In 2024, the Ministry of Education commissioned Te Wāhanga, NZCER’s Kaupapa Māori research unit, to conduct a literature review on the concept of “equity” in kura mana Māori motuhake - a term that includes kura kaupapa Māori te aho matua, and kura ā-iwi.
This review aims to inform the Ministry's evaluation of the Equity Index (EQI) funding system, with a particular focus on how it relates to kura mana motuhake. It is structured around two broad research questions:
- What does “equity” mean in the context of kura mana motuhake?
- How is mana Māori motuhake nurtured within these kura?
Findings from the literature
The literature makes clear that any meaningful interpretation of equity must acknowledge the historical and ongoing injustices experienced by Māori. Equity must not only aim to redress these injustices but also ensure Māori have genuine opportunities, equitable access to resources, and self-determination over educational priorities.
Rather than framing equity through a Western, deficit-based lens, many authors argue that terms like mana motuhaketanga and tino rangatiratanga more accurately reflect equity from a kaupapa Māori perspective.
The loss of access to language and cultural practices sits at the heart of inequity for Māori. To understand and address present-day inequities in kura mana motuhake, it is essential to recognise how colonisation and mainstream education systems have contributed to these outcomes. Since the 1980s, Māori-led movements have worked to reclaim and revitalise te reo Māori and establish education by Māori, with Māori, for Māori — actions that directly challenge the structural roots of inequity.
The literature affirms that achieving equity for kura mana motuhake requires resourcing models that uphold the full expression of tino rangatiratanga. This approach shifts equity from a focus on distribution alone toward one grounded in mana motuhake, leadership, and autonomy.
As noted in Te Matakahuki (2022), equitable funding must not only be proportionate to need but also deliberately weighted to sustain te reo Māori and kaupapa Māori education. This includes recognising the dis-economies of scale required to ensure kura mana motuhake can thrive on their own terms — as part of the Crown’s obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi.