Resilience in Maori women second chance learners

Abstract

This thesis examines barriers or adversities which has impacted on the previous schooling of Maori women who have returned to tertiary level education as second chance learners. While there are many situations in life which can be deemed difficult, what makes an experience an adversity is the impact and the high levels of stress it produces, In some cases these conditions have the potential to impede well-being and/or have maladaptive outcomes. For children where adverse events are constant the likelihood of success or achievement in education is greatly reduced. There are two types of adversity examined in this thesis. The first is generic, which means it can be experienced by any person in society, It includes poverty, grief associated with loss or death, and sibling separation. The second type is colonisation: it is culture specific in that it will impact badly only on cultures that experience it such as Maori. Eight Maori women second chance learners were interviewed and common themes around previous experiences of adversities and the impact they had on their ability to attain a tertiary education from secondary school were identified. How and what these women utilised to overcome their adverse experiences is also explored. This investigation demonstrates that these Maori women experienced extreme adversity impeding their ability to further their education at tertiary level straight after leaving secondary school. They effectively used protective factors to overcome their adverse experiences and by returning to tertiary education later in life exhibit resilience. Resilience is a concept that implies a person has the ability to bounce back and/or appear unaffected from experiencing an adverse situation.