Could the school environment be killing curiosity? © Adobe Stock, arrowsmith2
<p><span data-contrast="auto">Official stand-down rates show Māori are stood down at twice the rate of Pākehā; experts say the statistic is yet another signifier of breaches in Te Tiriti in our education system. </span><span data-ccp-props="{";134233117";:false,";134233118";:false,";201341983";:0,";335551550";:1,";335551620";:1,";335559685";:0,";335559737";:0,";335559738";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:259}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">Stand-downs are a disciplinary measure employed by state or state-integrated schools where a student is sent home for up to five days, for a total of ten days a year. The measure may be employed for a myriad of reasons including physical and verbal attacks, and smoking. </span><span data-ccp-props="{";134233117";:false,";134233118";:false,";201341983";:0,";335551550";:1,";335551620";:1,";335559685";:0,";335559737";:0,";335559738";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:259}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">The rate for Māori is almost five percent, whereas for Pākehā students the rate sits at 2.5 percent. Lower-decile schools report higher rates of stand-downs than high-decile schools. Notably, kura kaupapa schools rarely use stand-downs as a form of punishment, meaning this inequality is manifest in mainstream schools.</span><span data-ccp-props="{";134233117";:false,";134233118";:false,";201341983";:0,";335551550";:1,";335551620";:1,";335559685";:0,";335559737";:0,";335559738";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:259}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">In a statement made to </span><a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/481012/rates-of-maori-stood-down-from-school-twice-that-of-pakeha-students" target="_blank"><span data-contrast="none">RNZ late last year</span></a><span data-contrast="auto">, Therese Ford-Cartwright, national coordinator of Te Akatea Principals’ Association, said inequity is a large contributor to the difference in stand-down rates by ethnicity. Relatedly, the latest child poverty monitor figures note that almost 18 percent of Māori children were living below the poverty line as compared to 14 percent of Pākehā.</span></p>
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<p><span data-contrast="auto">“There’s a lot of evidence around this. [Students] struggle to see themselves and be themselves within those contexts and that often manifests itself in negative behaviour which often leads to stand-downs and suspensions,” Ms Ford-Cartwright said. </span> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #2b2b2b; font-size: 16px;"> </span></p>
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<p><span data-contrast="auto">In a report released by UNICEF in 2018, New Zealand was ranked as having one of the </span><a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/369779/nz-among-worst-ranked-for-inequality-in-education-report" target="_blank"><span data-contrast="none">most inequitable education systems</span></a><span data-contrast="auto"> in the world. Local researcher Jess Berentson-Shaw found that one contributing factor in the inequity of our education system was the cost of schooling in New Zealand.</span><span data-ccp-props="{";134233117";:false,";134233118";:false,";201341983";:0,";335551550";:1,";335551620";:1,";335559685";:0,";335559737";:0,";335559738";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:259}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">Associate <a class="wpil_keyword_link" href="https://www.schoolnews.co.nz/2014/07/education-minister-addresses-sta-conference/" title="Education Minister" data-wpil-keyword-link="linked" target="_blank">Education Minister</a> Jan Tinetti admitted last year that there were inequities in our education system. She said “we have a larger number of Pasifika and Māori students who are in lower decile schools and we’ve already acknowledged as a system that we need to do something around biases that may exist within the system.”</span><span data-ccp-props="{";134233117";:false,";134233118";:false,";201341983";:0,";335551550";:1,";335551620";:1,";335559685";:0,";335559737";:0,";335559738";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:259}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">That “something” may be the new initative Te Hurihanganui, launched in 2020 and being piloted in six communities. The programme aims to address white privilege and racism in the education system.</span><span data-ccp-props="{";134233117";:false,";134233118";:false,";201341983";:0,";335551550";:1,";335551620";:1,";335559685";:0,";335559737";:0,";335559738";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:259}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">But Rawiri Wright from Te Pūnanganui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa said that education systems “based on Tikanga Pākehā [are] never going to serve Māori students very well”. </span><span data-ccp-props="{";134233117";:false,";134233118";:false,";201341983";:0,";335551550";:1,";335551620";:1,";335559685";:0,";335559737";:0,";335559738";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:259}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">“The underlying philosophies of those schools remain the same. Until it is more indigenised, until it is more a New Zealand framework [of education] it’s never going to serve Māori or Pacific students very well,” Wright said. </span><span data-ccp-props="{";134233117";:false,";134233118";:false,";201341983";:0,";335551550";:1,";335551620";:1,";335559685";:0,";335559737";:0,";335559738";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:259}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">Ford-Cartwright disagrees, saying that a Te Tiriti based curriculum could make a difference. </span><span data-ccp-props="{";134233117";:false,";134233118";:false,";201341983";:0,";335551550";:1,";335551620";:1,";335559685";:0,";335559737";:0,";335559738";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:259}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">“We have to help the people that work within the system, the adults who work within the system, the <a class="wpil_keyword_link" href="https://www.schoolnews.co.nz/2014/07/teachers-to-make-youth-employment-their-business/" title="teachers" data-wpil-keyword-link="linked" target="_blank">teachers</a> and the leaders to understand Māori theories and Māori ways of knowing and being.”</span><span data-ccp-props="{";134233117";:false,";134233118";:false,";201341983";:0,";335551550";:1,";335551620";:1,";335559685";:0,";335559737";:0,";335559738";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:259}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">And it seems the Ministry of Education concurs, with ongoing changes to the NZC and to NCEA. As stated on its website, one of the primary aims of these changes is to create a more equitable system, and better honour the crown’s obligations under Te Tiriti O Waitangi.</span></p>

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