This study seeks to determine the reasons for the departure of New Zealand-born Samoans from a South Auckland traditional Samoan Seventh-day Adventist church. The concept of SURVIVAL: Exposure, Exit, and Reinvestment Model is used to explain the two factors instrumental in these young people's decisions to depart from the church. The first factor, which is a push factor, is the atmosphere at church, or what I refer to in this study as exposure. The second factor, which is a pull factor, involves the benefits of reinvesting their time and talents in other churches or in other non-church related activities. The results of this study strongly indicate that the church atmosphere was neither conducive nor promising, but very antagonistic to developing New Zealand-born Samoan young people's spiritual and social journeys. Consequently, the situation at church made these young people look elsewhere for social and spiritual survival. An analysis of the data suggests that the church can reverse the problem of departure by putting in place an active and effective system whereby the concerns and ideas of New Zealand-born Samoans as well as other youths are shared, heard, and rightly understood by the elders and the leadership of the church.

This qualitative study describes maternal and paternal experiences of thirty-five Samoans living in Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand. The study was conducted in order to establish, "What, if any changes to parenting practices have occurred since their family migrated into New Zealand?Through interviews, respondents discussed their values, attitudes and beliefs and how they perceived that they were brought up by their own parents. They also described and discussed their own roles as parents and the roles of their children. They also discussed how the church influenced the ways in which their parents parented them and the way they themselves parent their children. Respondents were chosen via a snowball technique of referrals from four different church ministers. The four churches were selected on the recommendation of one Samoan Church Minister as being representative of the Samoan community. Four ministers were interviewed, along with four elders and five parents from each church. Seven other people from outside these churches, four not church attenders were also interviewed in order to be able to further explore the importance and effects of the churches. The theoretical approach engaged a combination of the principles of Grounded Theory (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) and the 'Fa'afaletui,' (Tamasese, 1997.) The latter is a Samoan framework which gives a multi-layered approach to data interpretation using a range of lenses and perspectives. In conducting this investigation, the combination of Western and Samoan frameworks was appropriate especially given the cultural sensitivities that were apparent around the topic matter and the ethnicity of the respondents and the researcher. Earlier findings, concerning discipline by (Fairbairn-Dunlop, 2002) were affirmed, as were findings about fa'alavelave from the earlier study into parenting practices (McCallum et al, 2000). In this present study, it was found that enculturation (i.e changes in culture) over time, modified parenting practices and specifically that inter-generational perspectives about parenting practices were apparent. Evidence of conflicting approaches to values between generations was encountered and a range of rituals were adapted as a consequence of migration and time; discipline and fa'alavelave were prime examples of this. The relative paucity of a body of Pasifika literature and Pacific research by Pacific people, from which a theoretical foundation for a study of this kind could be developed, was seen to be problematic. It is concluded that enculturation following migration spawns a reconstruction of values and associated practices in parenting and that previously held core values concerning discipline, the church and the family become altered over time and generations. It is also suggested that future research should seek to corroborate the findings of this study by examining the parenting practices of the next generation.

Academic success is clearly linked to one's ability to write well. Given this close link between the two and the poor academic record of Pacific Island students within mainstream education in New Zealand, it is surprising that very little research has been undertaken to examine the academic writing problems of Pacific Island students. This emancipatory, critical study focused on tertiary students who identified as New Zealand-born Samoan. Since Samoans constitute half the Pacific Island population in New Zealand, New Zealand-born Samoan participants were chosen as being representative of this larger group. They were also chosen because they represented a group of New Zealanders identified as disadvantaged in terms of their largely low socio-economic status and poor academic achievement levels.The theoretical framework for this study is grounded in Bernstein's critical theories on communicative and teaching practices in mainstream education which disadvantage minority students from working class communities. These theories are discussed in conjunction with a general review of relevant literature in Chapter 2. The Samoan researcher in this study has added an inter-generational commentary to some of the views and experiences of school and Samoan homelife in New Zealand of participants, firstly from the perspective of her own first-hand experiences of school and Samoan homelife in the 50s and 60s and secondly from the perspective of an experienced English language teacher in New Zealand tertiary institutions.This study used a triangulation approach to enhance reliability and validity of quantitative and qualitative data collected. Three data collecting instruments were used: a written questionnaire, face-to-face interviews, and students' actual essay assignments. A written questionnaire was completed by 14 students who identified as NewZealand-born Samoan. A case study approach was then used with a sub-group of five students, representative of the original 14, who were interviewed more closely in the following areas of interest which emerged through the questionnaire: students' perceived and actual academic writing skills, communicative and teaching practices of high school and tertiary teachers, students' learning strategies, the role and effectiveness of Pacific Island support staff and programmes and the impact of the cultural and communicative practices of Samoan parents in traditional, bilingual Samoan homes on students' academic performance and success in the formal learning environment. The impact of factors such as poor self-motivation and time-management skills, inadequate reading skills and a lack of understanding of and exposure to the academic discourses of the formal learning environment, on the academic writing problems of the participants in this study, were also examined.Teaching methods which perpetuated rote learning practices amongst students were reported by participants in this study from both low and middle-decile high schools. The communicative and teaching practices of Pacific Island teaching staff were also examined in this study. Relevant data from the one-to-one teaching sessions with participants were also included as part of this study. The face-to-face interviews and one-to-one teaching sessions were tape-recorded.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Miami University, Dept. of Educational Leadership, 2007. / Title from second page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 123-141).

