Pacific Students Research Articles

Sexual and reproductive health knowledges: a study with Pacific young people enrolled in an Aotearoa New Zealand tertiary institution

Pacific young people living in Aotearoa New Zealand experience disparities in their sexual and reproductive health outcomes, thought to stem from cultural differences and educational inequities. Although these barriers have been characterised in literature, their influence on Pacific youth’s understandings of sexual and reproductive health have been relatively unexplored. This study investigated the sexual and reproductive health knowledge of Pacific students enrolled at a university in Aotearoa New Zealand in 2020 and where they gained this knowledge. The study used the theoretical framework of the (revitalised) Fonofale health model and was guided by the Kakala research methodology. Data were collected by means of an online survey comprised of open-ended questions and Likert scales, completed by eighty-one eligible students. Open-ended questions were analysed for general themes and responses to Likert scale items are reported using descriptive statistical analysis. The study found that Pacific youth have strong foundations of health knowledge that is heavily influenced by Polynesian cultural beliefs. Both formal and non-formal learning environments were important in developing participants’ health knowledge of these topics and for encouraging independent help-seeking behaviours. This is the first reported study to investigate the sexual and reproductive health knowledges of a pan-Pacific tertiary cohort of young people.

Advanced Placement Gatekeeping and Racialized Tracking

Racialized tracking is central to sociological explanations for racially stratified educational outcomes. However, school officials’ decision-making is of debated importance for explaining racialized tracking. We contribute to this literature by examining the effects of schools’ enrollment policies for Advanced Placement (AP) courses. Using a unique combination of school survey data and administrative data from Wisconsin, we examine what happens to racial inequality in AP participation when school officials enforce performance-based selection criteria, which we call “course gatekeeping.” We find that course gatekeeping has racially disproportionate effects. Although racialized differences in prior achievement partially explain the especially large negative effects among students of color, course gatekeeping producesBlack-white and Hispanic-white disparities in participation even among students with similar, relatively low prior achievement. We further find that course gatekeeping has longer-run effects, particularly discouraging Black and Asian or Pacific Islander students from attending highly selective four-year colleges.

National cross-sectional study of the sociodemographic characteristics of Aotearoa New Zealand’s regulated health workforce pre-registration students: a mirror on society?

ObjectivesTo provide a sociodemographic profile of students enrolled in their first year of a health professional pre-registration programme offered within New Zealand (NZ) tertiary institutions.DesignObservational, cross-sectional study. Data were sought...

Mental Health and Well-Being of First Year Pacific Students at a New Zealand University

Mental Health and Well-Being of First Year Pacific Students at a New Zealand University

Polyfest–Polysuccess: Collaborative critical autoethnographic reflections of Pacific cultural festivals and the success of Pacific students in Aotearoa New Zealand

This paper connects the collaborative critical autoethnographic (CCAE) reflections of three authors who story and examine their own personal experiences of being part of the organising bodies for secondary school Polyfests across Aotearoa, New Zealand: the ASB Polyfest in Auckland, HuttFest in Lower Hutt and the Canterbury Polyfest in Christchurch. We contend, the Polyfest experience provides a platform for Pacific students to develop and share cultural expertise, exhibit pride in their cultural identities and cultivate leadership skills. As critical spaces and sites of cultural knowledge generation and sharing, communication, and innovation, the three aforementioned polyfests highlight the vibrant nature of Pacific flourishing in Aotearoa New Zealand, which can strengthen educators’ and schools’ appreciation of what matters and is deemed as success in the eyes and stories of Pacific/Pasifika people themselves. When used by teachers and schools for active education, Polyfest as a critical entity and site can provide a lever that encourages Pacific students to engage positively with school and experience improved academic success.

