Advocates for Māori students: The role of careers advisors?

Abstract

This thesis focuses on the transition of Māori students between secondary school and university in New Zealand and the influences affecting that transition at the national, local and personal level. The role of careers advisors in schools as potential advocates and advisors to Māori students is central to the thesis in considering support and careers education for Māori students. The rationale for the research from Kaupapa Māori theory is that tino rangatiratanga and self determination are necessary to achieve transformation for Māori in education. The significance of equity initiatives, education plans and strategies established at a national level is explored and the ability of national initiatives to effect change for Māori students in schools is investigated. The thesis explores the context for the under representation of Māori in university degrees with regard to the recent changes in the secondary schools' assessment system. It is argued that the introduction of NCEA has severely restricted the ability of families to assist in the management of careers education and planning for their children. The contention is that for effective planning to take place a detailed knowledge of the new assessment system is required and few agencies outside secondary schools have acquired that knowledge. Therefore the thesis claims that the new system which was promoted as providing students with greater choice has effectively marginalised students and their families and increased the power of schools to make choices for students. In the new environment that has been created the role of the careers advisor has become critical to maintaining and improving Māori access to university education. Research was carried out with careers advisors from schools which had participated in equity initiatives on at least four occasions to determine their reasons for participation and to assess the influence of policy on those reasons. Giddens' structuration theory was used to examine the capacity of individual careers advisors to exert both positive and negative influence on the careers education outcomes for Māori students and their access to university education. The research found that support for Māori students in the schools depended on the agency of each careers advisor or Māori student advocate in terms of their individual evaluations and judgements. Therefore for many Māori students tino rangatiratanga or self determination is not possible without the support of an advocate such as the careers advisor.