Pacific academia powered by Tagaloa Scholarships

Tagaloa Scholarship recipients Penni Wolfgramm, Janet Ta’afili Tuitama and Amelia Setefano, alongside Gabrielle Sisifo-Makisi, manager strategy and integration, Pacific at the Ministry of Education.

Janet Ta’afili Tuitama is working to improve the wellbeing of Samoan women experiencing grief, by developing coping mechanisms to support healing, and implementing indigenous wellbeing practices.

Through her Master of Applied Indigenous Knowledge, Janet seeks to provide not only healing but aspirational leadership to others, encouraging more Pacific women into academia.

“For me, this is about Pacific peoples, for Pacific peoples. I hope that in seeing a Pacific person facilitating and talking about wellbeing, and more Pacific people completing doctorates and further study, other people may think, ‘Hey, that could be me too.’ My aim is to encourage the next generation.

The symposium event is a celebration of Pacific academic excellence.

“As an indigenous wellbeing practitioner, I found there were so many students, women and community within school that would go through grief. Through my practice, I found that grief was one part of wellbeing that hadn’t been touched on.

“I wanted to explore coping mechanisms to support the wellbeing of those people, and give strength to indigenous practitioners to use coping mechanisms to support the grief process.”

Building capacity and capability

The experience of living with a family member with mental illness prompted Amelia Setefano to engage in further studies back in 2021, on the scholarships’ inception.

At this year’s scholarship award celebration, she reflected on the choices she made when embarking on her academic path. Her scholarship was for one year of full-time study at Massey University with a research topic of stigma and discrimination against people with mental illness.

“Some of the difficulties we have had within our church have been acceptance, love and respect for those that have a mental illness. That’s why I feel it is very important that we have these discussions, we have awareness, and we have research to state that this is an issue, and we look for solutions as to how we can combat these issues.”

Amelia and fellow scholar Marina McCartney were the inaugural recipients of these Ministry of Education scholarships.

Tagaloa scholarship evaluation panel members Tagaloatele Professor Peggy Fairbairn-Dunlop and Dr Cherie Chu-Fuluifaga at the 2023 symposium event.

Tagaloa scholarships 2023/2024

Each year, there are two recipients of the Tagaloa scholarships: one at Master’s level to the value of $10,000 and one at Doctoral level to the value of $14,000. Both are for a final year of full-time study in education-related research that is relevant to Pacific parents, learners, families and communities.

Some of the 2023 recipients 

Mihi Nemani, Doctor of Philosophy in Health, Sport and Human Performance, University of Waikato.

Mihi’s research is focused on taking a strengths-based approach on the perspectives of young Pacific women who participate in physical activity despite the barriers and challenges they face. The research will draw upon their lived experience to inform practice and policy.

Wanda Ieremia-Allan, Doctor of Philosophy, University of Otago.

Wanda’s research profiles the rich scholarship left by Samoan ancestors in Gagana Samoa and holds space for more scholars to engage with indigenous intellectual histories by centring indigenous epistemological paradigms, Gagana Samoa, and celebrates our ways of knowing and being.

Ruanna Tagalosa-Letalu, Master of Social and Community Leadership, University of Auckland.

Ruanna’s research explores the barriers and challenges faced by Samoan migrants in reaching home ownership.

In addition to the scholars, the following Pacific students were selected for commendation:

Penni Wolfgramm, Doctor of Clinical Psychology, University of Auckland.

Penni’s research looks at the development of kau leiti’s sense of self and moʻui lelei (wellbeing) in relation to others from childhood through to adulthood. The study is grounded in Tongan research methods and practices including the Kakala Research Framework and Talanoa with the use of koloa (valued objects and treasures).

Janet Ta’afili Tuitama, Master of Applied Indigenous Knowledge, Te Wananga o Aotearoa, Auckland.

Janet’s research seeks to improve the wellbeing of Samoan women dealing with grief by formulating coping mechanisms that will support the practice of indigenous wellbeing practitioners. Janet received $5,000 for the final year of master’s study.

The Ministry of Education encourages Pacific teachers, leaders and staff doing research in education and wellbeing as part of their postgraduate study, to apply online by 11.59pm Saturday
16 December 2023 at education.govt.nz/tagaloa-scholarships(external link).

For questions, email Tagaloa.Scholarship@education.govt.nz. 

What are Tagaloa scholarships?

Rev Dr Featuna’I Liua’ana opening up the symposium in prayer as the host of the 2023 Tagaloa Symposium at EFKS Sandringham.

Pacific research and evidence were highlighted as gaps in the PowerUp to Talanoa Ako longitudinal evaluations 2016-2019. First awarded in 2021, the scholarships celebrate Pacific scholarship and academic research from a Pacific centric lens. At the same time, they recognise the importance of growing the body of Pacific research and Pacific capability and capacity.

The scholarship criteria and application focus on the areas of most importance to Talanoa Ako families and gaps found in the present framing of academic research.

The Tagaloa Symposium is held yearly to provide a space where scholars can share their findings. With a powerful community audience of family, school principals, academics and Talanoa Ako partners, the symposium successfully highlights the substantial contributions scholars are making in their respective fields and the strengthening of Pacific scholarship and research.