I had A LOT of information to sift through so I picked out the info I felt was the most important: The services available at the institution and the demographics of the population. I think getting a good comparison of the ethnicities on campus and the services given could be interesting: and it was.
Some of the demographic information I received was in numbers and others was in percentage (i.e. what percentage of the student population is Maori vs how many Maori were students in exact numbers). I felt that for the numbers to mean anything that it would be important to convert it all to percentages so that comparison of the different schools was easier (probably not exact, especially because numbers differed depending on where you looked, but it was effective enough).
The White/European population was the highest in all of the institutions besides Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi. However, the Maori and Pacific Island populations on all the campuses was still significant and I feel, in the scope of counseling services, this is very important to note.
Most of the counseling and advising-type services that were offered by the different institutions was very similar to that of the institutions in the United States. Many of the institutions offered career counseling (the Polytechnic did not, which I found surprising, especially the focus on creating a person that can serve the outside community. How do they aid this without a career center?). One noted difference is that academic advising was not something that was utilized. Disability services and mental health counseling-type services were more of the norm. Academically it appeared that a student must be much more independent and charge of their academic progress.
Because I’m in a counseling in the culturally diverse class, I am hyper-aware of how counseling techniques are often very “European” in nature and execution; New Zealand is no different. Most Counseling theories that are put into practice in New Zealand come from either the United States or United Kingdom and counseling strategies may not be culturally appropriate for New Zealand Natives (Maori) (Durie & Hermansson, 1990). Even though strategies may not be culturally appropriate, New Zealand institutions have offices specially geared toward different ethnicities. Large focus is placed on that of the Maori and Pacific Islanders something not as common in the U.S. with Native Americans. The Maori are integrated into their education systems and have an apparent focus. Services are apparent on the main website and the language is integrated into the name of the institution.
Overall, I was surprised by the lack of academic advising and pleased with the counseling services that all of the institutions offered.
Durie, M. & Hermansson, G. (1990). Counseling Maori people in New Zealand. International Journal for the Advancement of Counseling, 13, 107-118.
