Abstract:
In Aotearoa New Zealand, disparities in academic achievement between Pasifika students (or Pacific heritage) and students from other ethnic groups are often attributed to a lack of family support or parental involvement (Nakhid, 2003). The current study challenges this deficit-based perspective. Stories were gathered from parent and child participants over a 1-year period as the young people transitioned from Year 8 to Year 9 (end of intermediate school to the first year of high school). The strengths-based study aimed to illuminate the processes that Pasifika families employ in Aotearoa New Zealand to support their children’s academic achievement. Multiple case study methodology utilising narrative inquiry and informed by indigenous Pasifika research principles facilitated an approach that privileged ways of knowing, and families’ perspectives of reality. The study focused on how academic socialisation was expressed within the participating Pasifika families, using the lens of ecological systems theory (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). Ecological systems theory served as a useful frame with which to view historical and contextual influences on the parental expressions of academic socialisation. Throughout this process, the cultural knowledge embedded within the Pasifika families was affirmed as a significant contributor towards their children’s academic success. The qualitative analysis established 11 interrelated themes, which provided insights about the role family practices played within conceptualisations of Pasifika student success. The themes established strong intergenerational expectations for success from the dual perspectives of parent and their children, based on cultural competency and holding high expectations. The study’s results make a contribution to educational policy within Aotearoa New Zealand, in particular, for educators seeking to engage with Pasifika families, their communities and students across the transition from intermediate to high school.