Abstract
This dissertation explores the experiences of non-Pacific educators teaching Pacific learners within the context of Aotearoa New Zealand at the University of Otago – Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka. Using the Foundation Studies Certificate at Pathway – Te Huarahi as a case study and extending to the broader institution, this research explores the contemporary challenges faced by Pacific students entering higher education. Many Pacific learners arrive through a range of scholarship opportunities and through a history of strong community engagement by the University. However, upon entering university-level study, these students often encounter learning environments where they feel isolated, misunderstood, and culturally disconnected. Such experiences hinder their academic success and frequently contribute to extended degree completion times.
Framed through an autoethnographic lens, this dissertation reflects critically on my role as a Pacific Academic and Pastoral Support Coordinator, unpacking the structural, emotional, and resource-based barriers educators face in adapting their teaching, delivery, and assessment practice. This research identifies and examines two thematic streams to understand the reluctance or limiting factors that inhibit the implementation of culturally sustaining pedagogy: emotional resistance and institutional resourcing. These reflections offer insight into the lived realities of Pacific learners and the institutional constraints that hinder meaningful change.
This research further engages with the University of Otago’s Pacific Strategic Framework 2022-2030, aligning to the Framework’s institutional commitments to Pacific student success. In doing so, this dissertation contributes to two prevailing discourses in Pacific education literature: one that advocates for structural transformation within universities, and another that foregrounds the cultural knowledge, aspirations, and identities of Pacific learners. This research contributes to a growing body of literature in advocating for culturally sustaining pedagogies in higher education. It calls for a reimagining of institutional responsibility and a commitment to equity that centres the voices, values, and aspirations of Pacific students and communities.