Our recent report COMPASS: Whānau Pasifika navigating schooling in Aotearoa New Zealand explores success in education, through the lens of whānau Pasifika.
One particularly interesting aspect of this report is the characteristics that whānau Pasifika believe shape success in school settings. At times these can appear to be in direct opposition to mainstream educational settings, but in some contexts whānau articulated how their aim is to be partners to educational systems, privileging their values and characteristics for the educational success of tamariki in Aotearoa.
Characteristic 1: Being involved in school life
Whānau Pasifika felt that being involved at school was vital when it came to supporting the success of their tamariki.
This involvement took many forms – being physically present at school, interacting with teachers of their tamariki, being visible to their tamariki at school, going to parent-teacher interviews, and being involved in organisational structures like the board of trustees.
“Parents be present. Attend school functions. Volunteer and randomly show up for lunch at least once a week” (Whānau of Year 1 Cook Islands girl)
“Get involved at all levels including Governance and influence policy and practice that is culturally responsive for all children.” (Whānau of Year 2 Sāmoan boy)
Involvement in school is not always possible for whānau Pasifika, but there’s a clear sense that whānau in this study saw being involved as central to the success of their tamariki.
Characteristic 2: Encouraging tamariki to succeed
One of the most important attributes that parents and whānau members proposed as helpful for their tamariki being successful at school was to be encouraging.
Encouragement often related directly to the school environment, but also extended to the skills and attributes for tamariki Pasifika to achieve success well beyond school. In the words of participants themselves, they encouraged attributes that supported “a good life”.
Specific types of encouragement varied, but usually focused on future success, pursuing passions and interests, growing perseverence, and being strengths-focused. Whānau Pasifika encouraged the aspirations of their tamariki, supporting them to set goals, develop a work ethic and ensure the tamariki had familial support along the way.
"Encourage independence at a very young age to lead to a good life later on." (Whānau of Year 3 Tongan boy)
"Always encourage the children to feel important and go to school because school can get them a good life." (Whānau of Year 2 Tongan girl)
In the explicit academic setting, whānau encouraged tamariki to be resilient and keep moving forward, while whānau aimed to provide a stable foundation for ākonga to develop this.
"Listen to any sort of situation. Whether it be learning inside or outside of class and help set goals and what steps they need to follow to achieve it." (Whānau of Year 3 Tongan girl)
"Be there for them and keep encouraging them even when at times they may not feel successful." (Whānau of Year 3 Tongan girl)
As well as learning to persevere, whānau wanted the tamariki to be challenged, grow self-confidence and try new things. Whānau wanted the tamariki to achieve the best outcomes as well as become the best versions of themselves, and encouraged and affirmed the strengths of their tamariki to scaffold their learning.
"Teach them at home. Give them every opportunity they need to learn from, praise them, forgive things they do. Encourage them to do better." (Whānau of Year 2 Tongan girl)
Characteristic 3: Offering practical support to tamariki
Whānau identified being supportive as one of the most important characteristics to help tamariki be successful at school.
While being supportive and encouraging can be very similar, we separate them in this research much of the support related to the practical ways whānau supported their tamariki and their learning.
Practical supports included taking a collective approach to supporting students with their schoolwork and learning, working alongside them, engaging with them through discussion, and providing opportunities for their tamariki to teach whānau about what they are learning in school.
“Always asking about their day. Encourage the child to follow a home routine. This will help them with time management later in life. Revising and reflecting what they did at school for the day. As parents, showing support, care towards their learning and willingness to help with their questions. Even if parents cannot answer their questions, help them, guide them or direct them to where they can possibly find the answer.” (Whānau of Year 2 Tongan boy)
Home–school partnerships have been identified by a range of scholars as being central to student success at school (Anthony & Ogg, 2019; Graham et al., 2021; Tett & Macleod, 2020). However, focus is often on the relationship between the school and the parents. The discussion from whānau in this study highlights how tamariki are contributing to this partnership between school and home by working alongside their whānau to smooth the transition between home and school contexts.
Characteristic 4: Having a curriculum focus
While whānau identified cultural practices and the enactment of their culture as a means of steering their child’s cultural identity, they also articulated the importance of focusing on the curriculum within the home context.
Focusing on curriculum to complement what was being learnt at school was understood as a core element to contribute to the success of their tamariki at school.
Whānau members specified the importance of supporting their tamariki by helping them achieve the highest possible educational standard at school, while also providing an environment at home that was conducive to learning.
In addition, some whānau were more specific about supporting the success of their tamariki via being curriculum-focused at home. These whānau not only articulated the importance of completing homework, but also provided comments focused on specific curriculum areas and topics. Focusing on these topics and curriculum areas was seen by whānau as an important contribution they could make towards helping their tamariki succeed at school. Whānau focused on goals such as reading daily, learning spelling words, and revising and practising mathematical knowledge:
"Continue to support them and encourage them to do homework. Create an environment where there is always an opportunity to learn." (Whānau of Year 3 Sāmoan boy)
"Sitting with them to read, spelling, math, and just to be able to bond with them while doing homework and to encourage about school learning was key." (Whānau of Year 1 Tongan boy)
Therefore, success for whānau is not only focused on thriving through ethnic and cultural identities but also through educational experiences and academic identities.
This moves discussions of culture and curriculum from an either/or framing to a working together type framing, where cultural and ethnic identities and educational schooling identities can work together to support success both at home and in school settings.
These are just four of the characteristics explored in our report. For further findings and perspectives from whānau Pasifika, you can read the full report here.