Amosa’s Story

Amosa is Samoan. He lives in Aotearoa New Zealand and is strongly connected to his Samoan identity, language, and culture. He was excited when he first started school; his matua (parents) and aiga (immediate and extended family) believe education is important and want him to succeed. Amosa would like to make them proud. At first, he tried hard to understand the lessons the teacher prepared but he struggled with English and the work was disconnected from his home life and fa’a-Samoa (the Samoan way). He couldn’t see himself in the classroom environment or in the resources that the teacher used. Now Amosa is 12 years old. He has been bored and frustrated for a long time—not because he doesn’t want to learn or is incapable of learning, but because successive teachers have made no real effort to get to know him or to find out what is important to him and his aiga. Without this knowledge, Amosa’s teachers have not been able to integrate his cultural context, values, and experiences into their pedagogical approaches; drawing on deficit discourses, they’ve concluded his lack of progress is his own fault. Amosa said his current Year 8 teacher thinks he is stupid. When Amosa needs help, the teacher becomes impatient because Amosa will not look at him as he speaks. The teacher says he won’t help Amosa if he won’t show him respect. Last term, Amosa started leaving school during the lunch break a couple of times a week. Amosa’s teacher has not taken any steps to encourage him to return to class after the lunch break. Instead, he sends him to the principal. The principal is worried about what is going on for him, but Amosa says even though she is worried nothing ever changes. He wonders why she keeps repeating she wants to help but then does nothing different to support him. He has come to hate school.

Introduction

For Pasifika students like Amosa, culture is the catalyst to learning. As Bills et al. (2022) point out: “When teachers draw on the cultural contexts and values of their Pasifika students and use them to engage and connect them to learning, their learning is accelerated and their disposition towards school is enhanced” (p. 4). In this article we offer an introductory conceptualisation of a pedagogy of the heart situated in the field of Pasifika educational outcomes in Aotearoa New Zealand. The Samoan phrase used in the title for the article can be translated as actions that come from the heart; while it does not translate directly to ‘a pedagogy of the heart’, it captures the spirit of the pedagogy. As a culturally-based pedagogy underpinned by and enacted through Pasifika values, we argue a pedagogy of the heart has the potential to make a positive difference for Amosa and other Pasifika students in Aotearoa New Zealand schools, by making the kinds of connections Bills et al. (2022) refer to above. Engaging with questions such as: ‘What is a pedagogy of the heart?’ and ‘What do the Pasifika values of service, love and reciprocity look like when implementing a pedagogy of the heart?’, we suggest that when a pedagogy of the heart is adopted, both Pasifika students and teachers will have opportunities to thrive. The article concludes with some reflective questions designed to encourage thinking about a pedagogy of the heart in both philosophy and practice and its relationship to service, love and reciprocity.

Pasifika Peoples and Values

Amosa’s story sets the scene for a Samoan specific lens reflective of Leali’ie’e Tufulasifa’atafatafa Taleni’s Samoan heritage and his status as first author (the second author is Palagi or European). However, when we use the term ‘Pasifika students’ we are referring to all students living in Aotearoa New Zealand who identify themselves with and have genealogical connections to Pacific Island countries, nations, identities, languages and cultures. Significant diversity exists amongst the major Pasifika populations in Aotearoa New Zealand; we acknowledge the term ‘Pasifika’ has been criticised on the basis it potentially homogenises the diversity of these popuations (Reynolds, 2016), however this is not our intention. The most populous Pasifika communities in Aotearoa New Zealand are noted as Samoan, Tongan, Cook Islands Māori, Niuean, Fijian, Tokelauan, Tuvaluan, Kiribati and Rotuman (Ministry for Pacific Peoples—Te Manatū mō ngā Iwi ō te Moana-nui-ā-Kiwa, 2021).

