Abstract:
The motivation for Pasifika success in education for at least 17 years has been tied to education outcomes, specifically academic measures, and participation and retention rates. Yet research in Pasifika education continues to tell us that such measures for success must be contested to provoke change in education that is responsive to Pasifika ways of being and knowing. A 2018 study of Pasifika success at the University of Auckland’s Faculty of Education and Social Work revealed Pasifika success, for both Pasifika staff and students, is centred upon the spirit of the collective; having collective purpose as well as academic resilience. So why is understanding the spirit of the collective vital for Pasifika engagement in tertiary education?