Pacific Youth Activists Encountering Climate Change: Implications for Education

Abstract

The vulnerability of many Pacific communities is impacted by rising sea levels and exposure to extreme weather patterns. This qualitative research study was conducted with focus groups of Māori and Pacific youth in Aotearoa New Zealand. I am a Pacific researcher, and I examine research and report on findings from Pacific youth focus groups. Employing a Talanoa methodology, a key question posed was how educators in Aotearoa New Zealand supported the wellbeing of Pacific youth in the face of increasing climate extremes within their schools and communities. Engaging a Pacific values framework, this discussion emphasizes the critical role of teachers and education in eliminating concerns, working collectively, listening respectfully, and collaborating with Pacific youth in confronting the complexity of issues surrounding climate change, thereby creating a shift from a position of despair and helplessness to a place of hope and optimism. Findings from the study reveal that, in the education sector, climate change is not well addressed, teachers could do more to acknowledge and address climate crises faced in the Pacific region in the curriculum, and little attention is paid to the wellbeing of Pacific youth facing climate change in the Pacific. An implication is that teachers need to support Pacific youth and understand that education about climatic variance affects Pacific learners’ wellbeing.

1. Introduction

Successfully adapting to changes in the climate is arguably one of the most complex challenges Pacific People will have to face this century (Longman, 2024). Contemporary times are hallmarked by uncertainty and heightened anxiety as the global community grapples with the overwhelming issue of climate change and the forecast implications of climate extremes. Too frequently a Western bias pervades the discourse, dislocating and marginalizing Indigenous communities whilst sidelining the very populace who are most frequently living in the literal ‘eye of the storm’ (Renwick, 2020). The challenges perpetuated by climate change are complex, interwoven and will manifest more rapidly in vulnerable environments and societies (IPCC, 2014), and Pacific Peoples; environments are acutely vulnerable (Lata & Nunn, 2012). This study is situated within the discourse on climate change in the Pacific, drawing on the voices of Pacific youth and the role of education in responding to the genuine concerns expressed.

“Climate change is the ultimate injustice,” said Ani Dasgupta, the president of the World Resources Institute, an environmental group (Dasgupta, 2024, p. 2). “People with the fewest resources, those least responsible for the climate crisis, bear the brunt of climate impacts.” He added, “If you do not live in a hot spot, imagine instead a roof blown away, a village well overwhelmed by salt water, a failed crop, a job lost, a meal skipped—all at once, again and again.”

Overlaid with this concern is the sincere aspiration for hopeful solutions, as explained by speakers at the recent Pacific Climate summit held in Apia in 2024. Notably, climate change education for Pacific youth is pivotal. Education plays a prime role in working with students who experience trauma related to climate crises. Nations and communities are increasingly impacted by climatic devastation, and schools are called upon to assist children in their care to process and recover from events (Mutch & Latai, 2019).

In parallel, the Pacific community is among the fastest-growing demographics in Aotearoa New Zealand (Statistics New Zealand, 2017), partly and significantly due to climate-related migration. Despite the increased population, educational practices, policies, and regulatory frameworks have not kept pace with the cultural, linguistic, social and wellbeing needs of Pacific youth (Glasgow, 2022). This has had an adverse effect on their health, wellbeing, identity and sense of self-worth (DPMC, 2019; Ministry of Social Development, 2024). The Ministry of Education’s (2019) brief on best practice for teaching Pacific learners acknowledges that the education system is, in fact, “failing many Pacific learners” (p. 2). Learner identity is enhanced when teachers are responsive to cultural ways of knowing and being (Ministry of Education, 2017, p. 12). Notably, there is a disconnect where teaching practices do not align with Pacific cultural life-worlds. It is essential; therefore, that teachers’ practices are strengthened to embody cultural understandings (Rameka & Glasgow, 2017) in discussions of Pacific students’ wider worlds.

Overview

This article shares the voices of Pacific youth in Aotearoa New Zealand, gathered through the methodology of Talanoa in 2021. These are the children of the Pacific Diaspora. They voice their concerns, emotional responses, hopes, and aspirations, and the challenges faced within an education system that has dislocated and disempowered Pacific youth, and among educators who fail to adequately address these concerns in classroom teaching. In the following section, I situate myself as a Pacific educator and researcher. I then introduce the Aotearoa New Zealand context and previous work with Pacific Island students in Aotearoa New Zealand. Subsequently, I follow with a description of the Pacific values framework and Talanoa methods, before considering the findings and discussion.

