At the Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs Lana designed and led this multi-agency longitudinal cohort study of Pacific students attending secondary school across Auckland.
The project began with the recruitment of Pacific schools to participate in the project. Schools were recruited by approaching senior staff to discuss how the project could contribute to their understanding of their students. The relationships established with the schools were essential to the success of the project.
The study was overseen by a steering group that included stakeholders across the education sector, including Careers New Zealand, the Ministry of Education and the Education Review Office. Lana managed relationships with these stakeholders to maintain their engagement with the project.
A survey was run with students when they were in years 9, 10 and 11. The survey asked how and why they made the choices they did around their subjects, their hopes and expectations for their future careers and their education. In parallel, in-depth interviews were carried out with a smaller number of these students. Their stories provide context and understanding for the survey data.
Following data collection for the third survey, Malatest International was contracted to complete data cleaning, analysis and results reporting. We provided a descriptive statistical analysis and identified areas where survey results changed between the survey waves. Finally, we used factor analysis and regression modelling to identify contributors to students having career plans in place and feeling that they were able to achieve their educational and career expectations. Our approach to the analysis was underpinned by the SOI goals of contributing agencies.
The findings have highlighted the contribution schools and aiga make to helping students decide their career pathways. Many Pacific students had a disparity between the level of education they hoped to achieve and the level they expected to achieve. Similarly, many students did not expect to enter the career they aspired to.