Ka Hikitia – Ka Hāpaitia (The Māori Education Strategy)
Current information about planning for 2026Please note that some information in this article may soon be incorrect due to the Education and Training Act Amendment Bill #2 that is currently before Parliament. We will endeavour to update this article as soon as practicable after any legislative changes are made. Of note and still subject to final Government approval is:
The Bill is expected to go before Parliament again in mid-October with Royal assent before the end of 2025. |
Māori learners collectively experience a worse education outcome compared to other New Zealanders.
Ka Hikitia – Ka Hāpaitia aims to change that by focusing all early learning, schooling, and tertiary institutions on the same goal:
"Māori enjoying and achieving education success as Māori, as they develop the skills to participate in te ao Māori, Aotearoa, and the wider world."
What came before?
Ka Hikitia – Managing for Success (2008-2012) set the direction for improving the education system for Māori students.
Ka Hikitia – Accelerating Success (2013-2017) was a refreshed version of the strategy aimed to transform the education system and ensure Māori enjoy educational success as Māori as the norm.
Basically, allowing all students to realise their potential through education.
What is Ka Hikitia – Ka Hāpaitia?
The 2020 Ka Hikitia – Ka Hāpaitiaopen_in_new is the latest version of the strategy.
Ka Hikitia means to "step up" or "lengthen one's stride."
The strategy sets out how the Ministry of Education will work with education services to support Māori learners and their whānau, hapū, and iwi.
Boards are obliged to implement this strategy and may need to hui with whānau about the strategy to address whānau needs adequately.
A school's whānau, hapū and iwi will have diverse perspectives about their children's learning experiences and curriculum.
As well as schools, the groups involved include the Ministry of Education, Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu, Education New Zealand, Education Review Office, New Zealand Qualifications Authority, The Teaching Council Aotearoa New Zealand, Tertiary Education Commission, and NZSBA.
There are five guiding principles for all these groups to follow:
Excellent outcomes: supporting Māori learners and their whānau to achieve excellent education outcomes.
Belonging: ensuring Māori learners and their whānau have a strong sense of belonging across our education system.
Strengths-based: recognising and building on the strengths of Māori learners and their whānau.
Productive partnerships: supporting strong relationships between learners and whānau, hapū, iwi, educators, and others to support excellent outcomes.
Te Tiriti o Waitangi: giving practical effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi in the education system.
As well as education, this strategy has significant social, cultural, health, and economic impacts on all New Zealand learners.
This is obvious when you read the strategy's outcome domains:
Te Whānau: Education provision responds to learners within the context of their whanau.
Te Tangata: Māori are free from racism, discrimination, and stigma in education.
Te Kanorautanga: Māori are diverse and need to be understood in the context of their diverse aspirations and lived experiences.
Te Tuakiritanga: Identity, language, and culture matter for Māori learners.
Te Rangatiratanga: Māori exercise their authority and agency in education.
Incorporation of Māori identity language and culture is required by Ka Hikitia – Ka Hāpaitia (Te Tuakiritanga), but boards need to be aware there is diversity in language and culture – even within the community of a single school.
How will we know if the strategy is working?
Ka Hikitia – Ka Hāpaitia gives excellent guidance and a national approach to improving the systemic failings of education to generations of Māori children – making it less about children or whānau improving.
If a school is doing well, they will see more Māori whānau engaged.
There will be a subtle but significant change in the school's focus, making them aware of what they have control over.
To help stop every school in the country from using the same approach, it's important to use local solutions for local people.
These are some specific indicators of success:
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Māori learners are engaged and achieve excellent education outcomes.
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Māori whānau, hapū, and iwi are active partners with education services, defining and supporting excellent outcomes for Māori learners.
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Te reo and tikanga Māori are evident in everyday activities in the school or kura.
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Local whānau, hapū, and iwi have a trusting relationship with schools.
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Schools do not rely on their Māori communities to do the work of the school staff. Their contribution is valued, their involvement is not taken for granted, and they don't feel overworked.
Education services include early learning, schools, kura, and tertiary providers.
The strategy's success can be measured through participation data, NCEA achievement data, NZQF achievement data (other achievement measures), and engagement surveys.
The strategy's success may also be measured by the health of relationships between agencies/entities and their Tiriti partners.
What is your board's role in all of this?
Section 5 of the Education and Training Act 2020open_in_new outlines the education and learning objectives for early childhood, primary, and secondary education in New Zealand.
The first objective is "to help each child and young person attain their educational potential."
This means your board is accountable for the performance of the school. It also includes making decisions that support Māori learners.
Under Section 127open_in_new of the Act, your board must ensure it:
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works to ensure that the school's plans, policies, and local curriculum reflect local tikanga Māori, mātauranga Māori, and te ao Māori,
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takes all reasonable steps to make instruction available in tikanga Māori and te reo Māori, and
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achieves equitable outcomes for Māori students.
For the above reasons, it's essential all board members understand Ka Hikitia – Ka Hāpaitia.
Check your strategic plan focuses on Māori student achievement, and strategic goals reflect the aspirations of the school's Māori community.
Your board needs to monitor progress towards its strategic goals to ensure the school's targets are met and that resources are used appropriately.
You can use the following resource to help you:
Measures for learners and their whānau
Your board can also use the measures for learners and their whānauopen_in_new given in Ka Hikitia – Ka Hāpaitia.
Te Whānau
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Māori learners have high levels of attendance and participation in our education services.
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Māori whānau have regular and positive engagements with our education services.
Te Tangata
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Māori learners and whānau feel a strong sense of belonging in our education system and are free from racism.
Te Kanorautanga
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Māori learners are achieving excellent and equitable education outcomes.
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Our education workforce looks more like the population that it serves. It is skilled in engaging with Māori learners and whānau.
Te Tuakiritanga
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Māori learners and whānau tell us they see and feel their identity, language, and culture daily in our education services.
Te Rangatiratanga
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Whānau, hapū, iwi and Māori are participating in and making decisions about the education of Māori learners.
Together with the principal and teaching staff, all school boards must report to their communities on the progress and achievement of students as a whole and students with specified needs.
Questions your board could ask
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What is our understanding of the Ka Hikitia – Ka Hāpaitia goals, guiding principles, and actions?
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Consider the actions from Ka Hikitia – Ka Hāpaitia? Which actions are most relevant to schools and kura?
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Consider how your school or kura can incorporate the practical and successful approaches within Ka Hikitia – Ka Hāpaitia, as well as your own philosophical documents.
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Is our strategic plan focused on Māori student achievement? If so, how?
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Do the strategic goals reflect the aspirations of the school's Māori community?
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How are we monitoring and reporting on our progress against these goals?
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Are Māori students achieving education success while maintaining and enhancing their identity, language, and culture as Māori?
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Have we engaged with the Hautū: Māori Cultural Responsiveness Self Review tool for school boards?
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How could our board use this tool to ensure that we implement and uphold our obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi?
Templates, resources, and references
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