Mā te huruhuru ka rere te manu: how can language and literacy be optimised for Māori learner success?

5. Potential learners

“I te ohonga ake i aku moemoeā, ko te puawaitanga, ko te whakaaro”¹⁵
(When I awoke from my dream, my aspirations were realised)

5.1: Background profiles

Four potential Māori learners were interviewed. A letter of invitation was sent to Māori students who were attending a week’s summer preparatory study programme to participate in the focus group interview. The preparatory course, called Pukenga Wānanga Ako, was to assist Māori and Pasifika students commencing tertiary study either as mature learners or school leavers entering full-time study at the Waikato Institute of Technology (Wintec). The four student interviewees had been accepted and enrolled in a three-year programme of study either in the Bachelor of Nursing or the Bachelor of Midwifery. All four students were mature adult students aged in their 30s and 40s. Out of seven letters sent out, four students, all female, consented to the focus group interview. The following are the findings from the focus group interview. For ease of identification interviewees are identified as Potential Learners 1-4 or PL 1, PL 2, PL 3, PL 4.

Potential Learners’ profiles

PL 1 is an adult student who came from a strong rural marae upbringing and continues to live in her hapū territory on the outskirts of a town surrounded by rich farm land and stud farms. However the hapū is relatively poor economically, working on leased land which they own. She continues to heavily involved with hapū and marae activities on a regular basis and until recently was employed in health promotion by the hapū Trust. This student comes with a strong sense of knowing who she is and where she comes from and responsibility towards her community. She will bring a wealth of experience and leadership as an adult learner.

In contrast, PL 2, also an adult student, was not raised as a Māori. However, in recent years she has made considerable effort to reclaim her identity and has attended education programmes and courses that are kaupapa Māori based. Indeed she is respectful of and values her non-Māori upbringing, which does not appear to have caused an identity crisis in her current situation and in the raising of her children. This student has a strong dual identity and will bring a unique view and ability to articulate dual perspectives.

PL 3 is an adult student from a rural community, with strong Māori upbringing and te reo Māori as the first language of the household. She is strong in mātauranga Māori. However, during her early years she attended several different schools and took responsibility for the care of her father. Through successful schooling, despite the shifts, she brings a wealth of Māori knowledge and intelligence to her programme of study and to her peer group.

PL 4 is an adult student who has had a mixed upbringing. Her grandfather, a Ratana minister, had a strong influence on her, but she also lived with a sense of shame borne by her father, who had experienced harsh discipline and embarrassment because he spoke te reo Māori at school. There was a struggle for survival as a whānau, and she was expelled from high school.

Nevertheless this student brings with her a strong social consciousness and keen sense of rising to challenges.

In summary, the Potential Learners do not form a homogeneous group; they come from a range of backgrounds and experiences which will contribute to the richness and variety of their learning experience.

5.2: Whakawhanaungatanga

This major theme came out of the question to interviewees relating to their background and experiences of literacy and language. Whakawhanaungatanga encompasses whānau, connections, relationships, history and experiences in te ao Māori (including values and beliefs).

Following are sub-themes which are relevant to the theme of whakawhanaungatanga.

Whānau history

Background influences have an impact on student future achievements, particularly in setting a strong foundation for a sense of identity, pride and enthusiasm for learning.

PL 1 has an adult daughter who is near completion of an undergraduate degree and a son at primary school. She grew up with 11 siblings and her learning experiences and motivation came from her parents and her grandmother, as well as the marae community. Her father was unable to read and write, while her mother and grandmother were competent and confident in this area. Her father, however, was the driving force of the whānau.

He was very skilled with his hands and with the attitude to teach us to keep on going to work every day. It doesn’t matter what for or whatever the type of work. Only if you were dying, then you could stay home.

In contrast, PL 2 had a very different upbringing, being one of seven children adopted by a middle-class Pākehā Scottish family who had two older children of their own. While not raised as Māori, she enjoyed the security of a strong nuclear family, a Catholic upbringing with fairly strict discipline, and a Scottish cultural heritage.

We were privileged enough to learn a bit of my father’s Scottish descent through Highland dancing. My Mum taught, and my Dad taught my brothers bagpipes and drums and stuff. My Mum also taught dancing so I learnt ballet and tap and anything else that goes with that.

However, she grew up with a sense of being Māori, which became an identity issue later as an adult.

... It wasn’t until I got older I started to ask questions about myself. Why was I like this, what made me, how was I made up, what made me do things and say things? I wanted to know about myself, characteristics obviously, personality. The reason why I bring this up is because I would say we were a middle-class European family. We were brought up as such and we had a Christian background, Catholic, and that was a very hard life for me as well.

She acknowledges that being raised as a Catholic and in a non-Māori environment provided a stable and nurturing foundation for exploring her Māori cultural identity, which is a significant factor in her learning and as she pursues higher qualifications and future career path in nursing.

