Equity for Māori and Pasifika Students: The Objectives and Characteristics of Equity Committees in a New Zealand University

“You've Gotta Set a Precedent”: Māori and Pacific voices on student success in higher education

“…As noted previously, a number of participants (21 out of the 90) were known to the research team prior to the study through university equity service networks and recruited independent of the random sample. While this researcher-participant relationship may contribute to bias from a Eurocentric standpoint, indigenous cultures stress the importance of committed, trusting relationships and experience working with their communities (Kaomea, 2011), and this research technique has been used in prior research with Pacific youth in New Zealand (Nakhid, 2011). No discernable differences were evident in input provided by participants from the two recruitment pools.…”

“…With respect to higher education, long-term ramifi cations of imposed colonial schooling are evident in the disproportionately low number of indigenous peoples who hold university qualifi cations, as seen recently in Canada (Oloo, 2007), Australia (Gray & Beresford, 2008), and New Zealand where Mäori are more likely to register in post-secondary programmes that do not offer university-level degrees (Ministry of Education, 2008). Though not tangata whenua (people of the land) to New Zealand, diverse Pacifi c people are ngä iwi o te moana nui a Kiwa (people of the Pacifi c Ocean; Nakhid, 2011). "The six largest Pacifi c groups living in New Zealand are Samoan, Cook Islands, Tongan, Niuean, Fijian and Tokelauan" (Wilson et al, 2011, p. 701), who, despite having distinct cultural differences, share with each other and Mäori histories of European imposition.…”

Āwhina Revolution: A Bayesian Analysis of Undergraduate and Postgraduate Completion Rates from a Program for Māori and Pacific Success in STEM Disciplines

“…In reality the educational experiences of indigenous and minority people are impacted by their social and cultural disconnection with tertiary institutions, and there is a growing literature directed at understanding the reasons for this disconnection and how tertiary institutions must change to reflect a diverse and rapidly changing student community ( Hrabowski and Pearson, 1993 ; National Science and Technology Council, 2000 ; Hunt et al. , 2001 ; Levy and Williams, 2003 ; Barker, 2007 ; Guillory and Wolverton, 2008 ; Makuwira, 2008 ; Trenor et al ., 2008 ; Walters and Simoni, 2009 ; Bang and Medin, 2010 ; Biles and Biles, 2010 ; van der Meer et al ., 2010 ; Kugelmass and Ready, 2011 ; Metz et al ., 2011 ; Nakhid, 2011 ; Iverson and Jaggers, 2015 ).…”

What are young Pacific peoples understandings of leadership in Aotearoa New Zealand?

“…Academic staff at universities who are not of Pacific Island ethnicity may not understand the challenges Pacific students face on a day to day basis (Nakhid, 2011). Accordingly, they may form negative assumptions about Pacific peoples based on their understanding of their experiences.…”

“…Although the students are attending lecturers and tutorials they described themselves as "being a foreigner or alien" (Davidson-Toumu'a & Dunbar, 2009, p. 68). Nakhid (2011) says that for success, tertiary institutions must support Pacific students and their identity, displaying appreciation and importance. One way is to acknowledge students' unique heritages and identities which will further encourage positive attitudes towards attendance and tertiary education as whole.…”