Conference focuses on ground-breaking project

Waikato University hosts a conference this month to bring together schools and teachers who are using a ground-breaking approach to Maori learning.

Te Kotahitanga is a Waikato University project, funded by the MoE, to address the under-achievement of Maori students in secondary schools. It began in 2001; there are now 33 schools in the top half of the North Island involved in the project.

Its driver is Russell Bishop, Prof. of Maori Education at the university’s School of Education. He says the conference, at the university on November 26th and 27th, is a chance for those involved to share in a formal environment what has been learned so far.

More than 250 people have already enrolled for the conference.

Te Kotahitanga (which literally means progress through unity) promotes the understanding that Maori students learn better when they have better relationships with their teachers.

The programme supports professional development for in-school facilitators who then act as coaches to work with other teachers in the 33 schools. They are changing how teachers teach (by getting students more involved) and changing the belief that students’ circumstances determine their achievements at school.

“We have a contract until the end of 2010 to investigate whether the initial gains made by the 12 schools that began in 2003 are sustain­able, and also to see if the 21 schools who began in 2006 can recreate the gains made in the previous 12 schools.”

Prof. Bishop would like to see it rolled out to as many NZ secondary schools as possible and says it will be cheaper to fund the project than to pay for more prisons.

The ministry funds the university project to the tune of $1.1 million a year, and pays that amount again to schools in the Te Kotahitanga project to help with their costs – most of which is in the salaries of the coaches.

Prof. Bishop says the project will require millions of dollars to roll out to all secondary schools with Maori students. But he argues it’s cheaper than dealing with social costs of under-achieving Maori students who go on to cause social problems, end up in prison and fail to contribute to society.

“We are talking millions of dollars to help solve the problem, not billions of dollars that it will cost to deal with the fallout.”

Prof. Bishop says the schools involved report improvements in measurable factors such as pass rates for NCEA.

And it’s not only Maori students doing well – evaluation of the programme in the 33 schools shows Pacific Island students and special needs students also relate well to the new approach.

He says teachers shouldn’t be blamed for low achievement, but they should realise they hold the power to make a difference.

Teachers can have little influence on a Maori student’s home situation, but they can do something with the hours they spend with them, Prof. Bishop says.

“There’s poverty issues, family issues, any number of things that affect achievement. Supporting teachers to become effective teachers of Maori students is the best value for education dollars. If we really want to make a difference, here’s somewhere we can make a start,” he says.

“We know it’s not about Maori being able to learn a learning issue, because Maori students here at Waikato University do well, yet many of them didn’t finish school.”

There’s a direct correlation between educational levels and health, wealth and job opportunities, Prof. Bishop says. He estimates the statistics could be turned around in 10 years given the right investment in teachers.

“Apart from the Treaty of Waitangi, and natural justice arguments that Maori people deserve to benefit from participation in the society, it’s important to remember that where Maori goes, the country goes,” he says.

“We are in deep doo-doos as a country if we can’t do something about the 20 per cent of the population who are not able to perform.”

For more information on the conference: www.tekotahitanga.com/conference