Pasifika Education Research Guidelines

The guidelines aim to:

1. Assist the production of high quality research that acknowledges the cultural context of Pacific communities;
2. Encourage a Pasifika development focus to research;
3. Support appropriate and useful consultation and feedback to research participants and Pasifika communities;
4. Assist with Growing the pool of Pacific education researchers.

Introduction

The Ministry of Education's Pasifika Research Framework team has commissioned the drafting of these guidelines in keeping with the intent of the Pasifika Education Plan, which supports the capacity-building approach, i.e., a partnership between the Government, early childhood education services, schools, education providers and Pacific communities. The guidelines have been developed for researchers who intend to undertake educational research involving Pacific participants.

The purpose of this report is to develop a draft set of guidelines for researchers involved in carrying out research on Pacific education issues, in particular, researchers within the Ministry of Education or working under contract to the Ministry of Education. These guidelines will be trialled and reviewed by the Ministry of Education.

These guidelines are intended to highlight significant issues that Pacific researchers, both Pacific and non-Pacific, should be aware of when conducting research on Pacific peoples. They also promote research which embodies empowerment for both researcher and researched. They acknowledge that Pacific research projects will be diverse - framed and shaped according to the context of the research and researched groups - thus it focuses specifically on the consultation process as the vehicle through which these issues can be pragmatically realised and acknowledged during the research process. The guidelines thus begin with the cultural and philosophical contexts of Pacific research in outlining the rationale, key terminology, Pacific models and baseline assumptions. They then move to the consultation process which suggests ways in which these terminologies, models and assumptions and issues surrounding them can be dealt with in a pragmatic way - in the forming of research partnerships; when, why and how to consult with Pacific peoples and communities; and framing research topics and design. The next section titled Pacific Research Methodology extends the earlier consultation section in its consideration of the need to incorporate and appropriately weave Pacific epistemologies into the methodological fabric of the research process. This section consists of the following sections :

(a) The impact of Pacific epistemologies on research methodologies

(b) The research process:

• Selection of research topic, research questions and methodological approach
• Instrument design
• Information gathering
• Analysis of data
• Drafting of final report
• Dissemination of findings

More significantly, this section illustrates that there does exist specific methodological approaches and/or rationales applicable mainly, if not only, to the Pacific research context. It is thus the contention of this report that there does exist a methodological approach specific to Pacific. The guidelines end with a section on future directions.

The information contained in this report to the Ministry of Education is derived primarily from a fono of Pasifika researchers held in Auckland in June 2001. A concurrent literature review of Pacific education in New Zealand (Literature Review on Pacific Education Issues, Ministry of Education 2001), and the combined experiences of the research team are also contained within its findings. Whilst this report is designed to assist research within the Ministry of Education in the first instance, the authors hope that with wider distribution it will foster further discussion, comment and further exploration by Pacific educational researchers.

The ultimate goal is to ensure that policy development and policy implementation of Pacific education is based on informed research and that it is empowering for both researchers and the Pacific communities in Aotearoa. We will not be able to effectively address the ongoing challenges of lower participation rates in education, access to quality education or indeed Pacific student educational achievement without a robust theoretical and research basis. This report is aimed at fostering this important development.

Pacific research practice and theory are developing rapidly. It is hoped that these guidelines will contribute markedly to this process.

Research Questions

The Ministry brief for the study established the following research questions:

• What are appropriate ways for consulting with Pacific peoples about proposed research projects?
• What are the appropriate ways for ongoing conduct/monitoring of these research projects?
• What appropriate methodologies are used to involve Pacific communities?
• What styles of communication, for example, openness and honesty, verbal and non-verbal cues, are most appropriate?
• How should cultural values impact upon the conduct of research best be acknowledged?
• What are the best ways of addressing issues around such things as:
  • Ownership of knowledge and data
  • Disclosure of information/findings
  • Power and control by the communities involved and the researcher(s)?

• What Pacific language, and translation issues, need to be accommodated?
• What methodologies are most appropriate to use with Pacific peoples?
• What protocols should be observed for use of tape recorders, videos, cameras and/or artwork and photos?
• What protocols for sharing transcripts. Storage of data and disposal of data need to be followed?
• How can data involving Pacific peoples best be made available to other researchers or legitimate groups with an interest in using it?
• What are the most culturally appropriate ways of disseminating research information involving Pacific people?

