Pūhoro STEM Academy Programme: Impact Evaluation
Project Background
The vision for Massey University’s Pūhoro STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) Academy is to transform national statistics on Māori student’s engagement and success in STEM, and advance Māori leadership and capability to deliver a world-class science community. This evaluation identifies the many positive impacts and progress this programme is having towards that vision.
What we did
The evaluation methodology utilised a culturally responsive and inclusive approach through an exploratory sequential mixed-method design that employed both qualitative and quantitative data and analyses. Twenty-four participants, including Māori student representatives from the Pūhoro 2016 cohort, these students’ whānau, teachers/school leaders and Pūhoro staff members/stakeholders were initially interviewed. Emerging themes related to impact and engagement arising from qualitative analysis were then used to develop three short electronic surveys to ascertain the generalisability of these findings for other Pūhoro Māori students, their whānau and teachers/school leaders.
Outcomes
Results from evaluation analyses demonstrate the many positive impacts the programme has had for participating Māori students, teachers and whānau. Analysis indicated these effects were interrelated and difficult to separate. Key impact themes included:
· personal impacts
· impacts at high school
· academic and career impact
· impacts on Māori student opportunities
· impact on whānau experiences of high school
· other whānau impacts
· impacts on teacher/leader opportunities
Evidence highlighted how Pūhoro created a bridge between university/tertiary resources and experts and secondary curriculum contexts. This access to expertise and its practical relevance was motivating to students and teachers and made it easy for them to engage. Participating in the Pūhoro kaupapa whānau had a dramatic impact on Māori students’ identity as academic STEM achievers.
“Without Pūhoro it would have been extremely hard to enrol in the university system. It can be a bit of a challenge and pretty overwhelming. Like even applying for scholarships, it doesn’t all quite make sense. But with Pūhoro we did a workshop where they came and taught us about everything we’d need to know, including scholarships.”
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We’ll work with you to find out what’s working, where investment could be put to best use or how to improve anything not going to plan. We can help you define success and set tangible, measurable goals. And we talk in real language so you can understand and engage with the findings. We engage with the community to conduct community research and consultations for private companies, trusts, government agencies, NGOs and more. But we have a special interest in research that has a purpose - to better society and teach lessons. We aim to help those we work with build capacity to enact positive change.