Despite the rich and varied histories, identities, languages and cultures of the Pasifika communities in Aotearoa New Zealand, the Ministry for Pacific Peoples—Te Manatū mō ngā Iwi ō te Moana-nui-ā-Kiwa (2021) Pacific Policy Analysis Tool, successive Ministry of Education—Te Tāhuhu o Te Mātauranga (2009, 2013) Pasifika Education Plans and the Ministry’s (2020a) more recent Action Plan for Pacific Education 2020–2030 have identified values shared across them, including the values central to this article—service, love and reciprocity. As the Ministry for Pacific Peoples—Te Manatū mō ngā Iwi ō te Moana-nui-ā-Kiwa (2021) acknowledges, “common Pacific cultural values drive and influence an individual, a family or community’s practices, behaviours, decisions, experiences, motivation for change and outcomes” (p. 15). It is the commonality of these values that ensure the relevance of a pedagogy of the heart for Pasifika students, regardless of which Pasifika community they identify with and have connections to, or which Pasifika language is used to name the pedagogy’s underpinning values. Thus, while in the remainder of the article we refer to these values by their Samoan names, a pedagogy of the heart has built in scope for naming them in other languages—languages that might better speak to some Pasifika communities or other educational contexts. Tualaulelei and McFall-McCaffery’s (2019) reminder that “there is no single Pacific language that can express all the nuances of our various cultures” (p. 198) is apt.

The Impetus for a Pedagogy of the Heart: Pasifika Educational Outcomes in Aotearoa New Zealand

Pasifika education in Aotearoa New Zealand has been a strategic priority for the Ministry of Education—Te Tāhuhu o Te Mātauranga for more than two decades (Wendt Samu, 2020). Despite this, Pasifika student engagement and achievement remain an ongoing concern (Taleni, 2017). Amosa has been failed by his teachers, his principal and his school. Like other Pasifika students, he is marginalised within an education system built on Aotearoa New Zealand’s colonial past and institutional racism (Allen et al., 2022; Small, 2019). Disparities in achievement levels and inequitable outcomes are a continuing reality (Bills et al., 2022; Education Review Office, 2014; May et al., 2019; Ministry of Education—Te Tāhuhu o Te Mātauranga, 2019, 2020a). As Apulu (2017) observes, “we should be questioning why our [Pasifika] learners should have to assimilate to systems and education that do not work for them” (p. 59). While improvements in Pasifika students’ achievement levels compared with nationwide trends have been noted in some areas, results continue to fall short of expectations with disparities most marked in the secondary school years (Ministry of Education—Te Tāhuhu o Te Mātauranga, 2019). If nothing changes for Amosa before he begins secondary school, his chance of attaining secondary school qualifications will likely be lower relative to Palagi students’ chances, as has been the case for his Pasifika brothers and sisters over the past decade (New Zealand Qualifications Authority, 2020).

Previous Ministry of Education—Te Tāhuhu o Te Mātauranga Pasifika Education Plans have attempted to redress concerns about the engagement and achievement of Pasifika students (see for example, Ministry of Education—Te Tāhuhu o Te Mātauranga, 2009, 2013). The Action Plan for Pacific Education 2020–2030 (Ministry of Education—Te Tāhuhu o Te Mātauranga, 2020a) builds on past plans and reflects some of the priorities set out in The Statement of National Education and Learning Priorities (NELP) (Ministry of Education—Te Tāhuhu o Te Mātauranga, 2020b), including reducing barriers for Pasifika students. Matapo (2019) argues that while the plans consider Pasifika success holistically by taking into account identity, language and culture, tensions remain. As she states, “these aspirations [upholding identity, language and culture] for Pasifika success become marginalised when narrow and often standardised education assessment measures take precedence for measures of ‘success’” (para. 6). Such assessment measures, she concludes, must be contested if educational change that is responsive to Pasifika ways of knowing, being and doing is to be realised.

While education change as an outcome of policy that is responsive to Pasifika ways of knowing, being and doing will take time, at the level of the individual, teachers can make changes to practice that will potentially produce more immediate results for Amosa and other Pasifika students in their classrooms. The Action Plan for Pacific Education 2020–2030 (Ministry of Education—Te Tāhuhu o Te Mātauranga, 2020a) suggests changes to practice should draw from Tapasā (Ministry of Education—Te Tāhuhu o Te Mātauranga, 2018), a cultural competencies framework and important resource for teachers of these students that makes links to common Pasifika values. The resource translates the Samoan term ‘tapasā’ as a compass. It explains the tapasā traditionally served as a navigational guide for a malaga (journey), but without the physical constraints of a compass. Applied to the resource, the tapasā becomes a guide for navigating changes to practice that can lead to increased cultural competency. A newer resource, Pacific educators speak: Valuing our values (Rimoni et al., 2022) also uses the metaphor of a compass and can support enactment of Tapasā through attention to the ways particular Pasifika values can be demonstrated and upheld in education settings. In embedding Pasifika values in practice, a pedagogy of the heart lends itself well to this work. As such, it has a critical role to play in addressing Pasifika student engagement and achievement while supporting teachers to deepen their understanding of Pacific ways of learning.

