Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-8bhkd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-18T15:22:34.311Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Colonial Disparities in Higher Education: Explaining Racial Inequality for Māori Youth in Aotearoa New Zealand

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 September 2021

David Mayeda ,
Alan France ,
Tepora Pukepuke ,
Lucy Cowie  and
Marilyn Chetty
David Mayeda
Affiliation:
University of Auckland, Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand Email: [email protected]
Alan France
Affiliation:
University of Auckland, Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand Email: [email protected]
Tepora Pukepuke
Affiliation:
University of Auckland, Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand Email: [email protected]
Lucy Cowie
Affiliation:
University of Auckland, Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand Email: [email protected]
Marilyn Chetty
Affiliation:
University of Auckland, Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

While recent research shows a gradual increase of young Māori in Higher Education it remains the case that inequality amongst the Indigenous population remains entrenched and institutionalised. This article explains how national governments in Aotearoa New Zealand have failed to address the colonial disparities and inequalities in the Higher Education system. In this process we will show, through the lens of historical privilege and institutional racism, how these processes continue to shape and frame both opportunities and experiences for Māori youth. The article will also highlight what strategies are needed if a more inclusive Higher Education system is to be developed that addresses the disparities that young Māori encounter.

Keywords

Indigenoushigher educationdecolonisationMāoriAotearoa New Zealand
Type
Article
Information
Social Policy and Society , Volume 21 , Issue 1: Themed Issue: ’Race’, Learning and Teaching in Social Policy , January 2022 , pp. 80 - 92
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adams, D. W. (1995) Education for Extinction: American Indians and the Boarding School Experience, 1875–1928, Lawrence, Kansas: University of Kansas Press.Google Scholar
Adelabu, D. H. (2008) ‘Future time perspective, hope, and ethnic identity among African American adolescents’, Urban Education, 43, 3, 347–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Appleby, P. (2002) ‘Kura kaupapa Maori: tomorrow’s schools and beyond’, New Zealand Annual Review of Education, 11, 105–21.Google Scholar
Auckland Council (2020) Māori in Tāmaki Makaurau, https://aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/plans-projects-policies-reports-bylaws/our-plans-strategies/auckland-plan/about-the-auckland-plan/Pages/maori-tamaki-makaurau.aspx [accessed 11.11.2020].Google Scholar
Bailey, K. A. (2016) ‘Racism within the Canadian university: indigenous students’ experiences’, Ethnic and Racial Studies, 39, 7, 1261–79.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barber, S. and Naepi, S. (2020) ‘Sociology in a crisis: covid-19 and the colonial politics of knowledge production in Aotearoa New Zealand’, Journal of Sociology, 56, 4.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barber-Smith, K. (2007) ‘Whakatauki: patterns of learning and living’, in Edwards, S. and Hunia, R. (eds.), Toroa-te-Nukuroa, Te Awamutu: Te Wāngana o Aotearoa, 124–35.Google Scholar
Barney, K. (2013) ‘“Taking your mob with you”: giving voice to the experiences of Indigenous Australian postgraduate students’, Higher Education Research and Development, 32, 4, 515–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Benton, N. (1989) ‘Education, language decline and language revitalization: the case of Maori in New Zealand’, Language and Education, 3, 2, 65–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bishop, R. and Berryman, M. (2010) ‘Te Kotahitanga: culturally responsive professional development for teachers’, Teacher Development, 14, 2, 173–87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bishop, R., Berryman, M., Cavanagh, T. and Teddy, L. (2009) ‘Te Kotahitanga: addressing educational disparities facing Māori students in New Zealand’, Teaching and Teacher Education, 25, 734–742.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bourdieu, P. (1986) ‘Three forms of capital’, in Richardson, J. (ed.), Handbook of Theory and Research in Education, Westport, CT: Greenwood, 241–58.Google Scholar