2. Pacific Regional Context

This research is located within the wider Pacific Region, with nations that are at supreme risk of degradation and loss because of change. Renwick (2020) states that the risks and challenges from climate change are acute and notes that Pacific nations are in ‘the eye of the storm”. In the Pacific region, sea level rise is higher than the global average, rainfall variability is set to increase dramatically, the tropical cyclone season is lengthening, and the most powerful storms are becoming more frequent. Many communities live on low-lying clusters of islands, which are especially prone to the effects of sea level rise. While Pacific nations have done very little to cause the climate change problem, they are very much at the forefront of suffering the consequences. The oceans are acidifying, and temperature extremes are noted, with sea surface temperatures in the southwestern Pacific having risen three times faster than the global average since 1980 (WMA, 2024). Rainfall variability is increasing, sea level rise is occurring faster than the global average in a region where many populations live close to sea level, and tropical cyclones are becoming more intense. All these factors, according to Renwick (2020), raise the likelihood of extreme, damaging events, from coastal inundation to drought and crop failures, to unprecedented storm damage and torrential rains. The changing climate, brought about by human-induced greenhouse gas emissions, is affecting all aspects of the climate across the southwest Pacific and the globe. The oceans are soaking up the bulk of the heat—at least 90 per cent (IPCC, 2014)—and around a third of the carbon dioxide emitted from fossil fuel burning. Consequently, sea levels are rising, and the pH of ocean waters is decreasing (known as ocean acidification).

From an Indigenous Polynesian perspective, a spiritual relational dimension is frequently absent from Western scientific discourse. Relationality is a key consideration between the natural and supernatural world, and between human and non-human entities. Relationality is important, and from an Indigenous Mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) framework, human and non-human share genealogy. However, in a conventional Western worldview, such genealogical links are dismantled and deemed irrelevant (Ritchie et al., 2022). Pacific youth are exposed to an education system generally taught by teachers from Western backgrounds, bound by Western philosophies and theory, and are at risk of marginalization when Pacific cultural tenets are denigrated.

Pacific youth across Oceania are becoming climate activists through education, gaining confidence to speak back to government interventions, policies and practices that undermine their fundamental human rights. These rights include the choice to live on one’s own land and preserve this land for themselves and future generations. Pacific youth activism embraces collaboration, participation, and action-oriented strategies to address concerns and actively seek measures for transformation.

3. My Background

I am Cook Islands Māori, a first-generation New Zealander whose ancestors hail from Penhryn, or Tongareva (its Indigenous name) atoll, an atoll in the Northern group. I also have links to Tahiti and Rurutu in the Austral Islands in the South Pacific. For generations, the people of Penhryn have eked out, at times, a precarious living, adapting to and surviving on the rim of a sunken volcano. Our relationship with nature is intertwined with our identity. Our names reflect our environment, such as Takurangi (my heaven), Tangaroa, (God of the sea), and Pōhatu (strong, solid rock), indicating the personification and supreme importance of such phenomena in our lives and wellbeing. Penhryn is my Turangavaevae (resting place). It is where my parents and brother are buried, overlooking the lagoon at Motukoiti, our ancestral lands. Penhryn is 1372 km from the main island of Rarotonga. The considerable distance from central government has meant that decisions are made by those in power in Rarotonga and may result in far-reaching repercussions for those who live on the margins. Recently, for example, the Cook Islands Prime Minister signed a five-year agreement for seabed and mineral exploration and research with the Chinese government to mine for minerals within the Penhryn Ocean basin (Crimp, 2025, Radio New Zealand) These negotiations were carried out with scant consultation with Cook Islands communities, including the Penhyn community, who are most at risk. Such ventures encroach on living spaces and contribute to the degradation of traditional food sources from the ocean and livelihoods.

I am also a Pacific teacher and teacher educator in Aotearoa New Zealand. A central premise that underpins my discussion is that New Zealand teachers in Aotearoa are ill-prepared to respond to Pacific learners and are inadequately informed of the wider contextual issues of climate change, particularly in the region of Oceania. A key policy document, Action Plan for Pacific Education 2020—2030 (Ministry of Education, 2020b), noted the journey ahead and the gaps in teaching practice for non-Pacific teachers. Foremost are the complex issues of racism and discrimination, which require immediate attention to ensure that every teacher is the best teacher for Pacific learners. Deconstructing personal and professional bias for teachers can be confronting and takes time. Bringing into sharp focus the challenges encountered around climate change is less likely to be considered, let alone foregrounded, by New Zealand teachers in the short term.

