Encouraging Māori and Pacific students into health careers
March 2005
Leaders from the health and education sectors will meet tomorrow (FRIDAY 4 MARCH) to look at ways of supporting and encouraging Māori and Pacific students into health and science careers.
The Māori Health and Disability Workforce Sub-Committee of the Health Workforce Advisory Committee and the Science and Technology Education Committee of the Royal Society of New Zealand are hosting the one-day symposium in Wellington.
Māori Health and Disability Workforce Sub-Committee chair Professor Colin Mantell, [who has just retired as Professor of Māori and Pacific Health at Auckland School of Medicine and Health Sciences,] said there was a marked difference between the number and the level of achievement of Māori and Pacific students studying science at secondary school compared with all the other students.
"Māori and Pacific students are a long way behind -- you only need to look at the entrants into science careers at any tertiary institution," Mantell said. "So we need to look at what's necessary to increase the interest, involvement and success of young Māori and Pacific people at secondary school science. We have a saying - No science in year 11, no career in health (or in any other science field)."
There had not been much improvement in Māori and Pacific students' uptake of science, or their results, in the past 20 years, Mantell said. That affected the numbers going on to study health and science at tertiary level, and then impacted on the number of Māori and Pacific peoples working in those sectors.
Some innovative projects have already been introduced to address the issues, "but we need to address the problem on a bigger scale."
Royal Society of New Zealand education manager Peter Spratt agreed it was crucial to get Māori and Pacific children interested in science at school age.
"Many students have no idea what openings and career opportunities there are in the science and health fields," Spratt said. "We need to give them experiences of the wide range of possibilities through site visits, work experience, mentor support or whatever best fits their situation and needs. This symposium will explore different ways currently operating to provide such experiential learning."
Health Minister Annette King will open tomorrow's symposium, followed by a series of presentations by key speakers. In the afternoon workshops will be held to develop strategies for addressing the workforce and educational disparities. The strategies will be incorporated into the Māori Health and Disability Workforce Sub-Committee's planned discussion document. This discussion document will form the basis of consultation across the sector.
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