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Congratulations to the Papanui Community Board for initiating this study. I would like to acknowledge especially Ms. Yvonne Palmer, community board members and all members of the project team for their dedication and commitment. This study signals a positive message of Christchurch, embracing our developing multi-cultural status and care for the well being of all our citizens, residents and visitors.
This study highlights the diversity and enormous differences among Asian community members, this in itself is important to highlight so as to avoid generalisations. The technique of interviewing students helps to humanise the findings and I personally believe this will endear the report to its readers. In order for government, schools and various organisations to make full use of this study, it obviously requires further work; nonetheless, this is an important step.
We are at a very momentous time of history, straddling between two centuries. New Zealand in the last twenty years has gone through quite a dramatic cultural evolution. Official recognition of past grievances and Treaty of Waitangi settlements have led to a resurgence in the pride of Maori language and culture. At the same time, however, we need to acknowledge other communities and empower them to come forward to show confidence and pride in their ethnicities.
When individuals are confident and feeling secure, and matching that with a progressive society and economy, we will then embrace people and new challenges more readity. Everyone will maximise his or her fullest potential when our multicultural society is realised and accepted.
This study is indeed another important step towards our dream of one New Zealand; many people with shared values.
Pansy Wong MP
New Zealand's First Asian Member Of Parliament
The Asian population in Christchurch has increased dramatically during the last ten years, from 3,816 (1.5%) in 1986 to 10,122 (4.1%) in 1996. 1 One of the main reasons why Asians choose to migrate to New Zealand is that they view this country as a nice place to live; in particular, a good place for their children's overall education. The garden city of New Zealand therefore attracts more Asian students than any other city in New Zealand due to its attractive living conditions and good academic environment.
As a result, the Asian youth population in Christchurch, aged between 10 and 19 years old, witnessed a stronger growth, from 1.5% in 1986 to 8% in 1996, as compared to the national average of 6.3% in 1996.2 Interestingly, almost three-quarters of the Asians live in the northwest region of Christchurch, which includes the suburbs of Shirley/Papanui (13%), Fendalton/Waimairi (30%) and Riccarton/Wigram (30%).
This change in the demography has raised several concerns among the local community, especially the schools and community boards in these areas as Asian students became an important component of the student population. For example, Papanui High School currently has over 330 Asian students, among whom 85 are fee-paying while the remainder are either citizens or permanent residents.3
Furthermore, there have been some debates about the strategy taken by several high schools in Christchurch to actively recruit fee-paying students from Asia to supplement the revenue the school gets from the government. On average, each foreign student pays about NZ$10,000 a year to their high school for tuition and other fees.4 It is obvious that the supplementary income constitutes a very significant portion of the school's total operating income5 and has become critical to many schools for maintaining their competitive edge.
Even though the proportion of Asian students enrolled in the school is relatively high and is expected to increase further, the staff of Papanui High School and the Shirley/Papanui Community Board have expressed concerns that the needs of these students are not well met. Similar concerns were echoed by staff of several other schools in the region and also those from the Fendalton/Waimairi and Riccarton/Wigram community wards.
Although faced with a large number of problems due to the big difference between Asian and New Zealand cultures, most Asian high school students try their best to adapt to the New Zealand environment. They have to confront many problems, both inside and outside of the schools, including problems in their studies, school activities, social life and home-stays. Many of these students also have to constantly struggle with their own sense of identity. Trying to achieve the right balance between retaining their cultural roots and adapting to the New Zealand life-style is not an easy task.
High school teachers also face many problems because of the limited English language skills of some Asian students and their parents. To compound the problems, Asian students rarely ask for help from people beside family members or close friends. As a result, school administrators and teachers are not able to provide help for these students effectively.
To accomplish the difficult task of providing a smooth transition for Asian high school students, education providers must work together with the Asian community groups and other stakeholders to understand the issues and concerns of the students, and to develop a feasible strategy to address these concerns.
1 Source: Statistics New Zealand.
2 Source: Statistics New Zealand.
3 Source: Director of International Students, Papanui High School.
4 Source: Director of International Students, Papanui High School.
5 The percentage of school income from local funds has increased from 9.1% in 1993 to 11.6% in 1995. The increase in local funds was mainly due additional fund raising and increases in income from investments, trading and overseas student fees (Source: 1996 New Zealand Schools, Ministry of Education).
