Scholarship leads principal offshore

BY CARLY TAWHIAO

Papakura resident and Mt Albert Primary School principal Enosa Auva’a is a rare find.

He represents 1.1 percent of New Zealand’s school leaders of Pacific Island descent.

It’s a fact he discovered in 2004 while researching his educational leadership and management thesis for his master’s degree.

Now with the help of a Fulbright-Cognition Education Research Trust scholarship, he will go a step further to discover why that is in a bid to change it.

Mr Auva’a will use the scholarship to continue his research into ethnic minority leadership fulltime at the University of Hawaii next year.

"The diversity of students in New Zealand schools is not reflected in leadership roles and having more people thinking about this can only be good for us," says the 51-year-old.

"I hope my research can identify ways to inspire more minority school leaders in New Zealand and I feel really privileged to be going – as a representative of my own people and of my own school."

Mr Auva’a was born in Vailoa Faleata, Samoa, in 1958 and although his father was a Methodist minister, both his parents came from school teaching backgrounds.

In 1970 the family emigrated to New Zealand where they lived in Mt Eden.

Mr Auva’a attended Auckland Normal Intermediate and Mt Albert Grammar School.

He met his wife Felicity, now a primary school teacher, musician and a Papakura district councillor, when they trained at teachers’ college and they have lived in Papakura for 30 years.

In Hawaii Mr Auva’a will study the stories and experiences of minority school leaders in the United States to find out how aspiring minority teachers are encouraged towards senior management positions.

A lot can be learnt from the US that could boost New Zealand’s limited knowledge in this field, he says.

"We just don’t have the critical mass to work from.

"I hope this research will promote reflections on the type of leadership required for a multicultural school," Mr Auva’a says.

He was concerned by a serious lack of minority leadership in education and his research identified barriers faced by aspiring Pacific principals such as racism, discrimination, levels of expectation and lack of confidence.

"These are personal and systemic conditions," he says.

"Some were not confident about the appointment process or their qualifications even though they were university or master’s graduates.

"Others lacked confidence in the system itself."

A lack of professional support was also identified so he developed a national network, the New Zealand Pasifika Principals Association, in 2008.

"Ethnic minority leaders can make a significant contribution in efforts to raise student achievement, by role modelling success and achieving rapport with ethnic communities and families."

Mr Auva’a’s career in education spans three decades and he has been the principal of Mt Albert Primary School since 1991.

- © Fairfax NZ News