A pioneering research project focused on transforming educational outcomes for New Zealand students who are currently under-achieving at secondary school and hence are under-represented in tertiary education.

Starpath is a Partnership for Excellence led by The University of Auckland in partnership with the New Zealand Government. It aims to address New Zealand’s comparatively high rate of educational inequality with Māori, Pacific Island and students from low socio-economic backgrounds showing significant rates of educational under-achievement compared with their peers.

View the Starpath Annual Report 2009 (1MB)

According to the Ministry of Education almost one in five New Zealand students leaves secondary school without formal qualifications. For Pacific students it is one in four and for Māori, one in three. In addition, more than 80 percent of Māori and 70 percent of Pacific tertiary study is at sub-degree level.

Starpath is the first rigorous research project looking into the impacts of socio-economic status on educational achievement in New Zealand.

Working with cohorts of students in partner secondary schools and tertiary institutions, Starpath is delivering high quality research on the barriers to tertiary study for different groups of students. Specifically, the project identifies those critical "transition points" at which different groups of students either step up to the next level of achievement, or fail to progress.

Starpath researchers are identifying initiatives in schools and tertiary institutions which will address these barriers to tertiary study. The overarching aim of the project is to deliver a toolkit of proven initiatives and strategies that will transform current patterns of educational underachievement in New Zealand.

Starpath questions

How can the flows of students from groups currently under-represented in higher education be enhanced?

What are the key barriers to educational success, and how can these be surmounted?

Starpath goals

Starpath is developing:

• A detailed understanding of educational dynamics in New Zealand;
• A toolkit of proven initiatives and approaches for schools;
• A strategic, evidence-based approach to enhancing educational achievement; and
• Improved methods of collecting and understanding data in schools.