Like the home life and where I’m going with this is that I didn’t really know my place other than in the family or at school. I didn’t know anything Māori.

I feel advantaged. Yes, I do. Most for my parents, who are my precedent, my parents that showed me their heritage, their lives, and because I’m going to look into my own, and find my own bones, you might say.

PL 3 lived mainly in a rural town on the East Coast of the North Island with her parents and was the eldest of four siblings. She was raised with te reo Māori as the first language of the home, while at primary and secondary school the language was English, even though the population of the area was predominately Māori. Te reo Māori experiences within the home were an important feature of self-identity as was the home environment, which was influenced by her mother.

My mum loved music, she played the radio or records everyday, so we would sing. Mum loved colour; she wore bright dresses and the house was full of colour and flowers and language.

Her father was training to be a secondary school teacher, which also had an influence on her learning.

He tried every opportunity to kōrero Māori and so the people that came into our home was to speak Māori...that was part of the growing up.

In addition, her maternal grandparents were fluent te reo speakers and had a great influence on her upbringing.

I had a passion. When I was little I would tell her that I wanted to be a nurse and she’s just turned 90 and we have these kōrero every once in a while and she would say...hold onto my dream.

PL 4 was raised with two older brothers and two younger sisters. Her early school learning experiences were negative and in the main she ended up being self-taught with regard to reading and writing. Upbringing and school were a struggle; however, while whānau influences contributed to learning and role modelling, her own learning was a continuous challenge. Similarly her mother could read and write, and had started a nursing career, but found that pregnancy intervened and from there on life was a continuous struggle to survive with having to work. Survival was also a pattern in her grandfather’s life. He had a strong influence as a Ratana minister who provided whānau spiritual guidance as well as te reo Māori and culture.

To have food in the cupboard that’s what I remember my grandfather for as well as karakia, every day, never miss. He was always pushing Māori because he was a minister...but it wasn’t important to me.

Discussion

Interviewee whānau history was referred to with pride and warmth towards whānau relationships, that is, siblings, parents and, in three cases, extended whānau. This provided a strong sense of security, self-esteem, identity and support within the whānau and extended whānau. Also of importance is the value of Māori cultural identity, being immersed in te reo and tikanga in the home environment, which contributes to a strong cultural and knowledge base for the interviewees. While one of the interviewees did not grow up with a Māori cultural heritage, she was conscious of and felt strongly that Māori identity was important. She had taken personal steps to pursue this and was currently doing so for her children as well.

In addition, interviewees could identify those whānau members who had skills in reading and writing and those who were influential in their literacy learning and language, whether in te reo Māori or English. Extended whānau members and community also had a profound influence and provided motivation for future aspirations and reinforcing Māori cultural identity, particularly grandparents.

Affirmation of cultural identity is acknowledged (May et al., 2004) as promoting empowerment in the wider context of literacy and is described as the Multiple-Literacies approach, according to Auerbach (1995). The multiple-literacies approach does not ascribe to ‘cultural deficit’ and assimilation models; rather it seeks solutions in validating students’ cultural experiences and cultural resources (May et al., 2004).

Observations

Affirmation of cultural identify and promoting empowerment was characterised by:

• affirming and validation of whānau, hapū and cultural experiences important to language and literacy learning in a wider learning context.
• using and building on environmental, cultural experiences and cultural resources to extend the learning, literacy and language knowledge at all levels of learning.
• recognising the influence of whānau and extended whānau on individual aspirations and harnessing this to empower the individual or group to meet their future goals.
• acknowledging that Māori have a complex set of experiences which is unique to the individual or group and therefore Māori could not be identified as a homogeneous group or that generic solutions are appropriate for the same situation.
  

5.3: Whānau literacy and language experiences

PL 1’s experience of whānau literacy was most profoundly affected by her father and grandmother. Her father did not learn to read, but rather relied on whānau support, particularly that of the children. However, her grandmother was a regular reader whom PL 1 admired because she had to contend with being ostracised by the community. Here is her father’s story in her words:

My father, he was a practical man. He couldn’t read or write, he didn’t have any... He was a crane driver and so when he used to come home he used to memorise all the information and then come home and then get us to write it in his order book, all his loads that he did for the day and for me, I felt really sorry for him watching him being stressed through the whole day from half-past seven in the morning right up until 5 o’clock, that was his hours. But in that whole time and he would load, unload and build all these huge tower buildings in Hamilton and the only thing he had to rely on was his memory, to recall all his loads and they had to be accurate... How he managed to do that, I’ll never know, but our job was to, as soon as he got home, he put his things away and he’d sit down at the kitchen table and he’d call us to the table and he’d say, “Write.” So we would. But that was him, that was him every day and he held his dignity. Nobody knew and he was able to hand in his work the next day. Nobody questioned. So that was my dad, so for me I think I was motivated to want to learn...

