Women, Portuguese culture and Diaspora : Women from Goa in New Zealand and cultural adaptation

New Zealand is a nation of Migrants. Immigrants have played a significant role in the country’s economic growth and cultural development. With a population of four million people, New Zealand’s population is becoming increasingly culturally diverse. Almost one in five New Zealanders were born overseas, rising to one in three in its largest city, Auckland. Asians are the fastest growing ethnic group, increasing by around 140% since 1996. Indians account for 1.2% of the population (Statistics New Zealand, 2002). The Goan community in New Zealand is relatively small and its size is not formally recorded, however, anecdotally it appears to have grown to over 200 families in the Auckland area, with most arriving after 1996. For women who migrate, loneliness and isolation have been identified as the most ‘glaring’ experience and this is intensified by the loss of extended family networks when they migrate to a country where nuclear families are the norm (Leckie, 1995). The creation of new networks and maintenance of prior networks in new ways is crucial to the successful settlement and integration into a new country. This paper reports on how Goan, Indian women in Auckland, New Zealand used specific strategies to manage the adjustment to living in a new country. The findings reveal that participants used a variety of skills to settle in New Zealand such as cultivating a “can do” attitude, obtaining support and learning. These skills enabled them to move beyond their own culture and begin to take active part in New Zealand culture. However, this process was not immediate and the participants passed through a number of stages along a continuum of settlement and integration. These stages will be discussed below and situated within a body of literature.

Projectos de tutorias em meio escolar

RESUMO: O combate ao insucesso e ao desajustamento de uma grande parte de alunos à realidade escolar fazem parte dos maiores desafios que a escola enfrenta nos dias de hoje. Assim sendo, a escola actual, que se deseja para todos, tem de estar receptiva à implementação de modalidades de apoio diversificadas, de modo a responder à crescente heterogeneidade cultural, social e ética dos seus alunos. O presente trabalho estuda a forma como dois agrupamentos de escolas dão corpo à legislação que regulamenta a figura do tutor nas escolas. A investigação utiliza como instrumentos de recolha de dados a análise documental e a entrevista semi-estruturada a tutores. Na análise documental, procedeu-se à identificação das referências e dos objectivos concebidos para esta forma de apoio, nos respectivos projectos educativos e regulamentos internos. Nas entrevistas aos tutores, abordam-se as percepções dos professores tutores e dos coordenadores dos projectos dos dois agrupamentos sobre a prática da tutoria, as suas vantagens, dificuldades e formas de implementação nas escolas. Partindo destes dados, deseja-se dar a conhecer a forma como duas escolas, tendo por base os normativos legais, desenvolvem projectos de tutorias, como resposta às necessidades crescentes de acompanhamento dos alunos.ABSTRACT: Fighting failure and non- adaptation to school of a large number of students can be considered the main challenge schools have to face today. Therefore, today’s school which is intended to be inclusive must be prepared to implement a diversity of support measures in order to meet the increasing cultural, social and ethical differences of students. The present study analyses the way how two different schools interpret and implement the legislation that regulates the role of a school tutor. As data survey tools the research uses documental analysis and semi-structured interview to school tutors. In the documental analysis the references and the objectives drawn by the two schools to implement tutoring were identified in the school projects and School Rules of Procedures. In the interviews we aimed to identify the tutors and Project Coordinators’ perception about their tutorship practices, advantages, problems and ways of implementation at school. From the obtained data we aim to report the way how the two schools, based upon legal procedures develop tutoring projects as a solution to the increasing needs of students guidance.