Introduction

A background to the policy

The election of a Labour-led Government in 1999 created yet another platform for discussions around Mäori educational, social and economic development at a national and political level. Perhaps one development initiative that has stood out since the formation of the Labour-led Government has been the `Closing the Gaps' strategies targeted towards Mäori and Pasifika peoples. Whilst the Government was re-focusing priorities to be addressed in terms of socio-economic and educational status between ethnic groups, the New Zealand public was responding to connotations of the branding of the strategy. Consequently the strategy and all related policy have been re-branded and are now inclusive of all ethnic groups where socio-economic status is low and where development must occur.

In late 2000 the Minister for Tertiary Education, Hon. Steve Maharey, announced a three-pronged approach to foster greater tertiary responsiveness to the particular needs of Mäori and Pasifika students.

• Special supplementary grants to tertiary education providers to be spent on support services for Mäori and Pasifika students.
• The dissemination of information on `best practice' examples of support for Mäori and Pasifika students from across the tertiary sector.
• New regulatory and reporting requirements, to be introduced in 2001 for the 2002 academic year, on Mäori and Pasifika outcomes.

Government directed initiatives have now placed greater responsibility and accountability on tertiary providers to address the needs of Mäori students. The Ministry of Education is endeavouring to assist tertiary providers in meeting these responsibilities.

The purpose of this publication

The second component of the strategy relating to a `best practice' manual has resulted in the development of this publication. Every effort has been made to produce a publication which is unbiased and which truly reflects the practices of some providers that clearly provide support for Mäori students to complete their studies.

This publication has three key characteristics:

• It is descriptive
• It is informative
• It is context based

This publication is the only known collection of information on practices that support Mäori students. The research sample included eight universities, five polytechnics, two colleges of education and one wänanga. Each provider was questioned according to a semi-structured interview template. The information was then brought together and considered collectively. Each tertiary provider has contributed to this publication in some form.

This publication is intended to be used as a guide to assist tertiary providers in the development of support initiatives for Mäori students. The presentation of the publication illustrates the importance of looking at each example within the context in which it lies. Every tertiary provider within Aotearoa has its own unique situation with regards to Mäori. Not all examples are transferable. However, small aspects may be. The information must be viewed through the eyes of your particular provider and considered in the context of the wider demographic and geographic issues particular to your region.