Purpose of the Guidelines

The Centre for Pacific Studies, University of Auckland in collaboration with the School of Education at the University of Auckland and Wellington College of Education have produced these guidelines at the request of the Ministry of Education to:

Develop a set of draft guidelines for researchers involved in carrying out research on Pacific education issues

These guidelines are expected to assist the development of Pacific community-supported research in New Zealand, involving both Pacific and non-Pacific researchers.

The guidelines are written specifically for applicants for Ministry of Education research funding, and explain in detail requirements of research proposals which will involve Pacific participants. However the authors hope that they will also have wider application to other health and social science research areas.

The Ministry of Education's intent in publishing these guidelines is to establish research practices which ensure that the research outcomes contribute as much to improving educational outcomes and well-being, as to promoting and maintaining Pacific empowerment. It is hoped that such practices will become normalised within the research community.

The policy environment for educational research

The Pasifika Education Plan launched and released in April 2000, by the Minister of Education, the Hon. Trevor Mallard, provides:

• a coherent and integrated approach to coordinating all policies which aim to improve education outcomes for Pacific peoples
• a platform for more strategic analysis of factors limiting education achievement
• more effective engagement with Pacific educators and communities
• recognition that what goes on in Pacific families has a profound impact on education outcomes
• strengthening of the relationships between education, employment, health, welfare, housing and other social services
• opportunities for Pacific peoples to understand and access policy
• a framework for working with Pacific peoples to achieve their aspirations through the Pacific Capacity-Building Programmes of Action.

  (Pasifika Education Plan, April 2001, Ministry of Education).

More significantly the Ministry has established a Pasifika Research Framework that will support the Ministry's work by:

• identifying key areas of research in Pasifika education that will assist policy development
• developing guidelines for research and consultation
• co-ordinating and prioritising research and evaluation that will assist in monitoring the outcomes of the Pasifika Education Plan
• providing strong links with other strategic research priorities within the Ministry
• helping to make research reports available to Pacific peoples.

(Pasifika Education Plan, April 2001, Ministry of Education).

The Rationale

Key terminology

Pacific Peoples

In this context, `Pacific peoples' is exclusive of Māori; in its broadest sense, `Pacific peoples' covers peoples from the Island Nations in the South Pacific; and in its narrowest sense, Pacific peoples in New Zealand. The latter group are currently defined by 1996 New Zealand Census as constituting New Zealand residents from the six Pacific nations of Samoa, Tonga, Niue, Cook Islands, Tokelau and Fiji. For the purposes of the guidelines, those who self-identify as belonging to one or more of the six major Pacific ethnic groups will be so-defined as part of this `Pacific' group of peoples.

The guidelines acknowledge that `Pacific peoples' are not a homogeneous group, and that there are inter and intra-ethnic variations in the cultures of the peoples from the different Pacific Nations. Pacific statistical data and research needs to be disaggregated into ethnic specific and intra-ethnic specificities. Bedford and Didham;Cook, Didham and Khawaja (2001) have highlighted some of the limitations which available statistical data and research impose on research and policy-makers who use this data to define and delineate sub-groups within the national population and Pacific sub-populations. Anae (2001) also points out that &We are lacking analyses of social cohesion, culture, language, social institutions and structures, and more importantly, cultural ideas about life in New Zealand for Samoans, Cook Islanders, Tongans, Niueans, Tokelauans and other ethnicities caught in this pan-Pacific web....Thus, although there is recognition that New Zealand-born Pacific people make up almost 58% of Pacific peoples resident in New Zealand (Bedford and Didham 2001:29), the generic Pacific population remains the basis for statistical depictions and analyses of socio-economic `problems' and `solutions'& (Anae 2001:103). At the very least, the NZ/island-born/raised should be recognised, given that island-born/recent arrival proportion of the population is decreasing, while NZ-born/raised population is increasing and will continue to do so. This strategy must then be applied to Pacific research, evaluations, policy formation and service delivery, for not only better use of existing resources but to realistically identify problems and appropriate solutions for the various defined sectors of Pacific peoples.

