Leali’ie’e Dr Tufulasi Taleni says his decade-long battle with depression shaped how he thinks samoa Pacific education should be led. The University of Canterbury senior lecturer tied recovery, family support, and his new 2025 book to a message of compassion, care, and lived experience.
Taleni said the darkest part of that period began around 2005 and lasted more than 10 years. He said he has fully recovered and now wants Pacific leaders and educators to pay closer attention to quiet students, especially those sitting at the back of the classroom.
Taleni’s 2005 turning point
Taleni, a Samoan academic in New Zealand and a double award-winning researcher on Pacific education and wellbeing, said he was in “a dark hole for a long time.” He added: “I enjoyed my career. I was passionate about things. All of a sudden I went downhill. I share this because it can be quite educational for our people, particularly for males, [who] don't openly talk about this experience.”
He said the struggle started around 2005, when his children were young. That personal timeline now sits alongside his professional work, including his 2023 PhD thesis, O le Fa’atamasoali’iga a Tautai Matapalapala - A Soul-Searching and Far-Reaching Voyage of the Tautai, which developed the Soalaupulega Samoa framework based on traditional Samoan leadership and collective problem-solving led by matai.
Pacific students and the heart
His 2025 book, Tautai: The Master Navigator - Navigating Pacific students’ education, health, and wellbeing from a Pacific leadership perspective, carries the same message into a broader education setting. Taleni said: “lead Pasifika learning from the heart.” He also said, “There’s a saying in Samoan: tu'utu'u le upega i le loloto [cast the net into deeper water]. That comes from the heart.”
He said leaders of Pacific youth must look closely at “the quiet students at the back,” and that parents or principals must “have a look at the Pasifika child sitting at the back.” The practical implication is straightforward: the students who say the least may need the most attention, and Taleni is asking the adults around them to read silence as a signal rather than a lack of need.
Jane, family, and recovery
Taleni said he is “120 per cent” recovered and thanked his wife, Jane, his children, extended family, and community for their support. He said the book could not be released earlier and was brought together in God’s time, placing the publication after years of recovery rather than during the hardest part of his illness.
For readers in Pacific education, the immediate next step is not a policy announcement but the message Taleni is already delivering: leadership begins with who is seen, who is heard, and who is quietly missed. His own account turns that into a test for classrooms, campuses, and families already working with Pasifika learners.
