Developments in bridging education for Maori

Abstract

Maori mainstream education is at crisis point; a situation reflected in recent figures showing that 35 per cent of Maori leave school without formal qualifications. The presenter, who works in the area of bridging education for under-qualified students wanting to move into tertiary study, believes Maori bridging programmes have a vital role to play in helping to solve this crisis. In examining current bridging education pedagogy and relating it to pedagogical theory and practice, it is concluded that mainstream bridging programmes do not cater for Maori needs and the development of initiatives intended to bridge this gap are discussed.