The benefits of responsive and respectful partnerships: some general comments

Taihape Area School Case Study: Iwi partnership

• What are the benefits of building culturally responsive and mutually respectful school-family-whānau-iwi partnerships for:

- students?

[Note the teacher’s observation that “Māori students are more confident … partly because they realise that iwi has input into what we do, how we do it, and why we do it.” Note also the Te Kauhua facilitator’s observation that using local stories “gives some sort of relationship with the kids here”.]

- teachers?

[Note the teacher’s observation that teachers’ marae experiences enable them to “form joint goals and aspirations with iwi”, and the principal’s follow-up comment that teachers’ marae experiences enable them to “plan activities that will reinforce the values of manaakitanga and tino rangatiratanga” and help negate “dissonance between iwi and hapū and what’s going on in the classroom.”]

- the community (locally and nationally)?

[Note the parent’s observation that fostering strong school-family-whānau-iwi partnerships promotes “belonging and strength to everyone … If we can be the catalyst to those kids to get on, that has to be a good thing for all of us.”]

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