According to the most recent Pasifika Education Plan Monitoring Reports of 2006 and 2007 in terms of compulsory education there is a slight increase between the two years of school leavers having received NCEA Level 2 and above.[7] The forecast remains also for both years that the targeted position will continue to increase but only to that of below 60% participation. Whether the rate of Pacific students leaving high school with little or no formal qualifications to match those of non-Pacific ethnic groups is a positive or whether it is just an indication that high school leavers on a whole in New Zealand is on an increase.[8]
STRATEGIES OF THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE
The strategies that have been written have been amended with time, as needs of students changes and as loop holes appear with times of implementation. It is always important that in terms of writing and applying education policies as well as others that it is done with the knowledge it is in the New Zealand context and for its appropriate audience.[9]
There are similarities in the multiple strategies that have been applied which range from the Tertiary Education Strategy to the Tertiary Education Commissions Pacific Peoples Strategy to Pasifika Education Plan by the Ministry of Education. The similarities arise not in the implementation but the commonalities of contributing reasons such as slow increases in participation at high school level and tertiary sector, the importance of advancing skill in numeracy and literacy and truancy.[10]
The difficulty with these strategies is that there must be a dominant audience; for these schemes it appears evident that its target audience are high school students and tertiary students of Pasifika descent, mainly from a background of low decile high school, lower socio economic area of living and family that are from a low skilled working class. This is highly stereotypical and although it may loosely be truthful for many Pasifika students it is also exclusive of many others that do not fit this category. On this note policies have catered and written for the majority of Pacific people of New Zealand and do not take into account the variables of those that are Pasifika, are the exact opposite of the stereotype and do well under the current education system despite a few setbacks.[11] However, all though there are disparities such as these amongst Pacific peoples and the ‘fairness of treatment’ for those who can be successful both in the Western education system as well as their own culture thus having a good world view as opposed to students who are having more difficulty is another very contentious issue. The fact still remains that there are more Pasifika students that are still falling through the gaps then those that are succeeding and so the main thrust of policies are targeted towards them.
The findings of more recent strategies such as the Ministry of Education Plan 2008-2012 has progressed with the confirmation that it is vital that learning and education means involving the entire community as well the relationship between parent’s teachers and students. If parents do not understand what is required of their children or how to correctly support them, the student will have an extremely difficult time coping with expectations of their family as well as academic pressures and the student life that comes along with it.
It has been shown that Pacific students have a tendency to withdraw from a heavy workload when it builds up and they cannot see how to get through it.[12] With combinations of isolation, not knowing how to ask for help, the build up of school work, work and family pressures many students feel the only way to go is to abandon their studies.
The Ministry of Education Plan 2008-2012 appears to be a good step forward but must be carefully and well implemented in order to show results and make an impact.
This Monitoring Report 2006/7also indicates, again for both years, that in tertiary level Pasfika students are showing the greatest increase of participation of all ethnic groups. However, although this sounds positive there are other factors that must be pointed out; though there is an increase Pasifika students have a lower enrolment across all faculties and so in that light Pasifika students are lagging behind in enrolment numbers. Also, it is important to see what faculties these Pasifika students have enrolled in; some areas are much more concentrated then others. One of the key issues here is that high school students need to be aware from a younger age then perhaps their senior years, of the enrolment requirements for restricted courses. Taking into consideration that there are alternative pathways into education, preparing students with as many options as possible with as much time as possible will not only be helpful for them and their families but for educational facilities, policy makers and stake holders.
[7] Counts, Education. “Pasifika Education Plan: Monitoring Report 2007.” p.1-23, 1-13. Wellington, 2008.
[8] Ibid1
[9] Spence, Gail P. “The Practice of Policy in New Zealand.” Current Issues in Language Planning 5, no. 4 (2004): p.389-402.
[10] Office, Education Review. “Managing Professional Learning and Development in Secondary Schools.” p.4-29. Wellington, 2009.
[11] Williams, Nuhisifa. “A View from the Back, Times between Spaces:Equality of Educational Oppurtunity and Pacifc Students at a University.” University of Auckland, 2009.
[12] Education, Ministry of. “Incorporating Statement of Tertiary Educatin Priorities.” p. 3-40. Wellington, 2008.