Framing a Pedagogy of the Heart: The Sacred Relational Space of the Vā

Earlier, we acknowledged our conceptualisation of a pedagogy of the heart is situated in the field of Pasifika educational outcomes. As a relational approach, this pedagogy is framed by and requires an understanding of the vā or sacred relational space. Indeed, Taleni (2023) observes that prior to taking steps to improve educational outcomes for Pasifika students in schools, commitment to teu le vā, or the nurturing of relationships in the vā, is essential (see Fig. 1 for an overview of key qualities of teu le vā). Similarly, Baice et al. (2021) and Matapo and McFall-McCaffery (2022) note such nurturing should be a priority in higher education institutions. They add this can potentially shift the systemic issues that have negatively impacted possibilities for Pasifika education success.

Fig. 1
figure 1

Copyright 2023 L. T. T. Taleni. Reprinted with permission)

Key Qualities of Teu le Va. (Note. From O le fa’atamasoali’iga a tautai matapalapala. A soul-searching and far-reaching voyage of the tautai (the master navigator) (p. 150), by L. T. T. Taleni, 2023, UC Research Repository.

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The concept of vā (space) is widely shared across Pasifika peoples (Anae, 2016; Matapo & McFall-McCaffery, 2022). Almost three decades ago, Wendt (1996) described vā as “the space between, the betweenness, not empty space, not space that separates but space that relates, that holds separate entities and things together in the Unity-that-is-All, the space that is context, giving meaning to things.” (pp. 18–19). Vā is an open space; it highlights the spiritual interrelationships and social connections between people, objects lands and the environment (Allen et al., 2022; Taleni, 2023; Tualaulelei & McFall-McCaffery, 2019), while amplifying the importance of honouring these connections (Baice et al., 2021). Although the vā is not owned by people, it does belong to them during the course of any one interaction (Taleni, 2023). It is a “site of action in which social interactions are productive for those connected to the place” (Taleni, 2023, p. 145).

Vā, in the context of education, has the potential to support Pasifika student learning (Matapo & McFall-McCaffery, 2022). Reynold’s (2019) observes: “Every classroom has many va, between teacher and student, peer and peer, student and subject, and so on. In education as elsewhere, the key issue is the state of the various va” (p. 26). Understanding vā therefore carries an ethical responsibility to reflect on the state of—and attend to—the vā. Teu le vā, as already indicated, is the nurturing or looking after of the relationships in the vā in ways that bring about harmony and positive outcomes for all concerned (Airini et al., 2010). In our view, a pedagogy of the heart can contribute to this process.

What Is a Pedagogy of the Heart?

In this article, we conceptualize a pedagogy of the heart as the practice of teaching both from and with the heart. As a heart-centered pedagogy, thinking and acting from and with the heart rather than the head is privileged, albeit we acknowledge teaching is a matter of “both head and heart, both reason and passion” (Cochran-Smith, 2003, p. 374). The practice of teaching from and with the heart has been linked by others to caring pedagogies (see for example, Cochran-Smith, 2003; de Guzman et al., 2008), following on from Noddings’ (1992) seminal work on an ethic of care. As de Guzman et al. (2008) state, “to teach with a heart is the essence that makes teaching a form of caring” (p. 487). The practice of teaching from and with the heart has also been linked to teaching with compassion. According to Kaufman and Schipper (2018), when we teach with full, open and welcoming hearts compassion is present.

Because values tend to be grounded in the heart, thinking and acting from and with the heart becomes a process of enacting values—in the case of our conceptualisation of a pedagogy of the heart, Pasifika values, which are lived, felt and enacted in the vā. We maintain this pedagogy is, therefore, a culturally based pedagogy underpinned by and enacted through values such as tautua (service), alofa (love) and osiosiga (reciprocity). Significantly, because the pedagogy has the potential to make a positive difference to Pasifika students—to their engagement, achievement, confidence and feelings about learning and school—we argue it becomes a form of giving tautua to them, their aiga and communities. Herein lies its underlying intent and importance—to support a change for the better. Unsurprisingly therefore, Hordatt Gentles’ (2023) observation that “the notion of teaching as a work of heart must be taken seriously and valued” (p. 1020) is one we strongly support.

