Undertaking professional development on issues related to Māori students’ engagement and achievement

School leaders and teachers need to undertake effective professional learning and development that is designed to enhance their understanding of issues related to engagement and achievement by Māori students and to lift their capability of working effectively with them.

Suggested questions for an inquiry about the Māori students in our school

• Do we need to focus on raising the engagement and achievement levels of our Māori students? How do we know? What data do we have that supports this decision? How do we collect and analyse such data?
• What are our beliefs about disengagement in learning and low achievement levels by Māori students? What do we believe is the reason for this?
• Do we believe that any of our current understandings or practices hinder the engagement and achievement of our Māori students? If so, what are they? Why do we think they have this effect?
• Do we currently have a set of shared values and expectations about student learning and teaching, particularly with regard to our Māori students?
• What professional learning and development could we undertake to strengthen the engagement and achievement levels of our Māori students?
• What will be the focus of this professional development? Why have we decided on this particular focus?
• How will we undertake this professional development?
• Are our professional discussions generally focused on student learning? If not, what could we do about this?
• Do we get opportunities to share expertise on our developing skills and knowledge? If not, what could we do about this?
• Do we get opportunities to observe each other’s practice and give each other focused feedback? If not, what could we do about this?
• Do we reflect regularly on our practices and make changes as a result of this reflection? If not, what could we do about this?
• What will be the expected outcomes of our professional learning and development? How will we know that we have achieved them?

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