Hei titiro anō i te whāinga: Māori achievement in bachelors degrees revisited

Discussion

A key theme in this report is that Māori students are likely to do less well in first-year degree studies than non-Māori students with similar levels of previous achievement. The findings in this report show that when Māori students are compared with non-Māori students with the same level of school performance, their first-year degree performance is lower. This is confirmed by Scott (2008). This differential is compounded by Māori students entering degree studies with lower average school achievement.

A similar pattern was found with regard to school performance by Hodgen (2007), in examining the effects of maternal qualifications and family income on key competencies of 16 year olds. Hodgen found that in numeracy, literacy, ‘thinking and learning’ and ‘focus and responsibility’ Māori students scored lower than Pākehā and Asian students, even once maternal qualifications and family income were controlled for. That is, Māori students performed less well than their peers even when the major influences of parental education and family resources had been taken into account. Lock and Gibson’s (2008) analysis of test score data for 15 year olds also came up with similar findings.

These findings beg further explanation. If Māori students are performing less well than non-Māori students with the same abilities and similar family background, then the question must be asked as to what is making the difference. Recent literature from schools and tertiary education suggests a combination of factors is at play. In particular, the literature suggests the need for educational institutions and teachers to move away from a deficit model, which locates Māori underachievement in the short-comings of the student, to a view that considers the ways in which support, environment and teaching practice can be improved to build and enhance the learning of all students.

Lock and Gibson (2008) found that family factors, student opinions and school factors had the biggest explained contribution to the differences in test scores between Māori and Pākehā 15 year olds. However, a third was not explained by variables collected in the data set.

Bishop et al (2001) found that at years 9 and 10 there were marked differences between Māori students’ and their teachers’ perceptions of their learning. The teachers interviewed saw Māori students’ deficiencies as major barriers to progress. In contrast, students identified a combination of structural and cultural relationship barriers as limiting their progress.

Bishop et al (2007) reported on the results of professional development based on the team’s original research. These results reinforced that “when Māori students have good relationships with their teachers, they are able to thrive at school”. Good relationships require teachers to move away from a deficit approach to a strengths-based appreciation of students, based on sound and supportive relationships. This approach appears to be successful with all students.

Wylie et al (2008) noted that there is a strong overlap between maternal qualifications and ethnicity, with Māori students more likely to come from families with low maternal educational qualifications. The study found that, at 16, Māori students had somewhat lower school attendance levels and somewhat lower school engagement than Pākehā and Asian students. They were also less likely to be taking traditional academic subjects and be more dissatisfied with their subject mix. Māori students were more likely to say that they had quite often got behind in their school work, and were more likely to have been hassled about their culture, to have got into trouble at school and to be participating in risky behaviours. They were less likely to have been praised for achievement, and teachers gave Māori students lower ratings for their overall ability.

Parents of Māori students were more likely to wish that their child had more guidance on subjects and more likely to rate teachers’ support for their child’s learning and well-being as low. Parents were less satisfied with their child’s progress, while maintaining similar levels of aspiration for their children as parents of Pākehā and Asian students.

Nikora et al (2002) provided a review of literature recruitment and retention of Māori students in tertiary education institutions. They identified a number of structural factors that impact on Māori student success in tertiary institutions. Where Māori students are first generation tertiary students, they can be faced with greater challenges of settling into an environment with which their whānau is unfamiliar. As minority students, they can be faced with overt racism and discrimination on campus. They can experience alienation within the culture of the institution, as well as separation from their own family and cultural base. Nikora et al noted that much of the existing literature points to the need for students to adapt to the institutional environment, rather than the environment changing to meet the needs of students.

Prebble et al (2004) emphasised the need both for support systems that help students to integrate into an institution and for the institution to adapt to meet the needs of diverse students. In reviewing available evidence, Prebble et al found that a range of institutional, teaching and student support improvements can enhance student outcomes. Improvements to the culture of the institution are also important to support the needs of a diversity of students. These improvements are summarised in Rivers (2005).

Across Bishop et al (2007), Nikora et al (2002) and Prebble et al (2004) there are some key themes as to how to enhance outcomes for students, which are equally applicable to Māori and non-Māori students:

• The institution and teachers engage effectively with students and understand their learning needs and aspirations.
• Families and whānau are welcome and encouraged in their support for their students.
• Support, orientation and advice are provided in a timely manner to students.
• Teachers work alongside students and are focused on the success of all students
• Students have access to a range of learning supports, including space to organise their own learning groups in their own way.
• Cultural diversity is welcomed and valued.
• Discrimination and racism on campus are not tolerated.