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Change with work such as restructures that have affected my ability to commit to study for a year or semester, juggling my young family commitments with children; aging parents, finances and whether employers support studies. – Theodore et al., 2018 p.143 Pacific peoples in university face significant challenges as they juggle multiple responsibilities, including academic […]

Families have been the beacon of strength for the students. This motivation is also attributed to the fact that most students were the first generation in their families to attend university, which became a sense of pride and honour not only for their families but their communities as well. – Chu et al., 2010, p.67

The global spread of western cultures, to which universities have made a huge contribution, may be compared to the spread of monocultures in agriculture where imported, hybridized, fertilizer-dependent seeds, produced at a profit for multinational corporations, crowd out indigenous local varieties. – Thaman, 2003, p.7 Western epistemologies and pedagogies dominate higher education, marginalising Indigenous perspectives

I say, break the pipeline completely, rip it out of the earth – it is not only the knowledge of ‘humans’ that matter, but the earth, the water and cosmos (collective ancient wisdoms of knowing and being). The current pipelines are narrowing, and the constraints of the neoliberal university only serve a few. As tangata

Desirable diversity means that higher education institutions will allow diversity within their walls as long as the diversity performs in ways that are beneficial to the institution. This means that Pasifika women are required to perform not only the excess labour outlined above and in the literature, but also a performative labour that ensures they

Diversity and inclusion are collapsed into numeric representation of Indigenous and racialised students. There is no substantive recognition of white/European epistemological dominance, and no demand for deep structural change. This is perhaps the most prevalent position circulating in higher education in settler colonies.– Naepi et al., 2017 p.89 European epistemological dominance refers to the hegemony

Our story is a migrant story and we’re still coming here to become citizens of this country. When people here look at me, I know they think I’m uneducated or they assume that I don’t have a doctorate. In our country – and our country is New Zealand – we appear as second class citizens

And have a good mentor, someone who is there for you, to care for your progress, and who believes in you, is the most crucial thing for me, I think for any student coming through. – Anae et al., 2002, p.57 The role of mentors in supporting Pacific success is a theme throughout Pacific higher

Naming the numbers is a powerful exercise that enables us to call to account government and universities over how their current structures and practices continue to exclude certain bodies from institutions. – Naepi, 2019, p.220 Strong community ties and support systems are essential for the success of Pacific staff and students. Pacific scholars and students

Talanoa is a personal encounter where people story their issues, their realities and aspirations. It allows for more mo’oni (pure, real, authentic) information to be available for Pacific research than data derived from other research methods. (Vaioleti, 2006.p.1) Pacific peoples are expanding the academy’s knowledge production methods. Talanoa is one such Pacific approach to knowledge-making