Our work with Pacific educators and learners
Find out about Ako Aotearoa's growing work with Pacific tertiary educators and learners.

On this page:
Background
The Ako Aotearoa Strategic Plan 2014 - 2017 identifies "supporting Pacific Peoples' advancement through tertiary education" as one of its strategic themes.
The organisation is committed to working with tertiary teachers and learners to achieve this.
The establishment of our Pacific Peoples' Caucus in has brought together a diverse range of Pacific tertiary leaders to guide us on how we prioritise and further our work with this group.
The Ako Aotearoa Pacific Peoples’ Caucus' work programme
The Pacific Peoples' Caucus is developing a strategic work programme to support Pacific staff and learners in tertiary education.
This is not only designed to enhance Pacific achievement in tertiary education, but also recognises that, to make sustainable gains for Pacific people, there is an urgent need to support capability building and the establishment of a critical mass of leadership and research expertise amongst Pacific tertiary educators.
Thus, there are, at present, three strands to this portfolio:
- Enhancing Pacific leadership in the sector through our involvement with and support of the Pacific leadership development programme.
- Identifying and sharing case studies in exemplary practice supporting Pacific-learner success in tertiary education. This project is planned to complement Janinka Greenwood and Lynne-Harata Te Aika’s recent project, Hei Tauira, on exemplary practice for Māori. The work will be led by Dr Cherie Chu (Victoria University of Wellington), in collaboration with the Association of Pacific Staff in Tertiary Education (APSTE).
- Evaluating the impact of successive tertiary education strategies on Pacific achievement in tertiary education. We are currently in the process of evaluating the proposals we have received to undertake this work, and we plan to commission this in November.
- Find out more about the Pacific Peoples' Caucus
- Find out more about our completed projects supporting Pacific educators and learners
He Taunga Waka
The He Taunga Waka project aims to improve literacy and numeracy outcomes for adult Māori and Pasifika learners.
This project has three key components; designing a new blended professional development programme, engaging with communities and community groups to raise the awareness of the value of literacy and numeracy, and supporting the development of the Tairāwhiti literacy and numeracy hub.
The project, led by Ako Aotearoa is being undertaken in collaboration with the National Centre of Literacy and Numeracy and NZCER.
For 2016, The two He Taunga Waka workshops “Ako, Aro and Whanaungatanga” and “ The Pasifika Wave” (formerly called Teu Le Vā) are available for tertiary education organisations (TEOs) delivering programmes across the foundation sector.
Find out more or book a workshop
The Pasifika Wave: How to make a difference for your Pasifika adult learners in literacy and numeracy - flipbook out now
We are pleased to present our new interactive online flipbook 'The Pasifika Wave: How to make a difference for your Pasifika adult learners in literacy and numeracy' which was designed to support tertiary educators who wish to enhance their engagement with Pasifika learners, and who seek to expand on their teaching and learning practices based on Pasifika knowledges and practices.
Our interactive flipbook includes:
- Video clips explaining various cultural concepts and practices
- Sound clips giving an authentic tutorial with Pasifika languages
- Map of Te Moana nui a Kiwa showing the Pacific islands
- An explanation and activities about ‘Teu Le Vā’- Sacred space and relating this to the learning space for Pasifika learners
- A graphic explaining the changing face of the Pasifika learner
- Some facts and figures about Pasifika people
- Elements of Api’i-the Pasifika perspective of reciprocal relationship of teaching and learning
- Pacific Voyagers: a three-level guide for a reading activity
- Numeracies and literacies: a guide for thinking, discussion, and writing
Read the 'The Pasifika Wave: How to make a difference for your Pasifika adult learners in literacy and numeracy' FLIPBOOK
News
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The third Pacific Tertiary Education Forum was held on the 28 and 29 of September 2017Co-hosted by the Association of Pasifika Staff in Tertiary Education (APSTE) and Ako Aotearoa, the forum provided an open environment for sharing sector wide approaches to shaping the practices, systems, and policies of those who have a stake and interest in this dimension of tertiary education. The learner-centered programme was based around three stages of a Pacific learner's journey through tertiary education, grouped under the following themes:
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For more information, check out the pages below:
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