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About the strategy
Ka Hikitia – Accelerating Success 2013-2017 is the Ministry of Education's strategy to rapidly change how the education system performs so that all Māori students gain the skills, qualifications and knowledge they need to enjoy and achieve education success as Māori.
Ka Hikitia – Accelerating Success 2013-2017 is an updated strategy, not a brand new one.
Its predecessor, Ka Hikitia – Managing for Success 2008-2012, set the direction for improving how the education system performs for Māori students.
Strategy overview
Ka Hikitia – Accelerating Success is our strategy to rapidly change how the education system performs so that all Māori students gain the skills, qualifications and knowledge they need to enjoy and achieve education success as Māori.
Ka Hikitia — Accelerating Success 2013–2017 is an updated strategy, not a brand new one. Its predecessor, Ka Hikitia — Managing for Success 2008–2012, set the direction for improving how the education system performs for Māori students.
Ka Hikitia — Accelerating Success 2013–2017 builds on the changes and success we have seen through Ka Hikitia — Managing for Success 2008–2012.
It identifies:
- guiding principles to steer the way we do things
- focus areas to prioritise resources and activity
- a range of goals and actions to accelerate change
- targets and measures to keep us on track and measure our success.
Vision
Ka Hikitia — Accelerating Success 2013-2017 continues our work towards realising the vision for Māori students to enjoy and achieve education success as Māori.
‘Ka hikitia’ means to step up, to lift up or to lengthen one’s stride. Here, it means stepping up how the education system performs to ensure Māori students are enjoying and achieving education success as Māori. To achieve this, the system must fit the student rather than making the student fit the system.
When the vision is realised, all Māori students will:
- have their identity, language and culture valued and included in teaching and learning in ways that support them to engage and achieve success
- know their potential and feel supported to set goals and take action to achieve success
- experience teaching and learning that is relevant, engaging, rewarding and positive
- have gained the skills, knowledge and qualifications they need to achieve success in te ao Māori, New Zealand and the wider world.
5 guiding principles steer Ka Hikitia – Accelerating Success
The Treaty of Waitangi
Ka Hikitia – Accelerating Success 2013-2017 gives expression to how the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi (the Treaty) are applied in education.
The Treaty provides a context for the relationship between the Crown, iwi and Māori. Ensuring Māori students enjoy and achieve education success as Māori is a joint responsibility of the Crown (represented by the Ministry of Education and other education sector agencies) and iwi, hapū and whānau.
Ka Hikitia – Accelerating Success 2013-2017 emphasises the power of collaboration and the value of working closely with iwi and Māori organisations to lift the performance of the education system.
Māori potential approach
Ka Hikitia – Accelerating Success 2013-2017 asserts that every Māori student has the potential to make a valuable social, cultural and economic contribution to the wellbeing of their whānau, their community and New Zealand as a whole.
Students who are expected to achieve and who have high (but not unrealistic) expectations of themselves are more likely to succeed. Students, parents, whānau, hapū, iwi, Māori organisations, communities, peers, and education and vocational training sector professionals must share high expectations for Māori students to achieve.
Ako: a 2-way teaching and learning process
Ako is a dynamic form of learning where the educator and the student learn from each other in an interactive way. Ako is grounded in the principle of reciprocity and recognises that the student and whānau cannot be separated.
When ako is a key element of teaching and learning, educators’ practices are informed by the latest research and are both deliberate and reflective.
For those working in government, ako is about seeking the perspectives of Māori students, parents, whānau, hapū, iwi and Māori organisations when we do our work.
Identity, language and culture count
Students do better in education when what and how they learn builds on what is familiar to them and reflects and positively reinforces where they come from, what they value and what they already know. Māori students are more likely to achieve when they see themselves, their parents, whānau, hapū, iwi and community reflected in learning and teaching.
Productive partnerships
Ka Hikitia – Accelerating Success 2013-2017 promotes a team effort. It requires everyone who plays a role in education to take action and work together.
Productive partnerships are based on mutual respect, understanding and shared aspirations. They are formed by acknowledging, understanding and celebrating similarities and differences.
For Ka Hikitia – Accelerating Success 2013-2017 to be successful, key stakeholders must form productive partnerships where there is an ongoing exchange of knowledge and information, and where everybody contributes to achieving the goals.
A productive partnership starts by understanding that Māori children and young people are connected to whānau and should not be viewed or treated as separate, isolated or disconnected. Parents and whānau must be involved in conversations about their children and their learning.