For PL 1, the anguish experienced by her father’s inability to read and write made a deep impression and fostered her appreciation of the critical importance of writing both personally and economically to the whānau. She also experienced a deep respect for her father’s ability to retain and memorise information and participate fully in his employment without loss of dignity in particular, because of the whānau support he sought and received.

I really wanted to teach my Dad how to read, was what I really wanted to do, but he was too worried about wanting us to read and would always say, “Don’t worry about me, just worry about yourselves.”

... Yes, yes it did. It did have an impact on me, I think. I really encouraged my kids, but not forced it but sort of made it a fun thing so that they wanted to pick up...

She acknowledges the contribution and support of her mother, her father’s amazing capacity to cope without literacy skills, and the supportive environment.

My Mum, on the other hand, she could read, she could write, she was a chef and it was never an obstacle for her, but Dad used to be stressed because he had that side where he couldn’t read and write and I think he always felt that he was a less proper person because he couldn’t read and write. So, yes, those were the sort of experiences I had, but we all went through that and I’ve got 11 brothers and sisters, so we all learnt off our father, plus off our mother...

The experience of her grandmother was just as powerful and rather than have a negative effect was to provoke a challenge and strong determination to resist what she perceived as alienation and pressure that her grandmother endured from the community she lived in.

All the whānau back home didn’t appreciate her because they couldn’t read and they were jealous of her reading and they’d throw her paper away and say that she was being rude and trying to show them up, but really she just enjoyed reading, so she learnt to hide her reading.

PL 1 attributes her own children’s current healthy attitude to literacy and numeracy to the early experiences of her father, which she herself mitigated in her own learning.

Now I’ve got my girl who’s just doing her last papers in her degree and I’m really fortunate. And then I got my son, all my kids, and they all love reading, they all are really good at maths and so on, but I think that’s because they knew their grandfather couldn’t read and he would always want his mokos to read and write... Only my oldest girl knew him. Even though he’s gone they still trying to seek his approval. But it’s in a good way, in a way that’s motivating them.

PL 2’s whānau experiences with literacy and language were deeply entrenched in her non-Māori upbringing, which was primarily Scottish and Catholic in focus, both at home and at school, and which promoted the values of discipline, respect and obedience. However, reference has been made to the positive learning support of her siblings during her primary and secondary schooling. It is significant that as with maturity, learning liberates her from the ‘constraints’ of her past upbringing, as she reflects on those experiences:

Now as an adult I know I can and I probably had that choice back then, but you didn’t. You know what I mean? Probably that’s significant for me in my learning now, that I didn’t question things.

I suppose that’s what that was, very much so. I don’t mind saying that we knew if we stepped over that line at home and at school, there were consequences, but most of them were...because we were girls. It was the boys that got treated a bit differently. But we didn’t want to lose that respect too, we didn’t want to step over that – or not very often, because you didn’t want to know what those consequences were. That’s basically, I guess, how I didn’t want my children – I wanted them to have respect, but I didn’t want to be as strict as mine was.

PL 3’s literacy and language experience was very much embedded and integrated within her Māori cultural upbringing, with te reo the language spoken at home, whereas English was the language of school. Grandparents were also a great influence, with grandfather a fluent speaker, while her grandmother provided moral and inspirational support.

My Mum’s father spoke fluent Māori and my Mum’s mother, she was taken when she was nine years old and so from nought to nine she spoke fluent Māori, but from nine through, stopped, the kōrero stopped...they were a great influence.

In the intervening years PL 3 had developed a positive attitude and a high level of skills in literacy and language, which she carried into adulthood that had also led to success in completing a seventh form year .

Skills I’ve picked up over the years is a passion for learning and wide reading, and another one is listening, listening to kōrero and thinking it through and taking the time to pause before speaking. Writing. I had a passion for writing in my primary and high school years and I stopped that when I got married and life experience and it’s just recently that I’ve put pen to paper again.

In the case of PL 4, as formerly mentioned, both parents were fluent in te reo. However her dad, who left school at an early age, was apparently also an able reader and writer.

I’ll start off with my father. He was an uneducated man. He left school when he was seven, so he read most of his life until the day he died. He could write his name and he could write and read. How he learnt all that, I don’t know.

Her mother on the other hand was mentioned as being able to read and write and had ambitions of having a nursing career. Both this and her early recollection of her grandmother as being able to read and write made positive impressions on her and she saw these women as role models.

