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Case study: Taumarunui High School
Sections
Schools' professional development focus
The professional development activities at Taumarunui High School focused on marae-based wananga aimed to grow teacher capacity in:
- the use of instructional te reo Māori vocabulary
- understanding Treaty of Waitangi responsibilities in classroom and school-wide practices
- assisting students to set goals
- relationship building strategies
- varied approaches to teaching and learning.
Background
Taumarunui High School is a decile two, co-educational, state secondary school with a roll of 550 students. Forty-six percent of the student population is Māori and 54 percent are non-Māori. It is the second largest secondary school in the central King Country and the roll has grown 10 percent since 2000. The core student group of 48 students involved in the Te Kauhua initiative was predominantly students in the kapa haka, te pihinga, or the year 10 te reo Māori class.
There are 42 teachers on the staff at Taumarunui High School, five being Māori. High staff turnover is a characteristic at the school. Only 26 of the 42 teachers currently on staff remained throughout the Te Kauhua project.
Twelve teachers were invited to form the core focus group that was involved in classroom observations looking at the effectiveness of various teaching and learning strategies. The teachers included:
- five heads of department
- a guidance counsellor
- two deputy principals
- three teachers
- a resource teacher of learning and behaviour (RTLB).
Three of these 12 staff were Māori, the other nine of non-Māori origin. Two co-facilitators – a deputy principal and a non-teaching appointee – were responsible for leading the pilot over its duration. The senior management team was fully involved in the project, as was the whānau support group. All staff participated in five wananga held over the pilot period.
Intended outcomes
The intended outcomes of the Te Kauhua Pilot at Taumarunui High School were:
- enhanced Māori student retention, participation, and success rates
- enhanced relationships across the wider school community
- increased staff awareness of tikanga Māori
- developed teacher efficacy in terms of pedagogy and responsiveness to Māori students.
A number of data collection methods were used to evidence shifts in teacher and/or student behaviour, attitudes, and achievement. These included school-wide data statistics, school-wide academic achievement data, classroom observations, and focus group discussions.
The Te Kauhua journey at Taumarunui High School has involved teachers, students, parents, and whānau. The pilot was introduced to parent and whānau and students at a hui and they were invited to be part of a focus group that was monitored throughout the pilot.
Participants who agreed to be part of the pilot officially "signed in" and the project was overt to all parties from conception. As a result of the pilot, formal homework classes were initiated twice per week, inter-house kapa haka was instigated, and a tutor was assigned to share skills in mau rakau.
The full school community including teachers, senior management, the board of trustees, and whānau attended the five marae-based wananga. The foci of these wananga included:
- instruction in basic te reo Māori vocabulary
- a workshop on the responsibilities of educators and educational organisations in terms of the Treaty of Waitangi
- assistance in helping students to set goals – a template was developed for this purpose
- relationship building strategies
- teacher effectiveness training.
The teacher effectiveness training focused on introducing teachers to new learning and teaching strategies that support a shift from transmission models to interactional classroom environments.
The 12 teachers in the core Te Kauhua group participated in classroom-based video recorded observations of their practice. A local retired principal conducted the observations. These were followed up with a workshop, in which the video was viewed and open discussion of the effectiveness and impact of the observed practice occurred.
Following observation rounds, the group of core teachers met as a focus group and agreed upon particular strategies to implement in their classrooms in an endeavour to improve their practice and ultimately, Māori student achievement. The effectiveness of these strategies was evaluated at the end of each term. In these ways, professional development assistance was provided on an individual basis, in focus groups, and as a whole staff activity at the wananga.
Ongoing staff, student and whānau evaluations were conducted over the duration of the pilot. Issues arising from the data were used to inform each subsequent stage of the professional development initiative.
Future professional development will continue to address issues around establishing relationships and developing and maintaining relationships between teachers and students, so that more effective teaching is facilitated. Ongoing community relationship building is also planned, as are continuing wananga, te reo Māori lessons for staff, Treaty of Waitangi workshops and Māori education.
Key results
The data indicate some positive outcomes from the Te Kauhua initiative including:
- a growing valuing and awareness amongst staff of the paramount importance of relationship building in addressing issues of student retention and success
- an increasing number of teachers developing culturally inclusive classroom practices. This is attributed to the full staff professional development activities including in particular, te reo me ona tikanga a focus on relationship building, and the utilisation of professional readings linking theory to practice.
- indications of enhanced learning and teaching environments and a shift in some classes from traditional to discursive teaching practices, contributing to improved Māori student attendance. For example, female Māori student attendance increased 10 percent and male Māori attendance increased by 2 percent over the two-year period from 2001–2003.
- student goal setting being embedded as a school-wide practice and weekly tutorial support for every student to work toward goal achievement
- a four-fold increase over the last five years in the number of Māori students leaving year 13 with a qualification
- a 20 percent reduction over the last five years in the number of Māori students leaving school with no qualifications
- a 33 percent increase over the past five years in the number of Māori students remaining in school to complete year 13
- a greater percentage of Māori students (81percent) achieving national qualification framework credits, than non-Māori (79 percent).
Lessons for ongoing practice
There are clear implications for teachers and school communities from this pilot research.
First, the success of any initiative to enhance Māori student achievement rests upon the unqualified support and participation of the principal, senior management team, board of trustees, teaching staff, whānau, and the wider community. The profiling of such a project in the school is critical, as is Māori consultation and representation.
Second, enabling structures and processes are fundamental to staff engagement and commitment. For instance, the allocation of management units, off-site professional development opportunities, full involvement of whānau, and resource allocation are key factors to the success of such an initiative.
Finally, regular staff, student, and whānau evaluations are necessary to inform future decision-making. The collection of meaningful data that evidences shifts in teacher and/or student behaviour, attitudes, and achievement is critical to gaining local and national credibility. Feedback to key stakeholders from such evaluations and data gathering is also requisite to ensuring transparency and reciprocity in the process.
Conclusion
The Te Kauhua Pilot has afforded Taumarunui High School the opportunity to engage in whānau consultation and a range of staff professional development activities that are showing initial indications of positive outcomes for Māori students. There remains much work to be done in terms of developing the foundations laid in growing staff awareness of tikanga Māori and professional development in interactional strategies that support Māori student achievement.
The on-going challenge for Taumarunui High School is to focus on the future by supporting quality teaching, by quality teachers, for quality outcomes, in a culturally responsive school community.