Tribal self-determination or political status quo: From blueprint to home-school and community collaborations

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Sunday 7:45 am - Gold 2
  In Roundtable Session: Places and Possibilities for Equity, Justice, and Belonging

Abstract

The Government in Aotearoa-New Zealand, invited Matanga (those with expertise) to develop a blueprint based on the successful Te Kotahitanga (unity of purpose) secondary school reform. Matanga considered the current political and policy system settings, and evidence about what had worked effectively for Indigenous Māori students previously. A reform blueprint was then developed and trialed in seven communities, over three years.
This paper describes the direction Matanga set to influence schooling whereby Māori learners, from Early Childhood to Secondary, could enjoy and achieve education success without compromising their cultural identity. We examine implementation in one community to understand how critical leadership and tribal self-determination promoted Te Hurihanganui (overturning the status quo), and a more socially-just system had begun to emerge.

Authors

• Mere Berryman, University of Waikato

• Elizabeth Martha Ann Eley, University of Waikato

• Suzanne SooHoo, Chapman University