Critical factors for success
Evidence shows that improvement in 2 areas will make the most powerful difference to Māori students’ educational success:
1. Quality provision, leadership, teaching and learning, supported by effective governance
High-quality teaching, supported by effective leadership and governance, makes the biggest ‘in education’ difference to student outcomes across all parts of the education sector.
2. Strong engagement and contribution from all who have a role to play
Strong engagement and contribution from students, parents and whānau, hapū, iwi, Māori organisations, communities and businesses have a strong influence on students’ success.
Māori students’ learning is strengthened when education professionals include a role for parents and whānau, hapū, iwi, Māori organisations, communities and businesses in learning and teaching.
Other essential elements for success
Smooth transitions
Ka Hikitia – Accelerating Success 2013-2017 identifies the importance of supporting Māori students during times of transition in their educational journey. For example, moving from primary school to secondary school, from secondary school to tertiary education, or from Māori-medium to English-medium schooling).
Transitions can be challenging for Māori students. Māori students value strong relationships with education professionals and their peers. Establishing relationships with their new peers and educators promptly after a transition improves engagement and, in turn, will lead to sound educational outcomes.
Creating strong educational pathways
Supporting Māori students to plan a clear pathway through education so that they can achieve their aspirations is also vital.
Educational pathways planning tools
The Māori Future Makers website is an excellent tool for students and whānau when planning educational pathways. Māori Future Makers profiles 30 inspirational Māori with specialist skills and capabilities who are studying, employed or self-employed in primary, knowledge-intensive and growth industries such as sciences, engineering, construction, communications, architecture and agriculture.
Visit the Māori Future Makers website for videos, articles, personal success stories and information from these aspirational people on the study pathways they pursued to achieve success, as well as their educational achievements, skills, experience and professional opportunities.
There are also other websites that provide useful information for planning your educational pathway.
Helping young people make decisions – Careers NZ
Vocational Pathways – Youth Guarantee
Areas of absolute skills shortage – Immigration New Zealand
It’s good to know what likely outcomes you can expect when you’re planning your education. The Moving On Up report looks at the outcomes for young people who complete a qualification in the New Zealand tertiary education system.
Moving On Up – What young people earn after their tertiary education
Strategy focus areas
Ka Hikitia – Accelerating Success 2013-2017 identifies 5 areas with goals, actions, targets and measures that will accelerate educational success for Māori students.
Putting Ka Hikitia – Accelerating Success 2013–2017 into action
What you can do to accelerate success
Parents, whānau, iwi and hapū are powerful elements of their young people’s education.
Parents, whānau, iwi and hapū can accelerate success by:
- expecting Māori students to achieve
- being part of conversations about their children and their learning
- sharing their knowledge of Māori language, culture and identity with education professionals and contributing to learning programmes
- providing feedback and being involved in decision-making
- supporting Māori students to plan and implement their pathway through education
- working with education professionals to create the conditions and support networks for successful transitions
- using Māori language at home and in the community
- providing high quality early learning experiences
- becoming members of school and kura boards
- understanding the benefits and challenges for Māori students at each stage of their educational journey.
What the Ministry of Education will do to accelerate success
The Ministry of Education, ERO, education sector agencies and education professionals will work collaboratively to embed the actions and goals of Ka Hikitia – Accelerating Success 2013-2017 across the education system.
The Ministry will monitor Māori students’ progress and adapt activity so it is aligned with what we can see is working.
Ka Hikitia – Accelerating Success 2013–2017 identifies 4 ways to accelerate change:
1. Prioritise resources
The Government is committed to ensuring that resourcing and funding are targeted to the areas where they are needed the most.
2. Support stronger student and whānau voice in education
The Ministry of Education will seek ways to understand what is happening ‘on the ground’ by listening to what students, their whānau and their communities have to say and finding out more about their experiences in education. Ongoing hui and shared stories will enhance our understanding of what is working and where changes need to be made.
3. Create and maintain momentum
All stakeholders must remain motivated and maintain momentum in implementing Ka Hikitia – Accelerating Success 2013-2017. The Ministry of Education will fuel motivation by sharing, through a range of channels, information and real-life examples that demonstrate our progress.
4. Develop more measures and indicators of progress
The Ministry of Education will continue to develop measures and indicators of progress.
Publications and resources
Ka Hikitia – English language resources
Ka Hikitia – Accelerating Success 2013-2017 resources
Ka Hikitia – Accelerating Success 2013-2017SummaryFor parents, families and whānauHow to order resources
Printed copies of the resources are available. To order a copy email [email protected].