4. Aotearoa New Zealand Educational Context

The demographic profile of Pacific peoples is youthful, with a median age of 22 years (DPMC, 2019). The Pacific population comprises new migrants and multiple generations born in New Zealand, which presents an evolving, complex set of Pacific identities for its children and youth. There is an emerging collective Pacific identity in New Zealand, as well as a resurgence of individual Pacific cultures. The wellbeing of Pacific peoples is characterized by family, faith and culture. Legacy appears to be an important feature of Pacific communities, reinforced by the importance of a good education and contributing to cultural ventures (p. 9).

To assist students in preparing for climate change, the Ministry of Education (2020b) has prepared a program, The Climate Change: Prepare Today, Live Well Tomorrow program. This resource guides teachers in the critical task of preparing students to meet the challenges of climate change. Key aspects include developing scientific knowledge and a focus on wellbeing, whilst also advocating for personal action. Significantly, Eames (2017) identifies that 66% of teachers in an Aotearoa New Zealand NZCER survey responded that they do not find it challenging to address climate issues in their classrooms. Bolstad (2020) notes that teachers discussed the need to ensure that they present opportunities and optimism rather than a dire future, and that negativity, doom and gloom messaging is unhelpful and can further compound anxiety issues for students. Such discourse alienates Pacific youth whose families, communities and nations are at the interface of climate disaster. Educator ignorance and denial compound division and misunderstanding and establish unsafe relationships between cultural groups. Furthermore, Clayton et al. (2017) suggest that young people identified climate change as negatively impacting their personal sense of self (p. 41). Further approaches need to be considered to provide pedagogical models for teachers. One such approach is outlined in Kirby and Webb’s (2021, p. 134) British study, which suggests that teachers implementing a democratic and transformative approach with students can open up the scope of engaging with issues of adapting to, and living with, the ontological uncertainties of human-induced climate change, whilst also outlining the tensions and complexities of how to act within and beyond school. What has become apparent from discussions with Pacific youth in New Zealand in my study is that teachers could be more invested in the wellbeing of Pacific youth, regardless of the advent of increasing climate degradation and destruction.

Ritchie et al. (2022 study) noted that:

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal, SDG4.7 necessitates governments to ensure that by 2030, all learners acquire knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development including, alongside others, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and nonviolence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development.

(UNESCO, 2017, p. 8)

Findings from this research reveal that what happens in the classroom can enable or impede, health and wellbeing for Pacific youth and families (Ritchie et al., 2022). It is essential to Pacific youth’s wellbeing and learning that teachers have a meaningful intercultural understanding of key Pacific cultural concepts. Within educational contexts, “racism in both overt and less conspicuous forms, pervades the educational system, and is a significant barrier to wellbeing, belonging and achievement of Pacific youth and their families” (Ministry of Education, 2019, p. 3).

The New Zealand Curriculum (Ministry of Education, 2017) is currently being refreshed, and it is to be hoped that recognition of the current converging climate, COVID-19, social inequity, and biodiversity crises will lead to a stronger focus on the need for education that encourages students to critically examine and respond with hope to social, cultural, economic and ecological issues. Adding to this agenda is a strong focus on Indigenous Pacific peoples’ cultural sustainability in the face of highly variable climatic conditions, and, importantly, an emphasis on teaching and learning about climate change.

This work will improve community resilience by addressing inequities in learning outcomes that impact lifelong wellbeing. It will support early learning services, schools and kura [schools teaching with a Māori philosophy and in the medium of the Māori language] to include an understanding of, and responses to, climate change in their local curricula and marau ā-kura (living, breathing curriculum), as well as learning that is important for social cohesion. The aim is to support all children and young people to grow as lifelong learners who are connected to the environment and their communities, and actively involved in a sustainable future.

(Ministry for the Environment, 2022, p. 148)

Hitherto, insufficient attention has been given to providing professional guidance for teachers. To remedy this gap, Future Curious, an education consultancy, developed a guide for educators on climate change aimed primarily at children aged 11–14 (Ritchie et al., 2022). When the program was recently revised, the authors of this article were commissioned to produce a new wellbeing guide to support the delivery of this climate education program (Ritchie et al., 2022).