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 76-78). / vi, 78 leaves, bound ill. (some col.) 29 cm

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1999 / Pacific Islands Studies

Academic success is clearly linked to one's ability to write well. Given this close link between the two and the poor academic record of Pacific Island students within mainstream education in New Zealand, it is surprising that very little research has been undertaken to examine the academic writing problems of Pacific Island students. This emancipatory, critical study focused on tertiary students who identified as New Zealand-born Samoan. Since Samoans constitute half the Pacific Island population in New Zealand, New Zealand-born Samoan participants were chosen as being representative of this larger group. They were also chosen because they represented a group of New Zealanders identified as disadvantaged in terms of their largely low socio-economic status and poor academic achievement levels.The theoretical framework for this study is grounded in Bernstein's critical theories on communicative and teaching practices in mainstream education which disadvantage minority students from working class communities. These theories are discussed in conjunction with a general review of relevant literature in Chapter 2. The Samoan researcher in this study has added an inter-generational commentary to some of the views and experiences of school and Samoan homelife in New Zealand of participants, firstly from the perspective of her own first-hand experiences of school and Samoan homelife in the 50s and 60s and secondly from the perspective of an experienced English language teacher in New Zealand tertiary institutions.This study used a triangulation approach to enhance reliability and validity of quantitative and qualitative data collected. Three data collecting instruments were used: a written questionnaire, face-to-face interviews, and students' actual essay assignments. A written questionnaire was completed by 14 students who identified as NewZealand-born Samoan. A case study approach was then used with a sub-group of five students, representative of the original 14, who were interviewed more closely in the following areas of interest which emerged through the questionnaire: students' perceived and actual academic writing skills, communicative and teaching practices of high school and tertiary teachers, students' learning strategies, the role and effectiveness of Pacific Island support staff and programmes and the impact of the cultural and communicative practices of Samoan parents in traditional, bilingual Samoan homes on students' academic performance and success in the formal learning environment. The impact of factors such as poor self-motivation and time-management skills, inadequate reading skills and a lack of understanding of and exposure to the academic discourses of the formal learning environment, on the academic writing problems of the participants in this study, were also examined.Teaching methods which perpetuated rote learning practices amongst students were reported by participants in this study from both low and middle-decile high schools. The communicative and teaching practices of Pacific Island teaching staff were also examined in this study. Relevant data from the one-to-one teaching sessions with participants were also included as part of this study. The face-to-face interviews and one-to-one teaching sessions were tape-recorded.

Thesis (MAppSc) -- Auckland University of Technology, 2004. / Also held in print (95 leaves, 30 cm.) in Wellesley Theses Collection. (T 599.940993 PUN)

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 47-50). / 50 leaves, bound 29 cm

Contemporary Samoan society is a reflection of a number of different cultures and influences. As a result of several attempts at colonisation by the British, German and New Zealand Administrations the cultural landscape of Samoa has been influenced by many different groups and peoples. As a result of integration and assimilation into the Samoan way of life the Chinese have been accepted into Samoan society and have contributed to the development of Samoan culture and identity. This thesis explores the history of the Chinese in Samoa as a method of uncovering the true extent of the influence played by the Chinese, both as a people and as a nation, in the make-up of Samoan society. It uncovers the roles and impacts of the Chinese in the island nation from the first Chinese arrivals in the late 19th century, through various political administrations and into the present day. The thesis will illustrate the importance of the Chinese in Samoa and how they have contributed to, and helped to shape, the Samoan people, politics, culture, identity and economy. This thesis explains the importance of the Chinese in Samoa by examining important events in Samoan history in the past 150 years. Such events include the forbidding of Chinese settlement in Samoa through the Malietoa Laupepa Law of 1880, the establishment of the Chinese indentured scheme, and the ‘new wave’ of Chinese aid being poured into the Pacific, including Samoa, in recent times.