Walking between worlds: Critical reflections on navigating and negotiating change for Pacific within secondary schools in Aotearoa

Schools in Aotearoa New Zealand often find it challenging to align Pacific value systems with their own forms of leadership and culture. The education system is being asked to shift its practice when it comes to Pacific learners, families and communities, including the Pacific teaching workforce. This paper aims to offer reflections from two Pacific education leaders who have recently left their schools and are currently working in different areas of the education sector in Aotearoa New Zealand. Specifically, it seeks to outline our experiences, while offering thoughts derived from Pacific epistemologies. Challenging and disrupting the western model that is currently the foundation of how schools operate in this country is critical, particularly as we work to support Pacific teachers and students. As two Cook Islands teachers and researchers located in Waitaha, Canterbury, we have sought to live these shifts in our contexts, focusing on building teacher capacity and changing approaches within the pastoral care system.

Rapid and unequal decline in adolescent mental health and well-being 2012-2019: Findings from New Zealand cross-sectional surveys.

To investigate prevalence and trends in key mental health and well-being indicators among New Zealand secondary school students. Representative cross-sectional youth health surveys with 2-4% of the New Zealand secondary school population were conducted in 2001, 2007, 2012 and 2019 (total n = 34,548). In 2019, 69.1% reported good well-being (95% confidence interval = [67.6, 70.6]; World Health Organization 5-item), 22.8% reported clinically significant depression symptoms (95% confidence interval = [21.4, 24.1]; Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale-Short Form) and 41.8% reported possible anxiety symptoms (95% confidence interval = [40.5, 43.2]; Generalized Anxiety Disorder 2, adapted). Past-year prevalence of periods of low mood (38.3%, 95% confidence interval = [36.6, 40.1]), deliberate self-harm (24.1%, 95% confidence interval = [22.8, 25.4]), suicide thoughts (20.8%, 95% confidence interval = [19.2, 22.4]) and suicide attempts (6.3%, 95% confidence interval = [5.5, 7.0]) were observed. After relative stability from 2001 to 2012, there were large declines in mental health to 2019. The proportion reporting good well-being decreased (odds ratio 0.71, 95% confidence interval = [0.65, 0.78], p < 0.001), depression symptoms increased (odds ratio 1.96, 95% confidence interval = [1.75, 2.20], p < 0.001) and past-year suicide thoughts and suicide attempts increased (odds ratio 1.41, 95% confidence interval = [1.25, 1.59], p < 0.001; odds ratio 1.60, 95% confidence interval = [1.32, 1.92], p < 0.001). Past-year deliberate self-harm was largely stable. Declines in mental health were unevenly spread and were generally greater among those with higher need in 2012 (females, Māori and Pacific students and those from higher deprivation neighbourhoods), increasing inequity, and among Asian students. Adolescent mental health needs are high in New Zealand and have increased sharply from 2012 among all demographic groups, especially females, Māori, Pacific and Asian students and those from high-deprivation neighbourhoods. Ethnic and socioeconomic disparities have widened.

When threat is imminent, does character matter for climate action? Exploring environmental concerns, well-being, and character strengths in the Pacific Island Countries

Pacific Island Countries are particularly vulnerable to the environmental and economic consequences of climate change including both direct and indirect impacts on individuals’ mental health. There is a need to better understand the links between environmental attitudes, pro-environmental behaviours, and well-being in this region and to develop cost-effective, culturally informed interventions. The present study explored the level of environmental concerns and attitudes among Pacific Island university students and how this relates to their overall well-being, the nature of their current pro-environmental actions, and the potential for individuals’ character strengths to predict pro-environmental attitudes. College students ( n = 269) from six Pacific Island Countries completed a survey measuring their character strengths, well-being, and environmental support. As expected, the young adults had very high levels of concern about environmental threats, and this was related to their overall well-being. The young adults felt a personal responsibility to protect the environments around their local communities, which suggests national climate change strategies should be embedded within this localised context. Character strengths were highly valued among the Pacific Island sample and showed some association with (specifically) support for environmental actions and policies. Given the high levels of environmental concern in the sample, the character strengths approach likely provides a bridge between emotional engagement and active allyship in some individuals. Therefore, further research should investigate the role of character strengths in empowering pacific students to play a more leading role in policy change.