Teachers have little comprehension of the heightened anxiety and fear that Pacific youth experience in response to the increasing crises experienced across the Pacific Ocean and the Pacific Islands states, which are at extreme risk. There are fewer than 3% Pacific teachers in the teaching profession in Aotearoa, resulting in less focus and attention being paid to Pacific issues across the curriculum. This notion is reinforced by Rimoni et al. (2022), who found that non-Pacific teachers viewed Pacific values as more superficial and of little concern, whereas for Pacific teachers, Pacific values were felt more deeply and practiced across all areas of everyday lives.

5. Research Methodology

This research was conducted as part of a wider Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington and New Zealand Ministry of Education-funded research study (Ritchie et al., 2022) looking into climate change and sustainability for youth in Aotearoa, across three cohort youth groups: one Pakeha (European), one Māori (Indigenous New Zealanders) and one Pacific cohort. I worked closely with Pacific youth in my role as Pacific researcher and held Talanoa sessions, which are a recognized and practiced Pacific data-gathering methodology (Vaioleti, 2006). Talanoa means to ‘tala’ (talk) about ‘noa’ (normal things). Vaioleti defines Talanoa as a personal encounter where people tell their issues, their realities, and aspirations (Ministry of Education, 2024). Throughout this process, which is inclusive, participatory, and transparent, space is created for discussion. Talanoa is crucial to ensure that “silent, invisible voices” are heard and collected in an authentically Pacific way, and that Pacific approaches are valued (Ministry of Education, 2025, p. 17).

This article draws on qualitative research using the Pacific methodology of Talanoa (conversations), Glasgow (2019), conducted in 2021 with a cross-section of six Pacific youth in Poneke, Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand Aotearoa, ranging from 9 to 18 years of age. Researcher involvement and Pacific Island community connections underpinned and enabled the recruitment of Pacific youth participants. Talanoa group sessions were held in two locations, the Hutt Valley and Porirua, both outer suburbs of the Wellington region, with two groups of student participants comprising four and two participants, respectively. The participants are Pacific youth of the diaspora, New Zealand-born and either first-, second- or third-generation New Zealanders. Their homelands are Samoa, Niue, and the Cook Islands. Whilst all but two children had never set foot in their traditional cultural homelands, they all retain a strong emotional pull, sense of identity and connection to their respective Pacific nations’ homeland. In the Porirua cohort, the four students were 10–12 years of age. Three were New Zealand-born Samoan children, and one 10-year-old male was New Zealand-born of Niuean descent. In the Hutt valley group, the Talanoa consisted of two New Zealand-born of Pacific students of Cook Islands descent. They were a 9-year-old male and an 18-year-old female (A). Due to the collective nature of Talanoa data-gathering sessions, attention is paid to the interactive conversation and the process, and less to the individualistic focus of the research process; therefore, participant contributions are considered collective ventures and are not individually identified in the findings. Furthermore, the presence of others within the group adds support to the Talanoa session, and silence, a key aspect of le vā, is an important consideration.

In this article, it is the voice of the 18-year-old Pacific student (A) that has been selected from the Talanoa sessions. Her responses and ideas portrayed a powerful narrative, and when discussed with the younger members of the Pacific cohort, there was agreement expressed on A’s ideas, viewpoints and reflections. She depicted the crisis for Pacific students in Aotearoa with eloquence. Significantly, she drew on understandings from a place of shared experience, the plight and plea of Pacific students in an education system that pays scant regard to the cultural worlds of Pacific students. She was also able to describe ways of engaging in how to overcome or at least feel a sense of control in a fraught situation. One comment is drawn from the wider study, where one of the Pakeha European students commented about the perceived ‘white saviourism’ perpetuated in the classroom around Pacific climate change, indicating that youth in Aotearoa are building strong climate activist inclinations despite gaps in the education system,

Talanoa is recognized and promoted as an authentic research method and methodology by the Ministry of Education in Aotearoa (Ministry of Education, 2018) for research with Pacific Island communities in Aotearoa New Zealand. In keeping with Talanoa research guidelines, attending to participant wellbeing was paramount. Practices adhered to cultural protocols, ensuring that the location for Talanoa was suitable, including the recitation of lotu (prayers) to begin the Talanoa, and reciting lotu before the sharing of food and drink. Once formalities were completed, connections and relationships were strengthened, and participants were free to express their ideas around key areas, with fluidity of timeframes. Weaving in the concept of the vā, (time and space) into the Talanoa process respects, nurtures and maintains the space within relationships, and allows for opportunities for knowledge, queries, experiences, and observations to be shared (Ministry of Education, 2025).