Discussion

Interviewee whānau language and literacy experiences are diverse and profound, making a significant impact on their future attitudes and aspirations for learning. Examples range from literacy and, in one case, numeracy being of economic importance in the whānau, to making a political statement to the wider hapū. Speaking te reo at home versus the language of school and experiencing literacy learning within the whānau are noted by PLs as empowering, with strong parental, sibling and grandparent influences. On that particular note, it is the whānau connectedness, and the sharing and support by whānau members and extended whānau around learning or as role models that have had a deep effect on learning motivation and aspirations.

Bishop et al. (2003) identified several of the above factors, among others, as the most important influences on Māori students’ educational experiences and achievement, including home and school relationships, mentors, whānau support and socio-economic factors.

Also being raised is the ability of whānau members to retain and memorise information, which was a valuable skill in Māori oral tradition, and in the case of interviewee PL 1 was an economic factor in supporting a very large whānau.

The other issue raised was the early experience of a grandparent and community resistance to new technologies (ability to read a newspaper) as representing uncertainty and standing outside of the community norms. Rather than being reactive, this was viewed as a challenge and inspiration.

Attitude towards learning is also an important factor. In general, interviewees were proud of whānau members’ efforts to develop their skills in language and literacy and to be able to hold their own in society and in later years have a greater influence on their children’s learning. PL 3 described her ongoing passion for literacy and language, which led to success at high school despite early experiences of alienation in being punished for using te reo Māori. In this respect, Bishop et al. (2003) include teachers’ expectations as a key influence in Māori students’ educational achievement or a “major impediment if teachers have low expectations of Māori students’ ability” (p. 192).

Observations

• Strength of home, whānau relationships and support, mentors (grandparents, siblings and others), teacher expectations and socio-economic factors are identified as critical influencing factors for educational achievement.
• Teacher/tutor expectations are important to Māori students’ educational expectations.
  

5.4: School background

With the exception of one of the interviewees, school life had both a negative and positive impact on language learning and literacy. The one exception was PL 1, who was more focused on whānau and hapū experiences (see below).

PL 2’s schooling was similar to her family life in that there was strict discipline, respect and obedience:

I learnt what I was taught and how I was taught was, we were actually caned back then and were strapped if we, I couldn’t pronounce words correctly... The fear was put into me I mean at school, we were caned and that at school, but that was part of the discipline. At the school that I went to, that foundation was always there, that we respected whoever was in front of us. We learnt what they had to offer. I didn’t question a lot of the work that I was given.

Her siblings also had an influence on learning at school:

Because I had older siblings I think I was fortunate. We kept all our exercise books back then so I was able to speak to older children or they’d just throw me their books for the year and in turn I did it. We shared a lot of things, knowledge, you might say, and shortcuts. How to cope with people, how to cope with that teacher and you just sort of learn those life skills.

PL 3 went to a predominantly European school initially and then, because her father was teaching, went to various schools from the middle to end of primary schooling which were predominantly Māori even though the curriculum was Pākehā.

And as I’ve come through the education system – at primary school we would get hit with a ruler or hit on the back of the head if we spoke Māori, and we had to sit up straight and face forward. And art work was what the teacher wanted you to draw, that kind of environment and we had to think like the majority of those that were at school...

We were not allowed to look at the person next to us. We were not allowed to question. If we had a question, we weren’t allowed to question. We had to wait until we were spoken to. That’s for my primary years and we were speaking Māori at home but not at school.

Her secondary schooling included high school in xxx, where she passed School Certificate despite her learning being affected by the school curriculum, which did not value te reo Māori and culture. Further secondary schooling at xxx High School was at a higher standard and this was a welcome challenge for her and led to further success, with a final year in the seventh form at another high school.

In general, while achieving positive school results leading to seventh form, PL 3 had experienced alienation both from the curriculum that was taught and also from the school environment, which was predominantly situated in a strong Māori community whose language and practices were deeply Māori.

The following excerpt reflects PL 4’s experience with schooling, which was affected by the shame and alienation experienced by her parents’ experience of schooling, hinting that she carried a negative legacy about schooling towards Te Reo Māori.

Schooling – my father and my mother were fluent in Māori, but they were at that time when you weren’t allowed to kōrero and because they would get the strap or – I think that could have been part of the reason why my father left school as well, but he didn’t want us to go through the same thing, same experiences as he did, so he never pushed Māori onto us. I suppose that’s what made me who I am today.

However, the sexism she experienced in her education, while another barrier, was also seen as a challenge.

What I really remember about education was that my brothers, I have two older brothers and two younger sisters – I’m in the middle – they were sent to do a Māori trade...and it was only for Māori boys...where the Māori like myself, Māori women, female were never ever pushed into a trade like nursing or teaching or anything like that, so I suppose it comes from there as well, being so determined for myself.

Negative experiences continued at senior school, leading to expulsion, and continue to be seen by PL 4 as a challenge which motivates her to take responsibility for her own learning.