Pacific `communities'

There is no generic `Pacific community' but rather Pacific peoples who align themselves variously, and at different times, along ethnic, geographic, church, family, school, age/gender-based, youth/elders, island-born/NZ-born, occupational lines, or a mix of these. Therefore it is important that these various contexts of `Pacific communities' are clearly defined and demarcated in the research process.

Pacific Research

As stated at the outset, in the context of these guidelines, Pacific research is defined as educational research involving Pacific participants.

In New Zealand as elsewhere, western knowledge predominates in higher education and research, which are underpinned by western values, belief systems and epistemologies. Thus assumptions about the world, societies, the human conditions and man's relationship with nature, and these assumptions, in turn, determine political structures, economic systems and educational philosophies, among other things (Taufeulungaki 2000:11). There is an assumption that these values, which are made global through dominant economic policies, education systems and industrial structures, and more recently by huge steps in information technology are universal. The role of Pacific research is primarily not only to identify and promote a Pacific world view, which should begin by identifying Pacific values, and the way in which Pacific societies create meaning, structure and construct reality, but complementary to these is the need to also interrogate the assumptions that underpin western structures and institutions that we as Pacific peoples have adopted without much questioning. But in replacing these with Pacific systems, structures and institutions which are appropriate to Pacific contexts, the values which should underpin these uniquely Pacific structures should be clearly identified and understood (ibid.).

Taufe'ulungaki states that &One of the myths that we have internalised is the belief that scientific enquiry is neutral and objective....The competing assumptions, questions and procedures of research contain values that represent different perceptions about authority, institutional transformation, and social order. Embedded in research are issues of epistemology, political and cognitive theory as well as peoples' responses to their material existence& (ibid:). She points out that research is erroneously thought of as a series of techniques in statistics, testing or observation that are practiced independently of questions, assumptions or concepts, without situating them within their social and philosophical contexts. Far from being neutral, inquiry is a human activity which involves biases, hopes, values and unresolved questions about social affairs.

The primary role of Pacific research according to many Pacific researchers is to therefore develop a uniquely Pacific world view, that is underpinned by Pacific values, belief systems and ways of structuring knowledge, which will become core values and ideologies underpinning the development process and as well as the education system that is the key instrument in its promotion.

&We need a vision of development that clearly spells out the kinds of societies we wish for ourselves and our children, and such a vision, to me, cannot be better informed than by the fundamental core values of our cultures, which, I believe, have not changed significantly despite the enormous changes in our material and knowledge culture and in our political, economic and social institutions& (ibid.).

If research is to make meaningful contributions to Pacific societies, then its primary purpose is to reclaim Pacific knowledges and values for Pacific peoples. It must also:

• increase our understanding of the issues at stake
• lead and develop consistent future scenarios by increasing awareness of problems and solutions
• use research to improve the lives of Pacific peoples
• transform the practices of those in power and influencing policy
• ensure that educational and social policies are informed by sound research outcomes
• research in Pacific must be aimed at transforming Pacific societies in accordance with Pacific values and aspirations
• take into account the need for social responsibility in addressing the technological, ecological and ethical questions of inquiry
• use a holistic approach in gaining universal understanding of issues by fosussing on interdisciplinary and intersectoral research
• expose the incongruences between Pacific core values and those of the dominant paradigms and educational programmes
• be educative in nature and practical in their usages
• enabling of and empowering to the researched
• responsive to changing Pacific contexts
  (Taufe'ulungaki, 2000.)

