John Duncan McDonald

Biography

John Duncan McDonald (1906-1983), retired as principal of a secondary school in New Zealand to teach in Western Samoa. About 1966 or 67 he moved to Sabah where he was employed by the government to redesign the maths and science curriculum from Infants through to the end of secondary education. He travelled frequently into Kadazan villages beyond the reach of the roughest four wheel drive tracks, being met at the road side and walking for several hours into the forest on the side of Mount Kinabalu. He believed that he needed to understand the local way of life in order to develop a curriculum which was relevant to even very isolated village children. He stayed in Sabah until the mid 1970s before a final retirement to New Zealand.

Brief biography

principal and teacher

Collection Information

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