Fata ho poto - Tongan science learners and engagement, enjoyment and success in secondary school and university settings

Oct 15, 2026

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Engagement, enjoyment, and success remain central to education debates in Aotearoa New Zealand and globally, yet how successful Tongan science learners define these ideas is insufficiently understood. This article presents stories from 26 successful Tongan science learners gathered through talanoa and analysed using the Manulua framework. It introduces the Fata ho poto model to explain how teaching and learning experiences shape learners’ engagement and achievement, offering insights for improving Moana/Pacific learning outcomes through education policy and practice.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages16

Reading Time40 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Positional methodology and study framing

Defining engagement, enjoyment, and success

Tongan values and science teaching concepts

Fata ho poto: Tongan science learners and engagement, enjoyment and success in secondary school and university settings Sonia M. Fonua1, Fire U. F. A. T. M. I. Fonua, Reverend Pita T. Fonua and Lavinia T. Fonua 1 Faculty of Science, Environment, University of Auckland, Auckland, 1010, New Zealand, email: [s.fonua@auckland.ac. nz](s.fonua@auckland.ac. nz) Engagement and success are prominent in education discussions, research and policy in Aotearoa New Zealand and globally. Yet, little is known about how successful Tongan science learners define engagement, enjoyment or success, and which teaching and learning experiences have enhanced or detracted from their engagement, enjoyment and success during their studies. This article shares the stories of 26 successful Tongan science learners who participated in talanoa (open discussion without an agenda) about their engagement, enjoyment and success in secondary and university science education in Aotearoa, and, for some, their schooling in Tonga. The Manulua framework (Fonua, 2021) informed how their stories were gathered, analysed and woven together. The article presents the Fata ho poto model to demonstrate how engagement, enjoyment and success are considered by successful Tongan science learners. This model is useful for those increasing Tonganand Moana/Pacific learning achievement. It offers important insights related to the role of education policy and practice in shaping notions of engagement, enjoyment and success among Tongan and Moana/ Pacific learners. Keywords: Moana/Pacific, Tonga, science, engagement, enjoyment, success, poto Introduction I am Pāpālangi (lea faka Tonga / Tongan language for “of European ancestry”) . I identify as a nonIndigenous Pacific person and was born and raised in Aotearoa New Zealand. I am married to a Tongan man, fa’e (mother) to my Tongan children and live with my extended Tongan family. My ontology and epistemology have been strongly shaped by my upbringing, the culture that I have been exposed to living in Aotearoa New Zealand, and, more recently, the contemporary expressions of Tongan culture demonstrated by my Tongan family, who maintain close ties to the Kingdom of Tonga. My understanding of Tongan culture and ways of being have been guided immeasurably by my Tongan family. I have always discussed my research with my husband, who then in turn discusses it with his parents, who then often engage with their family and community; to recognise and value their support and contribution, my husband and his parents are all named authors on this article. This study explores the experiences of Tongan learners, who are often categorised as Moana/Pacific learners. The term “Moana/Pacific” is used in this article to represent learners with ancestry to the Indigenous people of the different island nations of the Pacific Ocean (mention of “Pasifika” is only where it is used in government reports and publications by other scholars) . In relation to Tongan and Moana/Pacific learners, I position myself as an “external-insider”(Banks, 1998), someone who is not from a community but has socialised within it and been adopted into it, while rejecting much of the values and beliefs of their own original community. As such, I am responsible for learning about, sharing and respecting what I do not know, and learning, sharing and respecting what I do know. As a fa’e, my life is dedicated to my children. I lalanga (weave) my learning and understanding in the contexts I find myself in to demonstrate how different ways of being can come together and strengthen each other (Fonua, 2020) . This is how I can contribute to the transformation of educational settings (Fa’avae, 2019) so that my children, and other Moana/Pacific peoples, are able to be themselves during their educational journeys. My positioning informs who I am in relation to my research rationale, termed my “positional methodology” (Fa’aea & Fonua, 2021) . As such, I chose my methodology to

FAQs

What is the focus of the study on Tongan science learners?

The study investigates how successful Tongan science learners define engagement, enjoyment, and success, and how different teaching and learning experiences influence these during secondary and university study.

How were the participants’ stories collected and analysed?

Participants took part in talanoa, and the stories were gathered, analysed, and woven together using the Manulua framework.

What does the Fata ho poto model aim to show?

The model demonstrates how engagement, enjoyment, and success are understood by successful Tongan science learners and highlights implications for education policy and practice shaping these notions.

Oct 15, 2026

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