Educational inequities and Māori ākonga
19.6% of the population of Aotearoa New Zealand in 2023 have Māori whakapapa, up from 18.5% in 2018. (Stats NZ, 2024)
20% of Māori learners never, rarely or only sometimes had everything they needed to go to school (for example, uniform, shoes, jacket, lunch). (Education Review Office, 2022, p.72)
16% of Māori households were less likely to have internet access compared to non-Māori households. This digital divide is related to affordability. (Department of Internal Affairs, 2021)
53.4 per 1000 ākonga stood down in 2022 were Māori; Pākehā were 28.4 per 1000 ākonga. (Ministry of Education, 2024)
Whānau
24 out of 100 learners in Aotearoa whakapapa Māori.
Realising education equity for Māori learners
The experiences whānau Māori shared with us spoke of inequitable access to meaningful and relevant schooling. The failure of Aotearoa New Zealand’s education system to create policies and practices that embrace and empower Māori perspectives, language and values has perpetuated a cycle of Māori disadvantage, discrimination and marginalisation on repeat since colonisation.
Whānau expressed clear goals for what educational transformation looks like for ākonga Māori. Barriers need to be removed so all whānau Māori can access schooling that reflects the language, culture and identities of their tamariki.
Teachers can make a shift for equity by being responsive to whānau and tamariki as Māori and adopting a relational teaching style. School leaders, BOTs and policymakers can establish safe systems that enable whānau to raise concerns about bias, racism and teacher conduct. The experiences of whānau Māori can be included in teacher training programmes.
