Maori Teachers and the Construction of Effective Teaching

• In Event: Kāī Kea: Issues in Indigenous Self-Determination

Abstract

During the 1970s groundswell of Maori politicisation in New Zealand, Maori teachers entered secondary schools primarily to legitimise Maori language and culture. Since then Maori teachers have been at the forefront of the cultural regeneration and advancing Maori educational aspirations in schools. Despite the critical role of Maori teachers, their work is often over looked in favour of generic characteristics of effective teaching practices that aim to improve educational achievement of all students, including Maori. This paper seeks to develop a deeper understanding Mäori teachers’ work with Maori students in secondary schools. I argue that some Maori teachers source their work deeply in who they are as Mäori, and that these teachers bring a quality to their practice often not captured in standard approaches.

Author

• Jenny Bol Jun Lee, The University of Auckland