Ako: From Effective Teaching to Affective Māori Teachers

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

Abstract

During the 1970s groundswell of Māori politicisation in New Zealand, Māori teachers entered secondary schools primarily to legitimise Māori language and culture. Since then Māori teachers have been at the forefront of the cultural regeneration and advancing Māori educational aspirations in schools. Despite the critical role of Māori teachers, their work is often overlooked in favour of generic characteristics of effective teaching practices that aim to improve educational achievement of all students, including Māori.

This paper draws on Jenny’s doctoral study of ako (Māori pedagogy), and seeks to develop a deeper understanding Māori teachers’ work with Māori students in secondary schools. Through the purakau (stories) of Māori teachers, she argues that some Māori teachers source their work deeply in who they are as Māori, and that these teachers bring a quality to their practice often not captured in standard approaches, including culturally responsive teaching. Māori teachers who enact ako not only contribute to and shape the cultural knowledge and understanding of their learners, but aim to affect their lives.

Author

• Jenny Bol Jun Lee, The University of Auckland