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Tongan language and culture would not replace the current pedagogies, but would add
to what teachers provide in the classroom to help teach the Tongan children.
The principle focus of the study is pedagogy for use in the primary years education.
Talanoa is suggested as a pedagogy that best explores the knowledge, strengths and
merits of using the Tongan language and cultural practices in the teaching and
learning of Tongan children.
In this study, talanoa was used as the method of research. It was grounded in
meaningful sites of learning for Tongan primary school children, their homes in New
Zealand. The investigation focused on how talanoa is used in the homes as a
pedagogical approach. Although the research literature addresses many aspects of
educating Tongan people in Aotearoa, very few have employed talanoa as its
research method and koloa as the conceptual framework.
The title of the study
The study is titled: Talanoa: A contribution to the teaching and learning of Tongan
Primary School children in New Zealand.
In the study I seek the Tongan parents’ koloa of talanoa as a contribution to teaching
and learning of Tongan primary school children through inclusion of talanoa as an
additional pedagogical approach. The contribution does not mean that the present
pedagogies are bad or poor but in this study I argue that if non Tongan teachers knew
the Tongan children’s culture well, they would be able to teach in the best possible way.
The koloa question then is, ‘What are the best practices for schooling our Tongan
primary school children?’ and How does talanoa in the home contribute to better
teaching and learning by Tongan primary school children? With the title of the study
provided, the broad outline of the main question follows.
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