In 2024, NZCER was engaged by NZQA to evaluate the NCEA me te Whānau and NCEA ma le Pasifika workshops.
These workshops aim to empower whānau Māori and Pacific families by providing them with the knowledge and confidence needed to support their young people’s education.
He kitenga | Findings
The workshops positively impacted whānau, Pacific families, and schools.
We rated the workshop impact as Panekiretanga–Strong based on several key factors:
- All whānau and families intended to take or had already taken action because of the workshops.
- Most whānau and families indicated an increased understanding of NCEA.
- School coordinators viewed the workshops positively, highlighting their value in providing credible and relevant information, helping whānau and families gain confidence and knowledge of NCEA, build connections, and prepare for upcoming changes in the education system.
The workshops were engaging and well received by whānau, Pacific families, and coordinators
We rated workshop engagement as Panekiretanga–Strong. Observations, interviews and talanoa, indicated that:
- the workshops were engaging and well-received
- delivery was culturally responsive and interactive
- facilitators presented relevant and helpful materials.
A few implementation changes could enhance the targeting and focus of the workshops
We rated the implementation quality as He whanake–Developing. To enhance the targeting and focus of the workshops, and improve their impact and reach, we recommend NZQA consider:
- working with schools to ensure targeted approaches for inviting whānau Māori and Pacific families, particularly for NCEA me te
Whānau (e.g., provide guidelines for schools and change the name to ‘NCEA me te Whānau Māori’) - continuing to update workshop content to ensure current and accurate NCEA information is delivered
- including ethnicity questions in NZQA feedback data to better understand the demographic impact of the workshops.