Pacific and Pasifika Theses

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/4764

The theses listed in this collection were all completed at Massey University in a range of different departments and institutes. They have been included in this collection if the topic is strongly related to Pasifika/the Pacific.

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"E lē ma’i, o le malosi!" = (He’s not sick, he’s strong!) : Pacific parents’ journey of raising autistic children in Aotearoa : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Clinical Psychology at Massey University, Albany, Aotearoa New Zealand
(Massey University, 2023) Nafatali, Rochelle
Ministry of Health data estimates there are 4,000 Pacific children in Aotearoa New Zealand officially diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. This figure is likely underestimating the true prevalence of autism within Aotearoa Pacific communities, due to diagnostic disproportionality, and a lack of autism assessments completed since the COVID-19 pandemic. Children of Indigenous and ethnic minority populations globally tend to be diagnosed later, incorrectly diagnosed, or are not referred for autism diagnosis. Indigenous and ethnic minority parents regularly have their concerns dismissed by health professionals, face lengthy delays, and endure multiple attempts at diagnostic referral. Despite the growing autistic community globally, and Pacific peoples being the fastest-growing youth population in Aotearoa, Pacific peoples’ perspectives and experiences have not been included in autism research. Consequently, no reliable data exist on Pacific autistic people, and just six percent (6%) of eligible Pacific families are accessing Disability Support Services within Aotearoa. This first Pacific-led study (based on three Pacific-Indigenous research frameworks) focuses on Pacific parents’ expert knowledge from lived experience raising their autistic children, revealing key differences from a Pacific-Indigenous context in autism conceptualisation, support access, and language and culture maintenance. Fifteen Pacific parents of autistic children from the Pasifika Autism Support Group and Pacific community in Auckland Aotearoa, participated in eight research talanoa. Findings revealed parents sought an overall state of Diasporic Adaptation to Neurodiversity which involved acceptance, adaptation, and unlearning for Pacific parents. Four subthemes together explained the experience of Pacific parents of autistic children in Aotearoa: 1) Uncharted Islands: Understanding Autism; 2) Encountering Stormy Seas: Challenges; 3) Collective Unity through Relational Resilience; and, 4) Autism Support. Pacific-Indigenous knowledge and knowledge gained from Pacific parents was woven together to create the Tapasā a Tagata Sa’ilimalo (compass for people in search of success), which can be used for navigating the experiences of Pacific parents of autistic children within Aotearoa. Together with clinical implications provided, the Tapasā a Tagata Sa’ilimalo can guide clinicians, educators, and practitioners working with Pacific families of autistic children in Aotearoa to provide culturally appropriate, family-centred care and support prior to, during, and following autism diagnosis.
Māopoopo : a socio-cultural and collective understanding to improve wellbeing amongst Pacific people in Aotearoa/New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Public Health at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand
(Massey University, 2021) Tuisano, Hana Salome
The Aotearoa/New Zealand (NZ) healthcare system, has, like many other colonising ‘Western’ societies, placed a strong emphasis on biomedical models and the physical aspects of ‘disease’. Yet, it is the more encompassing and holistic worldviews of wellbeing that historically and currently resonate most strongly with Indigenous peoples. As a South Pacific country, there are many Pacific peoples who now live in Aotearoa/NZ with multiple generations having migrated from their island homelands over a period of some 80 years. However, there are significant health inequities among Pacific peoples compared with other ethnic groups in Aotearoa that have been ongoing for decades – notably those conditions related to non-communicable disease. This thesis explores the socio-cultural and historical perspectives of Pacific peoples in order to expand understanding about how they view health and wellbeing, an area about which relatively little is known. These understandings have the potential to lead to improved service delivery models and contribute to better health outcomes for Pacific peoples in Aotearoa/NZ. The overall objective of the study is to identify and