Tokona te Raki: Unleashing the Unlimited Learning Potential of Rangatahi

The practice of streaming students or ākonga has long been in use in schools throughout Aotearoa New Zealand. Streaming refers to the grouping of learners by ability, with the objective being to allow similarly placed students to move ahead at a pace that matches their abilities. Around 90% of schools around the motu stream in some form. But many educators and whānau are questioning the value of this approach, and indeed are highlighting how detrimental it can be to Māori and Pacific ākonga in particular.

Tokona te Raki, the Ngāi Tahu Māori Futures Collective, has just released a report entitled Ending Streaming in Aotearoa. The Peter McKenzie Project is happy to have supported this valuable mahi and we tautoko the kaupapa of Tokona te Raki. This report makes a rock-solid case for ceasing the practice, by highlighting the successes experienced by ākonga in schools that have done just that across their mathematics programmes, where streaming tends to be most prevalent. Featuring the experiences of Horowhenua College, Wellington High School, Hastings Girls High School, and Inglewood High School, compelling evidence for the cessation of streaming is surfaced.

Some common positive outcomes included an improvement in academic achievement, especially for Māori and Pacific students with increased numbers of merit and excellence grades in NCEA; an increase in student self-belief, motivation and aspiration; and a decline in social and ethnic barriers. These schools have begun shaking the education system up and are putting care for students and culturally responsive teaching at the forefront. The achievements of their ākonga are proving that transformative systems change is possible.

Piripi Prendergast, Convenor – Tokona te Raki, has over three decades experience as a secondary school teacher and researcher, and has witnessed just how limiting streaming can end up being for students, their self-esteem, and their future career options.

“Streaming is fraught with racism, bias and deficit thinking and this is seen in top classes and groups being largely European, and bottom classes and groups being over-represented by Māori and Pasifika,” he says. 

The Ending Streaming in Aotearoa report follows on from another published in 2019, He Awa Ara Rau - A Journey of many Paths, which was the result of a collaboration between Tokona te Raki, Waikato-Tainui, BERL and The Southern Initiative. He Awa Ara Rau tracked 70,000-plus rangatahi Māori on their journey through education and into employment, with a view to better understanding what propels them forward, the barriers to success they encounter, and the potential levers for change. One of the most significant barriers identified was the negative impacts of streaming.

Inequality starts from the time children begin their school careers. Within weeks, they have been divided into ability-based reading, maths and writing groups, a positioning that usually continues throughout their time at school. The problem lies in the fact that because each group is given different learning tasks, those in higher-level groups keep making greater gains in their learning. The opposite is true for students in lower-level groups: it is impossible to make the same improvements without the same learning opportunities. This inadvertent stacking of odds is a classic example of why systems change is required if we want to see true progress.

Systems change is about addressing the root causes of social issues, which are often thorny and deeply embedded. It is an intentional process designed to fundamentally revise the mechanisms and structures that cause the system to operate in a particular manner. In both obvious and subtle ways, systems often work better for some groups in society than others, compounding the situation negatively for those who already face the biggest challenges.

The streaming of Māori and Pacific ākonga into low expectation classes is a concrete example of how racism gets embedded in a system. However, streaming is also a human problem and one that can be changed.

“We want our rangatahi to believe in themselves and know that they have the power to achieve great things in their lives. We want teachers to have faith in the abilities of our young people, and to equip them with a love of learning. We want all classrooms across Aotearoa New Zealand, however they look, to be vibrant and supportive places where everyone feels confident about themselves in their learning. Inequality is not inevitable. If we commit to work together, the future is something we can create rather than inherit,” says Piripi.

To this end, Tokona te Raki has launched an ActionStation petition to end streaming in Aotearoa New Zealand schools. You can show your support by adding your voice to the call.

The tides are shifting, and change is afoot.