“He tini whetu ki te rangi, ko Ngati Maru ki raro
He tini ika ki te moana, ko Ngati Maru ki uta”
.(Ngati Maru pepeha)
This research looks at the aspirations of rural Maori youth in terms of their further education or training leading to a meaningful career or work. An assumption made before the research was that rural Maori youth are disadvantaged due to their isolation, and that they have limited opportunities to participate in further education or training in their local communities meaning a shift away from home at some stage. The research was conducted with the permission of four schools in the northern Waikato region of Thames-Coromandel with senior Maori students aged 15 and over. During the research phase a group of students was identified that were not part of the school system. Tertiary providers in the region were sourced from the New Zealand Qualifications Framework database and their programmes and courses were compared to the aspirations identified by the students. The report gives a snapshot view of what a cohort of Maori senior secondary school students in a rural community aspire to.
Methodology
Smith (1995) defined kaupapa Maori research as “research over which Maori maintain conceptual, design, methodological and interpretative control…..research by Maori, for Maori, with Maori”. Other leading Maori researchers and educationalists such as Bishop (1996), Johnston (1999) and Durie (1998) have contributed to the development and establishment of a framework by which Maori can conduct research in Maori communities and disseminate the findings. The framework is underpinned by the philosophical beliefs of:
• Mana
The research should make a positive contribution to Maori needs, aims and aspirations as defined by Maori.
• Maramatanga
Enlightenment through explanation and the enhancement of mana. Maori initiated research in conjunction with Maori communities as research partners. Power of veto or withdrawal of consent and information where the individual or the collective is a risk of physical or mental harm.
• Mahitahi
Cooperation and collaboration. Involvement of a range of participants and stakeholders.
Using this framework and the philosophical underpinnings described above, the researcher was committed to undertaking the research within those parameters and with a clear understanding of how the research would be conducted.
The researcher has tribal affiliations to the area through Ngati Porou ki Harataunga ki Mataora, and previously taught at Coromandel Area School in the secondary school in the 1990’s. Many of the Maori students attending the school at the time had aspirations for a bright future, but there were barriers facing most of them, and they did not go on to realise their potential. Having close affiliations with the area, it was often heartbreaking to see the potential of some of these students go unrealized. The researcher often returns to the area, to her marae and over the ensuing years has noted that many of the Maori girls she taught at secondary school got pregnant and were on welfare, or working in the local shops and cafes to support themselves and their young families, while many of the boys have either left the town or work on the local forestry, mussel and oyster farms, and seafood processing factory.