Review of Pasifika publications

Review of Pasifika publications

The Ministry is reviewing the Tupu and Fōlauga series while it investigates how New Zealand Curriculum support materials can best accelerate the achievement of Pasifika students in English literacy.

Schools will continue to receive Tupu and Fōlauga this year, and a significant number of Tupu and Fōlauga books are available from Down the Back of the Chair (www.thechairminedu.govt.nz) – the Ministry’s online resource catalogue.

The Ministry’s Acting Group Manager for Curriculum Teaching and Learning, Howard Baldwin, says that while there have been improvements in Pasifika students’ English literacy levels, they need lifting. The investigation will show how curriculum support materials could best raise the achievement of Pasifika students in English literacy.

The investigation will also focus on ways to better support teachers to make explicit connections between a student’s first language and English.

Howard Baldwin says the Ministry will continue to provide language guidelines, resources and professional development for teachers to support the teaching of five Pasifika languages, as part of the action from The Pasifika Education Plan.

The Ministry has developed new storybooks written in Cook Islands Māori and gagana Sāmoa for distribution to schools in late November 2010. Storybooks for vagahau Niue, gagana Tokelau and Tongan will be distributed in 2011.

The Pasifika languages are an integral part of the learning languages area of The New Zealand Curriculum. The Government’s focus on learning languages supports the preservation and maintenance of Pasifika languages.

There will be ongoing communication with schools in the Education Gazette as the investigation progresses and as further support is designed.

Under current education policy, te reo Māori and English are the only fully funded languages of instruction.

There are no plans to change the level of funding provided to the 33 schools that have Pacific bilingual units.

ENDS

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