Web resources
Te Mangōroa is a resource for English-medium schools. It's a portal to stories, statistics and reviews that reflect effective practices to support Māori learners to achieve education success as Māori.
Te Mangōroa is full of practical illustrations of what Ka Hikitia – Accelerating Success 2013–2017 means for teaching and learning.
Ka Hikitia – Managing for Success 2008-2012 resources
If you have difficulty downloading any of these documents, email [email protected].
The Māori Education Strategy: Part 1The Māori Education Strategy: Part 2Managing for Success overview chartKa Hikitia – Māori language resources
Ka Hikitia – Accelerating Success 2013-2017 resources
Kōkiri Kia Angitū 2013-2017Whakarāpopoto o Ka HikitiaTe PārekerekeOrder printed resources
If you would like to order a printed copy of Ka Hikitia – Accelerating Success 2013-2017, or if you have difficulty downloading a PDF file, email [email protected].
Ka Hikitia – Managing for Success 2008-2012 resources
Te Rautaki Mātauranga Māori 2008-2012Te Rautaki Manawaroa: Part 1Te Rautaki Manawaroa: Part 2Measurable gains framework
Resources to help measure the extent to which activities and initiatives are making a difference to Māori enjoying and achieving education success as Māori. To what extent is identity, language and culture embedded in these activities and initiatives?
Measurable Gains Evaluative Logic
Measurable Gains Evaluative LogicRubrics: Ministry leadership role
MGF Rubric 1.3: Culturally confident and capable staffMGF Rubric 1.3: Culturally confident and capable staffMGF Rubric 1.6: Effective Iwi/Mana Whenua RelationshipsRubrics: Effectiveness in the sector
MGF Rubric 2.1: Culturally responsive effective teaching for MāorEffective educational leadership; culturally responsive learning Effective provision of te reo Māori in and through educationMGF Rubric 2.5: Effective parent, family and whānau engagementEffective Māori learner support, information and adviceRubrics: As Māori learner outcomes
Māori learner progress and achievement Māori learner attendance, retention and engagementMāori learners and whānau well informed and making good choicesRubrics: Ka Hikitia longer-term strategic outcomes
Māori enjoying and achieving education success as MāoriKa Hikitia in action
Ka Hikitia in Action showcases the critical role parents, whānau and communities play in helping their children to learn. It illustrates that Māori educational success can be achieved when communities, iwi, schools, early learning centres or the Ministry work in collaboration – mahi tahi.
Here you can read real-life examples of what Ka Hikitia – Accelerating Success 2013-2017, the Māori education strategy, looks like when communities take the lead and turn a government strategy into community action.
If you have difficulty accessing these documents, email [email protected].
Read Ka Hikitia in Action
Tell us what you think
We'd love to hear if you're:
- doing something new and exciting to support more Māori children and young people enjoying and achieving success in education as Māori, or
- interested in subscribing to hear more of these types of stories.
Email:[email protected]
A small number of copies of Ka Hikitia in Action have been distributed as a printed publication and are available to read here online.
In continuing to share these stories we'd be interested to know:
- how you'd prefer to hear about these stories, and
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Issue 1 Ka Hikitia in ActionIssue 2 Ka Hikitia in Action Key evidence
This section introduces key evidence that underpins Ka Hikitia – Accelerating Success: The Māori Education Strategy 2013-2017. This section links to the Education Counts website, where most of the strategy’s key evidence, data and information can be found in more detail.
Overview
Half a century ago, Sylvia Ashton-Warner’s writings highlighted her experiences as a teacher of Māori students. Through a personal journey of observation and reflection, she wrote of how she moved from using the prescribed English ‘Janet and John readers’ to writing more than a hundred books in te reo Māori to support reading in her junior classroom.
Fifty years later, Sylvia Ashton-Warner’s observations about unlocking the potential of every Māori child in her class are just as current. "Māori enjoying education success as Māori" requires the education system and each individual in it to undertake the same kind of inquiry as Sylvia Ashton-Warner.
It requires us to seek out answers, attend to the evidence before us and modify our practices accordingly. This has only been achieved in small pockets of success to date, with different approaches to understanding where the answers may lie.
In 1997, the Chapple Report concluded that the differences in achievement for Māori students compared with non-Māori students was because of their socio-economic status rather than ethnicity and there was, therefore, nothing significant about ‘being Māori’ that affected education success.
These findings substantially affected the way we thought about Māori education achievement and contributed to the prevalent ‘blaming’ attitude and an abdication of responsibility by some in education: ‘It’s their background, what can we do?’.
