Te Waha Tieke: Exploring the Educational Potential of Social Networking Environments for Māori Students in Northland Schools

Abstract

This research makes an original contribution to knowledge of factors that promote elearning engagement in online social networking sites (SNS) for a small sample of Māori school students (Y9-11) in the rural Northland area of New Zealand. The study helps address a lack of data on how Māori students, in particular, engage with elearning, by a focus on Ministry of Education’s Māori education strategy policy drivers: 1. to be involved in initiatives that increase Māori engagement; 2. to integrate new technologies into teaching and learning programmes; and 3. to increase Māori students’ engagement with e-learning. Students were engaged in learning through a series of secure educational social networks (ESN). They functioned as a community of online learners operating both inside and outside of their classrooms, demonstrating increased bonding and bridging social capital, and incorporating tuakana-teina (peer group learning) relationships. Four key themes were used to identify similarities and differences of practice, to help understand how Māori pedagogies and values might be reflected in an ESN environment, and contribute to student engagement. These themes were summarised as the learning environment, quality relationships, cultural understandings, and challenges to pedagogical practice. Comparisons were able to be made between Activator Practice (Hattie, 2007, 2010), Discursive Practice (Bishop, 2007, 2011), and ESN practice emerging from this research. The digital student identity, was not seen to have the same pressures or social restrictions identified in some Māori students as whakamā (shyness or embarrassment). Students were not reluctant to ask basic questions, make comments, or raise ideas in front of the whole community, and were happy to accept public praise from their teacher. This lack of whakamā was observed by teachers to transition from the ESN back into the classroom. Students were able to manipulate their online identity by forming their own student led, self directed learning program that was represented as a 'crossover learning framework'. They sometimes chose self-instruction in e-learning, over kanohi ki te kanohi (face to face) teacher instruction, as observed in classroom 'dual learning pathways' adaptations. The research identified challenges between SNS and ESN, when developing an understanding of public vs private boundaries.