Introduction to the study
The Manaakitia ngā tamariki kia ora ai | Supporting children’s wellbeing publication shares themes and narratives from six good-practice primary and intermediate schools that are designing and using approaches to enhance the wellbeing of tamariki. The schools were invited to be part of this study as their Wellbeing@School data showed tamariki Māori, and other learners, all had high wellbeing. These six schools had positive trends over time or high values in three indicators (wellbeing, equitable relationships, and aggressive behaviour) which suggested they were engaged in an active change journey.
We wanted to learn from their experiences. We visited each school for 2 days to talk to a mix of people who could tell us about the school’s approaches and wellbeing journey.
The study had two main focuses. The first was to deepen our understandings about the different ways schools promote the wellbeing of tamariki, and, in particular, tamariki Māori. The second was to find out how schools deal with things that impact on wellbeing, such as racism and bullying behaviour.
We used an exploratory Māori-centred approach guided by kaupapa Māori principles and a social justice lens to develop the study approaches and to analyse the data. We placed the experiences and views of Māori at the centre.
This publication is relevant to primary schools thinking about ways of fostering student wellbeing, developing a reo Māori curriculum, or incorporating more Aotearoa New Zealand content and history into the curriculum. The findings will help to deepen readers’ commitment to change, by showing the equity and wellbeing benefits of honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi/The Treaty of Waitangi, and mātauranga Māori in a central place in school life.
Key findings
All the schools were on a long journey to better support the wellbeing and learning of tamariki. Key to this journey was support from Māori champions, two-way partnerships with whānau, a commitment to long-term PLD, and leadership driven by core values and a holistic view of wellbeing.
We found that schools had some beliefs and practices in common. Those that stood out included:
- A prioritisation of wellbeing and the view that students were not ready to learn unless they felt a sense of belonging and safety at school, and that their identities were valued.
- A commitment to reducing the separation between home and school through a focus on whanaungatanga and upholding relationships. All those in the school community were viewed as part of a large whānau. This commitment helped schools deal with racism and conflict such as community members who were not supportive of the school’s focus on mātauranga Māori.
- A commitment to placing mātauranga Māori in a more central place in school life. Three main ways most schools did this was through:
1. developing tikanga for the school
2. focusing on identity and supporting tamariki to learn about themselves and their connection to local histories, people, spaces, and places
3. providing reo Māori teaching and learning including through whole school kapa haka. - A commitment to celebrating diversity in all its forms.
- Schools’ desire to do the best for students. Schools had multi-faceted approaches to building students’ sense of belonging and pride in their school. They offered students many opportunities to find passions and interests at school.
- A commitment to building students’ capabilities in two main areas: recognising and understanding their own and others’ emotions so they could build empathy and positive relationships; and developing leadership skills.
Schools faced common tensions and challenges on their journey. Building a whole school critically conscious curriculum to explore and understand the impact of colonisation was one challenge schools were working on.