School – I never got on very well at school because I couldn’t – I just didn’t enjoy learning there. I was always in trouble, wouldn’t listen, did nothing. I was expelled from school simply because I didn’t enjoy the way I was learning. So I left school. I went to college, left in the fifth form thinking what I really enjoyed was sports, not learning, so I think most of it was about teaching myself, and through all of my life experiences I’ve taught myself how to read and write.

While revealing how she went about being self-taught, underlying is the sense of pride and self-determination against the odds she was facing.

Well, I used to get hold of a book and read it and see how fast I could read a book and go back and read it again and again until I could practically memorise a page and have it – I could read it just like that without making mistakes and that’s how I kept on learning. I’d read novels.

No, it was always books, never comics, stories. Yes, and I just took on that for myself up to secondary right through, because I used to pull out a dictionary when I was in primary school and tried to memorise what the words were in there from the beginning right through the book ...and I still do it now. I still pull out the book and find the words that I don’t know because you never stop learning the words. And for me it’s look, listen and learn.

Discussion

Generally schooling had a huge impact on the interviewees in that their experiences were generally negative; discipline was harsh, there was minimal student and teacher interaction and the learning was teacher directed and controlled, that is, ‘look, listen and learn’. This is of course no longer acceptable in the present teaching environment, where learning is collaborative and empowering (Bishop et al., 2003, p. 24).

In addition, the school curriculum was not compatible with Māori and their lived experiences. At a psychological level, the teaching environment was hostile towards Māori and being brought up as Māori and having te reo me ngā tikanga was not valued and given legitimacy. This had a huge impact on student behaviour and receptiveness to learning when those experiences were not validated in the teaching environment. These experiences by interviewees are reflective of the dominance of ‘deficit’ approaches, as pointed out by Bishop & Glynn (1999), who claimed that there were “very few large-scale research studies that identify how important culture is for students’ successful participation in learning contexts” (p. 149). A later report to the Ministry of Education (Bishop et al., 2001) affirmed that “studies suggest that paramount importance should be given to the centrality of culture when addressing linguistic advancement” (p. 24).

A positive feature of schooling experiences was whānau support, albeit at an informal level. This included siblings, who had an impact by sharing their experiences of learning and also teaching interpersonal and life skills, and a father who was a teacher and had high expectations of his daughter. Extended whānau also had a positive influence through various forms of support, from spiritual to psychological support. These experiences support the recent studies conducted by Bishop et al. (2003, p. 192), in which whānau support was identified as a key influencing factor in students’ learning and educational achievement.

One interviewee found that her experience was so negative that it became quite a powerful motivation for self-determination. She had experienced sexism, where the boys were encouraged into a trade, and later in life this motivated her to pursue a vocation; and at secondary school she developed strategies for teaching herself both reading and writing, which became useful skills for her as an adult learner.

Observations

• Whānau support is identified as a critical influencing factor in students’ learning and achievement. The challenge is to identify how this concept can be embedded in tertiary level organisation.
• Tertiary organisations should not underestimate the high expectations and motivation of Māori students and their whānau for achieving success with their studies. Again, the organisation needs to have processes that can tap into that support resource to assist in student learning success.
  

5.5: Goals and aspirations

This major theme relates directly to the question on PL goals and aspirations.

Influences and impact of returning to study

PL 4’s experience of returning to study was partly a reflection of her earlier negative experience of learning at school. However, as mentioned earlier, being self-taught and being determined, it was her choice to return to formal study by beginning at college:

I went back to college as an adult student. This would have been 1989 probably, 88/89, so I did English and I got a good pass in English. I was awarded a Merit for English. I tried Maths, but that was too confusing, but for me, learning was through listening and watching and self-teaching. I taught myself.

Attending university and choosing nursing as a career was also a turning point in personal growth and liberation.

So when I went to uni I found out a lot about myself and who I am and why I want to learn. It was just something that I wanted to do. I’ve always been a determined person. I think that was my personality right through my whole life, a determined nature. Oh, it just made me feel so good about myself knowing who I was, because we did a lot of deep searching in Te Tiriti o Waitangi. I have a passion, too, for people, and so coming here to do my nursing was something I’ve always wanted to do, do nursing. Because Mum, she never ever finished her nursing and I thought, I could do something like that.

The following statement summarises her goal and desire to make a social difference for Māori.

I just have a passion for people, for their care.

PL 3 recalls a positive experience that became a turning point in her life when she accepted reluctantly the acknowledgement of qualities and skills she displayed, which then gave her the impetus and confidence to return to formal studies.

