Pat Howley is a Marist Brother (Catholic teaching Brother).

After teaching in various places in Australia for 19 years he volunteered for teaching at the Marist School in PNG. This was a boys’ school on Kairiru Island (Catholic) off shore from Wewak in the Sepik district (1966). He became head master and inherited a very authoritarian school which was the model of the time. Unfortunately it was not developing responsible character and in the early 70's with the help and advice of staff he ran an experiment on open school, inclusive of a parliament and ombudsman, etc. It was untidy but successful in that the students of that time have shown much greater responsibility in their lives.

He was then Principal of the Government National High school (boarding, coeducational, grades 11 and 12) for five years. With the help of a cooperative staff he ran a modified form of the Kairiru experiment - a very successful exercise in terms of character development, responsibility and even in exam results. The motto was "I respect myself - I respect you".

He spent a further five years as the Director of student affairs at Divine Word Institute (now University). Apart from teaching ethics, history, and human relations he spent a good deal of time training students in the practical side of the student controlled Discipline Committee.

In 1993 he went back to PNG after two years of study for a Masters in Education and joined an NGO as their trainer in conflict resolution.

His previous experience in schools was useful in this area, but applying various methods of Conflict resolution to Melanesia was a major job. The work was carried out mainly in Bougainville and the squatter settlements of Port Moresby.

During the Bougainville crisis the people had returned to the traditional process of conflict resolution which was based on win - win mediation and restorative justice. The job there was to work with the people who were doing this work on the ground and develop a process which could be used as a common process throughout the island for reconciliation between enemy groups and law and justice.

In 1999/2000 he was at the Australian National University writing the book “Breaking Spears and Mending Hearts” which is the story of Peace-makers and Peace-making in Bougainville.

www.federationpress.com.au/Books/Howley.htm
www.datec.net.pg/~phowley