Rae Si'ilata

Find out how Dr Rae Si'ilata's research is supporting schools to improve their practice for Pasifika learners and other emergent bilinguals/linguistically diverse young people.

Title of research: Va‘a Tele: Pasifika learners riding the success wave on linguistically and culturally responsive pedagogies (2014).

"I am passionate about Pasifika Education and about supporting early childhood centres, schools and tertiary providers to work with Pasifika peoples in linguistically and culturally sustaining ways, so that our Pasifika young people are enabled to be successful, not only in the valued knowledge of school, but also in the valued knowledge of home.

"My research interests include Māori and Pasifika Education, Bilingual Education, bilingualism/biliteracy, second language acquisition, and Māori/Pasifika identity construction and mixedness.

"My research is focused on linguistically and culturally sustaining teaching practices for Pasifika learners in schooling, on effective professional learning for teachers of Pasifika, and other linguistically diverse groups, and on the development of reciprocal home school
partnerships.

"It’s been a real privilege to work with school leaders and teachers in a number of Ministry of Education projects, supporting them to create schools that build on, and utilise the linguistic and cultural resources of their communities."