Furthermore, Parsons et al. (2024) note that youth participants in their study reported how participation in various forms of climate activism helped to reduce their eco-anxiety and made them more hopeful about their collective abilities to address climate change. Ultimately, their strong links to Pacific families, values and connections across the Pacific pervaded their thoughts and aspirations and shaped their actions.

6. Pacific Values Framework

This research is underpinned by the Pacific Values framework, which underpins the Talanoa methodology (Rimoni et al., 2022). Talanoa sessions were framed by the Pacific values framework of spirituality, respect, leadership, service, family, reciprocal relationships, inclusion, love and belonging (Ministry of Education, 2018; Rimoni et al., 2022). In this way, students were able to connect to their cultural backgrounds in the research process, which connects strongly to the values identified as vital to support the holistic learning and development of Pacific learners. This framework drives the research as it emphasizes and privileges the place of values, connecting to and respecting the environment, linking to family in both Aotearoa and the wider Pacific homelands, and privileging and practicing reciprocity in relationality. Talanoa were framed around and guided by Pacific values, with a spiritual blessing to begin Talanoa, relationships and connections to homelands and Te Moana Nui a Kiva (Pacific Ocean), establishing a space of belonging and inclusion for participants, and by ensuring le vā (time and space) was closely protected and valued. Such research practice enabled a departure from Western methodologies and indicated to participants that Pacific culture, ways of being and ways of doing are valuable and requisite to the research platform.

Rangimarie Rose Pere’s Te Wheke (Octopus) theoretical framework (Pere, 1988) embodies factors important for the overall health of the Pacific person. Te Wheke swims the oceans, and each of its tentacles needs to be well nourished in the physical, social, emotional, spiritual, cognitive dimensions, within strong family and community connections is supported, alongside other dimensions. A key principle of the framework denotes the importance of nature and aligning our lives with the natural world to nourish social, economic, environmental, cultural and spiritual realms, noting the emphasis of the environment on the child. The Te Wheke framework asserts that all these factors require attending equally to ensure one’s holistic wellbeing is maintained. Both frameworks act as guides and reflective tools for critiquing and improving educational experiences for Pacific students. Foregrounding such concepts as the cultural and spiritual effects on health and wellbeing will elucidate, enlighten and create inclusive and respectful learning spaces for students.

7. Findings

In this section, I outline findings from Talanoa conducted with Pacific youth. I weave a reflective commentary alongside the selected Pacific voices and link them to Pacific values within the framework to provide coherent links across the discussion.

7.1. Te Moana Nui a Kiva

Talanoa conducted with Pacific youth discussed their connections to the Pacific Ocean and the importance of the natural and cultural world to their sense of wellbeing. Pacific youth were extremely concerned, noting that teachers’ in-attention, or complete disregard of climate change issues and sea level rise, was frequently dealt with in an off-hand and ineffectual manner. Whilst concerns were noted, Pacific youth also recognized their commitment to seeking to make a difference whilst affirming cultural and emotional connections.

‘You know, extreme risk of sea level rising that you feel that wellbeing or you know some of those considerations. I think for Māori and in Pacifica culture from a young age you’re taught that you’re very connected to the ocean. Just you know that earth in general, Mother Nature, and so you preserve and look after that … As you’re growing up, you still learn about those things. And you learn that it’s an important aspect of it, and it makes you feel more connected as a person, sure, which I think affects your wellbeing, because you know you have the emotional connection to it, yes, that makes you feel like you are making a difference’.

This insightful comment reveals the depth of engagement with the natural world and the connection to the Pacific Ocean, which connects the island archipelago throughout the region. Further alignments are made to the values of love, family, service and spirituality

7.2. Encountering Teacher Racism

Pacific learners and their families encounter racism when teachers are ill-prepared to teach topics outside their realm of understanding.

