This report is the fourth in the COMPASS series, analysing a subsample of data from Professor Melinda Webber’s Kia tū rangatira ai: Living, thriving and succeeding in education project.
In this publication, we analyse responses from 1,665 whānau of Māori learners, focusing on three key areas:
- whānau engagement;
- whānau perceptions of children’s school engagement and enjoyment;
- and intrinsic, extrinsic, and whānau motivation.
The whānau of Māori children who completed the surveys were predominantly from the Bay of Plenty, Waikato, and Te Tai Tokerau regions. Through a cluster analysis technique, we analysed their survey responses to address the following research questions:
- In what ways do whānau of Māori children view their involvement with/in school, their child’s motivations to attend school, and their engagement patterns?
- Do whānau views and perspectives of the above differ in relation to whānau reported achievement, career aspirations, and support networks?
Our study revealed nuanced differences in how whānau of Māori children view their children’s learning, engagement, and motivation. There were varied perspectives and experiences expressed, and our results indicate that these are likely to shape the extent to which they (and their children) act as partners and navigators in the education journey.
There are likely numerous positive outcomes from strengthening school–whānau partnerships— particularly when whānau expertise, knowledge, and experiences are intrinsically linked to classroom learning.
The findings of this study propose that Māori students, whānau, teachers, and schools benefit when whānau actively partner with schools to enhance the educational content, conditions, and contexts that enable Māori student learning.
Importantly, this study emphasises the critical role of school enjoyment and motivation to whānau engagement in education. It is hoped that this study will help schools to reconceptualise whānau partnerships as a product of the overall wellbeing and mana-enhancing ethos of the school context.