Fijian Indian students' perceptions towards group work in New Zealand classrooms

A wide research base in general Pacific education literature supports active learning activities that encourage students to work collaboratively. Many schools engage Pacific students in group-based learning together with other pedagogies to increase their achievement. Despite this, the education of Pacific origin students in Aotearoa New Zealand is not delivering equitable results and requires revision. Fijian Indian students are a relatively unexplored population within the Pacific education umbrella, and attention to their learning is not well represented in literature. This research used talanoa, a Pacific research method, to explore the perception of Fijian Indian students regarding group work. The findings revealed that students perceived both benefits and limitations related to engagement in collaborative learning. This discussion of group work plays a part in addressing New Zealand’s education system’s inequities for Pacific students, and it encourages teachers to consider what effective group work means for Fijian Indian students from the lived experiences of the students themselves.

From good to great: the 10 habits of phenomenal educators for Pacific learners in Aotearoa New Zealand

ABSTRACT Pacific learners are often theorised as minority learners or diverse learners in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ). Taking a strengths-based approach with an appreciative inquiry lens, this study explored how certain educators were phenomenal in their practices, and how they enhanced teaching and learning for Pacific learners’ achievement and success in New Zealand tertiary educational settings. This qualitative ethnographic studied 12 educators teaching practices with their Pacific students in different types of tertiary education. Fifty-six students participated in student Talanoa (Pacific discussion) groups to discuss who had been phenomenal educators during their times of study. This paper presents some of the successful practices of these phenomenal educators who created engaging processes of learning, considering the question, ‘Who are phenomenal educators for Pacific learners, and what do they do in their practices?’ The phenomenal educators’ practices focus on the core belief of inclusivity in their teaching by ensuring that Pacific learners’ identities and cultures remain at the core of their tertiary teaching practice. Inclusivity was relayed through their practice and/or mindset which purposefully involved a concept of relational processes, aligned to Pacific learners’ values. The use of cultural methods of engagement enabled deep and richer articulations of student cultural realities and journeys.

Pacific Peoples in Tertiary Education in Aotearoa New Zealand

Even though Pacific peoples in tertiary education in Aotearoa New Zealand strive to achieve milestones which bring honour and prestige to their families and communities in New Zealand and the Pacific, socio-economic factors still hinder many from achieving their set goals. This article begins by relating the author’s own narrative as a Sāmoan living in the Pacific diaspora and working in tertiary education in Auckland. It then outlines the diverse aspirations of Pacific peoples living in New Zealand, with a focus on the educational hopes of recent migrants as well as New Zealand-born members of Pacific communities. These aspirations are presented with reference to the existing literature on Pacific success within tertiary education in Aotearoa New Zealand. We discuss how education providers support Pacific students, and the ways in which institutions are working to improve Pacific educational outcomes. It is argued that even if the New Zealand Tertiary Education Strategy (TES), the Action Plan for Pacific Education 2020- 2030 (APPE), and Unitec's Pacific Success Strategy 2019- 2022 are aligned in their goals, more effort is needed to ensure that these initiatives are implemented effectively through multi-disciplinary and value-based approaches. This article adds value by providing an insider’s perspective of migration and a first-hand account of the challenges facing students in higher education in Aotearoa New Zealand. Moreover, the analysis contributes to the repertoire of academic studies and publications that help to understand and improve the Pacific experience in tertiary education in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Engaging in research with Pacific communities as a non-Pacific researcher: reflecting on lessons learnt

ABSTRACT A key challenge for the cross-cultural researcher is how to maintain authenticity in the stories of participants, paying careful attention to any inherent power imbalances. In this article, we share our respective experiences of conducting research with Pacific students and their families in Aotearoa New Zealand as non-Pacific researchers. We discuss tensions we encountered regarding power and positionality, highlighting the importance of engaging with Pacific perspectives and methodologies to help counter these tensions. In our respective studies, we aimed to promote the voices of our participants and conduct research which prioritised Pacific values. We further appreciated that we must not let our own research agenda override the needs of our participants. We explain why we believe these ideas to be so important and draw tentative conclusions on ways to engage in research with Pacific families based on what we have learnt. The data presented from our respective studies highlight our approaches and present some of the challenges, as well as our efforts to engage in reciprocal, respectful relationships with our participants and their families. We hope that, in sharing our reflections, we may offer some useful insight to other researchers embarking on a similar journey to us.

