A Collaborative Exploration of Ako Māori and its Impact on Māori Learners in Legal Studies

How can Māori culturally preferred pedagogies be implemented in a secondary classroom in a unit standard assessment context? What impact does this implementation have on the emotional engagement, intellectual reasoning and intrinsic growth of the learners? This research was undertaken by way of “interviews as chat” and journal recording, followed by a collaborative storying session which occurred around emerging themes. Formative data collection occurred from a question/suggestion box, work samples, attendance data and my journal. Lastly summative data was collected through a second round of interviews. This research concludes that a collaborative exploration of ako Māori is of significant benefit to Māori learners, although the Pākehā-centric assessment system restricts a teacher's ability to fully embrace a kaupapa Māori educational paradigm.