articulate the values and principles that promote and enable Pacific peoples’ wellbeing and health in Aotearoa/NZ. The aims of the study are to: • draw on Tokelau knowledge of the cultural, historical, and social environment to better understand the influences on Pacific health and wellbeing • examine strategies of health empowerment and wellbeing among Pacific youth, and • examine service delivery models that can lead to improved Pacific health outcomes. The Tokelau worldview of māopoopo was used as an overall principle to inform all phases of this study. Conceptually, māopoopo serves as a cultural connector with people, a motivator of action, and informs principles that guide behaviour in practice. Māopoopo as a practice in action is to restore peace and wholeness and to inform future thinking (lumanaki), which includes an inseparable relationship with te fenua (land) e laga kita ko te fenua (to be determined to look after the land). Māopoopo as a metaphysical state is described in relation to levels of the individual (te tino), the family (Kāiga), the village (te Nuku). Semi-structured interviews and focus groups were carried out with a total of 37 participants including Tokelau elders, Tokelau community leaders, Tokelau adults, Pacific youth, and Pacific health and policy workers between July 2016 and January 2017. The data were analysed using thematic analysis and the emergent themes applied in relation to māopoopo. There were seven key themes identified from this research. The first theme, kāiga (family), was interrelated with the values of loto alofa (kindness), fai kāiga (family orientated), fakaaloalo (respect), loto maualalo (humility), and loto fehoahoani (helping others). The second theme, duty of care (tiute tautua), related to traditional knowledge and the intergenerational transfer of that knowledge, particularly in relation to culture, land, and language. Maintaining family relationships (loto fai kāiga) was the third identified theme and fundamentally underpins and is interrelated with all the first five themes identified. The fourth theme, interconnectedness (fehokotakiga), highlights the breadth of relationships between people and understandings of interdependence as opposed to independence. The fifth theme, spirituality (olaga faka-te-agaga), recognizes the centrality of the church in Pacific communities. Health advocacy was the sixth key theme with the final key theme being the impact of inequities on Pacific wellbeing. This thesis identifies Māopoopo as being an inclusive research approach that can have benefits for Pacific peoples while also having the potential to be developed within health policies to facilitate focus on collective action through effective cross-government and intersectoral approaches. In this way, it could be utilized to ensure effective approaches to collaboration between the health care system and the social, housing, employment, and education sectors. This work highlights the value and utility of applying Pacific understandings of wellbeing to support and empower communities through their active inclusion from the design through to the implementation of services. There is a great need for increased reciprocity in the relationships between government agencies and Pacific communities. There was recognition of the need for the application of cultural practices and concepts into service delivery for Pacific peoples, such as provision of on-site bilingual health workers, and it is therefore imperative that core health delivery services are brought closer into alignment with the realities of Pacific communities, for example, through active engagement with churches. There are significant gaps in health services for Pacific youth. This population group are an energetic group and, most importantly, the fastest growing population in Aotearoa. This current generation plays a significant role in terms of health advocacy, thus, to ensure relevant and effective impact within communities, they must be central players and key informers in the development of any interventions/strategies focussed on Pacific health and wellbeing. Further studies may well be useful to scope or investigate the healthcare services available for Pacific youth. Associated with the position and role of youth within Pacific communities, is the largely untapped potential to utilise the unique skills and knowledge available through intergenerational approaches where the grandparents are the educators in terms of the passing on of cultural knowledge and values. Health services can be made aware of this important pathway by which knowledge is transferred and of the critical role grandchildren could have to change their grandparents’ attitudes towards health.
