There is agreement that teaching practices should be responsive to the cultural identities of their students, but less clarity regarding both the specifics of culturally responsive pedagogies and effective strategies for implementing them in classrooms across the curriculum. A mixed-methods research approach evaluated the impact of teacher professional development to instil culturally responsive pedagogies in secondary classrooms. Results are reported based on systematic observations of over 400 classrooms at 32 mainstream schools across different subjects and interviews with 214 indigenous Māori students. The majority of teachers showed evidence of culturally responsive practices, and students were able to describe examples of teachers caring for them as culturally located individuals. Implications are discussed for teacher professional development designed to impact student achievement including the limitations of relying on teacher change alone for school reform to make a difference for students.

For Māori in New Zealand, COVID-19 is remarkable in two particular ways. First, we bet the odds for the first time in contemporary history. Forecasts predicted that Māori would have double the infection and mortality rates of non-Māori. However, as at June 2020, Māori have a disproportionately lower infection rate than non-Māori. This is perhaps the only example in our contemporary history of the Māori community having better social outcomes than non-Māori. Second is that attribution is due, perhaps not exclusively, but materially to a self-determination social movement within our Indigenous communities that the pandemic response unveiled and accelerated. This article comments on this self-determination social movement, with a particular focus on how that movement has manifested within the South Island of New Zealand. We specifically draw on the work of Te Pūtahitanga o Te Waipounamu, the South Island Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency to illustrate our analysis.

Mäori infection rates from Covid-19 are perhaps the only example in Aotearoa New Zealand’s contemporary history where Mäori have achieved better social outcomes than non-Mäori. This remarkable, and unanticipated, outcome is potentially a golden precedent for policymakers if we can determine the critical factors that reversed embedded trends of disproportionate disadvantage. This article argues that, while the national lockdown and science-based approach were important enablers of these outcomes, the nationwide Mäori response to Covid-19 should also be recognised as critical. It describes the key components of the Mäori response to Covid-19 and argues that, in composite, the Mäori response demonstrates the value and positive impact of ‘strengths-based’ policy at scale, as well as providing insight into key policy settings that would enable the positive outcomes in respect of Covid-19 to be replicated across other important policy areas.

This article presents a case study of a unique New Zealand professional development programme, Te Kotahitanga, for mainstream secondary school teachers. Findings discussed are drawn from an independent evaluation of the programme across 22 secondary schools. The professional development approach attempted to reposition the relationship between teachers and Indigenous Māori students, and enhance Māori student outcomes. Interviews with 150 teachers across participating schools investigated teacher perceptions of impact on classroom practice and student outcomes across subjects. The professional development programme was associated with shifts in teachers' understandings of their positioning within classrooms and relationships with and expectations for Māori students. Results also highlight ongoing challenges in teachers' repositioning and the development of new relationship-based approaches. The implications for teaching practice and professional learning programmes and recommendations for further research are discussed.

This article presents the developmental stages of a nationwide whole-school strengths-based behavioural intervention by Māori and centring on Māori interests; an initiative that has the potential to transform educational success and opportunities. The initial phase involved a cycle of data collection. This was conducted via a series of focus groups held with Māori specialists, practitioners, families and students, to support the development of a kaupapa Māori approach to school-wide positive behaviour. The evidence that was gathered indicated that a systems framework needed to emanate out of a Māori worldview, be inclusive of family and community, and support the notion that Māori children are able to learn as Māori — to enjoy positive cultural and identity development throughout their schooling. The findings in this article describe the core features that underscore how behaviour should be shaped and supported within schools, from a Māori perspective.