“To maximise the potential of gifted and talented Pasifika children in our

schools.”

Leasiosiofa’asisina Max GaluAUT University

Symposium Presentation Monday 13 September, 2010

Invercargill

Pasifika Term

• Pasifika is a term used by the Ministry of Education (2004) to describe all those who still identify with the South Pacific Islands because of ancestry or heritage

Pasifika Diversity• It is also acknowledged that there is diversity

among Pasifika people themselves. • Some come from families who have been in

New Zealand for several generations, some are newly arrived.

• Some were born in New Zealand, others in the Islands.

• Some know their language and live the culture, others do not.

• Some identify solely with a Pacific ethnicity, others have multiple ethnicities

• What they do have in common is their heritage and connection to the Pacific Islands.

Pasifika peoples

• 6.9% of the population or 266,000 people in New Zealand were of Pacific ethnicity– 131,103-Samoans – 58,008 -Cook Island Maori– 50,481-Tongan– 22,476-Niuean– 9,861-Fijian– 6,822-Tokelauan

• Expected to increase to nearly 10% by 2026

Pasifika ethnicity

• Manukau City: 1 in 4 people were of Pacific ethnicity

• Auckland City: 1 in 7 people were of Pacific ethnicity

• Waitakere City: 1 in 7 people were of Pacific ethnicity

• Porirua City: 1 in 4 people were of Pacific ethnicity

• 66% live in Auckland urban areas

Country of birth

• 6 in 10 people of Pacific ethnicity were born in New Zealand

• 7 in 10 people of Cook Island Maori and Niuean ethnicity were born in New Zealand

• Many more people of Niuean, Tokelauan and Cook Island ethnicity living in New Zealand than back in those Islands

Pasifika demographics• The median age of people of Pacific

ethnicity:Samoan 21 yearsFijian 24 yearsTuvalu & Niuean 20 yearsTongan, Cook Island 19 years & Tokelauan

• Nearly 2 in 5 people of Pacific ethnicity were aged under 15 years

• 3 per cent of Pacific ethnicity were aged 65 years and over

The status of Pasifika giftedness in schools: gifts, talents, values & qualities“O le ala i le pule o le tautua”

Samoan proverb translated: “to be a leader you must first serve”

• Tautua/Service • Fa’aaloalo/Respect• Alofa/love-notions of sharing and

caring

Ecological data

• Ineffective and inappropriate identification of gifted and talented Maori students (Bevan-Brown, 1996).

• Some talent not visible at school • Often seen at home, church,

community• Holistic view: physical, intellectual

and spiritual• Polynesian knowledge, values and

beliefs should be given as much status and value as European ones (Galu, 1998)

The problem with success• Shared not individually owned• Humility• Labelling• Alright for the teacher to say the

child is gifted• Reluctance amongst some parents of

children from diverse minority cultures to identify their children as gifted and nominate them for gifted programmes

Pathways to successFor Pasifika• Broad and more inclusive approach to

identification• Recognise potential as well as performance• collaborative, co-operative as well as

independent• Support, encouragement & mentoring • Contextualise classroom programme• Relationship/va• Pedagogical and culturally responsive

classroom.• Leadership strand-practise makes perfect• Teachers to raise their expectations from the

stereotype and deficit model• A search for common ground

Literature: themes, approaches1.Teacher expectation (Alton-Lee,

2003)2.Characteristics associated with

cultural diversity that may obscure giftedness (Ministry of Education, 2004)

3.Needs of New Zealand’s gifted and talented students , for the most part, have been neglected by our education system (Moltzen, 2004)

4.A vulnerable group in our education system (Galu, 2010)

Student voice

• “It has given me more confidence in going further.”

• “It’s an environment with lots of families and friends.”

• “The opportunities are there.”• “Certainly made aware of my culture

but I don’t think it made any difference at all.”

A theory to guide action

Pasifika authenticity• Opportunity for all schools to

construct this for their own school community

• Need a coherent structure not just an ad-hoc measure – it’s not a solo affair

Rethinking G&T in Aotearoa• High IQ vs task commitment• Performance vs potential• Gifts vs talents

Putting it all together

• A broader and more inclusive concept of giftedness

• Multiple assessment instruments• Professional development for

teachers• A cultural quota may be an

appropriate equity measure• For teachers to recognise potential

as well as demonstrated performance

• Appropriate support for gifted Māori and Pasifika children

Conclusion

• Every opportunity and encouragement should be given to gifted Māori and Polynesian children to achieve to the highest level.

• An education system which is diverse and differentiated is sure to be more inclusive than one which seeks to impose the best single system for everybody on the basis of age, sex, ethnic background or intelligence

Pasifika children, like all children, have the potential to go far beyond our wildest

dream.......they will take their aiga/family and

community with them!

ReferencesAlton-Lee, A (2003). Quality teaching for diverse students in schooling: Best evidence synthesis, Wellington, Ministry of Education, pp.ii-x, 1-38.

Bevan-Brown, J (1996). Special abilities: A Maori perspective. In D. McAlpine, & R. Moltzen Eds.), Gifted and talented: New Zealand perspectives (pp. 91-110). Palmerston North: ERDC Press.

Bishop, R, & Glynn, T (1999). Culture counts: Changing power relations in education. Palmerston North, New Zealand: Dunmore Press.

Cathcart, R & Pou, N (1992). The gifted child who is Maori. Apex 17(3), 13-17.

Macfarlane, A H (2000). The value of Maori ecologies in the study of human development. In L. Bird & W. Drewery (Eds.). Human development in Aotearoa a journey through life (pp.26-51) Sydney: McGraw-Hill.

Galu, M (1998). Gifted and talented: Perceptions of Maori and Polynesians educated in segregated classes. Unpublished master’s thesis, University of Waikato, Hamilton.

Koloto, A (2000). A Tongan perspective on development. In L. Bird & W. Drewery (Eds.). Human development in Aotearoa a journey through life (pp.26-51) Sydney: McGraw-Hill.

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Moltzen, R (2004). Guiding a nations gifted. Keynote address to A New Millenium, a Gifted Future; the 6th Asia-Pacific Conference on Giftedness, Beijing.

Riley, T, Bevan-Brown, J, Bicknell, B. Carroll-Lind, J. & Kearney, A (2004). Gifted and talented education in New Zealand schools: a summary of the research on the extent, nature and effectiveness of planned approaches in New Zealand schools for identifying and providing for gifted and talented students.

Social and Population Statistics Group, Statistics New Zealand.(2002). ‘Census Snapshot-Pacific Peoples’ Department of Statistics, Government of New Zealand, pp.9-11.

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