Will's Word: Pacific student attendance is rising in Aotearoa. Why is belonging falling?

We've been looking this morning at the latest data on Pacific education in New Zealand, and there is a pretty big turnaround in one area.

Pacific kids are going to school more.

Regular attendance has gone from just 26 percent in 2022 to 51 per cent today.

And credit where it's due, the Coalition Government came into office making school attendance a major priority, and it appears to be working.

But here's the thing.

Fifty-one per cent still means almost half of Pacific students aren't regularly attending school.

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And the data raises another concern.

While attendance is going up, the number of Pacific students who say they feel like they belong at school has actually fallen, from 74 per cent to 65 per cent.

And 26 per cent now say they feel like an outsider.

So yes more kids are getting through the school gates, but fewer feel like they belong once they're there.

And I think that's something we need to take seriously.

There's another number that worries me too.

In 2019, 42 per cent of principals said their schools incorporated Pacific cultural values to promote belonging.

Today, that's down to 32 per cent.

What on earth is going on? What’s responsible for such a decline?

Is it because of the massive reforms sweeping the education sector, that's forcing principals to reprioritise?

Of course, let's celebrate the attendance turnaround.

The Government made it a priority, and the numbers suggest that's paying off.

But we shouldn't confuse getting kids through the gate with fixing Pacific education.

What’s the point of getting bums on seats, if they don’t feel like they belong anyway?