I was taking care of my Dad and let’s just say nurses and doctors would see things in me, sort of skills, if you like, or things that I didn’t see in myself as far as any sort of coming in doing nursing or – and I sort of looked at them – you know, I’d look behind and joke around and they’re actually talking to you and actually mean it. Some of them were actually passing compliments, which was something else too. I wasn’t used to it – you don’t really receive them growing up, congratulations. It was just maybe in a paper form when you passed. So getting that someone, not knowing you, acknowledging something of you, you do start taking it on board when you’re an adult and I suppose my starting point for me to come here was other people’s recognition of me and myself recognising that, oh okay, I must have learnt enough or I must be this person that they say that I could possibly be...that I showed skills or something.

In particular, she mentions her ability and skills in communication, for example with her father whom she cared for and was a challenge.

That communication was the main thing with us siblings, I guess, to be straight up, but your words shouldn’t hurt, so I guess some of the skills they saw in me was I was able to approach my Dad in a way that, you know, you can’t fix them, but you can upbeat them in such a way that words can’t express, you know what I mean. So those are sort of how it was explained to me, gentleness, kōrero...and I suppose we know our own family really well, my Dad’s strengths and his weaknesses and I knew when he was just giving people a hard time a lot of things. And can I just say my Dad taught me patience in a lot of things and I had to learn the crossword words.

PL 1 does not mention that her grandmother directly influenced her decision to do nursing as a career; however, she admired and was affected by her grandmother, who was a midwife and a spiritual person.

My grandmother, she was the only midwife for the hapū and she would deliver all the babies and would work with all the doctors, but she was a very gifted woman. Spiritually she knew who was sick and had that sort of way with her and didn’t need a home back then.

In the following quote, she not only recognises the importance of health work in the community as a health worker, she also makes an insightful observation about making a difference with a recognised qualification in that role, which finally influenced her decision to study formally. At a deeper level PL 1 has also expressed a community need for improved health and therefore a social responsibility towards her people and community.

But prior to this I was doing diabetes prevention for the last three years with whānau from all the areas, not only the hapū, and it made me realise how much we can only go so far in our learnings, but we need the qualifications to really help our whānau and, you know, our whānau are the worst ones to give help to because they don’t want to ask you for help even if you – but if you’ve got the ticket, you’ve got the qualification, they’ll ask you for help. But it’s hard, eh? But if you haven’t got that ticket, then they’ll go to the doctor. But if you’ve been through the qualifications where I want to go, I’ve seen where I want to go, I’ve seen what I want to do, but I’ve just got to get these things first.

Discussion

Influences and motivation for the Potential Learners to return to study range from seeking Māori identity, self-determination, personal growth, being recognised by whānau and mentors for particular skills and attributes, acting as agents for social change and realisation that credentials are important to improved job access and therefore progress and benefit community aspirations. In addition, for PL 4, who was expelled from school, her return to study was personally liberating and empowering.

No one mentioned financial reasons or personal economic benefit as reasons for returning to study. However, there is an underlying tension which hints at “issues of power as well as culture” and “that problems of marginalised people originate in a complex interaction of political, social and economic factors in the broader society...”, Auerbach (1995, p. 654). This social change perspective, according to Auerbach (1995), is informed by Paulo Freire (1981) and Gillespie (1990), who reiterate that “...literacy is not just acquiring personal skills but also having access to knowledge and power to create change in the structures...”. Similarly, Rawiri (2005) in her research about Whanganui iwi adult literacy, identified literacy as being “closely tied into political, social and economic imperatives and objectives” (p. 20).

Observations

• Potential students’ attitude to learning and motivation for learning is influenced by whānau and mentor encouragement and personal reasons. However, beyond that is also a social responsibility and consciousness for improving whānau, hapū and iwi goals and aspirations.
• Adult literacy is tied to issues of power and control and is inexplicably caught up by political, social and economic imperatives. Rawiri (2005) contends that a shift is required from the dominant political and social attitudes to recognise the validity of Māori literacies or ‘biliteracies’ (p. 20). This is supported in a strong critique by May (2004), where he questions “why cultural and linguistic change and adaptation should always be unidirectional – from a minority language/culture to a majority one” (p.15).
  

5.6: Pedagogical practices

This general theme came out of the question relating to what was positive in their learning journey and what can be improved.

Interviewee experiences of pedagogical practices were very recent, being based on attending the one-week preparatory study, Pūkenga Wānanga Ako, that was taught by Māori tertiary studies tutors. One PL had also completed a week’s ‘mainstream’ preparatory course at the end of 2006 and was able to make insightful comparisons with the teaching styles experienced. Therefore this is a snapshot of their recent experience, which in general was very positive, particularly that of the two Māori tutors, who were able to engage positively with the students. In this section, ako and ākonga are used to denote the Māori concept of learning, which is a reciprocal and sharing process.

Empowering the learners

The following is an example of ako and ākonga relationships that were caring, open and empowering, inviting active participation and enthusiasm in the learner. Also implicit in the following comment is the ako desire to promote ākonga achievement and success.

