Applied Critical Leadership in Women Leaders Lifting Māori Education in Aotearoa New Zealand

• In Event: Overcoming Inequalities of Systematically Underserved Communities From a Global Research Network: Teachers and Minority Women as Agents of Change

Abstract

This inquiry bridges knowledge sourced from women leaders of schools with a prevalence of Māori-centric best practices in New Zealand, where a national goal is to lift Māori academic achievement. Fittingly, this research aims to determine ways in which Applied Critical Leadership (ACL) is present and enacted in women leaders in NZ. Hence, a joint investigation with the Māori Achievement Collaboratives (MACs) was undertaken to investigate leadership of approximately 40 women leaders from within six MACs clusters. This research documents MACs’ goal to professionally develop a critical mass of effective school leaders and leadership practices to challenge the status quo by promoting strategies toward equitable educational outcomes by mostly Māori women for Māori learners.

Authors

• Lorri Michelle Johnson Santamaria, The University of Auckland

• Sharona Jayavant, University of Auckland