The overall aim of the Kainga Tu’umalie (Prosperous families) faith-based research project reported here, was to identify how Tongan indigenous cultural – faith approaches can mitigate the rampant effects of violence. This involved identifying and theorising Tongan cultural concepts in relation to Fofola e fala...

Pasifika students’ home knowledges and practices have low value in New Zealand schooling. Despite studies that have argued for culturally responsive teaching that meets the diverse needs of Pasifika students (Alton-Lee, 2008; Coxon, Mara, Wendt Samu, & Finau, 2002; Ferguson, Gorinski, Samu, & Mara, 2008)...

There is a growing amount of literatures and researches examining key factors that contribute to the vulnerability of Pacific youth, especially suicide. In 2011, there was a spike in the number of young Tongans in New Zealand who lost their lives to this epidemic and...

As is well documented, health and wellbeing is positively associated with participating in physical activity. However, the little research available suggested that Pacific adolescents generally, are participating in less physical activity than adolescents of other ethnic groups. Furthermore, there was even less evidence pertinent to...

This study is concerned with representation. It considers the nature of a culturally located, discursive form called veitalatala and its creative translation into designed artifacts that consider the lyrical and graceful nature of Tongan women’s tālanoa.

After completing a Bachelor’s degree, I had little success in finding a job which matched my field of study. I thought this situation was unique to me until I found that quite a few of my Tongan and other Pacific graduate friends were in the...

This thesis is an exploratory study of the experiences and perceptions of a group of New Zealand-born Tongan males living in Auckland on what participation in the Tongan cultural practice of the faikava meant to them, how they valued this experience and whether they believed...

The purpose of this thesis was to find ways in which the current practices of Tongan culture and of the church could be modified so that any economic adverse impact they have on Tongans could be alleviated. This research is particularly significant when contextualised in...

This study focused on a group of 101 Tongan students within the middle and upper levels of primary schools in New Zealand. It examined the hypothesis that explicit vocabulary instruction, using an educational intervention, can positively impact on Tongan students’ reading comprehension and contribute to...