Key UC Contact
What We Did
Since 2016 Macmillan Brown Library has partnered with Riccarton High School to host research visits for Pacific Studies students from year 10-13. As part of the partnership, students do research for their National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) assessments. They work on a variety of self-selected topics relating to the Pacific, many of which are connected to their own Pacific heritage. The visits help the students feel comfortable in a university setting and engage them in research activities. One of the goals of the course is to develop students’ bilingualism and biliteracy, and they have the option to deliver presentations in their Pasifika language (or their community language for non-Pasifika students). The students bring with them a wealth of cultural knowledge, which, when enhanced with what they discover in the collections, can result in powerful learning outcomes.
Who Was Involved
Riccarton High School Pacific Studies (Teachers: Angela Bland and Aneta Matagi) Riccarton High School Library. The visits were initiated by a former RHS library staff member who had also previously worked at Macmillan Brown Library and felt the students would benefit from using a specialist Pacific library. RHS Librarians continue to attend the sessions.
Why It Matters
Among these students are the Pacific scholars of the future. Having a positive, supported university research experience as part of their high school studies can help to students to recognise the value of their own cultural knowledge, and learn research skills. The Pacific collections at Macmillan Brown Library have a strength in the works of Pasifika scholars, and reflect Pasifika voices, which is crucial for engaging these students with research and tertiary study. The sessions are very much a reciprocal learning experience, as staff at Macmillan Brown Library learn just as much as the students do from the sessions.
