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Download AudioA Māori educationalist says enhancing te ao Māori experiences at school can steer rangatahi away from activities which can get them in trouble with the law.
Comet Auckland Maori education manager and Fulbright scholar Will Flavell has released a research paper on the school experience of five rangatahi who ended up on the wrong side of the criminal justice system.
He says the connection between school and crime has been largely overlooked, but it’s clear from his observations that targeted investment can have make a major impact on crime statistics.
“If our rangatahi Maori have really good experiences in school then perhaps the numbers of our rangatahi Maori entering the criminal justice world may reduce,” Dr Flavell says.
He says when he asked his subjects if their school experience had any connection in their offending, they said no, and then on reflection started seeing the links.
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