School expectations and student aspirations: The influence of schools and teachers on Indigenous secondary students
Open accessAbstract
Although there is extensive literature on the relationship between student motivation and achievement, less is known about how secondary schools create conditions that enable diverse groups of students to do their personal best. This article reports research into the development of school leadership in New Zealand secondary schools to enable Indigenous Māori students to achieve educational success as Māori. Data collection included school goal-setting plans for students, in-class observations, student surveys and interviews. Analyses revealed school goals reflected low expectations for Māori achievement and little evidence of culturally responsive practices in classrooms. Interviews with Māori students highlighted perceptions that their schools had low expectations for them and their learning, while analysis of Māori student surveys indicated lower academic aspirations in comparison with European peers. These results are discussed critically alongside specific recommendations for further research on the multiple influences of mainstream secondary school contexts on educational achievement outcomes for Indigenous students.
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The expectations that leaders and teachers communicate to Māori students, and the types of instructional strategies teachers use in classrooms, can be an important motivating factor.
“The expectations that leaders and teachers communicate to Māori students as well as the types of instructional strategies teachers use in classrooms can be an important motivating factor (Hynds et al., 2017 ).”
From Teacher and Middle Leader Perceptions of Culturally Responsive Middle Leadership Practices and Their Ability to Meet the Needs of Māori Students in New Zealand Secondary Schools (2024) · cites this paper as Hynds et al., 2017
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- Authors
- Hynds, A., Averill, R., Hindle, R., & Meyer, L.
- Affiliations
- University of Auckland (NZ)
- Victoria University of Wellington (NZ)
- Corresponding author
- Hynds, Anne
- ORCID
- Averill, Robin
- Venue
- Ethnicities
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2016-09-05
- Volume
- 17
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 546-573
- ISSN
- 1468-7968 (ISSN-L)
- 1741-2706
- OpenAlex
- W2514714938
- Cited by
- 22
- References
- 38
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 1 · 2016: 1
- FWCI
- 1.32
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- hdl.handle.net
- Locations
- Ethnicities (publishedVersion)
- ResearchSpace (University of Auckland) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- Victoria University
- Ministry of Education- New Zealand
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Health › Indigenous Health, Education, and Rights
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Critical Race Theory in Education
- Social Sciences › Education › Indigenous and Place-Based Education
- Keywords
- Indigenous students, Māori students, school expectations, student aspirations, educational aspirations, school leadership, culturally responsive teaching, student motivation, academic performance, secondary schools, New Zealand
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