What Do Pāsifika Students in New Zealand Value Most for Their Mathematics Learning?

Abstract

Achieving equity for all mathematical learners is an urgent challenge for educators. Within New Zealand, Pāsifika students are at a much greater risk of underachievement than students from other ethnic groups (Caygill et al. in TIMSS 2015: New Zealand Year 5 Maths results. Comparative Education Research Unit, Ministry of Education, Wellington, 2016a; Caygill et al. in TIMSS 2015: New Zealand Year 9 Maths results. Comparative Education Research Unit, Ministry of Education, Wellington, 2016b). In this chapter, we examine and explore the mathematics educational values of middle school Pāsifika students in New Zealand based on their significance in contributing to more effective and equitable mathematics learning. Drawing on survey responses and individual interviews with 131 Year Seven and Eight Pāsifika students, we highlight the most frequently espoused mathematics educational values as utility, peer collaboration/group-work, effort/practice, and family/familial support. Results from this study provide insight into what is valued by Pāsifika students and the types of classroom culture and pedagogy which could be developed to align with these students' values. The wider implications of the study address the need for educators to examine the mathematics educational values of minority students in order to provide equitable mathematics classrooms.

An Intersection of Mathematics Educational Values and Cultural Values: Pāsifika Students’ Understanding and Explanation of Their Mathematics Educational Values

“…The low ranking of utility as a mathematics educational value is surprising, given that in previous studies (e.g., Hill, 2017;Hill et al, 2019;Ö sterling & Andersson, 2013;Seah & Barkatas, 2014;Zhang et al, 2016) across different cultural contexts, students have frequently ranked utility as an important value. Analysis of the student responses highlights that this finding may be indicative of the mathematics tasks and contexts that Pāsifika students experience within schooling.…”

Values and Valuing Across Cultures and Time Zones

“…For these researchers, there is an agreement that values reflect teachers' approaches. More than that, sharing their views with Hill et al (2019), "when values were acknowledged in the mathematics classroom, relationships were strengthened, students' cultural identities were affirmed, students became more engaged, and, ultimately, mathematics learning was enhanced." In any case, the transference of values, as considered by Dede et al (2021), or alternatively the alignment of values, are of importance and interest to be investigated.…”

Taking a Strength-Based Approach: Bringing Student Homes into Schools During a Pandemic

“…Clearly, both sets of values are underpinned by those of a collectivism society's and strongly focused on the wellbeing of the collective as a whole. In our recent research, we showed that students named family, respect, and collectivism as particularly important educational values they drew on as they engaged in mathematics in classrooms (Anthony, 2013;Hill et al, 2019;Hunter, 2021).…”