May 06, 2014
Maths bias against Maori unacceptable
Education Minister Hekia Parata says the attitude towards Maori students found in a survey of Auckland maths teachers is unacceptable and the reason reform is necessary.
Education researcher Hana Turner’s survey found teachers had low expectations of their Maori students, with many blaming the student’s family attitude to education.
Ms Parata says it’s well understood that teacher expectations play a significant role in student achievement.
"That is a poor attitude to have. I don’t think it is reflective of the New Zealand education profession as a whole. We’ve seen lifts in Maori achievement over the last five years by focusing on better learning opportunities for those young people and those have been delivered by teachers across New Zealand. So this is a small group, it’s not an acceptable attitude, and we are focusing on changing that," she says.
Hekia Parata says programmes like Building on Success are starting to have an impact in changing attitudes.
FOR THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH EDUCATION MINISTER HEKIA PARATA CLICK ON THE LINK
https://secure.zeald.com/uma/play_podcast?podlink=MTc4MTc=
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