Early literacy: Quality teaching and learning in Pasifika early childhood education

This is a report on a one-year action research project aimed at encouraging and strengthening children's Samoan language and literacy learning within an a'oga amata. 

It reports on:

•  the beliefs teachers held about language acquisition and early literacy
• the action research process
• the changes that occured in the teachers' pedagogical practice

The main approaches to making pedagogical change to strengthen laguage and literacy learning were:

• developing an environment saturated in the laguage and symbols of Samoan culture
• analysing and adding to ways in which teachers interacted with children so that there was a greater capacity for teachers to respond to children's ideas and interests, and for children to express themselves in Samoan and English.