Brayboy, B. M. J. (2004) ‘Hiding in the ivy: American Indian students and visibility in elite educational settings’, Harvard Education Review, 74, 2, 125–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cameron, S. and Robinson, K. (2013) ‘The experiences of Indigenous Australian psychologists at university’, Australian Psychologist, 49, 54–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carter, J., Hollinsworth, D., Raciti, M. and Gilbey, K. (2018) ‘Academic ‘place-making’: fostering attachment, belonging and identity for Indigenous students in Australian universities’, Teaching in Higher Education, 23, 2, 243–260.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Curtis, E. (2016) ‘Indigenous positioning in health research: the importance of kaupapa Māori theory-informed practice’, AlterNative, 12, 4, 396–410.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Curtis, E., Jones, R., Tipene-Leach, D., Walker, C., Loring, B., Paine, S. and Reid, P. (2019) ‘Why cultural safety rather than cultural competency is required to achieve health equity: a literature review and recommended definition’, International Journal for Equity in Health, 18, 1–17.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Curtis, E., Townsend, S. and Airini. (2012) ‘Improving indigenous and ethnic minority student success in foundation health study’, Teaching in Higher Education, 17, 5, 589–602.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Curtis, E., Wikaire, E., Kool, B., Honey, M., Kelly, F., Poole, P., Barrow, M., Airini, , Ewen, S. and Reid, P. (2015) ‘What helps and hinders indigenous student success in higher education health programmes: a qualitative study using the critical incident technique’, Higher Education Research and Development, 34, 3, 486–500.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
de Oliveira Andreotti, V., Stein, S., Ahenakew, C. and Hunt, D. (2015) ‘Mapping interpretations of decolonization in the context of higher education’, Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education and Society, 4, 1, 21–40.Google Scholar
Eketone, A. (2008) ‘Theoretical underpinnings of kaupapa Māori directed practice’, MAI Review, 3, 1, 1–11.Google Scholar
Essed, P. (1991) Understanding Everyday Racism: An Interdisciplinary Theory, New York: Sage.Google Scholar
Fletcher, J. (1989) Clean, Clad and Courteous: A History of Aboriginal Education in New South Wales, Carlton, NSW: J. Fletcher.Google Scholar
France, A., Pukepuke, T., Cowie, L., Mayeda, D. and Chetty, M. (2019) ‘“Imagined futures” in the navigation and management of uncertainty for young women in Aotearoa, New Zealand’, Journal of Sociology, 55, 4, 654–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
France, A., Roberts, S. and Wood, B. (2018) ‘Youth, social class and privilege in the antipodes: a new agenda for youth sociology’, Journal of Sociology, 54, 3, 362–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fyers, A. and Kenny, K. (2016 January 20) ‘Decile 10 schools take lion’s share of school donations’, Stuff, http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/76037866/Decile-10-schools-take-lions-share-of-school-donations [accessed 10.11.2020].Google Scholar
Gaudry, A. and Lorenz, D. (2018) ‘Indigenization as inclusion, reconciliation, and decolonization: navigating the different versions for indigenizing the Canadian academy’, AlterNative, 14, 3, 218–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gorinski, R. and Abernethy, G. (2007) ‘Maori student retention and success: curriculum, pedagogy and relationships’, in Townsend, T. and Bates, R. (eds.), Handbook of Teacher Education: Globalization, Standards and Professionalism in Times of Change, Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer, 229–39.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grinde, D. A. (2004) ‘Taking the Indian out of the Indian: U.S. policies of ethnocide through education’, Wicazo Sa Review, 19, 2, 25–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Henry, E. and Pene, H. (2001) ‘Kaupapa Maori: locating indigenous ontology, epistemology and methodology in the academy’, Organization, 8, 2, 234–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hokowhitu, B. (2004) ‘Tackling Māori masculinity: a colonial genealogy of savagery and sport’, The Contemporary Pacific, 16, 2, 259–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hokowhitu, B. (2009) ‘Māori culture: contemporary or not?’, MAI Review, 3, 1–3.Google Scholar
Johnston, K. (2015a) ‘Search continues for schools silver bullet’, New Zealand Herald, 5 November, https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/search-continues-for-schools-silver-bullet/L3AGJ7DNO3KVSHZOZMRABRZAJY/ [accessed 09.11.2020].Google Scholar
Johnston, K. (2015b) ‘World-class Auckland: education – where are we going wrong?’, New Zealand Herald, 14 August, https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/world-class-auckland-education-where-are-we-going-wrong/WG3U22TDKJWNSL2VESUFB3QDTM/ [accessed 09.11.2020].Google Scholar
Johnston, K. (2016a) ‘NCEA: why are students taking toilet cleaning at school?’, New Zealand Herald, 27 September, https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/ncea-why-are-students-taking-toilet-cleaning-at-school/HP6VDRBFH5RXJENHHAIF26XZWE/ [accessed 09.11. 2020].Google Scholar
