March 25, 2022
Big data exposes streaming damage
A project that put big data in the hands of rangatahi researchers has identified barriers to Māori moving through the school system into higher education or jobs – with streaming high on the list of barriers,
Ngā Tapuae is a partnership between the Social Wellbeing Agency and Christchurch based think tank Tokona te Raki or the Māori Futures Agency.
Tokona director Eruera Tarena says the rangatahi dug into streaming, where teachers place students into classes based on what they perceive as their abilities.
The data shows tauira Māori are far more likely to be streamed into the bottom in subjects like mathematics.
“The data also shows it has a massive cumulative negative impact. It closes all these doorways. When you look at the jibs of the future, a lot of our young Māori men are channelled away from those opportunities for high paying jobs from about the age of 14 or 15 just because of decisions kaiako are making based around their own prejudice,” Dr Tarena says.
He says Ngā Tapuae provides a compelling argument to end streaming as an example of systemic racism.