Māori Language in Education

This report provides a snapshot of Māori Language Learning in the schooling sector as at 1 July. It reports on 3 levels of Māori Language in Education: Māori medium, Māori language in English medium, and Students not involved in Māori language in education.

Māori-medium

Māori medium includes students who are taught the curriculum in Māori language for at least 51 percent of the time (Māori Language Immersion levels 1-2).

As at 1 July 2019 there were 21,489 students enrolled in Māori medium education, representing 2.6% of the total school population; a 0.1 percentage point increase on 2018. Of the 21,489 students who were involved in Māori medium, 96.7% identified as Māori and 56.3% attended a school where all students were enrolled in Māori medium.

As at 1 July 2019, there were 290 schools with students enrolled in Māori medium, twelve more than in July 2018. Of these 290 schools, 112 had all eligible students in Māori medium and 132 also offered Māori language in English medium.

Table 1: Number of Students in Māori Medium by Māori Language Immersion Level (2014-2019)
Māori Language Immersion Level 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Change
2018-19
Level 1: 81-100% 12,704 12,958 13,499 14,373 15,043 16,020 977
Level 2: 51-80% 5,009 4,884 4,971 5,065 5,468 5,469 1
Māori Medium Total 17,713 17,842 18,470 19,438 20,511 21,489978

Māori Language in English Medium

Māori language in English medium involves students who are learning Te Reo Māori as a language subject, or taught the curriculum in the Māori language for up to 50 percent of the time (Māori Language Immersion levels 3-5).

As at 1 July 2019, 22.0% of the total school population were involved in Māori language in English Medium, compared to 21.1% in 2018. The total number of students involved in Māori language in English medium increased by 5.1% (9,237 students). Of the total 179,810 students enrolled, 36.0% identified as Māori and 45.4% attended a school where all students were enrolled in Māori language in English medium.

As at 1 July 2019, 1,122 schools offered Māori language in English medium: an increase of 29 schools since 1 July 2018. This represents the largest percentage increase since 2007.

Table 2: Number of Students in Māori Language in English Medium by Māori Language Immersion Level (2014-2019)
Māori Language Immersion Level 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Change
2018-19
Level 3: 31-50% 4,884 5,819 6,885 6,695 7,111 8,442 1,331
Level 4(a): up to 30% 5,723 5,950 6,229 6,539 6,901 7,897 996
Level 4(b): At least 3 hours 22,249 21,208 20,236 23,423 25,866 30,042 4,176
Level 5: Less than 3 Hours 114,667 121,745 128,031 128,944 130,695 133,429 2,734
Māori Language in English Medium Total 147,523 154,722 161,381 165,601 170,573 179,8109,237

No Māori Language in Education

As at 1 July 2019, 75.6% of the total school population (615,333 students) were not enrolled in Māori language in education (Māori Immersion levels 1-5). Of these students 20,380 students were not eligible for Māori Language Programme (MLP) funding; this included alternative education students, international fee paying students and students enrolled in secondary-tertiary programmes. 56.8% (349,294 students) were recorded as learning Taha Māori: Simple words, greetings or songs in Māori.  The remaining 245,659 students were eligible for Māori Language Programme (MLP) funding but did not receive any Māori language learning at any level.

Table 3: Number of students not enrolled in Māori Language in Education by Māori Language Immersion Level (2014-2019)
Immersion Level 2014 2015 2016 2017 20182019 Change
2018-19
Level 6: Taha Māori 338,797 339,975 343,610 348,365 349,101 349,294 193
No Māori language learning 248,379 248,293 246,651 247,646 248,688 245,659 -3,029
Not eligible for MLP Funding 14,851 15,983 17,884 19,284 19,566 20,380 814
No Māori Language in Education Total 602,027 604,251 608,109 615,295 617,355615,333-2,022

Pivot Tables

These spreadsheets provide the underlying data for Māori-language in Education and allow you to create your tables by any combination of variables. Both spreadsheets have the option of school type variables (such as decile or affiliation), and regional type variables.

Please note: use of these spreadsheets requires MS Excel version 2007 or later.

School Data Dimension Notes

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Year
Data is presented as at 1 July of each year 2000 through to 2019.

Level of Immersion:
Māori Language Learning describes students being taught at different levels of Māori instruction. Each level is defined by the proportion of time the student is taught using Te Reo Māori.

  • Level 1: 81-100%: Curriculum is taught in Māori for between 20 and up to 25 hours a week
  • Level 2: 51-80%: Curriculum is taught in Māori for between 12.5 and up to 20 hours a week.
  • Level 3: 31-50%: Curriculum is taught in Māori for between 7.5 and up to 12.5 hours a week
  • Level 4(a) 12-30%: Curriculum is taught in Māori for between 3 and up to 7.5 hours a week.
  • Level 4(b) At least 3 hours: Students are learning Te Reo Māori as a separate subject for at least 3 hours a week.
  • Level 5 Less than 3 hours: Students are learning Te Reo Māori as a separate subject for less than 3 hours a week.
  • Level 6 Taha Māori: Students learn Māori songs, greetings, and simple words.
  • No Māori Language Education: Students in school roll not recorded at any level of Māori language learning.
  • Not Applicable: Māori language in Education information is not collected for these students.

