98 ● Patrick Vakaoti
as those discussed earlier in the chapter (Healy 2012). Group work can be a
helpful modality for passive young people, because it can help them develop
new skills and confidence and apply them to other areas of their life after the
group termination stage (Healy 2012).
The fourth myth about group work with Pacific young people is that
activities should be aimed at supporting or maintaining the status quo. For
example, Pacific high school students in New Zealand are supported by
programs aimed at lifting their educational achievement and increasing their
involvement in tertiary education; these include the University of Otago’s
Dare to Succeed academic mentoring program and the University of Auck-
land’s Starpath Project, a research project on underachieving high school
students. Although these projects are important, they do not address the host
of other Pacific youth issues—such as unemployment, mental health, and
environmental degradation—that deserve to be considered for alternative
forms of group work that are more challenging of the status quo and that
are more actively involving Pacific group members in the setting of agendas.
Healy (2012) suggested some forms of group work for consideration, includ-
ing group psychotherapy, behavior change groups, support groups, self-help
groups, and social action groups.
Social action has roots in community development and community social
organizing. It involves a collective response to perceived issues for the purpose
of effecting “some form of change in the external environment” (Tesoriero
2010, 211). Social action can be carried out at different levels; internationally,
an example is the Occupy movement, which has swept across many countries
and regions since 2011, in response to growing social and economic inequality.
A regional example is the Pacific Climate Warriors, who are active across 15
nations in the Pacific region, highlighting the impact of climate change on
low-lying Pacific Island countries. A national-level example is the movement
against growing child poverty in New Zealand; this involves a loose coali-
tion including human service practitioners, policy analysts, and researchers.
Social action can also take place at the local level, where it can perhaps be best
promoted through group work. Such a group could comprise, for example,
community members, community workers, and public sociologists working
together to challenge a local council to address a shortage in affordable and
culturally appropriate public housing with sufficient space to comfortably
accommodate Pacific families. Social action groups offer the best option to
challenging the status quo, because they have the potential to effect both
personal and collective change. This is critical for Pacific young people, most
of whom experience situations of marginalization and discrimination, either
as a collective or as members of youth subgroups, such as women, sexual
minorities, or people with disabilities.