Johnston, K. (2016b) ‘NCEA: inside the world of high school academies’, New Zealand Herald, https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/ncea-inside-the-world-of-high-school-academies/V3WVMDCBICAIT2BIDMIYUIW53Y/ [accessed 09.11. 2020].Google Scholar
Johnston, K. (2018a) ‘Half of university scholarships go to wealthiest students while the poorest struggle’, New Zealand Herald, https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/half-of-university-scholarships-go-to-wealthiest-students-while-the-poorest-struggle/OOFKSCMMPBACQ4UCIZPZX6IASQ/ [accessed 10.11.2020].Google Scholar
Johnston, K. (2018b) ‘Want to be a doctor, lawyer or engineer? Don’t grow up poor’, New Zealand Herald, https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/want-to-be-a-doctor-lawyer-or-engineer-dont-grow-up-poor/YLNUCK7L3KLN5EYJBFAEPJHCE4/ [accessed 10.11.2020].Google Scholar
Jones, A. (2012) ‘Dangerous liaisons: Pākehā, kaupapa Māori, and educational research’, New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies, 47, 2, 100–12.Google Scholar
Ka’ai-Mahuta, R. (2011) ‘The impact of colonisation on te reo Māori: a critical review of the State education system’, Te Kaharoa, 4, 195–225.Google Scholar
Kerpelman, J. L., Eryigit, S. and Stephens, C. J. (2007) ‘African American adolescents’ future education orientation: associations with self-efficacy, ethnic identity, and perceived parental support’, Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 37, 997–1008.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kingi, T. (2008) ‘Maori landownership and land management in New Zealand’, in Australian Agency for International Development (ed.), Making Land Work: Volume Two: Case Studies on Customary Land and Development in the Pacific, Canberra: Public Affairs Group, 130–152.Google Scholar
Kingi, T. K. (2007) ‘The treaty of Waitangi: a framework for Maori health development’, New Zealand Journal of Occupational Therapy, 54, 1, 4–10.Google Scholar
Macfarlane, A., Glynn, T., Cavanagh, T. and Bateman, S. (2007) ‘Creating culturally-safe schools for Māori students’, The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 36: 65–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mahuika, R. (2008) ‘Kaupapa Māori theory is critical and anti-colonial’, MAI Review, 3, 1–16.Google Scholar
Mayeda, D. T., Chesney-Lind, M. and Koo, J. (2001) ‘Talking story with Hawaii’s youth: confronting violent and sexualized perceptions of ethnicity and gender’, Youth and Society, 33, 1, 99–129.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mayeda, D. T., Keil, M., Dutton, H. D. and ‘Ofamo‘oni, I. F. H. (2014a) ‘ “You’ve gotta set a precedent”: Māori and Pacific voices on student success in higher education’, AlterNative, 10, 2, 165–79.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mayeda, D. T., ‘Ofamo‘oni, I. F. H., Dutton, H. D., Keil, M. and Lauaki-Vea, E. (2014b) ‘Māori and Pacific student experiences with every-day colonialism and racism’, Social Space, 2, 8, 1–25.Google Scholar
Mayeda, D., Pukepuke, T., France, A., Cowie, L. and Chetty, M. (2020) ‘Colonial privileges in a settler society: disparities of cultural capital in a university setting’, International Journal of Roma Studies, 2, 1, 2–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McAllister, T. G., Kidman, J., Rowley, O. and Theodore, R. F. (2019) ‘Why isn’t my professor Māori?’, MAI Journal, 8, 2, 235–49.Google Scholar
McDowell, T. (2015) ‘Taua Nākahi Nui: Māori, liquor and land loss in the 19th century’, AlterNative, 11, 2, 103–117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McKinley, E. and Madjar, I. (2014) ‘From schools in low-income communities to university: challenges of transition for Māori and Pacific students’, in Cram, F., Phillips, H., Sauni, P., and Taugalu, C. (eds.), Māori and Pasifika Higher Education Horizons (Diversity in Higher Education, Vol. 15), Bingley: Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 241–252.Google Scholar
Ministry of Education (2012) Me Korero – Let’s Talk! // Ka Hikitia – Accelerating Success 2013–2017, Wellington: Ministry of Education.Google Scholar
Ministry of Education (2020) ‘School Deciles’, https://education.govt.nz/school/funding-and-financials/resourcing/operational-funding/school-decile-ratings/ [accessed 10.11.2020].Google Scholar
Mutu, M. (2018) ‘Behind the smoke and mirrors of the treaty of Waitangi claims settlement process in New Zealand: no prospect for justice and reconciliation for Māori without constitutional transformation’, Journal of Global Ethics, 14, 2, 208–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Naepi, S., McAllister, T. G., Thomsen, P., Leenen-Young, M., Walker, L. A., McAllister, A. L., Theodore, R., Kidman, J. and Suaalii, T. (2019) ‘The pakaru ‘pipeline’: Māori and Pasifika pathways within the academy’, New Zealand Annual Review of Education, 24, 142–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pihama, L. (2010) ‘Kaupapa Māori theory: transforming theory in Aotearoa’, He Pukenga Körero, 9, 2, 5–14.Google Scholar
