This paper examines contradictions between Epstein's 2010 US-based model promoting a learner-centred approach to education and a view that schools should uphold iTaukei (Indigenous Fijian) traditions. Epstein's school, family, community partnerships model is discussed with a focus on why it conflicts with the iTaukei traditional setting in rural villages. Exacerbating this conflict is the chiefly title dispute in Tawase village. Over almost 50 years, this dispute has fragmented the community and its satellite villages, weakening support for the local primary school and children's learning and eroding the social capital of the villages.