While other Pasifika values have relevance to a pedagogy of the heart, including fa’aaloalo (respect), aloaia (integrity), fa’asinomaga (belonging) and fa’aleagaga (spirituality) we have chosen to focus on the values of tautua, alofa and osiosiga because these values both come from the heart and are at the heart of the pedagogy and therefore most tangibly illustrate the underlying essence of it. They are also central to its implementation, as described later in the article. However, importantly, Pasifika values are closely interconnected with one another (Rimoni & Averill, 2019; Rimoni et al., 2022). No one value can therefore be viewed in isolation, but rather will be understood and enacted in relation to other values (Rimoni & Averill, 2019).

We support our conceptualisation of a pedagogy of the heart with reference to the image of a beautiful ula or lei (a garland of flowers or other objects significant in Samoan and other Pasifika cultures). A decade ago, Sanga (2013) pointed out metaphorical language is intrinsic to Pasifika cultures. He acknowledged the growth in the use of cultural metaphors by Pasifika scholars as a way of engaging in educational discourse, noting that their use legitimises Pasifika people’s local contexts and knowledge. Cultural metaphors draw from Pasifika cultural objects (such as ula) or cultural activities (such as ula making) (Sanga & Reynolds, 2017). Sauni’s (2011) Ula model, a research approach based on the principles and values of fa’a-Samoa (the Samoan way) and Helu Thaman’s (1992) Kakala, a Tongan teaching and learning approach likened to ula making and subsequently expanded by Manu’atu (2001) and Johansson Fua (2014) are illustrative (for additional examples, see Tualaulelei & McFall-McCaffery, 2019).

Our use of the ula is uniquely Taleni’s, envisioned during the development of this article. As he sees it, the invisible role of the hidden string that ties the flowers together in the ula symbolizes the invisible but critical role of the heart in the body. Without the connecting string there can be no ula. Similarly, without the beating heart, there can be no life. Applying this metaphor to teaching and learning, the flowers in the ula represent the content teachers deliver to Pasifika students, but without the heart’s involvement in that delivery it may not be understood by them. When teachers listen to and lead from and with the heart, they develop the capacity and drive to go the ‘extra mile’ for their Pasifika students; they will feel a ‘fire burning’ in their hearts to help them achieve their educational goals and aspirations. Students on the receiving end can really feel the impact of this kind of teaching—it has a genuineness and authenticity that they notice. It adds strength, motivation and interest, allows them to recognise and unlock their full potential and capabilities, and empowers them to persevere and persist.

Before moving on to a discussion of tautua and this value’s interconnections with alofa and osiosiga in the next section, we wish to acknowledge the late Brazilian educationalist Paulo Freire and his 1998 volume titled Pedagogy of the Heart. Widely understood as one of the most important educators of the twentieth century, Freire’s (1998) Pedagogy of the Heart and other works engage with themes of education, democracy, social justice, equality faith, hope and values. Representing some of his last writing, Pedagogy of the Heart continues to reflect his humanistic philosophy that is at odds with the neoliberal positioning of education (Desierto & de Maio, 2020; Roberts, 2008).

While Taleni’s (2023) research draws on critical theory and fits with the emancipatory goal of Freire’s (1970) critical pedagogy, unlike those who have intentionally built on his (1998) Pedagogy of the Heart to counter the dominance of neoliberal discourse in education (see for example, FitzSimmons, 2015), our own conceptualization of a pedagogy of the heart did not take this particular volume as our starting point. However, the focus in the volume on creating a more humane, “less ugly … people-orientated society” (p. 104) underpinned by human-centred values resonates. As Freire (1998) reminds us, if people-orientated tomorrows are to come, vision and education are indispensable to this task. In keeping with this reminder, the vision for tomorrow’s Pasifika students articulated by Taleni (2023) is one that moves educational thought and practice towards a positive framing of them as learners of promise, rather than learners at risk.

Tautua, Alofa and Osiosiga: Key Values Underpinning a Pedagogy of the Heart

To reiterate, a pedagogy of the heart—teaching both from and with the heart—acknowledges its location within Pasifika culture and the values it embraces, with these values lived, felt and enacted in the vā. The values of tautua, alofa and osiosiga are our particular focus in this section of the article. When these and other values, including those identified in the last section—fa’aaloalo, aloaia, fa’asinomaga and fa’aleagaga—are embedded in practice, a pedagogy of the heart is upheld. While traditionally such values were considered central to Pasifika children’s upbringing and understood as a road map for life, not all Pasifika children growing up in Aotearoa New Zealand are necessarily nurtured and raised in the same manner. Nevertheless, knowing the traditional place of values in children’s lives can encourage teachers of Pasifika students to dig deeper in their own ola (basket) of knowledge and take out the measina (treasures) of Pasifika students’ cultural capital and funds of knowledge (González et al., 2005). Moreover, this knowledge can also encourage teachers to revisit their education philosophies and to adjust these as necessary to align with the educational needs of their Pasifika students more fully.

