Indigenous student voice: the astute witnesses of schooling

Abstract

This paper reports the views of Indigenous Māori students (aged 5–13 years) regarding the ways they encounter and experience teaching and learning within their schools. The ten schools that participated in the research are situated in a low socio-economic urban area of the North Island of New Zealand. While the research was being conducted, the teachers and leaders employed in the schools were engaged in a professional development program focussed on developing culturally relevant teaching and pedagogical practices to support increased student success and achievement. Māori students described the teaching and learning factors they perceived positively and negatively impacted their success and motivation to achieve. The findings highlighted the inconsistent levels of support felt by Māori students, their self-concept and perceptions of being ‘average’, and the impacts teacher practices can have on their academic self-efficacy.