Samoan Childrens Bilingual Language and literacy development

Abstract

This chapter reports in a publication from a.... major international publisher on the findings from a ten year longitudinal action research project to examine the effects of a bilingual/ biliteracy education programme developed by the authors in partnership with the Samoan staff and senior staff of the school, on a group of decile one Samoan children in a South Auckland school. It also reviews and integrates two other parallel Masters research studies that took place on the programme during this time and reports the project as a case study. The project also involved and reports on our joint developemnt of graded literacy assessment strategies in Samoan. The intervention found that at years five and six nearly all students could read in both Samoan and English at or above their grade age norms and this achievement is the major fiocus of this particular chapter. The study is significant because it is the only Pasifika education research study that has been done on the effects and potential of bilingual/ immersion education for raising student academic achievement and for language maintenance.The study has create great deal of Pasifika academic, professional and community discussion and been increasingly extensively cited and referred to in a growing number of New Zealand and international publications. In this context it is also significant as it mentored Pasifika teachers in the bilingual programme in to a research and reporting research programme. The staff from the school are listed as associated authors and have presented with us at several presentations. (See Contibution to Research Environment also)