We turn now to specific consideration of tautua, while at the same time highlighting this value’s interconnections with alofa and osiosiga. Tautua is particularly significant in Samoan and other Pasifika cultures (Anae, 2016; Averill et al., 2020; Fa’aea & Enari, 2021; Rimoni et al., 2022; Taleni et al., 2017). Giving tautua is to put others before self without seeking individual gain or payment (Fairbairn-Dunlop, 2010; Va’a, 2009). Involving rendering service to the aiga and the matai (chief) (Apulu, 2017; Va’a, 2009), tautua is a prerequisite to becoming a future leader (Taleni, 2017). In acknowledging the pathway to leadership is through tautua, the alagaupu (proverb), “O le ala i le pule, o le tautua” succinctly captures this point (Surtees et al., 2021), to the extent it forms the title of recent leadership scholarship by Fa’aea and Enari (2021).

Tautua is accomplished and implemented through alofa, but it is also a product of alofa. Ualesi (2021): states, “a va relational approach includes the centrality of tautua to serve and teu le va—to nurture and tidy relationships through alofa” (p. 37). According to Va’a (2009), alofa “springs from the heart of a Samoan, from love for other humans” (p. 244). As the Ministry for Pacific Peoples—Te Manatū mō ngā Iwi ō te Moana-nui-ā-Kiwa (2021) points out:

For many Pacific peoples love is inherent in all they do and how they behave. In the tone of voice, body language, how they greet, apologise, heal, affirm, console, farewell and forgive. It is multi-dimensional, and guides approaches in all relationships with an individual and their family, their genealogies and environment. To love is to be responsible and have a duty of care for self and for all. It is the thread that enables all other values to be sustained and thrive. (p. 16)

Just as tautua is implemented through and is a product of alofa, it is also implemented through and is a product of osiosiga. Baice et al. (2021) observe, “the reciprocity inherent in va/vā connections are a key aspect of tautua” (p. 84). Closely tied to fa’aaloalo, agalelei (compassion) and loto fesoasoani (generosity), osiosiga motivates the giving of tautua with alofa, dignity and humility in the knowledge that everyone belongs to the community and that one day, others in the community will reciprocate this service in different ways. In other words, “Give love now, receive love tomorrow” or “Alofa atu nei, alofa mai taeao.” Another alagaupu, “O alofa na, o alofa nei” or “Your love belongs to you and my love belongs to me” draws attention to the idea that every time you serve others with your love, these others will reciprocate that same love in return. This simple alagaupu demonstrates the value of love as key to the implementation of osiosiga.

Tautua can take different forms. Taleni’s (2023) tautua model (see Fig. 2), developed in relation to leadership as part of his PhD research but utilised here in relation to a pedagogy of the heart, identifies five common forms of tautua. The first form is tautua toto; this is a deep form of service that requires true sacrifice. The second form is tautua matavela, or giving service with full commitment, perseverance and honesty. The third form is tautua matalilo, or service done behind the scenes. The fourth, tautua nofotuavae, refers to a servant that sits behind people but is always ready to serve. Lastly, tautua aitaumalele, is service undertaken from afar by family members living abroad but supporting their families back home. Regardless of the form tautua takes, Pasifika and non-Pasifika teachers have different understandings of tautua and this is reflected in educational contexts, with the same holding true for other Pasifika values (Averill et al., 2020). Rimoni et al. (2021) found that for many Pasifika teachers, tautua was understood as a vital value and way of being that had been ingrained in them since childhood; they had been giving tautua from a young age and expected to continue to give tautua freely, whereas this was not the case for their non-Pasifika counterparts. Concluding therefore that tautua will be demonstrated and experienced by Pasifika and non-Pasifika teachers and students differently, these authors make a case for shared understandings of how tautua and other Pasifika values frame Pasifika lives in order to enhance Pasifika students’ learning experiences.