Synergising youth empowerment and co-design to transform Pasifika youth into agents of social change : a novel approach to advance healthy lifestyles in Pasifika communities : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements of Doctor of Philosophy in Public Health at Massey University, Wellington campus, New Zealand
(Massey University, 2020) Prapavessis, Dani
Current population health statistics demonstrate the need for innovative approaches to improve health outcomes and prevent non-communicable disease (NCD) for Pasifika peoples. This research builds off pilot studies on the effects of youth empowerment programmes to address obesity-related issues amongst Pasifika communities. It developed and tested an original model of co-design embedded within the youth empowerment framework of the Pasifika Prediabetes Youth Empowerment Programme. The programme was co-delivered with two community health service providers (one rural and one urban), employing Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) methodology. N=29 youth (aged 15-24 years) participated in eleven educational and capacity-building modules that comprised the empowerment and co-design components during weekly sessions from MayOctober 2018. At the end of the programme, the model of co-design generated two individualised community intervention action plans to reduce prediabetes in their communities. This research employed a qualitative research design with four data collection techniques and thematic analysis to evaluate the effects of the tested programme. It used an original framework of social change to determine the impacts on the youth’s values, knowledge, and behaviours as well as the community organisations, and the socio-cultural norms of each community. It also explicated the contextual considerations of programme uptake in each location. Overall, this research illustrated that co-design is an effective addition to empowerment frameworks. It demonstrated how to operationalise co-design in a community-based setting with youth, and the tested model provided a practical framework to translate empowerment ii outcomes into the community. The programme analyses also led to a more nuanced understanding of social change. This research developed a concept of the process of social change that can be used to inform future programme development and evaluation. This research suggests future translations of the programme to maximise uptake and postulates different community contexts and settings for delivery, beyond Pasifika prediabetes prevention.
Under the gaze : a study of the portrayal by the New Zealand print media of Pacific Island workers in the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme, 2007-2012 : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Media Studies at Massey University, Wellington New Zealand
(Massey University, 2019) Enoka, Angelynne Josephine
Media reporting on Pacific people in New Zealand has frequently been criticised for being sensationalised, biased and narrow. Yet, there have been few broad and systematic analyses of the nature of reporting specifically concerning Pacific Island seasonal workers in New Zealand. My thesis explores how the New Zealand print media portrayed Pacific Island seasonal workers travelling under the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme from 2007 to 2012. That period represented the first five years of the scheme and a time when it was in the news by virtue of its novelty in New Zealand, thereby providing a rich vein of media representations to study. My research focusses on the media themes occurring in the communities where RSE workers were living, while they were living there, so as to understand the discourse circulating in their immediate community. This provides understanding of the philosophical and cultural assumptions that underpin mainstream regional media reporting in New Zealand with regards to the particular representation of Pacific RSE workers, and how this compares with representations of Pacific people as a whole. Although the goal of my thesis is to trace the nature of the portrayal of Pacific Island workers under the RSE scheme, I have contextualised this with a review of the depiction of Pacific people dating back to their arrival in the 1950s and ‘60s. I look at how Pacific people were racialised in the early 1970s and compare that with coverage of the influx of Pacific Island seasonal workers in 2007, exploring underlying assumptions prevalent in the 1970s that Pacific Island workers were disruptive to New Zealand, such as by taking employment from New Zealanders or posing a threat to health, law or order. A sample of 115 articles drawn from the five regional newspapers – Bay of Plenty Times, Hawkes Bay Today, Nelson Mail, Marlborough Express and The Southland Times – was chosen for media analysis. Additionally, five selected case studies extracted from the NZ Herald, a metropolitan newspaper, for each calendar year from 2007-2012, were explored and compared to the regional sample, to help identify themes about Pacific seasonal workers that were portrayed in the wider New Zealand news media but missing from the regional coverage. I analysed the articles using interpretive thematic analysis. In this method, I looked at newspaper coverage in depth to make sense of the patterns of meaning. I identified themes used by print media to portray Island workers in regions that constitute a high number of Pacific seasonal workers during the scheme’s first five years of operation in New Zealand, and mapped these over time to investigate whether there was a shift in the discourse of stories as the scheme matured. With 115 articles assessed from 2007 to 2012, concentrating on November to March in each season when most RSE workers are in New Zealand, key