Students responded with heartfelt and comments and aspirations across a range of areas. An example of such racism was described as white saviorism regarding a social studies project that had been set in class:

‘Also, the white saviourism in some of the classes, that would be incredibly visible to the point like one when we learned about climate change in year ten [age 14]. We had to do an investigation into how to help the Pacific Islands and different solutions, mitigation solutions to climate change in the Pacific, and first of all, the way it was done could have been incredibly triggering to anyone who was Pasifica … without acknowledging that there wasn’t anything about their connections to the land’. And the idea of asking 14-year-old white students who have no idea what it is like living in these places to do their own very limited research without any kinds of direction as to ‘Hey we’re going to go look at these people who have talked about this, who are living in these islands, and this is the work that they’re doing on mitigation’. There was nothing of that … And again, it’s that kind of systemic racism in the sense that it’s erasing these different cultures’ worldviews, perspectives and traditions and everything and so anything in terms of wellbeing in terms of climate change has to change that, in the sense that it has to be from a te ao Māori worldview [and] incorporating Pacific Island values and knowledge throughout.’

7.3. Seeking Out Other Avenues for Learning

Youths perceived and reflected on ways that content can be delivered devoid of the cultural significance of the land and traditional practices. They indicated that it seemed a disconnected perception by Western-trained teachers from a wider, more culturally located view. A lack of understanding by teachers has necessitated students seek out other avenues to become acquainted with climate challenges and to foster heightened awareness. These avenues were found outside mainstream teaching, such as youth and cultural groups.

‘We weren’t taught about it in schools, so I ended up joining the school strike and learning about climate change and protest because I felt like we weren’t doing enough (at school) to try and prevent it and I found that was really—I mean it sparked my interest in it’.

Further guidance is required and sought by Pacific youth to stem their sense of isolation and to provide a platform to share their issues and concerns.

‘In New Zealand right, just by giving them someone to listen to like a teacher that they trust and then having a community they can talk to about it and share their ideas and thoughts and feelings on it, rather than being left alone’

Pacific learners could see that having a trusted adult who was willing to foster relationship building, spending time listening to student concerns, and with whom they felt safe was a prime consideration.

7.4. Re-Visiting Pacific Traditional Ways Outside Mainstream Schooling

Reviewing and re-enacting traditional Pacific ways to build resilience in regard to sea level rise and changing climatic conditions were seen to be crucial by participants. Traditional concepts and practices formerly discarded in the mainstream Western arena are sought out to build a repertoire of responses. Pacific youth foregrounded traditional ways of preserving our environments. The young people explain:

‘There is always ways that you can do this and let’s come back with local examples and stuff that there are people that are relatable that have done things. Even when you are not part of the community (over there) as you are growing up you still learn about those things’.

‘It makes you feel more connected which affects your wellbeing because you know you have the emotional connection, but this gives a sense of making a contribution in your own ways’.

‘Having a positive outlook and looking at strategies is a really helpful thing for me, because it is our future, and when I know I have a sense of control over making changes you know within your capabilities, things don’t seem so dire’.

8. Implications

This section outlines the implications in three key areas: implications for educational policy, teacher training and the importance of responding to Pacific youth perspectives

Implications in the policy arena reveal that significant educational policy and processes are undoubtedly required and need to be mandated (Eames, 2017) to realign and bolster teacher pedagogy, allay Pacific children’s fears, and rail against a prominent educational paradigm that, according to Bryan (2020, p. 23), “to privilege the rational and cognitive aspects of teaching and learning and perceive emotion to be peripheral or irrelevant to education”. Moreover, on a broader scale, societies should confront such pressing and ever-increasing concerns (Bryan, 2020).

Furthermore, wellbeing initiatives have been developed by government departments. The Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy, developed in 2019 by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC), created a vision for New Zealand to be the best place in the world for children. This aligns with the wellbeing budget and work carried out by the government to address child poverty, family violence, inadequate housing and to improve learning support and mental wellbeing for children, young people and their families and whānau.

Whilst the Pacific Education Action Plan (Ministry of Education, 2020a) foregrounds the aspiration to work together in the educational sphere to support Pacific children’s learning and wellbeing, there continues to be significant gaps in ITE educational programs. Consequently, Pacific youth are less likely to be taught by Pacific teachers and more likely to be taught by non- Pacific teachers, who may be less able to attend to and support Pacific learners’ cultural and holistic learning and development. Ultimately, the indication is that many New Zealand educators lack deep pedagogical understandings of Pacific cultural knowledge and the ability to engage with and nurture Pacific learners’ wellbeing in the educational sphere.

