Konai Helu Thaman is from Nukuʻalofa, Tonga. She is the author of five published collections of poetry: You, the Choice of My Parents (1974); Langakali (1981); Hingano (1987); Kakala (1993); and Songs of Love: New and Selected Poems (1999). Her work is studied by school children throughout the Pacific and beyond; many of her poems have been translated into several languages. She earned a BA in Geography from the University of Auckland; an MA in International Education from the University of California, Santa Barbara; and a PhD in Education from the University of the South Pacific (USP) in Fiji, where she was one of the longest serving staff until her retirement in 2020. She has researched and published widely in the areas of curriculum, teacher education, indigenous education and more recently Pacific research frameworks and education for sustainable development. Thaman is a fellow of the Asia-Pacific Programme of Educational Innovation for Development and has served as the UNESCO chairperson in Teacher Education and Culture.
Konai Helu Thaman
