Retaining non-traditional students : lessons learnt with Pasifika students in New Zealand

Abstract

New Zealand tertiary education is currently undergoing extensive reviews and re-organisation in its quest for achieving a ‘knowledge society’. Central to many of these new developments is the need to extend the participation rates of groups previously under-represented. Increasingly, the debate is also centred on how to retain these under-represented groups once they are recruited into tertiary programmes. This article reports a large-scale study of the factors that influence successful completion of tertiary qualifications for Pasifika students. Using a diverse range of data sources throughout New Zealand, the study identified motivation and attitudes, pressures from family groups, peer groups and finances, lack of support services and language issues as negative factors, while the availability of Pasifika staff, promoting a Pasifika ‘presence’ in institutions, positive role models, appropriate pedagogy and readily-available information were all positive factors in increasing retention.