The literature review of Pacific education in New Zealand reveals that there is a growing body of research which articulates specific Samoan, Cook Islands, Tonga and Niue cultural paradigms for educational research (see Tupuola 1993, Sauvao et al 2000, Sauvao 1999, Tamasese et al 1997). What this is signalling is the move away from pan-Pacific based research to more in depth ethnic specific studies (see Anae 1998; Anae et al., 2000). The latter approach enables a much more in-depth study which will allow inter and intra-ethnic nuances to be exposed and understood. There are advantages and disadvantages to both types of studies. For example, a pan-Pacific approach will provide much more generic data about Pacific groups in general, but is logistically very difficult to organise and manage in terms of multi-ethnic research teams, and financially very expensive in terms of ethnic and gender-matching of interviewers, Pacific language translations and consultation and dissemination issues. On the other hand, while ethnic-specific approaches will yield more depth and intra-ethnic and inter-generational nuances, the data provided will not allow for Pacific generalisations to be made for wider application. Thus researchers will have to think carefully about the logistical, financial and cultural implications of both approaches before embarking on the research project. What the literature review informs us about, however, is that there while there are over-arching commonalities in pan-Pacific philosophies, and lifeways, there are also very distinct traditions, languages, histories and world-views embodied in our s(Pacific) cultures and societies which researchers should be cognisant of. Nevertheless, what is very clear is that amongst our Pacific peoples and communities there is strong consensus that there is a common research spirit- a spirit inherited from our traditional cultures and societies which focuses on a better quality of life and thus good quality educational provision, services and opportunities for our Pacific children here in New Zealand.

The research team acknowledges that there are diverse types of research, including contract research, academic (social science) research, and evaluation, and as near as possible these research contexts will be taken into account in this set of guidelines. Moreover, academic, social science researchers and evaluators of Pacific services and providers will be able to draw from the contexts of research and critical issues outlined in this report. It is also strongly acknowledged that research should be community-driven. In other words, while the research needs of funders need to be addressed, it is also important to address needs voiced by Pacific peoples and communities.

The guidelines thus draw their parameters from Pacific models of contexts, which promote success and well being for Pacific peoples and communities.

Pacific Models of Well-being

To avoid the dominant mono-cultural research frameworks, Pacific peoples must prioritise their `holistic' perception of knowledge and scholarship, oral communication style and protocol of consensus and respect. Scholarship within Pacific contexts is having the knowledge and expertise in (Pacific) protocol, values and etiquette, of ones family, village and ancestry and ability to transfer this knowledge on to future generations.

In New Zealand, two significant models of Pacific health and well-being in the literature are the Samoan &Fonofale& model of health (Pulotu-Endeman in Making a Difference: Strategic Initiatives for the Health of Pacific People 1997), and the &Fa'afaletui& model (Tamasese et al . in Ole Taeao Afua: A Qualitative Investigation into Samoan Perspectives on Mental Health and Culturally Appropriate Services 1997).

Both models are representations of health from a Samoan perspective and are based on the concept of fale the traditional Samoan house. The fonofale model describes the roof as representing cultural values and beliefs (which include traditional as well as western methods of healing), which are the shelter for life. The foundation -the family - represents the nuclear as well as the extended family and kin group and forms the fundamental basis for social organisation. The family provides the base of the house which supports the four pou (house-posts)--the physical-biological well-being, the spiritual or the sense of wellbeing which stems from a belief system which includes Christianity or traditional spirituality relating to nature, language beliefs and/or history, the mental or the health of the mind which involves thinking and emotion, and lastly the other which includes variables such as gender, sexual orientation, age social class etc. Surrounding the fonofale is the context in which health occurs in terms of time, context and environment, for example, New Zealand-based or island-based, the time period, the environment--rural, village, urban, city.

These models have resonances with the &The Tree of Opportunity& model for a Pacific vision for education (Colloqium on Rethinking Pacific Education, Institute of Education USP, 2001). In this model, education, or the tree of opportunity is firmly rooted in the cultures of Pacific societies and the strengths and advantages it gains from its root source (values, beliefs, arts and crafts, histories, world views, institutions, languages, processes and skills, knowledge), will allow it to grow strong and healthy and further permit the incorporation of foreign and external elements from the context and environment that can be crafted on without changing its fundamental root sources or the identity of each tree (ibid.,4).

In educational terms, these models ensure that Pacific cultures are appropriately embedded within the processes and structures of formal education to provide the foundation of all learning. Moreover what these models promote are that:

• Pacific peoples and communities have the right and must be empowered to have control of their education, and therefore of their own development
• Pacific peoples must determine the purposes and goals of education for their own communities, based on their own visions for themselves, their families and their children
• educational purposes and goals must reflect Pacific contexts, values, beliefs and knowledge systems while at the same time recognizing global forces of change (ibid.,5), and the role of Pacific peoples in a Western context.

