The Genesis of Te Kotahitanga

1. The Genesis of Te Kotahitanga

2. 2001: The Scoping Exercise Research initiated by Professor Russell Bishop and Dr Mere Berryman with support from kuia and kaumatua

3. 2001: The Scoping Exercise Researchers sought to understand more about what was behind the ongoing discrepancies in Māori students’ educational achievement compared with their non-Māori peers.

4. 2001: The Scoping Exercise In order to do so they: • interviewed a selection of Māori students and some of their educators from a range of secondary schools using a Kaupapa Māori research approach • examined national and international literature

5. Findings of The Scoping Exercise • Participants could clearly theorise their education experiences. • There was a clear mismatch between the descriptions and explanations of the students and their teachers.

6. Findings of The Scoping Exercise • Teacher - student relationships and interactions, together with structural issues, impeded and limited the progress of Māori students. • Findings clearly revealed the value of a Kaupapa Māori research approach for identifying and talking about solutions.

7. 2001 – 2002: Te Kotahitanga Phase I Researchers sought to: • understand more about what was behind the ongoing discrepancies in Māori students’educational achievement compared with their non-Māori peers • identify how to raise Māori student achievement

8. 2001 – 2002: Te Kotahitanga Phase I Research undertaken in five secondary schools by talking with: • Year 9 and 10 Māori students (engaged and non-engaged) • Their whānau • Principals • Teachers

9. 2001 - 2002: Te Kotahitanga Phase 1 • Each group provided rich narratives of experience from which the basis for the Te Kotahitanga professional development and pedagogical intervention emerged. • The pedagogical intervention worked well for Māori students with a few trained teachers in these schools, but traditional relationships and interactions outside of these contexts, and within the wider school, proved to be counterproductive.

10. 2002 - 2003: Te Kotahitanga Phase 2 • The collection and use of evidence of student learning outcomes to monitor and inform new learning was not commonly applied by the teachers. • Professional communities, rather than professional learning communities emerged.

11. 2003 - 2009: Te Kotahitanga Phase 3 • In-school facilitators in 12 schools were trained to implement the professional development cycle in their schools with cohorts of teachers. • Evidence based professional development for teachers was provided by in-school facilitators. • There was a greater emphasis on the effective use of student learning outcomes to monitor and inform new learning.

12. 2003 - 2009: Te Kotahitanga Phase 3 Development of: • Review of Practice and Development (RP & D) for in-school facilitators around the elements of the in-school PD cycle for both formative and summative purposes. • GPILSEO: a model for sustainable school wide implementation of Te Kotahitanga, widening the focus from a pedagogical intervention to a school reform

13. 2006 - 2012: Te Kotahitanga Phase 4 Facilitation teams and principals from 21 schools (October 2006) Development of: • ETP Descriptors – a facilitated self reflection tool focussed on the level of implementation of a culturally responsive pedagogy of relations • Rongohia te Hau – a school wide ‘slice of time’ evidence collection process involving student and teacher surveys alongside evidence of classroom pedagogy collected through 20 minute classroom walk-through observations

14. Beginning 2009: Te Kotahitanga Phase 5 • Facilitation teams and principals from 17 schools (October 2009) • GEPRISP + GPILSEO • 5 year plan including co-construction meeting at three levels: classrooms, senior leadership and middle leadership • R&D team working alongside facilitators and school leaders - shadow-coaching and RP & D of Leadership co-construction meetings • Shift of focus from facilitation team to ‘school team’ in Year 4

15. University of Waikato Māori students Non-Māori Māori Ministry of Education