The Report of the E-Learning Advisory Group March 2002

Maori and E-learning

The Advisory Group has already stated its view that the implications of the Treaty of Waitangi, including selfdetermination, partnership and equitable participation and access, should underpin the evolution of e-learning in New Zealand. This means providing opportunities for Maori to determine what form this participation should take and what processes and structures Maori would like to establish to achieve these goals.

It is in the interests of the country as a whole that New Zealand’s e-learning environment enables Maori to participate equally at all levels of e-learning. This applies not only to the numbers of Maori participating, but also to the quality of outcomes they achieve. Throughout this report the Advisory Group has focussed on the learning needs of students and how e-learning can support their learning experience.

This is particularly important for Maori. Such an approach requires a clear understanding of the characteristics of Maori learners as particular course options are developed. We must ensure that Maori learners can access e-learning that best meets their needs as individuals.

In particular, New Zealand’s e-learning environment must provide a setting where Maori approaches to life and learning can be fully realised. For example, Maori educational aspirations often tend towards advancing communities, rather than individualistic goals. We must ensure that e-learning developments enable this to happen.

Anecdotal evidence to the Advisory Group also suggests that a significant number of Maori may prefer e-learning options to traditional contact class situations. If this is the case then it is vital that e-learning opportunities for Maori are maximised.1 Further anecdotal evidence suggests that many Maori students find they are heard on-line in ways they have never experienced before and this makes them feel valued. They also have much more choice over when and how they participate.

The following excerpt from research done for The Open Polytechnic provides one possible framework for looking at what the different needs might be.

1 From a lifelong learning perspective, it is notable that The Open Polytechnic, without implementing any particular strategies to do so, has attracted 4,000 Maori enrolments. The Polytechnic reports that research into why these students chose to study with The Open Polytechnic reveals some quite distinctive features.

Convenience was critical, as nearly all students were juggling significant numbers of roles as well as study. However, a further feature was an apparent predisposition towards distance education because it affords a level of anonymity. “Some Maori students who lack confidence in their ability to study favour distance education because in the event of failure it preserves their pride and avoids embarrassment (whakama) before family, friends, tutors, workmates and potential detractors.” The study also showed that for many of these students an e-learning environment would increase positive aspects of the particular mode of study without introducing any of the negative aspects of attending a campus.

2 The dimensions of this map and the attributes of each group (segment) have been drawn from research conducted by Nan Wehipeihana for Te Puni Kokiri – Factors facilitating Maori participation and entry into professional occupations in July 1995. This research conducted with Maori students of The Open Polytechnic further confirms the broad typologies in relation to the diversity of what it means to be Maori.

“Alongside the motivations to study and the barriers that Maori students face, there is a need to understand how Maori students perceive Maori culture and what it means to be Maori, acknowledging that Maori culture itself can take a wide range of forms. The following map2 is one way to represent Maori students’ perceptions and feelings about ‘being’ Maori.

The vertical axis shows students who have or have had a close or distant relationship with things Maori. Students who have a close cultural connection with things Maori are those students who describe themselves as having been brought up and/or immersed in Maori culture/cultural practices.

I was brought up by my nanny in and around the marae... going to land meetings. I knew all of the old people.

Students who have a distant cultural connection are those who describe themselves as having had little or no involvement or exposure to Maori cultural practices and values.

My dad was Maori but I was brought up by my mum (Pakeha ). I don’t know my dad’s side of the family and we didn’t have much to do with cultural things... It’s only this year that I learnt what a ‘boil up’ was.

The horizontal axis shows how students feel about being Maori. That is, whether they are positively or negativelydisposed to Maori cultural practices and values.

Those who are at the positive end of the horizontal axis feel positive about being Maori.

My whole sense of being, purpose comes from being Maori. It’s who I am.

Those who are at the negatively-disposed end feel that being Maori, or the images of being Maori, are negative. Consequently, they will reject the negative image of being Maori by not being Maori themselves.

The image of being Maori is all negative – gangs, unemployed, on the DPB. That’s not me.

Using these dimensions, there are four main typologies that emerge in relation to Maori students’ disposition to and feelings about being Maori. These are: