Principles of success
The schools contributing to these guidelines used a wide range of techniques to build relationships with Māori parents and whānau and to develop a constructive environment in which to discuss and resolve issues. Even so, the most successful schools were guided by a set of underlying principles that were common to them all.
They are:
- A strong leadership team
- A powerful school vision
- Understanding and responding to the educational needs of Māori communities
- Long-term strategies for change
- Being prepared to change
- Managing relationships proactively
- Understanding how best to consult with Māori.
A strong leadership team
Leadership in successful schools usually comprises the principal and integral members of the board of trustees and representatives of a school whānau group or key members of the Māori community. The schools emphasised that commitment and interest from the principal and trustees are essential. In most cases, the principal had helped team members to develop a realistic long-term goal and to move towards it. The school's leadership is instrumental in mobilising people to change.
A mark of strong leadership in action is the use of kanohi ki te kanohi - face-to-face communication between school leaders and the Māori community. All schools contributing to these guidelines insisted that kanohi ki te kanohi is essential and that school leaders must present proposals directly to Māori parents and whānau.
A powerful school vision
Māori parents commented that the school should commit to a vision for Māori children's education rather than adopting a piecemeal, reactive approach when issues arise. Your school should clearly convey its vision for education, and for Māori education, through all its communications. The vision needs to explicitly incorporate Māori values and aspirations and show that the school values Māori culture.
Schools with a strong leadership team can demonstrate that the team has a clear vision of what the school needs to strive for, a vision created from both logical analysis of their situation and their intuition. The vision is usually hammered out over time with the active involvement of the school community, and it is ultimately shared by a large group of people. It provides a conceptual road map that allows for variation over time. Fundamental to the vision is a combination of core values and a sense of shared purpose that goes beyond the day-to-day governance and management of a school.
Māori appreciate someone with vision who goes out and makes an attempt to get involved. Open the doors, and get out into the community - comment from a Māori parent
Understanding and responding to the educational needs of Māori communities
Successful schools have recognised and responded to the diversity that exists within the Māori community, taking into account the range of views held by Māori parents on the educational needs of their children.
Several schools have incorporated the suggestions of Māori parents and whānau into school programmes, ranging from setting up a homework centre to establishing bilingual and Māori immersion education. After extensive consultation with Māori parents and whānau, one college has written specific goals concerning retention rates and academic achievement for Māori students into its strategic plan. Other schools support Māori-initiated runanga matua or whānau groups that work alongside trustees and teachers to further kaupapa Māori in the school.
One of the keys to developing a successful relationship with Māori parents and whānau is to value Māori culture, providing opportunities for Māori to participate in a sustained cultural programme within the school.
Long-term strategies for change
In most cases, Māori participation in schools had increased after five to eight years' hard work. One secondary school recalls that it has taken them over ten years to develop a relationship with the local Māori community and to establish Māori language in the school.
Incremental change is found to be the most successful, and schools have learned the importance of consulting with the school community and building consensus for change. The importance of planning before introducing new enterprises was emphasised by several schools.
Schools also recognise the need to prepare staff for teaching in a culturally diverse setting. Staff development itself can take time.
Being prepared to change
Most of the schools had, when the occasion demanded, stretched their staff and the community to achieve changes in behaviour. Changes were made by setting challenging but attainable goals that sometimes meant retraining for staff or overcoming resistance to change from a section of the staff or the community. Often, the leadership team was prepared to experiment and also to keep what works.
Managing relationships proactively
The development of a relationship that initially involves an imbalance of power usually moves through these three distinct phases:
- a demand for equal rights and recognition within the established order or culture from the less powerful culture;
- an assertion of the less powerful culture in opposition to the values of the dominant culture;
- an acceptance and valuing of difference by society at large and a willingness to live co-operatively.
Successful leadership teams foresaw and responded to these stages of development; they did not wait for Māori to say that the school needed to change. Mindful of local community dynamics, the schools took the initiative by identifying what changes needed to occur and started consultative processes to achieve them.
Understanding how best to consult with Māori
Schools that have improved their relationships with Māori parents and whānau understand how to consult effectively with Māori. In some cases, schools have been able to develop positive relationships with local hapu or iwi. Many have found it both necessary and invaluable to be guided by Māori community leaders.
Where local tangata whenua were not willing or able to engage with the school, the leadership team has identified key kaumātua or Māori community leaders who can provide support and advice and have the confidence and support of Māori parents. The leadership team has then been able to develop consultative mechanisms and networks that secure the necessary mandate for changes to increase Māori participation in the school.
Schools made the following points about good consultation practices, which apply to consulting with all parents:
- The board should ensure that everyone has a clear understanding of what the consultation seeks to achieve. In particular, be clear about what the constraints are and what can be delivered.
- Consult as early as possible, and make sure that people receive the information they need to participate. The information should be easy to understand.
- Give people enough time to consider the issues before responding. Consultation can take a long time, and a series of gradual changes may be necessary.
- Be guided by the pace and direction that the community is comfortable with.
- Show that the school recognises and values people's contributions. Respond to parents' views and suggestions. They must see that consultation results in change, or if their ideas have not been acted on, they need to know the reasons for that.
Māori parents, trustees, and teachers also identified these important considerations when consulting with Māori parents and whānau:
- Kanohi ki te kanohi is essential.
- School leaders, including the principal and trustees, must be closely involved and lead the process.
- Māori should be given the opportunity to identify the issues and direction.
- Whānau and kaumātua should be involved.
- Use the marae as a venue for hui where appropriate.
- Respect Māori tikanga.
- Understand that Māori consultation and decision-making processes may need to occur outside of the school consultation processes and provide time for this to happen.
- Maintain an ongoing relationship with iwi, hapu, and marae when there are no specific issues to consult on.
The following example shows how processes led by Māori parents can evolve:
One South Island primary school remembers that there was very little parental involvement with the school a few years ago. A couple of teachers approached a small number of Māori parents about the possibility of setting up te reo Māori classes. However, the first thing that the parents wanted to set up was a kapa haka group. A core group of parents became active and gradually brought other parents and grandparents into the school. One parent went door knocking to encourage other parents. They formed a whānau group and started to look at Māori educational needs. They decided they wanted a partial immersion class set up, and the planning started. A management team, including parent representatives, was established. Parents also made the tukutuku panels for the classrooms.