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Case study: Rotorua Boys' High School
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Background
Rotorua Boys' High School is a decile four state secondary school with a roll of 1150 students. Forty-five percent of students are Māori and the school employs 28 Māori staff members. Whilst there was some full staff professional development, the focus group involved in the Te Kauhua Pilot was a core of ten teachers and a resource teacher of learning and behaviour (RTLB) working with a facilitator and other external consultants and professionals.
Intended outcomes
The intended outcomes of the Te Kauhua initiative at Rotorua Boys' High School were:
- to maintain and further develop the partnerships established with the school's Māori community to achieve a shared vision and collective school goals
- to develop an improved understanding of Māori learners and Māori pedagogy
- to improve the teaching and learning environment using strategies known to facilitate the academic achievement of Māori students.
The Te Kauhua journey focused upon four key initiatives:
- increasing Māori student achievement in the National Certificate in Educational Achievement (NCEA)
- implanting a mentoring programme for senior academic students
- raising the expectations of teaching staff in terms of Māori student capability/achievement
- growing "culturally located classrooms within a culturally responsive school".
The Te Kauhua project was guided by an action research approach in which teachers were supported to become researchers in, and reflective of, their practice. Participating teachers engaged in action research as they planned, implemented, evaluated, and monitored the effectiveness of a variety of classroom practice interventions.
A number of data collection methods were used to evidence enhanced achievement outcomes for Māori students including: pre- and post-tests; staff, parent, and student surveys; school statistics; diagnostic tests, and New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) statistics.
Key results
Three broad outcomes were achieved at Rotorua Boys' High School as a result of the Te Kauhua initiative. These included enhanced Māori student achievement in NCEA; whole staff development in improved understanding of Māori pedagogy; and the implementation of two models designed to improve Māori student achievement – Māori Mentoring and the Māoritanga Academy.
Māori student achievement in 2002 NCEA outcomes were compared nationally to the five other boys schools with 40 percent or more Māori students. Rotorua Boys' High School students represented the greatest number of achieved results, the second highest number of merit passes, and the third greatest number of excellence results. Furthermore, Rotorua Boys' High School students achieved the highest number of achieved results across 44 schools nationwide with 40 percent or more Māori students.
Staff development involving Treaty of Waitangi workshops, information on Māori pedagogical approaches and learning styles, and critical factors in addressing cultural diversity in the classroom, resulted in a marked reduction in deficit theorising amongst staff. Subsequently, there has been a growing valuing of the paramount importance of relationships (student, parent, teacher), school system alignment, and culturally diverse and inclusive classroom strategies, as mechanisms for maximising achievement opportunities for Māori students.
The mentoring programme for year 12 and 13 students is based upon manaakitanga (the ethic of care, meeting physical and emotional needs). Wananga are held to enhance Māori student achievement opportunities. Results of this initiative are yet to be realised.
The Māoritanga Academy is a whānau-based unit for at-risk students, designed to enhance year 12 Māori student retention into year 13. Students are selected for the academy based on their commitment to Māoritanga. Relationship building is the foundation stone upon which the academy's success lies.
Outcomes for the students in the Māoritanga Academy have been extremely positive. For example, in 2002, the highest number of achievement and/or unit standard credits gained by any one student was 106; the lowest number was 67 credits. These results compare favourably to those of similar students who previously would have left Rotorua Boys' High School with little formal educational achievement.
Lessons for ongoing practice
Two clear implications emerge for teachers and schools from this pilot research:
- The success of any initiative to enhance Māori student achievement rests upon the unqualified support and leadership of the principal.
- It must be recognised that in order to close the gap between teacher understanding of the need and/or desire for change, and the enactment of such change, time is required.
One of the keys to effecting culturally located classrooms and subsequently, culturally located schools, lies in the provision of a comprehensive professional development programme and ensuring that this development translates over time, into practice.
The professional development needs to focus on the pedagogical approaches and strategies that support Māori student achievement, rather than on subject content and organisation. It is important to realise that such change takes school wide teacher commitment and time.
Conclusion
The Te Kauhua Pilot has enabled Rotorua Boys' High School to explore a number of professional development strategies. Initial data in NCEA results suggest that the heightened awareness amongst staff of the importance of relationships, academic feedback, and feedforward, versus behavioural feedback, curriculum co-construction, and acknowledgement of students as culturally located learners, is contributing to enhanced outcomes for Māori students.
Regular and detailed measurement/evaluation of changes in teacher strategy is now needed, to assess the ongoing impact of pedagogical interventions. Further, it is now necessary for the lessons from the Te Kauhua pilot to be embedded in the school's strategic plan, to ensure the journey continues with a focus on raising Māori student achievement. This remains the challenge in the post-pilot phase at Rotorua Boys' High school.