Implications for teaching practice and teacher training are acutely evident and need close attention. Findings reveal that fostering wellbeing in the classroom can be a complex, individual, and relational responsibility; however, unless teachers show an intentional commitment, interactive engagements can be overlooked and omitted from educational programs and curricula.

The Aotearoa New Zealand educational system has been slow in implementing a raft of requisite measures to counter anxiety and stress. Measures such as providing teacher professional support and guidance to understand Pacific ways of being and doing and considering how such practices can be embedded in their teaching pedagogy, are essential. Responding to Pacific students’ concerns necessitates that teachers mobilize, take responsibility, and become informed about the wide-ranging issues with which they are confronted.

Clearly, teachers and the education system at large need to review, reflect and revise practices. Practices were, at times, biased and ill-informed, lacking cultural and professional integrity. Such actions directly contravene established standards of teaching practice (Ministry of Education, 2019, p. 3) and indicate a clear need to build stronger reciprocal relationships with Pacific students.

Importantly, the voices and perspectives of Pacific youth need to be foregrounded.

Pacific children and young people are opting for resistance as their form of resilience, in response to climate and biodiversity crises. Instead of focusing on the blinkered continuation of an outdated and deficient curriculum, teachers need to meet the moment of this convergence of crises by supporting children and young people as they seek hope through action and activism. Grief, worry and fear, rather than being downplayed, should be recognized as valid responses to the threats of climate emergency and biodiversity loss. Furthermore, many children and young people are also experiencing feelings of frustration, confusion, betrayal, and abandonment because of adult inaction towards climate change (Hickman et al., 2021). Urgent attention is requisite to allay this raft of anxiety.

Pacific youth lack adequate support in this time of climate crisis. They express sadness, frustration, anxiety and concerns over a metaphorical and literal tidal wave of destruction and devastation of their traditional homelands.

The catch cry across the Pacific from Pacific youth activists, “we’re not drowning; we are fighting”, gives hope to Pacific youth in Aotearoa and motivation that their contributions will assist in working together to stem the increasing tide of devastation. Ultimately, and of key concern, is the finding that mainstream schooling is not serving Pacific youth well. Teachers are paying little regard to Pacific values in their curriculum and planning, and insufficient heed is given to responding to climate change education and the wellbeing of Pacific youth.

9. Recommendations

Clearly, stronger pedagogical approaches and teaching strategies are required. In this section, I outline key recommendations that would enhance the practice of teachers of Pacific students. Teachers would benefit from foregrounding effective strategies to enhance Pacific student wellbeing and to seek out, understand and engage in Pacific cultural practices. For example, investigating values and cultural practices that embody natural phenomena, and that seek to nurture and protect the precious taonga (treasures), such as Te Wheke (Octopus), and the clean, pristine environment of the traditional homelands of Pacific students and their families, is imperative and will correspondingly build their skills and understandings.

A range of suggested strategies may encourage teachers to build their praxis and pedagogy in Pacific education and climate change. Encouraging teachers and teachers in training to undergo lived experience in Pacific nations may help to build a deeper understanding of cultural worldviews and ways of being and doing, and to discover traditional practices that can be incorporated into teaching practice. Furthermore, employing the services of Pacific mentors with expertise who can guide teachers to extend their cultural funds of knowledge and to examine their biases and the cultural capital that has perpetuated positions of privilege and advantage in society. Additionally, examining the curriculum, engaging in stronger critique, noting gaps, and building Pacific content across the curriculum, including climate change discourse, would assist teachers in their planning, and in reviewing their own gaps of knowledge in their teaching. Finally, conducting empathetic conversations around climate change with Pacific youth, whilst maintaining a critical stance when engaging with competing and conflicting discourses around climate change.

10. Conclusions

In conclusion, this study has highlighted the responses from Pacific youth to climate change in the Pacific and how the education system is ineffectual in addressing climate-related issues. Findings from Talanoa conducted with Pacific youth have revealed the considerable gaps that exist in teachers’ knowledge, practice and skills in dealing with issues of climate change. Furthermore, the findings have revealed an inability to respond to the wellbeing of Pacific youth, who are acutely aware of the climate crises taking place across the Pacific and adversely affecting their traditional homelands. A call is therefore made for significant changes to occur within the education system, curriculum and teaching practice to address these gaps. For example, consideration should be given to Pacific culturally driven solutions, such as alternative Pacific pedagogy that harnesses Pacific frameworks such as Pacific Values and Te Wheke, accompanying a Talanoa methodology.