Samoan parents and the primary school

Abstract

Over the past twenty years, the Samoan population in New Zealand has grown from 1,336 to nearly 30,000, 12,000 of this number being in the under fifteen age group Department of Statistics. N.Z. Census of Population and Dwellings. Vol.7. Birthplaces and Ethnic Origin Table 15, Wellington 1980, p. 149. Tighter immigration policies have substantially reduced the large numbers of migrants of the post-war years and early 1960's See Pitt, D. and Macpherson, C. Emerging Pluralism, Longman Paul, Auckland, 1974. Also Department of Labour, Immigration Division, Immigration and New Zealand, Second Edition, 1979. However, 11,584 of the population classified as Samoan in the 1976 census was New Zealand born Department of Statistics, op. cit., Introduction, p.14., an indication that a high proportion of the growth in numbers is due to natural increase. As with other Polynesian groups, the Samoan population is almost completely urbanized Ibid. Table 16, p.51, with 96.0% living in the 24 main urban centres. Samoans are thus highly visible in urban schools, schools noted also for their concentrations of other ethnic minority groups, presenting together a multi-ethnic community. For example in one Wellington suburban school visited in the course of this study, the 1980 school roll was only 29% European; Maori, Samoan, Indian, Greek, Cook Island and Chinese children making up the other 71%. In an inner-city Wellington school, an estimated 90% of the school roll was made up of forty ethnic groups, including Greeks, Indians and Polynesians Personal communication.