I don’t know about you ladies, but I was actually given permission. I felt really good that I was – that part of it was really significant to me. I don’t know why – to free write and if I’d been given that choice I guess my life might have turned out a little bit different. I enjoyed writing and I just wrote and wrote. That’s the first time in class, in a class situation that I’ve written freely without – because normally we try to take out all the silly words that we know that’s not going to make sense and they’re going to judge me on.

Learning was fun and enjoyable

The theme of being empowered to learn and having a sense of security is also attributed to the ako being culturally connected to the cultural knowledge and values of the ākonga. The ako has therefore established an effective teaching environment for positive interaction and engagement.

I’ve got a lot up there that I know or that I can share or that I’ve learnt and I didn’t realise that until I was given permission, in my eyes, to do so. That was fun, I enjoyed that.

Learning pace

The learning pace and pitch appeared to be at the right level, as was the content, which was connected and flowed together, assisting the learning process and instilling confidence in the ākonga.

And in going through that stroll and being talked through it, I know I can face what’s going to come ahead.

Teaching holistically

Ākonga agreed that the teaching style of the ako made a difference to their learning. The following dialogue illustrates a positive attitude towards the ako, who was clear and enthusiastic about learning and, implicit in this, had clear goals and expectations. There was also an underpinning Māori epistemology, which was validated by the teaching style as a Māori ako.

I just love her style of teaching because she just explains it so clearly and we have fun and you laugh at the way she teaches you. I just saw everything so clear when she was teaching what they expected of us of how to write an essay. I hadn’t seen that before.

She came in and brought a stereo and played music in the background and she combined all her learning styles and that’s what enhances my learning.

I like exciting teachers, I always have and I think that’s where I learn properly.

Place of challenges

Ākonga expressed the need for challenges in learning rather than soft experiences. This may be expressed in terms of setting high expectations, which students may feel some discomfort in attempting to reach.

I don’t know, so some of the not so good experiences can actually hit back and be a good experience. The ones that you remember the most and the really lovely ones I find hard to retain the knowledge that they’ve given across, because all you remember is, oh wow, I liked that. I know for me that’s what’s happened, was the ones that got up my goat most I held onto the information.

Māori pedagogy

One ākonga compared the learning environment and pedagogy of the course just completed with her experiences of a recent course similar in content, which was delivered by a non-Māori tutor at Wintec. This ākonga articulates very well the frustrations of monoculturalism and being culturally alienated from the teaching environment and pedagogy.

I found that in a Pākehā environment [it] is hard... I noticed that they just must be so used to this sort of structure, this sort of way and everything they rattled off and the Pākehās could click on to it instantly, but I found for me listening to it, it just sounded lost. That information was just being said, but it was not going anywhere. For me it just didn’t make sense, but I think they just get so used to saying it, blurting it out like that, that it has no meaning behind it and I just think that whenever you’ve got a Pākehā/Māori sort of class and they’re used to teaching just Pākehā, just consider not everybody thinks Pākehā... I don’t quite know how to explain it.

Clear language

The use of language that is understood by the ākonga and that is also closer to their experiences and knowledge is critical to their learning and comprehension. Also important are tools and strategies to further build on the knowledge as well as understand the complexity of material presented.

I think I like things said to me in layman’s terms and to a point where I also, if you want to give it to me or you don’t mind, the steps for me to really get it. She not only gave me the knowledge, but she gave me the steps to use it...

Ako-ākonga relationships

Comparison was made with the mainstream tertiary studies course completed at the end of 2006 by one of the interviewees. The comment highlights the importance of positive relationships, rapport with students and having similar cultural background and understandings. It also demonstrates how easily power relationships which can hinder engagement in the learning process develop in unwitting ways.

I’ll just relate this to last year. I had a science teacher, she was absolutely lovely, but I didn’t really get to know her for a number of reasons, I think, because science was two hours’ lecture and one lab. We see you, you’re there, we tick you off, your number and then you’re in...and even to the extent she invited us to have our name on an A4 paper, a photo taken of us for her to remember us and that was sad for me because I thought you’re a science teacher you know your subject so well that you’re going to struggle to remember us...but that just brought to me that okay, well we really are just merely a number or a face to you and that it’s not for us to know you at all really. She did share some things with us, but mainly it was business, and I knew that was how it was going to be up here, but I would have liked to have heard. You know, we’re women.

So, yes, I think that’s what was missing in that class, to know your tutor.

