Developing collaborative connections between schools and Māori communities

Despite policies recommending schools collaborate with whānau and Māori communities, and research that indicates why these connections are important, what remains less obvious is how these partnerships might be best achieved and sustained. This article discusses a professional development resource that challenges and supports school leadership teams to listen to their Māori communities in order to begin to develop relational and culturally responsive connections with these same communities. The research draws from the experiences of school leadership, Māori parents and whānau. In this article we present themes from interviews with two researchers who have engaged extensively with Māori communities, and we provide an activity to consider these ideas in your school.