Te Mana Kōrero

The need for whānau involvement does not diminish as students advance through schooling, and schools need to ensure their relationships with whānau extend beyond the immediate family. Regular communication is key. (Extract from ‘Te Mana Kōrero: Relationships for Learning’, 2007).

Whānau and community involvement in school life can and should extend beyond supporting the school at cultural and sporting activities, and lead to engagement which directly supports students’ learning. At Hiruharama School, whānau are engaged at every level including strategic planning. (Extract from ‘Te Mana Kōrero: Relationships for Learning’, 2007).

Culturally responsive learning contexts are those where the learner can bring their own experiences into the classroom context. (Extract from ‘Te ManaKōrero: Relationships for Learning’, 2007).

Research shows that bringing cultural context into the curriculum affirms the students identity, and validates their cultural knowledge and knowledge of their whānau. (Extract from ‘Te ManaKōrero: Relationships for Learning’, 2007).

The importance of building effective relationships between schools and whānau. (Extract from ‘Te ManaKōrero: Relationships for Learning’, 2007).

Practitioners reflect on the impact of professional development that is focused on improving Māori learning outcomes. (Extract from ‘Te Mana Kōrero : Strengthening Professional Practice’, 2005).

Relationships with whānau and communities. Research evidence shows that when schools develop relationships with whānau and communities around child learning, then the learning outcomes improve for all their students. (Extract from ‘Te Mana Kōrero : Strengthening Professional Practice’, 2005).

The innovative use of ICT can be used to enhance professional development. Pakaraka School has created an environment where everyone is a learner. It uses ICT to capture the weekly lesson of a visiting teacher of Te Reo Māori. (Extract from ‘Te ManaKōrero: Strengthening Professional Practice’, 2005).

Developing an inclusive curriculum. At Rotorua Lakes and Greymouth High Schools, student and whānau knowledge is validated through its introduction into the context for learning. (Extract from ‘Te Mana Kōrero: Strengthening Professional Practice’, 2005).

A feature of effective professional learning is critical reflection on practice. At Greymouth High School and Waitara Primary School, teachers are opening up their classrooms to others for peer observation and feedback. (Extract from ‘Te ManaKōrero: Strengthening Professional Practice’, 2005).