Making it personal: Academic counseling with Māori students and their families

The engagement of indigenous students and their families has often been a challenge for mainstream schools. Many indigenous students and their parents have reported a sense of disconnection from educational contexts due to a lack of personalized or ongoing relationships with the teachers or the school. There are indications in the literature that well-conducted academic counseling can increase engagement with students and their families. However, despite the evidence, New Zealand research has shown that many students do not receive any form of academic counseling. This study examined the effectiveness of an academic counseling intervention from the perspective of 78 Māori students in 12 focus groups and school reported attendance data. The results of the study indicated that Māori students appreciated enduring achievement-focused relationships with teachers that were premised on three factors: 1) collective vision—the degree to which all parties were committed to equipping students with the skills to achieve academic excellence; 2) collective efficacy—the judgment that all three parties could organize and execute the actions required to have a positive effect on Māori students; and 3) coordinated and timely collective action—the belief that all parties had a role to play in actively supporting Māori student achievement.