themes were identified. Media analysis showed the reportage had extensive positive coverage of the scheme’s policy aims in New Zealand, with government, agency officials and industry spokespeople the most frequently cited news sources. Nine key themes; Labour shortage, RSE policy, New Zealanders first, Pastoral care, Economic benefits, New Zealand unemployment, RSE cap, RSE praises and RSE issues were represented in regional coverage across regions and time periods. The overall portrayals of Pacific Island seasonal workers under the scheme represented a more positive light in comparison to what we know broadly about historical depictions of Pacific peoples in the New Zealand media. The patterns and trends in media reporting in the studied RSE regions uncovered a more affirmative portrayal overall, but also indicated that local media perceptions shifted in particular regions as time passed. The characterisation of Pacific RSE workers by the New Zealand print media in the first five years of the scheme carried fewer stigmatising discourses than in the 1970s. However, examined critically, these seeming positive discourses can be understood as positive to those promoting capitalism and seeking cheap labour, but as positioning Pacific temporary workers as dehumanised commodities in ways that may contribute to undermining their human rights and long-term best interests. These discourses and patterns are important to understand. They fill a gap that exists in the examination of how Pacific people working in temporary labour positions have been represented by the New Zealand print media. The findings provide RSE Pacific countries with insights into the issues, challenges and successes depicted by the media about their workers, as well as alerting the New Zealand public more broadly to patterns in the way the scheme has been reported to them, and to broader patterns of racialised and economic discourse. [The RSE scheme was launched in April 2007 with a cap of 5,000 workers under the then Labour Government led by Helen Clark, but the cap was lifted to 8,000 in October 2008 and was lifted again in November 2014 from 8,000 to 9,000, and then again from 9,000 to 9,500 in December 2015 and 10,500 in December 2016. It lifted again in December 2017 to 11,100 and the latest increase was in November 2018 to 12,850. The workers are mostly sourced from the Pacific Islands. They contribute substantially to New Zealand’s economy but do not accrue any rights to citizenship in New Zealand as a result of participating in the scheme.]
Culturally relevant tasks and Påsifika students' participation and engagement in mathematics : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education in Mathematics Education, Massey University (Manawatu), New Zealand
(Massey University, 2019) Cunningham, Libby Sara
Påsifika students’ academic achievement in mathematics continues to remain a priority for New Zealand education (Ministry of Education, 2013). Research in both the New Zealand and international contexts identifies the need for New Zealand classrooms to foster culturally responsive and mathematical practices that align with Påsifika students’ cultural values, backgrounds, interests and experiences. As a result, Påsifika students will have increased opportunities to participate and engage in mathematics while developing a cultural identity within New Zealand classrooms. This study utilised the Påsifika students’ and their families’ funds of knowledge to design culturally relevant mathematical tasks. These tasks were used within the students’ mathematics classroom where the teacher was supported to implement culturally responsive and mathematical practices. It examined how the use of culturally relevant tasks while enacting the reviewed cultural and mathematical practices could foster Påsifika students’ participation and engagement in mathematics. This study used qualitative research methods with an ethnographic case study approach while drawing on Påsifika research frameworks (Lemanu, 2014; Sauni, 2011). 11 Year 5 and Year 6 students who descended from the Pacific Islands participated in this study. Semi-structured interviews were completed at the beginning and end to find out the Påsifika students’ perspectives about their experiences of their culture and mathematics. Throughout the study, photoelicitation interviews were used to identify Påsifika students’ cultural funds of knowledge and mathematical experiences that they engaged in outside of school. This information was used to work with the classroom teachers to design culturally relevant mathematics tasks. Observations were made of the students’ behaviour and interactions while working on these tasks within their classroom setting. After each observation, focus group interviews were conducted to gain insight into the students’ perspectives of the task and learning experience. The use of a variety of methods provided greater evidence of data that I drew on to support my findings. The results illustrated key findings and recommendations that have been visually represented using a frangipani (kalosipani/ pua fiti/ fiti pua/ tipani)1 ulalei2. Each petal on the frangipani flower represents the key themes that emerged. These are as follows; mathematics at home and school, culturally relevant tasks, funds of knowledge, collaborative grouping and mathematical disposition and cultural identity. These key themes are supported by a group of learners which include parents, teachers and students and are bound together by the core Påsifika values. The key themes, community of learners and cultural values form the ula-lei. This study revealed these components as being effective practices that educators should develop to support Påsifika learners’ participation and engagement in mathematics.