Fig. 2
figure 2

Copyright 2023 L. T. T. Taleni. Reprinted with permission)

Tautua Model. (Note. From O le fa’atamasoali’iga a tautai matapalapala. A soul-searching and far-reaching voyage of the tautai (the master navigator) (p. 142), by L. T. T. Taleni, 2023, UC Research Repository.

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MacKinlayshe (2011) asks, “How, and will we, own the social, ethical and moral imperatives we have as teachers to do what we can wherever and whenever we can to teach and learn with Indigenous children as though something different were possible?” (p. 21). As already suggested, because a pedagogy of the heart has the potential to make something different possible for Pasifika students’ learning, we posit it becomes a form of tautua for them, their aiga and their communities. Teachers can use Taleni’s (2023) tautua model to reflect on or ‘audit’ what tautua might look like in practice, as they implement this pedagogy.

Enacting Tautua, Alofa and Osiosiga: Implementing a Pedagogy of the Heart

A pedagogy of the heart, as a form of tautua, is implemented through enacting tautua, alofa and osiosiga in practice. Understanding and integrating these three values into practice, while recognising the ways they are interwinned with fa’aaloalo, aloaia, fa’asinomaga and fa’aleagaga (and potentially additional values not named here) is the key to the pedagogy’s effective implementation. We acknowledge some teachers will already be implementing this pedagogy through their enactment of these and other values, regardless of whether they understand their practice in these terms. Because, as previously mentioned, tautua is accomplished and actioned through alofa and osiosiga but is also a product of them, we begin with some examples of enacting tautua in practice, while making links to alofa and osiosiga; this approach serves to illustrate their interconnected nature.

Tautua can be enacted in practice in many different ways; the following examples reflect tautua toto, or deep service with sacrifice, and tautua matavela, service with commitment, perseverance and honesty (Taleni, 2023). To enact tautua in practice, teachers can cultivate alofa for their Pasifika students. As Rimoni et al. (2022) suggest: “Feeling love for our learners and for advancing their learning can help lead to developing the strong positive educator-learner relationships necessary to many Pacific learners for maximising achievement and wellbeing” (p. 53). In short, love, as a powerful emotion, can foster an exciting and deeply worthwhile teaching and learning experience for both teachers and Pasifika students (Pepe, 2016). In Pepe’s (2016) case, love had the added advantage of enabling her to learn patience, discipline, and perseverance while upholding “the values of manaakitanga, whanaungatanga me nga tikanga o te whanau” (p. 19) in the classroom with her students.

When teachers embed tautua in practice, they will show their Pasifika students alofa through caring words and actions that together signal a steadfast commitment to supporting learning. They will have high expectations of these students, in a historical context where low expectations have been the norm (Ministry of Education—Te Tāhuhu o Te Mātauranga, 2019). They will persevere with them, rather than give up on them. They will consistently give them clear instructions, feedback and feedforward (Rimoni et al., 2021). At the same time, they will let them know they are eager to assist them while being readily available, approachable and attentive to needs; noticing how to be helpful and being respectful and patient while helping are of critical importance (Apulu, 2017; Rimoni & Averill, 2019; Rimoni et al., 2022). “Service”, Rimoni et al. (2021) explain, “is strongly evident in compassionate education environments where putting others’ learning first, noticing what needs to be done and doing it, and supporting one another without being asked are normal, frequent, and expected” (p. 12). Such support reflects osiosiga.

Moreover, when teachers embed tautua in practice, they will make time to learn about their Pasifika students’ cultural knowledge and experiences, linking these meaningfully to curriculum content (Apulu, 2017; Rimoni et al., 2021). Both the Action Plan for Pacific Education 2020–2030 (Ministry of Education—Te Tāhuhu o Te Mātauranga, 2020a) and Tapasā (Ministry of Education—Te Tāhuhu o Te Mātauranga, 2018) underscore the need for such an approach, with the ensuing benefits for student learning a theme in the literature (see for example, Allen et al., 2009; Bills et al., 2022; Hunter et al., 2016). As Helu Thaman (2000) so aptly puts it:

As teachers we must continue to better contextualise our teaching because the content of the curricula that we are often asked to implement is so alien from the realities of our students that their success will depend on the extent to which we as teachers are able to make learning meaningful for them. (p. 8)

Because tautua involves osiosiga, when teachers embed tautua in practice, reciprocity among members of the classroom will be fostered (Rimoni et al., 2021). Teachers can nourish the tautua that Pasifika students bring to the classroom, including recognising that this is shown through humility as an act of respect (Apulu, 2017). Teachers can invite these students to be their guides, while providing opportunities for them to impart their cultural knowledge and practices (Apulu, 2017). They can also provide opportunities for them to take on other responsibilities, such as being of assistance to their peers (Averill et al., 2020). Additionally, understanding these students will have their own service obligations outside school and that sometimes this may impact their attendance is critical (Averill et al., 2020; Rimoni et al., 2021, 2022). For teachers interested in additional examples of tautua in practice, Rimoni et al. (2021) provide a useful table of indicators.