Seen but unheard: navigating turbulent waters as Māori and Pacific postgraduate students in STEM

ABSTRACT The experiences of Māori and Pacific postgraduate students in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) offer insights into how universities, particularly science faculties, currently underserve Māori and Pacific people. This article shares the experiences of 43 current or past postgraduate students at New Zealand universities. Collectively, our stories offer insight into how representation, the white imprint, space invaders/stranger making, and institutional habits, specifically operate to exclude and devalue Māori and Pacific postgraduates in STEM. We provide new understandings of the white imprint (rewarding and incentivising white behaviour), where Māori and Pacific postgraduates were prevented from being their authentic selves. Importantly, this research documents how Māori and Pacific postgraduates experience excess labour because of institutional habits. This research also provides insight into how the science funding system results in superficial and unethical inclusion of Māori and Pacific postgraduates. Our stories provide persuasive evidence that the under-representation of Māori and Pacific in STEM will not be addressed by simply bolstering university enrolments. Instead, our stories highlight the urgent requirement for universities to change the STEM learning environment which continues to be violent and culturally unsafe for Māori and Pacific postgraduates.

Ethnoracial comparisons in anxiety and depression outcomes among Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander college students

AbstractWe explored differences in distress scores at intake as well as the change in anxiety and depression scores over the course of 12 therapy sessions for Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) college students. Data were collected from the Center for Collegiate Mental Health (N = 256,242). Results support the notion that NHPI college students experience anxiety and depression in therapy differently from other ethnic groups with moderate‐to‐large magnitudes of effect.

Reading Trajectories in Elementary Grades: A Longitudinal Analysis

&lt;p style="text-align:justify"&gt;Research shows that children's reading proficiency levels in the early grades positively correlate with students' future academic achievement. This study provides the first-ever analysis of reading achievement trajectories for a cohort of students in grades 3 to 5 in 2014–17 in Hawaii schools. Hawaii serves a diverse student population whose characteristics differ in ways often overlooked by standard US racial and ethnic classifications. Our analysis shows that Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander students not only start at a lower reading proficiency than their peers in Grade 3, but the achievement gap widens as they move from Grade 3 to Grade 5. Moreover, we find a strong association between students' third-grade performance and reading achievement growth rate above and beyond all other factors in our longitudinal model. The difference in performance patterns between student subgroups across the elementary grades can serve as an accurate baseline for yearly monitoring. In light of our findings, we discuss implications for policy and practice.&lt;/p&gt;

International student mobility: Pacific Islander experiences of higher education in Australia

AbstractTertiary education scholarships for individual students from developing countries, including those in the Pacific Islands, are a key pillar of Australia's development policy. Understanding students' experiences of these scholarships are important in identifying both positives and challenges, which can help foster improved future opportunities. This is especially the case for Pacific Islander students engaging in the Australia Awards Scholarship programme for which there is limited understanding of experiences. As such, this paper identifies that although educational mobility programmes can offer a wealth of opportunities for students, the COVID‐19 pandemic has highlighted the challenges of such programmes which can inhibit students from reaching their full potential. Educational mobility programmes that effectively address the needs of students and empower them to achieve their goals are required to better facilitate transformative development pathways for Australia's Pacific Island neighbours.

New Zealand postgraduate medical training by distance for Pacific Island country-based general practitioners: a qualitative study.

