Dusky Maiden - Noble Savage: Being Pasifika in NCEA Drama

As a lens through which young people view themselves, the world, and their place in the world, texts can be a powerful means of affirming or undermining positive cultural identity and self-image. This work examines the ways in which dramatic texts recommended for study in NCEA Drama identify and represent Pasifika people. As the nationally endorsed means of measuring achievement, NCEA exerts considerable power over what educators teach Pasifika young people is important and of intrinsic value for them as they prepare to take their places in society. I argue that the NCEA has sets of values that are conveyed and assimilated by learners and that the NCEA Drama texts are culturally charged with stereotypical character and theme types that promote negative constructions of identity in young Pasifika people. These texts also promote misunderstandings about what it means to be Pasifika by non-Pasifika learners. The work also argues that the NCEA Drama assessments do not necessitate the use of culturally responsive Pasifika theatre forms and that these forms could be a way forward in appropriately addressing the needs of the multi-cultural classroom.