Māori Educational Leadership: New Dawn or Continued Capture?

• In Event: He Māori Ahau: Challenging Dominant Notions of Leadership, Responsiveness, and Effectiveness in Education

Abstract

Educational leadership has come under close scrutiny in Aotearoa New Zealand in order to seek out leadership elements that facilitate the achievement of valued student outcomes. This paper focuses on tensions around capturing conceptions of Māori leadership in conceptions of schooling leadership that have developed outside of a Māori world view. This paper begins with an overview of best evidence synthesis work (School Leadership BES) that was carried out to identify and explain characteristics of leadership in schooling that can be linked to improved student outcomes in Māori- and English-medium schooling. It then describes how tensions described above were addressed via a methodological requirement of the School Leadership BES.

The BES methodology for the School Leadership BES required an explicit yet inclusive conception of leadership, which delimits the educational leadership field without privileging a theoretically or culturally specific view. BES methodology also calls for attention to theoretical pluralism and responsiveness to diversity, and the needs of multiple audiences. It also requires specific attention to Māori as tangata whenua. This involves serious consideration of the relationship between Māori and the Crown (Government), underpinned by Te Tiriti o Waitangi, which provides protection for Māori language, culture and resources whilst guaranteeing Māori the same rights and opportunities, including educational, as non-Māori. Thus a requirement of the BES was to give attention not only to Māori as learners, but also to Māori as leaders.

The question could be raised as to whether there are distinctive forms of Māori educational leadership. The BES argued that there are, on the basis of underlying knowledge, values, and the nature of the duties, commitments and responsibilities, which are carried by Māori educational leaders. In the process of improving education outcomes and the schooling system more generally for Māori students, Māori educational leadership is an important element to be considered.

However, notwithstanding the BES methodology described above, the potential danger of dominant constructions capturing conceptions of schooling leadership continues. The paper provides a kaupapa Māori analysis to identify Indignisation and Indigeneity are identified as two ways to address this danger and to bring about a new dawn to establish what is wanted and needed from Māori education leadership by Māori that is beyond simplistic co-option of non-Māori views.

Author

• Margie Kahukura Hohepa, The University of Waikato