Strategy focus areas

Ka Hikitia – Accelerating Success 2013-2017 identifies five areas with goals, actions, targets and measures that will accelerate educational success for Māori students.

Focus area 1: Māori language in education

Outcomes for this focus area

All Māori students have access to high-quality Māori language in education.

Why focus on Māori language in education?

Māori language is the foundation of Māori culture and identity. Learning in and through Māori language is an important way for Māori students to participate in te ao Māori, and it helps students connect with their identity as Māori. This is a strong foundation for well-being and achievement.

Māori language is a taonga (treasure) and the Government is committed to protecting it under the Treaty of Waitangi. Education provides an ideal vehicle to revitalise and sustain the Māori language.

Cultivating high-quality Māori language in education is important because it:

  • supports identity, language and culture as critical, but not exclusive, ingredients for the success of all Māori students
  • provides all Māori students with the opportunity they need to realise their unique potential and to succeed as Māori
  • gives expression to the national curriculum documents for early childhood, primary and secondary education, which recognise the importance of Māori language for New Zealand
  • supports community and iwi commitments to Māori language intergenerational transmission and language survival.

Tau Mai Te Reo – The Māori Language in Education Strategy 2013-2017

Tau Mai Te Reo provides a connected and cohesive approach to supporting and strengthening te reo Māori in education.

Tau Mai Te Reo:

  • creates the conditions for students to achieve educational and Māori language outcomes
  • supports the coordination of effort across Māori language in education activity in the Ministry of Education and across education sector agencies
  • provides a framework for better Government investment in Māori language in education over the next five years.

Tau Mai Te Reo

Goals and actions for this focus area

The goals, priorities and actions for Māori language in education are integrated into each of the other focus areas to ensure it has a clear presence in all aspects of a Māori student’s education.

Focus area 2: Early learning

Desired outcomes for this focus area

All Māori children participate in high quality early learning.

Why focus on early learning?

Ka Hikitia – Accelerating Success 2013-2017 identifies early learning as an area to focus on because Māori children who enjoy and achieve education success at this level have a greater likelihood of achieving better educational outcomes throughout their education.

While the number of Māori children participating in quality early learning has increased, Māori children still have lower rates of participation compared with the national participation rate.

There is a range of barriers to accessing early learning that must be removed. These include:

  • information – knowledge of the benefits of early learning, how and where it can be accessed, and the different types of early learning available
  • a lack of culturally responsive early learning provision leading to poor quality of provision for many Māori children
  • access – including cost, transport, distance, health problems.

Goals for this focus area

  1. All Māori parents and whānau are accessing their choice of high-quality early learning (English- and Māori-medium education).
  2. All parents and whānau are providing high quality early learning experiences (education and language).

The key actions for achieving these goals

  1. Increase the supply and quality of early childhood education and early learning – both English- and Māori-medium education.
  2. Remove barriers to access, and promote the benefits of participation in quality early learning and the benefits of Māori language in education.
  3. Ensure parents and whānau have good support and information in their role as first teachers.

Focus area 3: Primary and secondary education

Desired outcomes for this focus area

  • All Māori students have strong literacy, numeracy and language skills.
  • All Māori students achieve at least National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) Level 2 or an equivalent qualification. 

Why focus on primary and secondary education?

The primary and secondary education focus area covers the largest number of Māori students in formal education.

Māori students in English-medium schools are more likely to have lower levels of achievement in literacy, numeracy and science than non-Māori students. If not addressed swiftly, students are likely to fall behind and will be at risk of disengaging from education early.

Improvements in achievement have occurred when schools and kura:

  • integrate elements of students’ identity, language and culture into the curriculum teaching and learning
  • use their student achievement data to target resources for optimal effect
  • provide early, intensive support for those students who are at risk of falling behind
  • create productive partnerships with parents, whānau, hapū, iwi, communities and businesses that focus on educational success
  • retain high expectations of students to succeed in education as Māori.

Goals for this focus area

(In English- and Māori-medium education)

  1. All Māori students are engaged in quality teaching and learning experiences.
  2. All stakeholders with a role to play in Māori students’ educational success:
    • have high expectations for all Māori students
    • are sharing and growing knowledge and evidence of what works, and
    • are collaborating to achieve educational and Māori language outcomes.
  3. All Māori students have access to learning pathways of their choice that lead to successful educational and Māori language outcomes.

