The present study investigates the roles of Maori cultural identity and socio-economic status in educational outcomes in a New Zealand birth cohort studied from birth to the age of 25. There were statistically significant (all p values < .01) associations between cultural identity and educational outcomes, with those of Maori ethnic identification having generally lower levels of educational achievement outcomes when compared to non-Maori. In addition, those of Maori ethnic identification were exposed to significantly (p < .05) greater levels of socio-economic disadvantage in childhood. Control for socio-economic factors largely reduced the associations between cultural identity and educational outcomes to statistical non-significance. The findings suggest that educational underachievement amongst Maori can be largely explained by disparities in socio-economic status during childhood.
Alton-LeeA. (2003). Quality teaching for diverse students in schooling: Best evidence synthesis. Wellington: Ministry of Education.
2.
BishopR.BerrymanM.CavanaghT.TeddyL. (2007). Te kotahitanga phase 3 whanaungatanga: Establishing a culturally responsive pedagogy of relations in mainstream secondary school classrooms. Report to the Ministry of Education. Wellington: Ministry of Education.
3.
BishopR.BerrymanM.RichardsonC. (2002). Te Toi Huarewa: Effective teaching and learning in total immersion Maori language educational settings. Canadian Journal of Native Education, 26, 44–61.
4.
BishopR.GlynnT. (1999). Culture counts: Changing power relations in education. Palmerston North: Dunmore Press.
5.
BroughtonJ.FergussonD.M.RimeneC.HorwoodL.J.SporleA. (2000). Nga Tini Aho O Te Ao Hou. The many strands of contemporary Maori society: Maori ethnicity and identity in the Christchurch Health and Development Study. Dunedin: NTMHRU.
6.
ChappleS. (1999). Explaining patterns of disparity between Maori and non-Maori. Labour Market Bulletin, 70–100.
7.
ChappleS. (2000) Maori socio-economic disparity. Political Science, 52, 101–115.
8.
ChappleS.JefferiesR.WalkerR. (1997). Maori participation and performance in education. A literature review and research programme. Wellington: Ministry of Education.
9.
DuncanG.J.YeungW.J.Brooks-GunnJ.SmithJ.R. (1998). How much does childhood poverty affect the life chances of children?American Sociological Review, 63, 406–423.
10.
DurieM.H. (1994). Whaiora. Auckland: Oxford University Press.
11.
DurieM. (2005). Nga Tai Matatu: Tides of Maori endurance. Melbourne: Oxford University Press.
12.
ElleyW.B.IrvingJ.C. (1976). Revised socio-economic index for New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies, 11, 25–36.
13.
FergussonD.M.HorwoodL.J.ShannonF.T.LawtonJ.M. (1989). The Christchurch Child Development Study: A review of epidemiological findings. Paediatric & Perinatal Epidemiology, 3, 278–301.
14.
FergussonD.M.HorwoodL.J. (2001). The Christchurch Health and Development Study: Review of findings on child and adolescent mental health. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 35, 287–296.
15.
FergussonD.M.LloydM.HorwoodL.J. (1991). Family ethnicity, social background and scholastic achievement—An eleven year longitudinal study of a sample of Christchurch born children. New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies, 26, 49–63.
16.
FergussonD.M.Swain-CampbellN.HorwoodL.J. (2002). Outcomes of leaving school without formal educational qualifications. New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies, 37, 39–55.
17.
FergussonD.M.WoodwardL.J. (2000). Family socio-economic status at birth and rates of university participation. New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies, 35, 25–36.
18.
FitzsimonsP.SmithG. (2000). Philosophy and indigenous cultural transformation. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 32, 25–41.
19.
Freeman-MoirJ. (1997). State and education across half a century. In RuddC.RoperB. (Eds), The Political Economy of New Zealand, 202–219. Auckland: Oxford University Press.
20.
KelseyJ. (1995). The New Zealand experiment: A world model for structural adjustment?Auckland: University of Auckland Press.
21.
LeeJ. (1981). Covariance adjustment of rates based on the multiple logistic regression model. Journal of Chronic Diseases, 34, 415–426.
22.
MarieD.FergussonD.M.BodenJ.M. (2007). Ethnic identity and criminal offending in a New Zealand birth cohort. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology (under review).
23.
MarieD.FergussonD.M.BodenJ.M. (2008). Ethnic identification, social disadvantage, and mental health in adolescence/young adulthood: Results of a 25 year longitudinal study. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 42, 293–300.
24.
MarksG. (2006). Are between-and within-school differences in student performance largely due to socio-economic background? Evidence from 30 countries. Educational Research, 48, 21–40.
25.
Ministry of Education (2005). Nga Haeata Matauranga: Annual report on Maori education. Wellington: Ministry of Education.
26.
Ministry of Education (2007). Ka Hikitia—Managing for success. The draft Maori education strategy 2008–2012. Wellington: Ministry of Education.
27.
Ministry of Social Development (2007). The social report. Wellington: Ministry of Social Development.
28.
Ministry of Women's Affairs (2001). Maori women: Mapping inequalities and pointing ways forward. Wellington: Ministry of Women's Affairs.
29.
PihamaL.CramF.WalkerS. (2002). Creating methodological space: A literature review of kaupapa Maori research. Canadian Journal of Native Education, 26(1), 30–43.
30.
Poata-SmithE.T.A.. (1997). The political economy of inequality between Maori and Pakeha. In RuddC.RoperB. (Eds), The Political Economy of New Zealand, 160–179. Auckland: Oxford University Press.
31.
PomareE.Keefe-OrmsbyV.OrmsbyC.PearceN.ReidP.RobsonB.Watene-HaydonN. (1995). Hauora. Maori standards of health. A study of the years 1970–1991. Wellington: Te Ropu Rangahau Hauora a Eru Pomare/Eru Pomare Maori Health Research Centre.
32.
RataE. (2003). Late capitalism and ethnic revivalism, ‘A new middle age?‘Anthropological Theory, 3, 43–63.
33.
SmithG.H. (1992). Education: Biculturalism or separatism. In NovitzD.WillmottB. (Eds), New Zealand in crisis, 157–165. Wellington: Government Printer.
34.
SmithG.H. (2000). Maori education: Revolution and transformative action. Canadian Journal of Native Education, 24, 57–72.
35.
SmithL.T. (1999). Decolonizing methodologies. Research and indigenous peoples. London: Zed Books with University of Otago Press.
36.
Statistics New Zealand. (2002). Census snapshot: Maori. Wellington: Statistics New Zealand.
37.
van MeijlT. (1994). Second chance education for Maori school ‘dropouts’. A case study of a community training centre in New Zealand. International Journal of Educational Development, 14, 371–384.
