A political and policy intersection where success depends on all of us

From the 19th to the 20th century, a separate system of education existed for Māori learners in New Zealand in which health, hygiene, and manual work were emphasised. This system was based on beliefs that Māori students were less capable, therefore they needed a reduced curriculum to that provided for non-Māori in state schools. In conceptualising this system, school inspector Henry Taylor concluded:

I do not advocate for the Natives under present circumstances a refined education or high mental culture; it would be inconsistent, if we take into account the position they are likely to hold for many years to come in the social scale, and inappropriate, if we remember that they are better calculated by nature to get their living by manual rather than by mental labour. (Taylor, 1862, p. 38)

Known as the Native Schools, this system started in 1867 and lasted until 1969.

If we are to change forever this legacy of colonisation and achieve the new political and policy expectations signalled by the 2020 changes to the Education and Training Act, I now explore some of what Māori students believe has occurred for them going into the 21st century. To illustrate what needs to change, I:

• follow my pathway of listening and learning from students, as a teacher then as a researcher

• focus on four studies and four big learnings

• conclude by comparing our current political and policy intersection with implications from what students have told us.