The Emergence of the Samoan Language in New Zealand Education

Abstract

This thesis investigates the reasons behind the implementation of the Samoan language into the New Zealand education system, and the positive effects it can have on the achievement levels of Samoan students. Over a period of six weeks, a case study approach was used to gather information from five different educational institutions at various sectors of the education system. Two institutions from the early childhood education level, and one each from the primary, secondary, and tertiary sectors were selected. Interviews were carried out at all five educational institutions, with the supervisors and those in charge of organising the programmes. A questionnaire was used to gather information from ten parents at both Ā'oga Āmata. The results of the study showed that educational activity for the maintenance of Samoan language is well supported by the Samoan community and that improvements in Samoan students achievement levels, can be attributed to this. Strong support for the implementation of the Draft Samoan Language Statement was evident in the responses I gathered. Samoan language resources however need to be developed to complement these initiatives and to maintain the positive progress made by these Samoan students. The research findings led me to conclude that: 1. Educational activity for the development and maintenance of the Samoan language have met with a high degree of support in all sectors of the education system. 2. There is strong support especially from the Samoan community, for the implementation of the Samoan Language Curriculum Statement into the education system. 3. The implementation of Samoan language programmes can be utilised to assist and improve the self-esteem and cultural knowledge of Samoan students. This also has implications for improving their achievement levels in schools. 4. The development of a wide range of Samoan language resources is urgently required to complement these initiatives and programmes and to ensure their continued success. An indepth discussion on how I arrived at these conclusions will be presented in the thesis. Chapter one will provide an overview of the thesis and the theoretical framework. Chapter two will discuss the migration of Samoans to New Zealand and how they have coped with retaining their cultural roots. Chapter three will focus on the literature review and Chapter four on the Research Design. Chapter five will present the results I obtained from the two Samoan early childhood education centres (Ā'oga Āmata ) I studied and Chapter six the data I gathered from the primary, secondary, and tertiary institutions. A summary of the main findings of the research and their implications will be presented in Chapter seven.