The influence of shifting Pacific identities in learning : the experience of parents raising children of mixed Pacific ethnicities : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Education at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
(Massey University, 2017) Leafe, Rachael Violeti
Identity construction for the Pacific population in Aotearoa/New Zealand remains a politically and contextually contested arena that shifts according to the socio-cultural interactions within the immediate and external environment of an individual. This study views parents as agents of change and explores ethnic transmission and cultural identity development through the eyes of parents raising children of mixed Pacific ethnicities. This qualitative study employed both Western and Pacific methodologies to collect and analyse data and used the talanoa method to engage the insights and experiences of five couples. Social constructionism and Bronfenbrenner’s (2005) ecological systems theory provided a framework to explain the dynamics of social interactions and external conditions that influence the constructs of peoples’ lived realities. This study found that families, peers, and schools influence interactions that shift and impact the cultural identity development and resiliency of children with mixed Pacific ethnicities. In addition to this, societal perceptions, racism, and stereotypes are external environmental conditions that further impact cultural identity development and resiliency. The metaphor of a balancing act illustrates the challenges and strategies parents use to manage family and cultural expectations as well as the efforts required to maintain access and opportunities to cultural knowledge, values and practices. The findings suggest that a culturally responsive education can work to minimise intolerance, exclusion, and racism experienced by an individual. Key recommendations include the promotion of identity development education that serves to empower individuals and parents to nurture positive identities and resilience in the mixed Pacific generation.
Tusitala : teller of tales : exploring graphic representations of diasporic poetry for engaging Pasifika youth : an exegesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Design, Massey University College of Creative Arts, Wellington, New Zealand
(Massey University, 2016) Flanagan, Vaughan Tangiau
While many high achievers come from the Pasifika community, current research into New Zealand secondary schools has identified a literacy gap between students from Pasifika backgrounds and those from other ethnic groups (Telford & Tuomu’a, 2013). The findings highlight the need to investigate engaging and culturally-responsive methods for strengthening the literacy outcomes of Pasifika students. Tusitala – teller of tales aims to explore graphic narrative as a sequential storytelling method for the engagement, education and empowerment of Pasifika youth. Graphic narrative is used as an umbrella term by comic theorists to describe narrative work in the medium of graphic novels, and comics. The project is contextualised within an existing body of research into the effectiveness of graphic narratives as multimodal texts, for engaging reluctant and struggling readers. Positioned primarily as a practice-based design investigation into the potential of graphic narrative for educational outcomes, the project is further underpinned by pedagogical and sequential art theories. As a subset of this project, poetry from Pasifika authors is highlighted for its particular role in reflecting the identity and experiences of Pasifika youth today. The resulting design investigation applies both a formal analysis of graphic narrative works and textual analysis of four poems from contemporary Pasifika poets. These poems are then synthesised into a set of large posters that draw artistic influence from both Western and Indigenous precedents. The resulting set contributes to a growing body of work that reflects Pacific diasporic identity in New Zealand.
Factors facilitating the engagement in learning of Pasifika students at intermediate school level : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education at Massey University, Albany Campus, Auckland, New Zealand
(Massey University, 2016) van Vuuren, Alet
This study explores the engagement in learning of Pāsifika students at intermediate school level. Engagement was considered as a multi-layered, multidimensional construct, which is best viewed through an ecological, culturally based lens. The importance of teacher knowledge and understanding of critical cultural components, which are at the core of Pāsifika peoples’ values and belief systems, was highlighted. A case study was used to investigate behavioural and emotional engagement across three different ecological layers: personal, school and wider community. Participant interviews, surveys, whole class observations, and data from the school’s database illustrated the significance of shifting understandings of engagement from being uni-dimensional and within-person, to multidimensional and within communities of learning. The results of the study generated a ‘Feeding the Roots’ Model of Pasifika Student Engagement. This model illustrates how ‘static’ as opposed to ‘cyclic’ processes in a school’s ecology can act as barriers or enablers to engagement. ‘Static’ processes, identify barriers to engagement in learning, and are those communities where there is limited understanding of the value of incorporating critical cultural factors in teaching, learning and interacting with parents. In this context, Pāsifika students’ achieved lower levels of engagement in learning, and parents remained on the periphery of the school community. In contrast, ‘cyclic’ processes that facilitated engagement were environments where students and parents were included in collaborative, reciprocal communities in which critical cultural factors were a central focus. These communities were representative of teaching practices that valued collectivism, community, and reciprocity and generated higher student and parent engagement. The findings provide insights into the actions teachers can take to develop culturally appropriate and culturally responsive communities of learning. The ‘Feeding the Roots’ Model of Pasifika Student Engagement is an assessment and reflection tool teachers can use to determine whether their practices are creating higher levels of Pāsifika engagement at student, parent and school levels.
