"In this study Professor Ausubel has given himself a three-fold task. He has set out to make a careful investigation of the educational and vocational aspirations of two groups of Maori youth (an urban, and a rural or semi rural group) and to compare these aspriations with those of a pakeha (European) control group. Secondly he has used his qualitative data to show the significance of his quantitative material for an understanding of the place of Maori youth in contemporary New Zealand society. Finally Dr Ausubel interprets his results with reference on the one hand to recent historical development of Maori society and on the other hand to a psychological theory of the development of Maori personality ..." -- Foreword.