Barriers to Māori Student Success at the University of Canterbury

The economic marginalization of Maori students is a complex issue that can be traced back to a number of historical factors, including colonization, assimilation, and systemic racism.

One of the most significant barriers to Maori student participation in higher education is financial hardship. Maori students are more likely to come from low-income families than non-Maori students, and they are more likely to have to work part-time or full-time to support themselves while they are studying. This can make it difficult for them to keep up with their studies and to succeed academically.

Another barrier to Maori student participation is the lack of access to culturally-appropriate support services. Many Maori students feel isolated and alone on university campuses, and they may not feel comfortable seeking help from non-Maori staff or students. This can make it difficult for them to overcome the challenges they face and to succeed academically.

There are a number of things that can be done to address the economic marginalization of Maori students. These include:

• Providing financial assistance to Maori students in the form of scholarships, grants, and loans.
• Increasing the availability of culturally-appropriate support services on university campuses.
• Encouraging Maori students to seek help from non-Maori staff and students.
• Creating a more inclusive campus environment for Maori students.

• University of Canterbury was established in 1873 and is the country’s second oldest university.

• It is a conservative institution (See Grennell, 1991; Clothier, 2000; Phillips, 2003).

• It was the last university to adopt a Maori name – Te Whare Wananga o Waitaha - (Phillips, 2003:219) and the last major South Island tertiary provider to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Ngai Tahu, the predominant South Island iwi, in 2001.

• Maori staff represent only 2% of the community and Maori students represent only 5%.

• Te Tapuae o Rehua (Te Tapuae) (2002:32-34) recognizes that monoculturalism remains embedded despite an apparent increase in awareness of multiculturalism.

The term “barriers to success” is used to describe factors that prevent or hinder individuals from achieving their full potential. In the context of the Ministry of Education, these barriers may include personal and family issues, financial difficulties, negative schooling experiences, inadequate secondary school qualifications, transitional difficulties, isolation, an unwelcoming tertiary environment, and inappropriate support structures.

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The Tertiary Education Strategy 2002-07 (The Strategy) devolves responsibility for addressing ethnic disparities in human capital to an institutional level. This thesis explores how The Strategy’s directives translate into a system that is more responsive to meeting the particular needs and aspirations of Maori students at the University of Canterbury, and the congruence between factors defined by the Ministry of Education (2001) (the Ministry) in Hei Tautoko I nga Watata: Supporting Maori Achievement: A collection of Tertiary Provider Initiatives as barriers to successful Maori engagement with those factors identified by a group of students at this institution.

Currently, government policy, The Tertiary Education Strategy 2002-07 (The Strategy), devolves responsibility for addressing ethnic disparities in human capital to an institutional level. This thesis explores how The Strategy’s directives translate into a system that is more responsive to meeting the particular needs and aspirations of Maori students at the University of Canterbury, and the congruence between factors defined by the Ministry of Education (2001) (the Ministry) in Hei Tautoko I nga Watata: Supporting Maori Achievement: A collection of Tertiary Provider Initiatives as barriers to successful Maori engagement with those factors identified by a group of students at this institution.

The Ministry (2001) acknowledges that Personal and Family Issues, Financial Difficulties, Negative Schooling Experiences, Inadequate Secondary Schooling Qualifications, Transitional Difficulties, Isolation, Unwelcoming Tertiary Environment and Inappropriate Support Structures are barriers to Maori success.

Racism and institutional racism is a prevalent issue that disproportionately affects marginalized communities, including Māori in Aotearoa/New Zealand. This section explores the various facets of racism and institutional racism faced by Māori in educational settings, highlighting the role of power relations, deficit thinking, and the impact on Māori students' academic achievement and overall well-being.

