About this research
We don’t have many Māori or Pacific Engineers and we need them. The University of Auckland’s Engineering degree programme is challenging and lists Level 3 Mathematics with Calculus as a compulsory prerequisite for consideration to enter. It has become common practice for secondary schools to stream by ability (for Mathematics) as early as Year 9 and continue this practice through to Year 13, Level 3. This means that placement in the highest ability groups throughout secondary school are necessary to study Level 3 Mathematics with Calculus. Thus, potential applicants for University Engineering programmes are predetermined as early as Year 9.
We present a case study of a high achieving Year 12 Māori secondary school student who wants to be an Engineer. He and his whānau encountered significant resistance by the school to allow him to study the appropriate Level 2 Mathematics prerequisites for Level 3 Mathematics with Calculus. This was despite the student achieving all his Level 1 Mathematics standards (achievement and unit) and having already achieved Level 2 NCEA with merit. The experience of this whānau led us to question whether Māori and Pacific students are given the same access to high ability Mathematics standards as other students. We present data sourced from NZQA and the University of Auckland’s Engineering entry data to address this question.
Ētahi atu · Other projects
Project lead: Associate Professor Krushil Watene (Ngāti Manu, Te Hikutu, Ngāti Whātua ō Orākei, Tonga) The University of Auckland | Waipapa Taumata Rau (Host) Recognising the value and interconnectedness of human and non-human life, climate activism is directed toward the protection of our biosphere and natural environment as a whole. In Aotearoa, such…
View projectKaitiakitanga: On the Philosophical Foundations of Indigenous Climate Activism in Aotearoa
Project lead: Associate Professor Krushil Watene (Ngāti Manu, Te Hikutu, Ngāti Whātua ō Orākei, Tonga) The University of Auckland | Waipapa Taumata Rau (Host)
Recognising the value and interconnectedness of human and non-human life, climate activism is directed toward the protection of our biosphere and natural environment as a whole. In Aotearoa, such activism as a distinctly Indigenous social practice has clear yet underexamined connections to Māori concepts such as kaitiakitanga.
Project lead: Dr Karen Wright Kāi Tahu The University of Auckland | Waipapa Taumata Rau (Host) Māori in Aotearoa experience large and persistent differences in health outcomes compared to non-Māori in nearly all health conditions. While causation of these unfair and unjust differences is understandably complex, differential access to health care services…
View projectMā te mōhio ka mārama: Understanding the primary care data and digital landscape to support hauora Māori and Māori health equity in Aotearoa
Project lead: Dr Karen Wright Kāi Tahu The University of Auckland | Waipapa Taumata Rau (Host)
Māori in Aotearoa experience large and persistent differences in health outcomes compared to non-Māori in nearly all health conditions. While causation of these unfair and unjust differences is understandably complex, differential access to health care services and differences in the quality of care received are contributing factors.
Project lead: Dr. Emmy Rākete Ngāpuhi, Te Rarawa The University of Auckland | Waipapa Taumata Rau (Host) In the last four decades, New Zealand has begun imprisoning on a scale never seen before in this land’s history. Māori people have consistently made up at least half of the prison population, and Māori communities are among those that have experienced…
View projectHe Whawhai Hou – A New Struggle: Aotearoa Perspectives on Mass Incarceration
Project lead: Dr. Emmy Rākete Ngāpuhi, Te Rarawa The University of Auckland | Waipapa Taumata Rau (Host)
In the last four decades, New Zealand has begun imprisoning on a scale never seen before in this land’s history. Māori people have consistently made up at least half of the prison population, and Māori communities are among those that have experienced the worst consequences of mass incarceration.