The key actions for achieving these goals

(In English-and Māori-medium education)

  1. Continue to enhance the quality of school leadership and teaching, and raise the professional status of teaching.
  2. Develop new and expand current teaching and learning approaches that are engaging, effective and enjoyable for all Māori students.
  3. Strengthen capability and responsibility for Māori educational and language outcomes across all stakeholders.
  4. Support all stakeholders to:
    • have high expectations for all Māori students
    • develop and use a range of networks to share and grow knowledge and evidence of what works to support excellent educational and Māori language outcomes.
  5. Develop and support clear pathways that lead to excellent educational and Māori language outcomes.

Focus area 4: Tertiary education

Desired outcomes for this focus area

Māori succeed at higher levels of tertiary education.

Why focus on tertiary education?

Ka Hikitia – Accelerating Success 2013-2017 identifies tertiary education as a focus area because higher-level tertiary qualifications increase income and employment opportunities.

In recent years, there have been improvements in participation and achievement at higher levels for all students, including Māori. However, the significant participation and achievement gap between Māori and non-Māori hasn't reduced, so more work is needed.

Tertiary education plays an important role in sustaining and revitalising the Māori language and mātauranga Māori.

Goals for this focus area

  1. Māori participate and achieve at all levels at least on a par with other students in tertiary education.
  2. Māori attain the knowledge, skills and qualifications that enable them to participate and achieve at all levels of the workforce.
  3. Grow research and development of mātauranga Māori across the tertiary sector.
  4. Increase participation in Māori language and completion at higher levels by improving the quality of Māori language teaching and provision.

The key actions for achieving these goals

We all have a role to play in supporting Māori students to enjoy and achieve education success.

In the short term, the Ministry of Education’s as well as education, business, innovation and employment sector agencies’ actions include (but are not limited to):

  • expanding trades training for Māori
  • maintaining a strong performance element to tertiary funding to ensure providers are accountable and have the incentives to support better education outcomes for Māori students
  • continuing to improve the information available on tertiary education – particularly on careers advice, employment outcomes and skills in demand – for Māori students, whānau, communities and iwi to enable them to make informed education choices
  • examining existing support for research based on mātauranga Māori as part of the reviews of the Performance-Based Research Fund and the Centres of Research Excellence.

In the longer term, the Ministry of Education’s and education, business, innovation and employment sector agencies’ actions include (but are not limited to):

  • supporting approaches to up-skill Māori in the workforces by connecting tertiary education with the Māori economic development initiatives
  • growing the research available on effective teaching and learning for Māori students so providers know what they can do to support students
  • ensuring that Māori students’ success is more transparent in NZQA’s quality assessment of tertiary providers, so students, parents and whānau can better judge individual providers, improving the quality of Māori-medium initial teacher education
  • providing clear, quality Māori language pathways through tertiary education to support improvement in language proficiency
  • looking for opportunities for better inclusion of mātauranga Māori in tertiary programmes.

Focus area 5: Organisational success

Desired outcome for this focus area

The performance of the Ministry of Education and education sector agencies creates the conditions for Māori students to enjoy and achieve education success as Māori.

Why focus on organisational success?

The Ministry of Education, the Education Review Office (ERO) and education sector agencies play a key role in co-ordinating the actions of Ka Hikitia – Accelerating Success 2013-2017 and are best placed to oversee implementation across all five focus areas.

The Ministry of Education can also drive steadfast implementation of Ka Hikitia – Accelerating Success 2013-2017 by connecting its actions with other key Ministry of Education strategies and the strategies of the ERO and other education agencies.

Goals for this focus area

  1. The Ministry of Education provides strong leadership to all relevant government agencies and the education sector that supports Māori enjoying and achieving education success as Māori.
  2. Ka Hikitia – Accelerating Success 2013-2017 and evidence of what works for Māori students are embedded into all education sector agencies’ planning and accountability processes.
  3. The Ministry of Education and education sector agencies take steps to increase their capacity and capability to lift the performance of the education system for Māori students.

The key actions for achieving these goals

  1. Continue to build the Ministry of Education, ERO and education sector agencies’ capability and commitment to lifting the performance of the education system for Māori students, including implementing:
    • Whakapūmautia, Papakōwhaitia, Tau Ana-Grasp, Embrace and Realise: Conducting Excellent Education Relationships between Iwi and the Ministry of Education
    • Tau Mai Te Reo – The Māori Language in Education Strategy
    • Tātai Pou: competency framework
    • Ka Hikitia Measurable Gains Framework.
  2. Develop shared implementation plans to deliver on the goals and actions of Ka Hikitia – Accelerating Success 2013-2017, supported by building capability across the Ministry of Education and education sector agencies, and improving monitoring, evaluation and measuring of progress.

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