Established in 1873, the University of Canterbury is the country’s second oldest university (UC Profile, 2005-2007) and remains a conservative institution (see Grennell, 1991; Clothier, 2000; Phillips, 2003). The University of Canterbury was the last university to adopt a Maori name – Te Whare Wananga o Waitaha - (Phillips, 2003:219) and the last major South Island tertiary provider to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Ngai Tahu, the predominant South Island iwi, in 2001. This purportedly signalled the university’s commitment to a bicultural agenda and the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi and the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi and. Recognition of biculturalism, however, came nearly a decade after other universities had implemented programmes and support systems sympathetic to the needs of Maori. In an environment where Maori staff and students represent only two and five percent of the community respectively, the local stakeholder, Te Tapuae o Rehua (Te Tapuae) (2002:32-34), recognizes that despite an apparent increase in cultural awareness by the University of Canterbury over the past decade, monoculturalism remains embedded.

Participants’ testimonies confirm that Financial Difficulties associated with engaging in tertiary study are aggravated by intergenerational poverty and the lack of embedded Maori financial capital. Wai’s testimony (ii) supports Hall’s (1999:8) contention that economic resilience on the part of the marginalized demands an ability to balance various needs against each another. Furthermore, the majority of participants are mature students, 45 which is consistent with the higher national ratio of adults in the Maori student population. Sixteen participants were parents, including Raina, Wai, Nigel and Tacks (i, ii, iii, iv), and therefore incur financial pressures associated with having dependent families. A corollary of participants’ socio-economic status is that tertiary study is often intermittent, as participants are forced to opt in-and-out of paid employment. Moreover, as Baxedine (2003:94) notes, in addition to earning less, Maori are also disproportionately dependent on state payments, with benefit uptake rates being three times those of non-Maori. The absence of accrued wealth also has ramifications for the small but emerging Maori middle-class as the susceptibility of high-income careers to the vagaries of the job market means that professional Maori are vulnerable during periods of economic “down-turn” when employee redundancies are increased.

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The given document section discusses the inappropriate support structures which pose a barrier to student success in tertiary institutions. The document focuses on four major points: (1) Segregation of tutorial groups based on ethnicity, (2) Preferential access into Law School via the quota system, (3) Underutilization or denial of mainstream services, and (4) Deficit of Maori social, cultural and financial capital.

This section explores the concept of boundary maintenance and segregated tutorials in the context of Maori students in tertiary institutions in Aotearoa/New Zealand. It draws on theoretical explanations of marginalization and deficit thinking to analyze the experiences of Maori students and the impact of institutional policies and practices on their educational outcomes.

Key Highlights:

• The concept of boundary maintenance, which relates to the separation of different social or cultural groups, is used to understand the dynamics of Maori support structures and the desire for ethnic segregation in educational settings.

• Segregated tutorials, organized by Maori students or organizations, provide a supportive and empowering environment for Maori students, fostering academic success and cultural identity.

• The study highlights the benefits of protective boundaries around segregated tutorials in promoting student agency, high stakes accountability, and monitoring systems, leading to positive educational outcomes for Maori students.

Founded in 1993, the Te Putairiki (The Maori Law Students' Association) aims to support the academic and social development of Maori law students.

The association's accomplishments include the distinguished performance of members in the “Canterbury Maori Mooting Team” in national and international Law Moots.

Two types of boundary issues are relevant to Te Putairiki:

• Segregated tutorials:

Organized and taught by Maori Law graduates and senior Te Putairiki members, these tutorials provide a supportive and culturally responsive learning environment.

These tutorials have proven successful in improving grades and fostering a sense of community among Maori law students.

• Preferential access into Law School via the quota system:

This system allows Maori students with lower grades to gain admission to the Law School.

While some argue that this system grants unfair advantages to Maori students, the Te Putairiki Association believes that it is a necessary measure to address the historical and ongoing marginalization of Maori in the legal profession.

This section highlights the challenges faced by Maori students with learning disabilities in accessing and navigating mainstream support services. It explores the role of social cognition and institutional boundaries in perpetuating unequal outcomes for Maori students. The section also emphasizes the importance of protective boundaries and advocates for legislative measures to address the economic marginalization of Maori students.

Challenging deficit ideology and understanding power dynamics between students and institutions is critical to grasping boundary construction types in the context of compensatory initiatives. This study examines four case studies providing a comparative framework for analyzing boundary-related issues. The first explores the desire for 'separation and exclusivity' through ethnic segregation of tutorial groups. The second highlights boundary issues concerning Maori Law Students’ Association (Te Putairiki) and the quota system for entry into Law School. The third study investigates mainstream service provision and access to resources for Maori students with learning disabilities, emphasizing the absence of protective boundaries. The final study examines the complexities of accessing mainstream services in the absence of protective boundaries.

