MĀORI CAREER INFORMATION SEEKING

This paper investigates how Māori secondary school students aged 16–18 years engage with information to assist them in making decisions about their future career options. Little has been written about how Māori access information and this article fi lls a gap in the literature. Research was undertaken in four secondary schools, using a questionnaire and focus group sessions. Of the 139 participants, approximately two thirds (94) had made a decision about their future career. The results of the questionnaire demonstrate a heavy reliance on interpersonal sources rather than electronic and printed resources. The people they seek information from are either friends, close whänau members or individuals that are working in careers they are interested in. Participants identified several barriers to getting the information they require including not knowing who to ask, not wanting to ask other people, people asked not always knowing how to help, and being overwhelmed by how much information is available.