The Public Service Commission has appointed Dr Tangikina Moimoi Steen as the Ministry of Education’s chief executive to replace Claude Tupou.
Tupou’s contract was terminated by PSC in January.
Dr. Raelyn ‘Esau took over as Acting CEO before she tendered her resignation in June.
“The Public Service Commission welcomes Dr Tangikina Moimoi Steen’s appointment as the CEO for the Ministry of Education and Training and wishes her success in her term in Office,” a statement said.
Dr Steen began her career as a Science and Mathematics teacher at Queen Salote College in 1976, 1987 and part of 2014.
From 1988 to 1999, she was employed by the South Australian Institute of Technology (now the University of South Australia) as a Senior Tutor/Lecturer in Mathematics and Computing Studies.
In her Non-Government Organisation work in Australia, Steen was the Vice-President of the National Ethnic and Multicultural Broadcasters’ Council (NEMBC), the peak advocacy body for the ethnic and multicultural community broadcasters.
Her PhD study explored the problem solving strategies that students use when they encounter difficulties in learning and using IT.
“These strategies not only depend on students’ level of IT competencies but also on a number of social and cultural factors which influence their learning, hence my research interests and publications are based on the overlapping space of interaction between computer education in higher education and Indigenous/Aboriginal cultures.”
She was a radio broadcaster and producer of the Tongan language programs on Fridays 4-5pm in the Adelaide’s full-time ethnic radio station 5EBI 103.1FM.
“As Chair of the Tongan Research Association (TRA), I have convened a number of international conferences and authored the latest book published by TRA. I consider myself a social commentator on issues relating specifically to the Tongan diasporas in Australia. In particular, their participation in the social, political and economic processes of their adopted country, and the impacts these have on their lives and their socio-cultural practices.”