A pedagogy of the heart, as a form of tautua, challenges teachers to give wholeheartedly or to spare no effort in their attempts to fully engage Pasifika students in learning—to make something different possible for them. In the opening to an earlier article titled “‘Tu’utu’u le upega i le loloto’—‘Cast the net to deeper waters’”, Taleni (2007) asks: “How do we translate ‘possibility’ [for Pasifika students] into ‘reality’?” (p. 9). With reference to the title, he calls on teachers to cast their nets deeper to bring the possibility of Pasifika student engagement, achievement, and success to fruition. We repeat this call here. By teaching both from and with the heart—and giving tautua with alofa and osiosiga—teachers can contribute positively to Pasifika student engagement and achievement thus casting their nets deeper. In turn, the success of these students will enable them to serve their aiga and communities in the future, while also contributing back to Aotearoa New Zealand society. They are sent to school with these expectations—to achieve, to succeed, to serve.

Teaching with Heart: Reflective Questions

Little has changed in terms of Pasifika students’ success in 20 years (Smith & Wolfgramm-Foliaki, 2021). Given this fact, those of us in education need to consider whether our hearts hold enough courage and commitment to make something different possible for these students. MacKinlayshe (2011) inquires: “What happens when a ‘pedagogy of [the] heart’—of care, compassion and ethical responsibility—becomes the life force of the lessons we teach…?” (p. 18). In our view, when a pedagogy of the heart becomes the life force of our lessons, we will give all we have—from the heart—to make a real difference for those in our classrooms. Thus a pedagogy of the heart is also a pedagogy of possibilities (FitzSimmons, 2015). In this spirit, a series of reflective questions that are intended to foster thinking about what a pedagogy of the heart looks like in philosophy and practice and the relationship of tautua, alofa and osiosiga to this pedagogy follow. Ultimately, we hope reflecting on these questions will support changes to practice and contribute towards fostering Pasifika students’ success as Pasifika students.

Tautua

  • How might the value of tautua motivate me to fully implement a pedagogy of the heart?

  • What changes will I make to my Pasifika students’ learning when implementing a pedagogy of the heart with tautua?

  • How am I currently enacting tautua with my Pasifika students?

  • How can I deepen my enactment of tautua with them?

Alofa

  • How can the value of alofa guide my implementation of a pedagogy of the heart?

  • What will my Pasifika students’ notice about my ways of working with them when I implement a pedagogy of the heart with alofa?

  • How can I create a classroom environment where my Pasifika students feel alofa?

Osiosiga

  • Why is the value of osiosiga important in the implementation of a pedagogy of the heart?

  • What is the relationship between osiosiga and a pedagogy of the heart?

  • How can I demonstrate this relationship in my practice?

Teachers of Pasifika students must continue to cast their nets deeper. Seeking out the pearls of knowledge found in the heart of Pacific culture is a prerequisite to nurturing key elements of the pedagogy of the heart. When this pedagogy is adopted, hearts are opened, and both teachers and their students have the potential to thrive.

Rewriting Amosa’s Story

Amosa is in Year 8. He loves school and is doing very well. His matua and aiga are proud of him. His teachers have adopted a pedagogy of the heart as a form of giving tautua, teaching him from and with their hearts, and embedding alofa and osiosiga in their practice. Although Amosa initially struggled with English, the teachers made sure to prepare relevant lessons that were familiar to him because they connected to his home life, cultural knowledge and experiences and involved his aiga and community. Seeing himself in the classroom environment and the resources the teachers used has inspired him to engage fully; he works hard and is achieving and succeeding in ways that have not always been understood as possible for Pasifika students from within an education system marred by deficit theorizing and low expectations. Amosa eagerly reciprocates his teachers’ tautua and alofa, helping both them and his peers. Feeling loved and cared for, something different has been made possible for him.

Declaration

This article does not draw on research data. Ethics approval was not required. No funding was received.

Conflict of interest

On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.