Why more Pasifika teachers?
“Every child is different regardless of their stage of development. The quality of teachers is important in understanding children’s developmental differences,” says Ruth Risati Kaio of her role as an ECE teacher.
Pasifika teachers are now in real demand. There are growing numbers of Pasifika students in New Zealand schools and too few Pasifika teachers. While 9 percent of school students identify themselves as being Pasifika, only 2 percent of teachers do. We need many more Pasifika people becoming teachers at all levels – early childhood, primary and secondary. Why?
- Pasifika student numbers are increasing relative to many other ethnicities but Pasifika teacher numbers are not keeping up with this growth
- Pasifika teachers make great role models for Pasifika students and enhance their education in many ways by:
- raising their expectations to succeed at a higher level,
- improving their participation rates, particularly in sectors such as early childhood
- increasing Pasifika capacity to improve educational achievement.
It is critical for our country's future that the educational achievement of Pasifika people is widely encouraged and supported. The Government has acknowledged that the key to raising education standards for Pasifika people is to have quality Pasifika teachers.
Early childhood education
Fewer Pasifika children attend early childhood education services than other New Zealand children and they will comprise an increasing proportion of birth-to-five-year-olds over the next 10 years.
In the government's 10 year strategic plan to increase participation, Pasifika communities are playing an important role in determining the strategies to encourage more Pasifika parents to involve their children in early childhood education services.
There are many Pasifika focussed early childhood services throughout New Zealand and many of them need qualified registered teachers. TeachNZ ECE scholarships recognise this fact by providing access to a number of Pasifika-focussed ECE qualifications throughout New Zealand. The ECE scholarship application form below lists these.
Financial help to study will give you the complete list of scholarships and allowances available to support teacher education study.