Introduction New Zealand health training institutions have an important role in supporting health workforce training programmes in the Pacific Region. Aim To explore the experience of Pacific Island country-based doctors from the Cook Islands, Niue, and Samoa, studying in New Zealand's University of Otago distance-taught Rural Postgraduate programme. Methods Document analysis (16 documents) was undertaken. Eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with Pacific Island country-based students. Thematic analysis of the interviews was undertaken using the framework method. The two data sources were analysed separately, followed by a process to converge and corroborate findings. Results For Pacific Island countries with no previous option for formal general practice training, access to a recognised academic programme represented a milestone. Immediate clinical relevance and applicability of a generalist medical curriculum with rural remote emphasis, delivered mainly at a distance, was identified as a major strength. Although technologies posed some issues, these were generally easily solved. The main challenges identified related to the provision of academic and other support. Traditional university support services and resources were campus focused and not always easily accessed by this group of students who cross educational pedagogies, health systems and national borders to study in a New Zealand programme. Study for individuals worked best when it was part of a recognised and supported Pacific in-country training pathway. Discussion The University of Otago's Rural Postgraduate programme is accessible, relevant and achievable for Pacific Island country-based doctors. The programme offers a partial solution for training in general practice for the Pacific region. Student experience could be improved by tailoring and strengthening support services and ensuring their effective delivery.

Readiness and Perception of Pacific Students to Mobile Phones for Higher Education

The emergence and advancement of Information Communication Technologies have transformed facilitation and content delivery in higher education worldwide, the Pacific region being no exception. The extensive use of mobile phones in the Pacific, especially with the student-aged populace, is gradually creating a niche for mobile learning in the education landscape. However, there is a growing concern on the effectiveness of this innovative intervention keeping in mind the digital intelligence of Pacific students. This paper explores the readiness and perception of the Pacific students using mobile devices for learning. An online questionnaire was used to collect data for this exploratory research. While the results revealed the student’s willingness and positive perception to leverage on mobile phones for learning in higher education, their readiness for the mobile-driven education is rather dependent on various factors which are explored in detail. The paper concludes with recommendations for the higher education institutes and education ministries in the Pacific region.

A Relational Approach to Learning Environments: Learning from Pacific Wisdom

A relational approach focusses on connections between things, assuming that all things exist in relatedness. In this article, attention is given to the relationship between innovative learning environments (ILE) as described in literature, and elements of the field of Pacific education. In order to investigate this relationship, I take a layered approach, attending to five relational matters. First, I ask how relationships are configured between key elements within ILE thinking. Second, I examine what the literature of Pacific education says about how relationships can be understood. Third, I investigate the relational space between ILE thinking and Pacific Education. Next, I describe some aspects of three innovative Pacific educational spaces. And finally, I seek to learn from these deliberately configured educational spaces. The inquiry trajectory grounds discussions of literature and theory in innovative practice, a significant move where the intent is to offer support for innovative educational spaces that might be beneficial to Pacific (and other non-majority) students.

Knowledge and Attitudes of Pacific Islander Doctors and Medical Students to Childhood Hearing Loss and Hearing Services: Results of a Structured Questionnaire Survey in SAMOA.

The Pacific Islands have among the highest global rates of childhood hearing loss in the world. Given the scarcity of ENT Specialists and audiologists in the region, the role of the wider health professional community in addressing preventable childhood hearing loss is crucial. A 10-item 5-point Likert scale questionnaire was administered to medical officers and medical students in Samoa. The statements aimed to investigate knowledge and attitudes to childhood hearing loss and hearing services. Overall, 95.8% of participants selected “Disagree/Strongly Disagree” in response to the statement “Hearing loss is not that important because it does not kill.” There was good knowledge regarding early detection and intervention services for infant hearing assessments (73.6%) and amplification suitability for babies (69.4%-72.2%). Highest knowledge of causes of childhood sensorineural hearing loss was measured for neonatal meningitis/seizures (55.6%), followed by intra-uterine infections (52.8%), and aminoglycosides (52.8%). Knowledge was lowest for jaundice (33.3%) and birth asphyxia (38.9%).