Abstract:
The purpose of this paper is to examine and critique policy makers’ assumptions about raising Pasifika children’s achievement and literacy levels. The paper has emerged from our disappointment in relation to the introduction in New Zealand of the ‘National Standards’ assessment tool, and the ‘pausing’ and/or ‘stopping’ of production of the Tupu Series Pasifika reading materials. Our concerns are in relation to the danger and risks that these decisions create for our Pasifika children. The children’s parents and communities have motivated us to voice our concerns about the introduction of the unfounded/untried National Standards assessment tool in English and the attack on vital materials for our children’s bilingual education. This paper begins with a brief discussion of the Tupu series and National Standards double saga, followed by our blended views of theoretical and experiential ideas. It concludes with the suggestion for Pasifika educators, and for those who teach our Pasifika children, that we all need to challenge the policy makers’ decisions and/or discourses to ensure that our children’s and their parents’ voices are heard.