Pihama, L., Cram, F. and Walker, S. (2002) ‘Creating methodological space: a literature review of kaupapa Māori research’, Canadian Journal of Native Education, 26, 1, 30–43.Google Scholar
Pihama, L., Lee-Morgan, J., Smith, L.T., Tiakiwai, S. J. and Seed-Pihama, J. (2019) ‘MAI Te Kupenga: supporting Māori and indigenous doctoral scholars within Higher Education’, AlterNative, 15, 1, 52–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Poata-Smith, E. (2013) ‘Inequality and Māori’, in Rashbrooke, M. (ed.), Inequality: A New Zealand Crisis, Wellington: Bridget Williams Books, 153–162.Google Scholar
Rangiwai, B. W. (2011) “Race’ and the politics of land loss: colonising discourses for Patuheuheu and Ngāti Haka’, Te Kaharoa, 4, 40–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Russell, L. (2001) Colonial Frontiers: Indigenous-European Encounters in Settler Societies, Manchester: Manchester University Press.Google Scholar
Said, E. (1979) Orientalism, New York: Vintage Books.Google Scholar
Shain, F. (2021) ‘Educating’, in Matthewman, S., Curtis, B. and Mayeda, D. (eds.), Being Sociological [3rd edn], London: Macmillan, 235.Google Scholar
Smith, G. (2012a) ‘Interview: Kaupapa Māori: the dangers of domestication’, New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies, 47, 2, 10–20.Google Scholar
Smith, G. H. and Smith, L. T. (2018) ‘Doing indigenous work: decolonizing and transforming the academy’, in McKinley, E. A. and Smith, L. T. (eds.), Handbook of Indigenous Education, Singapore: Springer, 1–27.Google Scholar
Smith, J. (2011) ‘Postcolonial Māori television?: the dirty politics of indigenous cultural production’, Continuum: Journal of Media and Cultural Studies, 25, 5, 719–729.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, L. T. (2012b) Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples [2nd edn], New York: Zed Books.Google Scholar
Stephenson, M. (2006) ‘Closing the doors on the Maori Schools in New Zealand’, Race Ethnicity and Education, 9, 3, 307–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Theodore, R., Gollop, M., Tustin, K., Taylor, N., Kiro, C., Taumoepeau, M., Kokaua, J., Hunter, J. and Poulton, R. (2017) ‘Māori university success: what helps and hinders qualification completion’, AlterNative, 13, 2, 122–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Theodore, R., Tustin, K., Kiro, C., Gollop, M., Taumoepeau, M., Taylor, N., Chee, K., Hunter, J. and Poulton, R. (2016) ‘Māori university graduates: indigenous participation in higher education’, Higher Education Research and Development, 35, 3, 604–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Timutimu, N., Simon, J. and Matthews, K. M. (1998) ‘Historical research as a bicultural product: seeking new perspectives on the New Zealand native schools system’, History of Education, 27, 2, 109–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tocker, K. (2007) ‘Kura kaupapa Maori experiences’, New Zealand Journal of Education Studies, 42, 1, 65–76.Google Scholar
Tocker, K. (2015) ‘The origins of kura kaupapa Māori’, New Zealand Journal of Education Studies, 50: 23–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tocker, K. (2017) ‘Living and learning at Māori: language stories from three generations’, The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 46, 1, 115–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wakefield, W. D. and Hudley, C. (2007) ‘Ethnic and racial identity and adolescent well-being’, Theory Into Practice, 46, 2, 147–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Webber, M. (2012) ‘Identity matters: racial-ethnic identity and Māori students’, Set: Research Information for Teachers, 2: 20–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wehipeihana, N., Kennedy, V., Pipi, K. and Paipa, K. (2014) ‘Hinerauwhāriki: the collective higher education experiences of four Māori women’, in Cram, F., Phillips, H., Sauni, P., and Taugalu, C. (eds.), Māori and Pasifika Higher Education Horizons (Diversity in Higher Education, Vol. 15), Bingley: Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 291–313.Google Scholar
Wilkie, M. (2014) ‘‘, in Cram, F., Phillips, H., Sauni, P., and Taugalu, C. (eds.), Māori and Pasifika Higher Education Horizons (Diversity in Higher Education, Vol. 15), Bingley: Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 61–81.Google Scholar
Wilson, D., McKinney, C. and Rapata-Hanning, M. (2011) ‘Retention of indigenous nursing students in New Zealand: a cross-sectional survey’, Contemporary Nurse, 38, 1–2, 59–75.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed