Support for teaching te reo Māori in Primary Schools

Abstract

Te reo Mäori, the Indigenous language of Aotearoa New Zealand Mäori, suffered great marginalisation due to British colonisation, the effects of which are still experienced today. We interpreted national probability data from the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study and constructed two models. Participants rated how strongly they supported teaching Mäori language in New Zealand primary schools, from 1 (strongly oppose) to 7 (strongly support). Model 1 assessed how demographics related to support in 2015 (N = 15,821). Level of education (ranging from no education to PhD qualification) was the strongest positively correlated factor, more so than ethnicity or recent contact with Mäori. Model 2 tested a latent growth model assessing the rate of change in support over six years (2009–2015; N = 10,437). Results indicate a steady increase in support over the six years and we predict this increase to continue.