October 2000 ISSUE 35

A new wave

The advent of the National Qualifications Framework has helped lay the foundations for a renaissance in iwi-led education. Ten years on, Māori education providers and programmes linked to the Framework are helping to 'close the gaps' by boosting participation and achievement rates for Māori learners.

The growth of the Māori private training sector has been one of the most significant changes in the educational environment in the past decade. There are now more than 150 Māori private training establishments offering a wide range of programmes to thousands of learners around the country.

As a consequence, the numbers of Māori involved in post-compulsory education and training are higher than at any stage in recent times and 13.5% of all Māori are hooked on to the Qualifications Framework.

The Framework has empowered Māori providers to create alternative qualifications pathways to mainstream tertiary options, tailored to the needs of Māori learners. Many have created distinctive whanau-style learning environments, based on Māori values and ways of learning. Learning about industry-specific skills, for example, is often interwoven with tikanga and te reo to build learners' pride in self and culture.

More fundamentally, the Framework has provided a means of recognising the value of Māori skills and knowledge. Whakaruruhau (Māori standards-setting bodies) have overseen the development of unit standards in areas such as raranga, whakairo, tikanga and te reo. This has given national recognition to a range of indigenous knowledge and skills previously outside national awards. It has also established formal career paths for learners to pursue.

Leading Māori educator Anaru Paenga has been closely involved in the development of Māori standards and qualifications, heading the Māori performing arts whakaruruhau. He says, "Probably the biggest outcome of the Framework for Māori is that we do now have Māori standards and qualifications.

The number of people using them, Māori students in particular, has been steadily increasing. And in the last two or three years we've developed Māori National Certificates and Diplomas, which has also been a big plus."

Anaru Paenga says the development process involved plenty of discussion and debate about Māori intellectual property issues.

"It was exciting, but it was slow because it was something new. Ownership issues were controversial, but we have been able to get over that and, at the end of the day, everyone is satisfied with what has been developed. The key thing is that we are using Māori pedagogy to ensure there is no compromise of Māori tikanga when the new standards and qualifications are used. That has meant that our standards and qualifications have credence in the Māori community," he says.

Māori learners have responded positively to efforts to make learning more relevant to their needs and culture. Māori comprise nearly twenty percent of all Framework registrations and have gained 16% of all Framework qualifications awarded to date. In contrast to the rest of the population, most Māori , National Qualifications Framework learners aged 17 to 21 are enrolled in private training establishments.

Ngawini Puru, chief executive of Te Wananga o Aronui, has seen evidence of the Framework's impact first-hand.

"The statistics show you that the impact of the Framework for Māori has been astronomical. I'm an ex-secondary teacher and I've seen how Māori students who have dropped out of the school system have experienced success for the first time with the Framework," she says.

"The main reason is that we're an oral people. In fact, educators will tell you that 80% of people learn best visually, by doing and being able to demonstrate their competence. So written exams based on recall after three years work disadvantage us. By enabling people to demonstrate their competence, the Framework has advantaged people who were once disadvantaged by a system totally based on written recall for exams."

An evaluation of te reo unit standards developed for the Framework several years ago also confirmed that standards-based assessment has addressed factors contributing to the lack of success Māori have experienced in the secondary school examination system.

Key benefits noted by the study were that Māori students found the clear objectives contained in unit standards highly motivating and that use of standards-based assessment had largely eliminated the fear of failure prevalent among learners who have not achieved qualifications at school.

"One of the highlights for me has been using Framework-based learning to get six students into teachers' college, with some entering as second year students. They were achieving to level 4 on the Framework and they were writing 3 000 word essays in Māori . Those results prove to me that standards-based learning is closing the gap for Māori . The Framework shows that we can compete and be successful in education. That's why I sing its praises," says Ngawini Puru.

The flow-on benefits in the wider community of increased Māori participation in post-compulsory education and training are becoming apparent to those involved in the area. Rowan Pita and Ana Tapiata, both former NZQA staff members, note: "As more and more Māori achieve credit and qualifications, confidence in their ability to succeed in all vocational pathways mounts. The Framework has unquestionably raised morale and meant that higher learning and self-improvement are held in higher regard."

A shining example is Parkway College's Tu Tangata programme, which has seen elders, kuia and parents of young Māori learners return to school to assist their children and improve themselves.

The Framework has also helped to strengthen the Māori training expertise by enabling Māori teachers to be trained in standards-based assessment methodology. This has contributed to the development of a teaching environment that is outcome-based and student-focussed, according to Rowan Pita and Ana Tapiata.

Framework statistics for Māori learners demonstrate that this renewed focus on culture has not been at the expense of the skills required for today's economy. A third of the qualifications awarded to Māori have been in the areas of computing and information technology.

Trevor Moeke worked at the Qualifications Authority for a number of years on the development of Māori standards and qualifications and quality assurance criteria for programmes. He says part of the reason for the Framework's success has been the partnership approach to its development.

"From the outset, the Authority sought to achieve real partnership, in the spirit of the Treaty, that acknowledged the role and aspirations of whanau as well as the Authority's processes. Māori were enabled and empowered to take responsibility for identifying and developing their own indigenous standards and training provision."

Anaru Paenga says the involvement of kaumatua was also vital. "Another big plus of the Framework has been the way it has involved the Māori community, its networks and stakeholders. We had our kaumatua involved in a hands-on way, overseeing what the subject experts designed. It was important that these things were developed with their blessing."

Anaru says the next stage of Māori qualifications development is in the degree area. "We've already worked with Otago University to design a Bachelor in Traditional Māori Arts. That too is a first."

He believes Māori qualifications registered on the Framework will create fresh opportunities for graduates. "These new qualifications will provide tangible outcomes for graduates coming from kohanga reo, kura kaupapa and wharekura. We're providing a good platform for their future. For example, whakairo and the performing arts are definitely areas of growing opportunity."

Trevor Moeke confirms that: "Māori today are significant users of the Framework at levels 1 to 3. At least 40 000 people who might otherwise have undertaken no or minimal post-compulsory learning are now engaged in training for jobs and qualifications suited to their requirements and interests."

"The reality is that Māori learners are taking charge of their careers. There are young Māori who have never achieved qualifications before learning to fly at a private training establishment in Northland. The Framework has provided significant outcomes for Māori learners and communities."

The challenge now is to build, in a wider range of fields, on these successes and encourage more Māori to achieve advanced level qualifications for supervisory and management roles within industry.

HOME

TOP

NEXT

Copyright © 2000 New Zealand Qualifications Authority