Pasifika Education Plan Review
Pasifika Education Plan Review
I have read many PEP plans over the years. As a teacher I was present at the launch of the PEP plan at Auckland Girls' Grammar School when Howard Fancy was Secretary for Education.
What has stayed the same?
- The "compass" diagram continues to feature in the PEP plan to show the environments and contexts in which Pasifika learners find themselves and also highlights how the key stakeholders fit into the motivation and engagement of Pasifika learners.
- There are specific goals and targets in each sector. These goals are set out in incremental stages to monitor accurately how each sector is expected to perform and outline what the expectations are.
- For ECE the focus continues to be an increase with participation of Pasifika learners in ECE and life-long learning.
- For the compulsory schooling sector - the focus continues to be in increasing the levels of numeracy and literacy with all students gaining NCEA Level 2 as the minimum exit qualification in secondary school
- The tertiary sector continues to focus on participation, retention and completion of tertiary qualifications.
What seems to be different?
- The current plan compared to previous plans is that it is smaller - the length is such that it should be more consumer-friendly for schools to use.
- There are actions within each sector that accompany the targets and goals. These actions should give schools some idea about how MoE and their partner agencies are working together to transition these targets and goals into actions.
- There is the inclusion of the imminent launch of the Pasifika Education Implementation Plan (PEIP) - which states on the PEP Plan that it will be available from January. At this stage, it will most likely be available from February. The question then lies with what does this look like in individual schools? Will the PEIP be the guide that gives exemplars, strategies, pathways and programmes for HOW to perform these actions?Once the PEIP is released and viewed in conjunction with the PEP Plan, we should have a better idea of the impact that it has for Pasifika learners in schools.
- A sector-wide focus. This view shows the transitions between the sectors, how the focus is about improving "Pasifika capability" by introducing this concept into teacher training programmes and embedding the importance of Pasifika learners who are also identified as having special needs.
- There are statistics for each sector that show how Pasifika learners are tracking in comparison to Pakeha and Maori learners.
There is a vision:
Vision: Five out of five Pasifika learners participating, engaging and achieving in education, secure in their identities, lan(u)guages and cultures and contributing fully to Aotearoa New Zealand’s social, cultural and economic wellbeing.
Minister Parata emphasised this vision quite emphatically at the secondary school launch of the current PEP plan at Kelston Boys' High School in Auckland on November 22nd 2012.
Will there be strategies, pathways or programmes that will be created to reflect this vision? Will schools be expected to have a Pasifika focus more entrenched in their school charters, vision, philosophy rather than just as a compliance for the Education Review Office? It will be interesting to see how the PEIP intends to show how schools should be doing this in their own contexts.
Your thoughts on the quick review?
Comments
Like you Manu, I have been involved with the Plan over the years.
As a teacher in a Bilingual unit, I have been affected by the PEP plan.
As a Pacific Island community member, I observe the discussion around the PEP plan with interest. I have attended 'community' discussions.
Language is too important to be left in the hands of the powerful.
(Pauline Gibbons 1998- Key note speech CLESOL - Palmerstone North.)
I look forward to seeing if our community voices have been heard and whether that 5th vision stays in the final document. There might be a challenge in the word 'secure' with the loss of the Tupu series as a resource. Does the plan identify how this vision will be carried out?
Talofa lava Manu,
I think you have made a good summary of the PEP plan (2013 - 2017). I must admit that this PEP plan has the first for me that I have read. The past PEP plans were not really released to the staff at not really talked about which is why I am interested to knowing how is this information being disemminated in schools becuase I think it starts from the top and then filters to who best suits this portfolio within the staff, hence the reason why I wanting to get into this plan and really unpack some of the tartgets. But thank you for your summary which definately be a starting point for our teachers, senior managers and Principals.