'Learning from the heart': From personal storm to Pacific education reform

A Pacific senior lecturer says real change in education starts with compassion, care, and lived experience - a belief shaped by his own decade-long battle with depression.

Leali’ie’e Dr Tufulasi Taleni, 65, is a senior lecturer at the University of Canterbury and a double award-winning researcher recognised for his work on Pacific education and wellbeing.

His 2025 book, Tautai: The Master Navigator - Navigating Pacific students’ education, health, and wellbeing from a Pacific leadership perspective, offers a deeply personal journey from a Sāmoan village to the heart of educational leadership.

But behind the research and writing is a personal story he says shaped everything. While Leali’ie’e’s works focus on untangling Pacific student underachievement, he reveals he spent a decade navigating depression, reinforcing his plea “lead Pasifika learning from the heart”.

Speaking with Carolanne Toetu’u on Pacific Days, Leali’ie’e says his “darkest time” with depression began around 2005.

“[I] was in [a] dark hole for a long time. Over 10 years battling with it. Around that time, [my] children were young,” he says.

Leali’ile’e Dr Tufulasi Taleni says his “darkest time” began around 2005. Photo/Unsplash

“I enjoyed my career. I was passionate about things. All of a sudden I went downhill. I share this because it can be quite educational for our people, particularly for males, [who] don't openly talk about this experience.”

“And particularly for people who look at me as a role model. I want them to know. You don't realise that [someone’s] carrying some kind of experience like that.”

This experience reinforced his belief that leaders of Pacific youth must “really look” at the quiet students at the back. He says this is what it means to learn and teach from the heart.

Leali’ile’e Dr Tufulasi Taleni believes a closer look is needed for Pacific youth. Photo/Unsplash

“There’s a saying in Sāmoan: tu'utu'u le upega i le loloto [cast the net into deeper water]. That comes from the heart.

“Observing what's going on with Pasifika children. They all have huge potential to be able to achieve and to unlock that potential so that they can really get to where they want to be.

“There is a possibility of achieving those things if you do them from the heart. Parents or principals don't have time, they're very busy people, but they must have a look at that Pasifika child sitting at the back.”

Watch Leali’ie’e Dr Tufulasi Taleni’s full interview below.

His 2023 PhD thesis, O le Fa’atamasoali’iga a Tautai Matapalapala - A Soul-Searching and Far-Reaching Voyage of the Tautai, laid the foundation for this personal journey.

Through that research, he developed the Soalaupulega Sāmoa framework based on traditional Sāmaon leadership and collective problem-solving led by matai (chiefs).

Leali’ie’e uses that approach to untangle disengagement and underachievement facing Pacific students. The resulting book, Tautai, reflects a culmination of Leali'ile's service to his community and personal struggle.

He says the book could not be released earlier, as it was "God’s time" to bring his vast experience together. He describes the book as a "plea to set the sails" to transform the educational landscape of Aotearoa.

“120 per cent, I’ve fully recovered from [depression]. I'm pleased with the support of everybody, particularly my wife, Jane, [my] children, extended family, and community.”

He remains proud and motivated not just by research but by the passionate feedback from readers who see his work as a vital contribution to Pacific education in Aotearoa and the world.

For more on Leali’ie’e’s book, click here.