Listening to culture: Maori principles and practices applied to support classroom management

The Hikairo Rationale is an approach to behaviour management which encapsulates an amalgam of contemporary theory and traditional Maori discipline. It provides a conceptual framework for understanding the nature of classroom management, and locates culture at the centre of this framework. The rationale has its roots in a study of a special school which values inclusion and listens to culture, in its quest to facilitate and maintain a secure, democratic, and positive classroom environment.