The participation and achievement rates of Maori students at mainstream tertiary institutions in New Zealand are considered very low and a national priority. The Tertiary Education Strategy 2002-07 (The Strategy) devolves the responsibility to address ethnic disparities in human capital to the institutional level.

Marginalization theory offers divergent understandings of the impacts of asymmetric power relations and peripheralization on Maori in New Zealand. The process of marginalization is legitimized and actioned through colonial and neo-colonial processes that have resulted in the peripheralization of Maori identity, ethnicity, culture, and environment.

Deficit thinking rationalizes disparities in the acquisition of human capital that mark Maori from the general population. This deficit-based approach implies that exogenous factors derived from state policies and practices remain unaddressed.

A significant manifestation of marginalization under the aegis of state policies is the economic marginalization of Maori. This marginalization is reinforced by deficit thinking, framing endogenous factors associated with “Maori behaviour, genes, socio-economic circumstance and engagement with the system” as the causes of educational disparity.

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Resistance is defined as active opposition and the impact of exogenous factors derived from state policies and practices remain unaddressed and continue to have a negative impact on the lives of Marginalized students (Hall et al., 1994).

Marginalization theory and deficit thinking provide divergent understandings of the impact of asymmetric power relations and peripheralization on Maori in Aotearoa/New Zealand.

The process of marginalization is legitimized by and actioned through colonial and neo-colonial processes of state that have resulted in the peripheralization of Maori on the basis of identity, ethnicity, culture and environment.

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Resistance demands constant adaptation to changing conditions, which in turn gives rise to significant variability and flexibility in strategies and techniques employed across diverse circumstances (Hall et al.,1994:34).

While marginalized individuals and collectives are constructed as those most “at risk”, somewhat ironically they represent the most potentially resilient members of society (Hall et al., 1994:34).

Racism is commonly manifested “…in taken-for-granted customs, routine practices and procedures that entrench or uncritically perpetuate stereotypical assumptions about ethnic groups that have negative consequences” (Adams et al., 2000:160).

Institutional racism commonly manifests “…in taken-for-granted customs, routine practices and procedures that entrench or uncritically perpetuate stereotypical assumptions about ethnic groups that have negative consequences” (Adams et al., 2000:160). Sarap’s (1991:35) contention that: “These immutable collective qualities are then (further) transformed into taken-for-granted notions by policy makers and officials in institutions” (in Adams et al., 2000:106) is reinforced by Daisy’s experience.

Participants’ testimonies confirm that Financial Difficulties associated with engaging in tertiary study are aggravated by intergenerational poverty and the lack of embedded Maori financial capital.

The characteristics of “pride” and “stubbornness” mentioned by Kahu (ii) and Nigel (iii) may be interpreted as a reaction against embarrassment caused by the stigmatization of Maori as “dumb” in mainstream educational environments. However, Maori self-exclusion from institutional resources constitutes a form of hegemony that reinforces Crothers (2003:123) argument that labels represent “mediating variables” between societal structures and educational outcomes by undermining confidence and creating resistance to potentially beneficial development.

Cultural isolation is exacerbated in a largely monocultural city where great emphasis and pride is placed on its British heritage.

Participants identify stereotypical beliefs about and attitudes towards Maori by faculty members and were forced to endure environments that were neither supportive or friendly and could be considered antagonist.

The hidden informal curriculum constitutes a form of cultural racism and the discernible manifestations she identifies were experienced by participants in the following manner: Wai (i) was subjected to low expectations by a non-Maori staff member; Mary (ii), Rangiahua (iii), Wai (iv) all identify stereotypical beliefs about and attitudes towards Maori by faculty members and were forced to endure environments that were neither supportive or friendly and could be considered antagonist.

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In her critique of the radical pedagogical dialogue, Jones (1999:308) employs metaphors that are embedded in this discourse: space, voice and power.