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Leadership in Māori Partial Immersion Bilingual Education in Aotearoa/New Zealand

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Abstract

Good school leadership skills are critical to positive student learning outcomes; however, within Māori-medium programmes, leaders need additional skills pertaining to the Māori world and bilingual education best practices. Level 2 Māori medium programmes with 51–80% Māori language instruction offer a unique brand of bilingual education to the New Zealand context with its close balance between English and te reo Māori instruction, making them a good prospect for future growth. This article reports on a mixed-methods project that used a nationwide online survey and follow-up interviews with Māori medium leaders. The findings revealed a high level of personal commitment in a complex and challenging environment, but low expectations for student bilingual outcomes. Leaders' knowledge of bilingual education models and tikanga (culture) Māori was also weak. The outcomes lead to a call for additional support for principals to realise the potential these programmes offer for bilingual education in Aotearoa/New Zealand.

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Notes

  1. Sheltered programmes are used to teach English language learners. They teach the school curriuculum using simplified English language (Baker and Wright, 2017).

  2. Two-way programmes involve two distinct groups of students with different first languages.

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  1. Te Kura Kaupapa o Bernard Fergusson, Ngāruawāhia, New Zealand

    Richard Hill

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Hill, R. Leadership in Māori Partial Immersion Bilingual Education in Aotearoa/New Zealand. NZ J Educ Stud 57, 159–171 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40841-021-00230-3

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