Key Findings

The key findings from the project included:

• Hei Toko is a Kaupapa Māori framework for tertiary educators working with Māori learners. It allows for the description and evaluation of Kaupapa Māori good practice for: an organisation; a board; a department; individual educators (CEO, manager, dean, HOD, teacher, teacher developer and others).
• The Hei Toko project confirmed that good Kaupapa Māori-based education practice needs to be learner centred, whole-of-organisation, dynamic, responsive and highly adaptive to meet the demands of our highly contextualised and fluid tertiary education sector.
• The project identified that a whole of organisation approach is required to create sustainable change for Māori learners. Pockets of teaching excellence across the tertiary education sector are more often the result of committed individuals and groups rather than a consequence of proactive organisational commitment.
• There is compelling evidence from a number of past and recent studies that Kaupapa Māori-based good education practice is an effective means of establishing an organisational environment that enables Māori learner success. Given the range of contexts in Aotearoa New Zealand tertiary education and the need to engage all tertiary educators in enabling Māori learner success, the project team developed a resource that seeks to empower tertiary educators to describe Kaupapa Māori-based good education practice in their unique context.

• Hei Toko is a table-based resource comprising six key components: Kaupapa – principle; Whakamārama – explanation; Ritenga Whakaako – practice; Taunaki – evidence; Te Puna – source; Ngā Hua – indicators. Although kaupapa or principles are interrelated, Hei Toko addresses one kaupapa at a time. By participating in the workshop developed as part of the project work, organisations are stepped through the design process in a way that enables the approach to be tailored to their organisation capability and aspirations, and to fit with their learner contexts and aspirations.

Key Recommendations

The key recommendations and implications from the project included:

Meeting diverse tertiary education contexts | Māori learners study at all levels of the Qualifications Framework across all subsectors of the tertiary education sector – from foundation-level to university-level study. Māori learners are therefore learning in diverse tertiary education contexts across a range of providers and interacting with a range of tertiary educators. Each of these contexts has unique characteristics that must be considered when seeking to change the education system to enhance outcomes for Māori learners.

Enhancing outcomes for Māori learners | The approach to enhancing outcomes for Māori learners must affect and include all staff. The learning that takes place in the classroom is not enough on its own to generate the sustainable change that is required. Every level of the organisation from governance through to academic leaders, teachers, student support, managers and administrators has a part to play in creating an environment that will sustainably enhance outcomes for Māori learners.

Motivating non-Māori educators | It is not only Māori staff who have a responsibility to engage and participate with Kaupapa Māori frameworks. The challenge for the sector and Hei Toko is to also motivate and engage non-Māori tertiary educators to work with these Kaupapa Māori concepts in a meaningful way.

Providing safe environments | Tertiary providers must consider their role in providing safe environments for their respective staff to utilise a Kaupapa Māori framework so that staff, in turn, can be empowered and feel comfortable operating in a Māori space.

Data collection systems | In order for data collection systems to be of use and value to Māori in tertiary education, these systems need to consider and effectively integrate indicators of Kaupapa Māori-based good practice including: Toko ā-iwi, ā-wānanga – iwi and institutional support; Tikanga – the integration of Māori and iwi values and protocols; Pūkenga – the involvement of suitably qualified leadership and staff; Ako – the development of effective teaching and learning strategies.