Exploring Experiences of Māori Youth in Tertiary Education in Aotearoa New Zealand

Abstract Many Indigenous Māori students journey to tertiary education in Aotearoa New Zealand, following diverse journeys with varying degrees of encouragement. However, on arrival, they can be faced with the prospect of living simultaneously in two worlds; te ao Māori (the Māori world), which privileges relational connection, and the world of formal education, which tends towards individualization. In this situation, rangatahi (Māori youth) deal with their new context by leveraging relational support, informal and formal. This article discusses the experiences of four rangatahi in one university. Their stories, drawn from oral encounters between rangatahi and the researchers as part of a video project, point to the significance of encouragement to attend tertiary study, unnecessary barriers to wellbeing at university, and the importance to flourishing of Māori spaces that support Māori identity within the university. Engaging with rangatahi voices offers opportunities to understand aspects of university life that tell of strengths within Māori communities but also indicate the depth of relational change required to provide equity in tertiary educational experiences for Māori.