Rebuilding lives : intimate partner violence and Kiribati mothers in New Zealand : a cooperative inquiry : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philsophy in Social Work at Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand
(Massey University, 2015) Teatao, Lydia Ietaake
This study explores strategies to rebuild lives as a result of intimate partner violence experienced by Kiribati migrant mothers in New Zealand through cooperative inquiry. Cooperative inquiry is a modality of participatory action research (PAR) based on people examining their own experience and action with those who share the same life experiences (Heron, 1996). It is also concerned with re-visualizing understanding of the world as well as transforming practice within it. As a result of working through an agreed set of actions, this process has empowered personal strength and courage for all those who took part, including myself. The method of cooperative inquiry is to be both a researcher and a participant and it does research with people but not on people. It is not about confirming or validating previous theories or hypotheses. It is about being deeply engaged with the human situation and inquiry initiated on a common interest shared by the group of participants. All participants, including the researcher, were Kiribati migrant mothers who have been violence free for at least two years. We all worked together as co-participants in this research project. The inquiry was underpinned by the Pacific Framework Talanoa with the Kiribati cultural context, aided by Te Itera model designed by the author. Key results are significant as they venture to restore and strengthen intimate partner relationships for Kiribati families residing in New Zealand. It contributes knowledge to social agency interventions regarding Kiribati families and their children and provides insights to future immigrants to New Zealand. Research participants also suggest that through being involved in a genuine research, they developed strength and courage commitment within their own extended families, communities and social connections in increasing awareness and education to alleviate intimate partner violence specifically targeting young families.
The relationship between lotu and ako for Pacific university students in New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Social Policy at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand
(Massey University, 2011) Havea, Sesimani
Improving the educational achievement of Pacific peoples is an on-going development issue in Aotearoa, New Zealand. This thesis explored the relationship between lotu (spirituality/faith/church) and ako (formal education) amongst Pacific university students. Lotu is defined within the context of the Christian tradition. The value of lotu is used interchangeably throughout this thesis with spirituality, faith, and church. Ako as defined within the context of this study is a Tongan term signifying education or the formal process of learning. The primary objective of this study is to identify the mechanisms by which lotu influences academic achievement of Pacific university students. A blend of qualitative ethnography and the Talanoa approach provided the conceptual framework. Two focus groups and eight individual interviews of Pacific students and graduates were conducted. The findings suggest a positive relationship between lotu and educational achievement for Pacific university students. The participants described their spirituality as a personal relationship with Christ which was reflected in their active practicing of: prayer; reading, studying and meditating on the Word of God; and attending church fellowship. Spirituality for the respondents was also emulated in their relationships, with God, with their kainga and with other people. These relationships were key motivations for their desire to succeed in their academic pursuits. Linked to the significance of these relationships was the participants’ definition of academic achievement which was beyond the mere attainment of a qualification but also about their ability to reciprocally give back to their kainga and increase their community’s wellbeing. In the midst of the inevitable trials and tribulations of the respondents’ social and academic journeys, their spirituality gave them hope, wisdom (poto) and courage to persevere in order to complete their studies. The findings suggest a need for continued support of Pacific students using the pastoral care model, as well as better collaborative approaches to policy making among tertiary institutions, key educational policy agencies and the Pasifika community.

Pacific and Pasifika Theses

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