Pasifika teachers in secondary education: Issues, possibilities and strategies
Project Dates: 2005
This modestly scaled research initiative aimed to make visible and ask questions about the experiences of Pasifika secondary teachers as they move into the profession, or alternatively, fail to find jobs.
The study comprised interviews with young Pasifika secondary teachers and other relevant professionals as well as collective reflective enquiry carried out by the team that comprised five members of Pacific descent (Paiti/Umaki, Cook Islands; Leslie/Sila’ila’i, Samoa; Williams, Nuie/Cook Islands).
The study outlined the characteristics that Pacific people assign to themselves and how these are challenged within educational contexts and at interfaces with other New Zealand cultures.
It examined how schools assist and resist the accommodation of new Pasifika teachers.
It surveyed the rationales for building Pasifika representation within the teaching force and how they shape the expectations and experience of new Pasifika teachers.
In the light of the analysis the study examined how future priorities might be formulated.
It also offered preliminary advice on how and where future initiatives might be targeted towards bringing more Pasifika teachers into the profession and to improve the retention of these teachers.
For more information about the TLRI please visit tlri.org.nz
Project outputs
The following report can be downloaded from the TLRI website:
Brown, T., Devine, N., Leslie, E., Paiti, M., Sila'ila'i, E., Umaki, S., & Williams, J. (2008). Pasifika teachers in secondary education: Issues, possibilities and strategies. Wellington: Teaching and Learning Research Initiative. (PDF - 441.11KB)