Discussion

Ākonga had experienced positive and helpful teaching and learning pedagogical practices as a consequence of the completion of the recent short preparatory course, Wānanga Pūkenga Ako, which was taught by Māori tutors for Māori students. Students felt affirmed as Māori as their experiential knowledge was accepted and was in accord with the ākonga background. This was contrasted with past learning experiences as articulated by ākonga. The ākonga also identified that ako-ākonga relationships are critical to learning and achievement. Ako also interacted and used effective teaching strategies to engage with the learning process. These processes resonate with a recent research project, Te Kotahitanga (Bishop et al., 2003), which included creating a culturally appropriate and responsive context for learning. Examples given include ‘manaakitanga’, or caring for students as culturally located human beings, and ‘ako’, which use strategies that promote effective teaching interactions and relationships with their learners (Bishop et al., 2003, pp. 192-193). While this research was aimed at year 9 and 10 Māori students in mainstream classrooms, much of the Effective Teaching Profile is relevant to the thinking and comments made by PLs about effective pedagogical practices.

Observations

• Teaching by and for Māori in the area of preparation for tertiary studies skills or foundation type learning has significant value as a transition to tertiary studies and developing confidence in a new environment.
• Effective teaching strategies and best practices for teaching Māori should be incorporated into the organisation’s professional development for all teaching staff.
  

5.7: Barriers to learning

This section discusses suggestions for improving the tertiary studies course.

Assessment clarity and feedback

Identified as helpful to learning are honest feedback on the ākonga progress, clear expectations, and both formative and summative assessment. This was made as a general comment about what would be helpful to learning.

It would help me to understand what I don’t know, what I need to know, whether I’ve got what it takes to go to the next step. So self-assessment and tutor assessment. I think it’s important so we’re not wasting time...

Confusing processes

The process of enrolling was confusing and frustrating to one PL and was highlighted during the interview. While outside of the teaching and learning process, enrolment is critical to the wider student learning experience, achievement and retention.

The second time I came back with something else – but I had everything there, but I just didn’t know how to put it all together. And then I kept on...fill out this application form to apply and then I went away again, and then I came back again and I thought, because it was on the day of the closing date, I’ve just got to go right in and just do it. And when I did I had all the information there anyway in the first place.

There was one part, I was going to throw it away.

I find sometimes it’s unclear and I find it off-putting often and I find it’s unnecessary, all the time puts unnecessary stress on students and staff and that’s all I’ve got to say about that. But that’s an observation I’ve made.

Racist comments

Another barrier to the student learning experience and outcome is the organisational environment, which was commented on as still reflecting stereotypical attitudes towards Māori, attitudes still prevalent in the majority population.

I was told on my open day because I was the only Māori student that came in, I was told by someone walking around, I think she must have been a student, “Find another brown face and they’ll help you.”

Discussions

Mention was made of the importance of feedback and clear assessment to monitor the learning and reflect on progress and achievement. This also aligns with Bishop et al. (2003). A critical barrier identified by an ākonga was the institutional enrolment process, which was confusing, unnecessarily difficult and off-putting. Learning is holistic and the ākonga learning experience, from its impressions during recruitment, support, and the impact of the organisation’s policies and processes at all stages through to completion, is vital to the student’s learning journey and achievement. Positing the student as the priority would change the paradigm from an organisational focus to an ākonga or student-centred focus and therefore the systems and processes would be orientated to that thinking. This is recognised by Wintec as a key objective (Wintec Profile 2007-2009): “Create an enhanced organisational culture focused on learner experiences and support” (p. 10).

Another unacceptable barrier to the learning process and to the organisational culture is racism, which may be reflected in behaviour and is inherent in organisational processes. A critique of ‘Bourdieu’s notion of habitus’ (May, 2004) explains prevailing monocultural dominance in that ‘habitus’ refers to “a set of embodied meanings” in individuals and group which “constitutes a powerful frame of reference which influences and shapes, at least to some degree, how the world is seen” (p. 13). The same critique also refers to the notion of cultural capital “in order to explore inequalities in power between dominant and subordinate groups”, which is “recognised as socially valuable – whereas the habitus of the latter is not”.

Observations

• There is a need to improve processes which impact on students’ learning journey and outcomes from recruitment through to completing their studies.
• While Wintec has a key objective around ‘student centredness’, and aligning processes to this objective, a further additional need is to set up supports and processes that recognise ‘Māori student centredness’ to promote retention and achievement.
• Related to the previous findings is the question of how to address inherent monoculturalism. This is an educative process, which requires educational organisations and their staff, particularly non-Māori, to understand, to confront and dialogue.
  

5.8: Significant chapter observations

• Aligning organisational teaching systems and processes with whānau, hapū and iwi aspirations can make a significant difference to student achievement.
• Teaching and support by Māori for Māori can reinforce cultural habitus.
• Teaching and learning professional development which effectively engages Māori students in the learning process using best practice models is critical to student success.
• Placing a high value on ‘Māori student centredness’ is critical to providing excellent customer service.
• Validate Māori literacies or bi-literacies within a dominant majority culture.
• Adopt Māori culture and practice within a monocultural organisation.
  

Footnote

15. Te Puea Herangi.