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 education literature. Having somebody who can support navigating systems, and role-modelling the possibilities of higher education is essential to Pacific student success. Mentoring is seen as a crucial way to address Pacific students’ unique challenges in university learning whilst also providing an opportunity to engage in Pacific students’ cultural strengths. Mentoring offers academic, emotional, and cultural support by incorporating Pacific epistemologies and fostering a sense of belonging and cultural identities. Additionally, mentoring programs that encourage reciprocity, where mentees later become mentors, help sustain and expand these support networks.
Additional Resources
- Pacific Peoples and Tertiary Education: Issues of Participation
- Pacific university graduates in New Zealand: what helps and hinders completion
- The development of mentoring relationships for Pacific students in a New Zealand university: Possibilities for leadership
- A call to action: Challenging a fragmented university commitment to Pasifika equity
- Retaining non‐traditional students: lessons learnt from Pasifika students in New Zealand
- Developing Pacific leaders within a tertiary education setting through appreciative inquiry: A personal perspective