"Māori enjoying education success as Māori" requires the education system and each individual in it to undertake the same kind of inquiry as Sylvia Ashton-Warner
However, in 2007, Harker undertook further analysis of the data used by Chapple et al. (1997) and concluded that ethnicity is a significant factor in achievement over and above socio-economic status.
In summary, controlling for both socio-economic status and prior attainment reduces, but does not eliminate, significant differences between the four ethnic groups studied in the Progress at School and Smithfield projects. (Harker, 2007)
Harker suggests that the explanation lies between the interface of schools and student ethnicity. Likewise, Hattie (2003), using reading test results prepared as norms for the asTTle formative assessment programme, identified that achievement differences between Māori and non-Māori remained constant regardless of whether the students attended a high or low decile school.
Hattie concluded from this data that it is not socio-economic differences that have the greatest effect on Māori student achievement. Instead, he suggests that ‘the evidence is pointing more to the relationships between teachers and Māori students as the major issue – it is a matter of cultural relationships not socio-economic resources’, because these differences occur at all levels of socio-economic status.
An analysis across the best evidence syntheses also reveals that education system performance has been persistently inequitable for Māori learners – low inclusion of Māori themes and topics in English-medium education, fewer teacher-student interactions, less positive feedback, more negative comments targeted to Māori learners, under-assessment of capability, widespread targeting of Māori learners with ineffective or even counterproductive teaching strategies (such as the ‘learning styles’ approach), failure to uphold mana Māori in education, inadvertent teacher racism, peer racism, mispronounced names and so on.
In 1990, after working with teachers in Aotearoa New Zealand, internationally renowned Harvard professor, Courtney Cazden, highlighted how deeply entrenched such disadvantageous, differential treatment is within the practice and beliefs of many of New Zealand teachers.
In most cases, this is not conscious prejudice, but part of a pattern of well-intended but disadvantageous treatment of Māori students.
An example of this is the belief that all Māori are kinaesthetic (hands-on) learners – a belief that led well-meaning teachers to provide more ‘hands-on’ learning opportunities for Māori students and thereby inadvertently limit the opportunity of these students to develop the higher-level cognitive skills and metacognition that are so essential for educational success.
Ka Hikitia – Accelerating Success: The Māori Education Strategy 2013-2017 seeks both to challenge current thinking and to channel investments and energies into what the evidence shows works for, and with, Māori students in early childhood education, schools and tertiary education.
Ka Hikitia – Accelerating Success: The Māori Education Strategy 2013-2017 promotes a Māori potential approach – that is, an approach that invests in success. It promotes building on what we know works and investing in a way that will spread that success more widely, rather than investing in initiatives that are primarily focused on targeting problems and addressing failure.
This approach doesn't mean that problems are ignored. Rather it means that we find and take every opportunity we can to use and build on current successes.
In the past, such opportunities have not necessarily been realised. However, through Ka Hikitia – Accelerating Success: The Māori Education Strategy 2013-2017, the Ministry is now giving priority to what the evidence shows works for, and with, Māori learners.
The following is a list of evidence that underpins the Ka Hikitia – Accelerating Success: The Māori Education Strategy 2013-2017 strategy.
Also refer to the Education Counts website.
Case studies
The Ka Hikitia case studies start a conversation amongst teachers, whānau, school boards, principals and parents by sharing the stories of those who are engaged in making a difference for their Māori students. Its aim is to help those working in education to bring about successful outcomes for these students.
| School | Type | Roll | Māori % | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Breens Intermediate | Year 7 & 8 | U4 = 251 | 15% | Christchurch |
| Intermediate school (Year 7-8) in Christchurch with around 250 students, 15% identify as Māori. | ||||
| Makoura College | Year 9-14 | U4 = 277 | 55% | Masterton |
| Secondary school (Year 9-14) in Masterton with around 280 students, 55% identify as Māori. | ||||
| Newton Central School | Year 1-6 | U4 = 270 | 43% | Auckland Central |
| Contributing school (Year 1-6) in Central Auckland with around 270 students, 43% identify as Māori. Immersion and bilingual options are available for their community. | ||||
| Porangahau School | Year 1-8 | U1 = 31 | 77% | Hawke's Bay |
| Full Primary school (Year 1-8) in Hawke's Bay with around 30 students, 77% identify as Māori. | ||||
| Te Karaka | Year 1-13 Immersion Rumaki Māori | U4 = 163 | 94% | Gisborne |
| Composite school (Year 1-13) in Gisborne with around 160 students, 94% identify as Māori. | ||||
