Abstract:
Successive Pasifika Education Plans (PEP), in place since 2001, have made it clear to New Zealand educators that improving Pasifika peoples’ education outcomes is a necessary step towards improving our economic and social well-being. While schools have made progress in the core/foundation subject of writing we are not on track to reach the PEP 2013-2017 goal of 85% of having students meeting literacy expectations at their year levels. The aim of this study is to identify teaching practices that support Year 7 & 8 Pasifika boys in achieving high levels of written English competency. Using mixed methods, the perceptions of a group of Pasifika boys, and their teachers, have been sought. Observations of writing session provide an insight into what happens in the classroom. Comparisons were made and commonalities found in order to determine what made the boys successful. Finding suggest that students generally experience a culturally responsive environment that they appreciate but does not always extend to assisting their successes in writing. Strategising for deeper more delberate inclusion of culturally responsive actions within the dimensions of effective literacy practice would increase the accessibilty of writing success for learners and teachers.
