune social space where social capital can thrive. A study conducted in 2019 on how an iTaukei intangible cultural heritage, named Solesolevaki, contributes to inclusive social development outlined implications on the importance of developing social capital in children. The classroom represents a suitable space where solesolevaki can be practiced and develop social capital in the process. This article first reviews the existing literature on social capital; second, it outlines the methods that were conducted in order to ascertain the aspects of solesolevaki that are applicable to a classroom; thirdly, it discusses the core findings specifically on values of engagement, trust, cooperation, collective norms, knowledge diffusion, shared futures, social inclusion, and social cohesion. The article closes with a discussion on the implications of the findings in building social capital in Fijian classrooms.
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