Abstract
Qualitative and quantitative methods were used in a mutually supporting manner to explore the attitudes of educated Papua New Guineans. Data were obtained from a sample of 529 students and 40 middle-level government employees. The results of the study indicate that educated Papua New Guineans possess generally elitist and paternalist attitudes towards the uneducated and favour some restriction of their political participation especially at the national level or in modern matters. The results of multiple regression analysis did not support the hypothesis that those with greatest contact with Europeans would possess the most elitist attitudes.
“For many people. Education is the only thing that will make us break through and be treated like human beings. Not to stand up against them, but to become equal. For many people, education is the only thing that will do this, that will make it so that they marry us people and become equal. People ask me when they hear that I work in this Department, “What I do?” and I tell them and they say, “Is that the same sort of job Europeans do?” They have the idea that if a person goes to University that he is equal to a European on educational grounds”.