April 16, 2015
Iwi involvement boosts school achievement
A University of Canterbury researcher says high level commitments to improving Maori educational outcomes aren’t matched by the proper resources going into the sector.
Melanie Riwai-Couch received her PhD today for her work on how schools and iwi can work together to better support Maori students.
The mother of five is the principal at Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Te Whanau Tahi, and says her family and her work meant she was conducting the research as an insider with all the insights that offers.
Looking at schools and kura in both the North and South Islands, she says it’s important to involve schools, parents, iwi and the Education Ministry in what’s called a community of practice.
"People are able to come together and get a better understanding of what success means to each of those parties and while there will be independent work that schools, iwi, ministry carry out, it was about identifying where the commonalities were and where those common points of interest were and how they could be supported by the community as a whole,"Dr Riwai-Couch says.
She says when iwi and schools work together to make decisions about what is taught at school, Maori students are more likely to achieve better school marks as well as be more connected with their cultural identity
FOR THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH DR MELANIE RIWAI COUCH CLICK ON THE LINK
https://secure.zeald.com/uma/play_podcast?podlink=MjgxNjQ=
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