Maori Language in Education:
Māori Language Immersion Levels can be grouped into 3 different Māori Language in Education categories.

  • Māori Medium: Students are taught all or some curriculum subjects in the Māori language for at least 51 percent of the time (Māori Language Immersion Levels 1-2)
  • Māori language in English medium: is where students are learning Te Reo Māori as a language subject, or taught curriculum subjects in the Māori language for up to 50 percent of the time (Māori Language Immersion levels 3-5).
  • No Māori Language in Education: Students are either involved in Māori Language Immersion Level 6- Taha Māori (Simple words, greetings or songs in Māori) or not recorded as receiving Māori Language immersion at any level
  • Not Applicable: Māori language in Education information is not collected for these students. Includes Alternative Education Students, International fee paying students from 2010 onwards, and Secondary tertiary programme students from 2013 onwards. Students may study at any level of Māori language learning but the school does not receive Māori Language Programme funding for these students.

Māori Language Descriptor:
Data is presented as at 1 July of each year 2000 through to 2019.

A description of what levels of Māori Language in Education are available at the School

  • Māori-medium school: All students are involved in Māori-medium
  • School with some students in Māori-medium: Some students do Māori-medium and the rest do no Māori language in education
  • Mixed Māori Language in Education School: All students are either involved in Māori-medium or Māori language in English medium.
  • School with some students in mixed Māori language in education: Some students do Maori-medium, some do Māori language in English medium, and some do no Māori language in education.
  • Māori language in English medium school: All students are involved in Māori language in English medium.
  • School with some students in Māori language in English medium: Some students do Māori language in English medium, and the rest do no Māori language in education.
  • No Māori Language in Education School: No students do Māori-medium education or Māori language in English medium.
  • Not Applicable: Health camp schools i.e. Information not collected for these schools.

Year Level
The number of years of schooling a student has received, also known as funding year level. The funding year level for most students is based on the date they first started school. It is independent of the way schools are organised and independent of the particular programme of study that a student may undertake.

School ID
The individual Identification code a school is given by the Ministry of Education.

School Name:
The name of the school as at 1 July 2019.

School Type:
The type of the school, for example Full Primary (Year 1-8), as at 1 July of that year. Typically based on what year levels the school offers, but also includes further information e.g. Correspondence school, Special school, Teen Parent Unit etc. See "School: Sector" for a broader grouping, and "Student: Year level group" for a student based sector grouping.

School Sector:
Schools are grouped (by school type) into four sectors of schooling education, Primary, Secondary, Composite and Special. See "School: Type" for a more detailed grouping, and "Student: Year level group" for a student based sector grouping.

School Authority:
The ownership of the school for example State, State-Integrated and Private as at 1 July of that year.

School Decile:
The decile assigned to the school as at 1 July of that year. Schools are assigned a socio-economic score based on five census derived socio-economic factors. The 10 percent of schools with the lowest scores are considered decile 1 schools; the next 10 percent of schools are considered decile 2 schools, etc. Decile 1 schools draw the greatest proportion of their students from low socioeconomic areas.

School Gender:
The gender of the students that a school caters for, for example, co-educational, boys school. A small number of single sex schools can have some students of the opposite sex on their roll. These students can only access the education they need at these 'opposite sex' schools i.e. adults or special needs students.

Affiliation Type:
Whether a school has a religious or organisational affiliation, as at 1 July of that year. Only schools that requested an affiliation are included in that affiliation group, this dimension is most commonly represented for state integrated schools. See "School: Affiliation" for a more detailed grouping.

School Affiliation:
The religious or organisational affiliation of schools, for example, Roman Catholic, Montessori, as at 1 July of that year. Only schools that requested an affiliation are included in that affiliation group, this dimension is most commonly represented for state integrated schools. See "School: Affiliation Type" for a broader grouping.

School Definition:
Additional descriptive information about the school. For example, Kura Kaupapa Māori, school for pupils with physical disabilities, etc. as at 1 July of that year.

Kura Type:
Māori immersion schools can be set up either through Section 155 (s155) or Section 156 (s156) of the Education Act 1990.

  • S156 allows for state schools with a special character that sets them apart from ordinary state schools.
  • S155 of the Act allows for state schools that use Te Reo Māori as the main language for teaching and operate in accordance with the principles of Te Aho Matua.
  • A Kura Teina is an initiative by a community which wants to become a Kura Kaupapa Māori (Kura s155). During the establishment phase the Kura Teina was "attached" to, and mentored by, an established high performing Kura Kaupapa Māori. No longer exists from 2011 onwards.

Education Region:
The education region where the school is located. These ten administrative regions are created by the Ministry of Education and are aligned with the Ministry's local offices.

Regional Council:
The Regional Council area where the school is located. Regional council boundaries are defined by Statistics New Zealand.

Territorial Authority:
The Territorial Authority area where the school is located. Territorial authority boundaries are defined by Statistics New Zealand. Auckland super city has been subdivided into local board. For more information about Auckland city local boards see: Auckland Council website.

Ministry of Education Local Office:
The Ministry of Education local office district where the school is located.