Baseline Assumptions

In New Zealand and in the Pacific today, the prevailing form of western `development' as defined by the key concepts of policy and strategic documents contained in strategic and development strategies has become contested territory (Taufe'ulungaki, 2000:6) &by the poor countries which have become poorer as a consequence of globalisation; by indigenous peoples who have become endangered species within their own countries; by feminists who have experienced at first hand the destructive power of male dominance; by communities who find their resources and very livelihoods taken over and controlled by faceless and distant supranational corporations who are accountable to no one but themselves and their own agendas and by increasing privatisation of public utilities and user-pays development strategies; by nations whose sovereignties have been eroded and usurped by these very same corporations and private interests; and not least, by educators, researchers, feminists and concerned individuals searching for alternatives.& (Ibid.). Taufe'ulungaki strongly advocates that the failure of such development goals are not due to the inefficiency, lack of human capacity and strong commitment to good governance, unconducive economic environment, poor resource base, political instability or combinations thereof, but are due to fundamental flaws in the paradigms themselves.

Part and parcel of these western paradigms are:

• Western democratic principles based on the assumption that the individual, his rights and freedoms, forms the basic unit of society
• market-driven economies and ideology
• capitalist paradigms
• focus on the individual as opposed to the collective
• monocultural frameworks and methodologies
• androcentric nature of western societies

Research proposals concerning Pacific peoples and education must go beyond assumptions which underpin Eurocentric Western structures, institutions, and knowledges, and develop research which reflects Pacific worldviews underpinned by Pacific values, belief systems, and ways of sharing knowledge. The guidelines thus point to the need for Pacific research(ers) to create our own pedagogy and symbolic orders, our own sources of identity, authority, mediating structures and appropriate standards in development and education, which are rooted in our own s(Pacific) values, assumptions, knowledges, processes and practices, and particularly those values which support sustainability and equity of benefits, not only measured in economic terms. The starting point of any research proposal should also be pro-Pacific and reflect a non-exploitative research and research process environment.

Pacific values

General features of the `Pacific Way' (Crocombe 1975) have been documented as:

• talking things over rather than taking rigid stands
• being prepared to negotiate, being flexible,
• adaptation and compromise
• oratory and verbal negotiation have deep traditional roots in Pacific cultures. Therefore the Pacific Way is spoken rather than written
• kinship networks are very wide allowing literally thousands of people to claim kinship or affinity with any distinguished leader, even members of the less privileged classes. This value of sharing is often manifest in attempts to get maximum participation in modern economic activity through cooperative and community projects. But the ideal is not often achieved in practice.
• universal Pacific notions of generosity with time, labour and property
• Pacific perceptions of `time', leisure, dress, food, dancing
• The inseparable dynamics of church and culture, and indigenisation of christianity.

More specifically, it is generally felt that there may exist some common Pacific values such as:

• respect
• reciprocity
• communalism
• collective responsibility
• gerontocracy
• humility
• love
• service
• spirituality

However it should be recognised that these values may be practised differently amongst the different Pacific groups, as well as within respective Pacific groups also.

There is therefore a need here to distinguish between articulated ideals and human practice. If the ideal articulated is relatively the same across village groups and across Pacific countries then there is a strong sense of commonality, however if there is not, and the understanding for this is well situated, for example, ethnographically, academically, etc. then the suggestion is otherwise. If there indeed exists an element of commonality, it is then possible to explore the practice and how firstly, in reality the practice falls short of the ideal and why this is so, and secondly, how in practice the articulated ideal continues to exist despite practices to the contrary.

These principles are intertwined with various changing priorities across Pacific groups and over time, depending on the context, but ultimately these values exist as umbrella type concepts used to illustrate specific Pacific values and s(Pacific) world views. Discussing, exploring, debating, critiquing these values/worldviews allows us the opportunity to assist each other in successfully achieving and delivering `culturally appropriate research' of high quality to our respective and collective Pacific communities in New Zealand. These discussions will provide the basis upon which we develop our appropriate research methodology.

Capacity-Building

Research and processes must reflect capacity-building enhancement for our Pacific peoples and communities at all levels. Research and processes must build on and enhance Pacific communities' strengths, mentorship and training of younger Pacific researchers, and building positive collegial relationships across sectors. Capacity building can occur at various levels: across ethnic groups; across educational sectoral boundaries; ethnic-specific; sector-specific; school/communities; or a mix of these. That many of our Pacific communities have worked to set up their own initiatives to address the needs of their children, families and communities should be supported. There must also be validation and empowerment of our Pacific parents in:

• recognition of their indigenous cultures and knowledges by promoting their languages, cultural beliefs and practices
• acknowledgement of our parents and their existing knowledge about their children.
• promoting parent and community participation right through all levels of schooling
• linking the culture of the `home' with the culture of the `school'
• ensuring access to information regarding research, school policies, service delivery, and relevant issues.

Capacity-building in terms of schools would involve research that enhances /adds value to the school in terms of assessment, curriculum, professional development of Pacific teachers/communities, benefits to school/families/communities, and Pacific perspectives in school environments.

`Pacific' research teams

There are three types of research teams who `research' Pacific peoples and communities. Those made up of non-Pacific researchers, those made up of Pacific researchers only; and those which are made up of Pacific and non-Pacific researchers. It is important that there is Pacific management and control of any research project at all levels. While it is preferable to use Pacific researchers, where there is a limited pool of Pacific researchers available, it may be necessary to use non-Pacific researchers. However, where non-Pacific researchers are involved in the team, their roles and responsibilities must be clearly defined and limitations acknowledged. In other words, non-Pacific researchers should only be included on a project where either they complement the overall skills of the team required to complete the specific project and/or they act as mentors for the Pacific researchers in the team. It must also be acknowledged that Pacific peoples are made up of both island-born and New Zealand born populations and this should be reflected at all levels of the research project. NZ-born Pacific peoples make up almost 58% of New Zealand's population and are more `skilled' than their island-born counterparts (see Spoonley 2001:58), so that their inclusion in research projects as researchers, part of research teams and also as research participants will be integral.

When seeking appropriate Pacific researchers, it is recommended that the existing Pacific network of Pacific researchers be consulted through established Pacific Research institutions (universities and polytechnics etc.), Pacific education groups (see Section 2), as well as the independent Pacific research consultancies. When seeking appropriate Research Managers/Supervisors, the above networks should be consulted also. Both Pacific and non-Pacific Managers/Supervisors must be committed to supporting and mentoring Pacific researchers e.g., in involving them in all levels of research, from project design, fieldwork, analysis and report writing to dissemination of findings; in mentoring them into management roles; in seeking post-graduate awards and scholarships, and in report-writing and/or academic papers emanating from the research.

Reference or Advisory Groups

Pacific researchers are sometimes perceived by our Pacific communities as an `elite group', therefore the research team must ensure that community checks are in place. For example, an essential management and reporting structure would include a Project Reference Group or Advisory Group. These Groups will be defined according to the nature of the specific research project. For example, if the project involves Pacific early childhood sector research, then the Advisory Group should, if possible, consist of Pacific `experts' holding key positions in this sector, as well as `community representatives (church ministers, high profile community people). Other factors to take into consideration are those previously mentioned, i.e., a balance of gender, age, NZ-born/island-born representation; geographical locality, mix of church affiliation etc. Roles and requirements of this group must be clearly defined, with reciprocal interaction, e.g., meaalofa (appropriate gift) for expertise, time and support. Advisory groups will have crucial input in terms of dissemination of research findings. It is important to ensure the credibility of the advisory group has been established. For Pacific researchers who are doing research for MA/PhD/Diploma degrees, advisory groups may not be necessary. Advice should be sought from the student's supervisory team which should include at least one Pacific supervisor/adviser.

Importance of language

Language must not be a barrier to participation of Pacific peoples in any research context. Therefore researchers, fluent in the researched group's language(s) must be part of the research team. There must also be acknowledgement that Pacific languages are diverse, and that within ethnic groups, the presence of fluent speakers, bilingual speakers and English as first language speakers must be taken account of when framing research contexts, especially in the construction of interview/survey instruments, and in the reporting back to Pacific participants, the advisory group and the relevant Pacific communities.

Related Ministry Documents

Introduction to the Pasifika Education Plan

Pacific Peoples and Tertiary Education: Issues of Participation

Literature Review on Pacific Education Issues