Contextualising assessment within Aotearoa New Zealand: drawing from mātauranga Māori

Abstract

There is long-standing disparity between the schooling success of many Māori (Indigenous peoples of Aotearoa New Zealand) learners and non-Māori learners. While much work internationally and nationally has focussed on culturally responsive pedagogies, the idea of culturally sustaining assessment has received less attention. Given the historical dominance of a West-centric education system, assessment practices within Aotearoa New Zealand schools have not necessarily embedded a Māori worldview. Informed by cultural advice, assessment constructs that embody manaakitanga (care, respect, hospitality), wānanga (a forum, a sharing of knowledge, a place of learning) and culturally sustaining pedagogy were examined alongside a literature review and analysis of interviews with four education practitioners. Results show that assessment can be designed to acknowledge Māori learners’ capabilities and educational successes. Findings, presented using a Hauora Approach to Assessment (Well-being Approach to Assessment) framework, provide much needed ways for teachers to contextualise assessment within mātauranga Māori (Maori knowledge system).

Keywords

assessment literacy culturally responsive pedagogy culturally sustaining pedagogy equitable assessment Indigenous education mātauranga Māori

Within Aotearoa New Zealand’s education system, there is historical disparity between the highest and lowest school achievers, with a disproportionate number of Māori (Indigenous peoples of Aotearoa New Zealand) learners represented across areas such as low attendance and leaving exemptions (Campbell, 2016; Education Review Office, 2010; Ministry of Education [MOE], 2017). By 2030, it is estimated that 27% of the student population will be Māori (Tomorrow Schools Independent Taskforce, 2018), yet many Māori learners still feel marginalised by the education system, and experience negative teacher and peer expectations and racial stereotyping (Office of Children’s Commissioner, 2018; Tomorrow Schools Independent Taskforce, 2018). Heightened by the challenge that there are relatively few Māori teachers within the system (Education Counts, 2019), to reform the status quo, non-Māori teachers must understand how to ensure their practice is culturally sustaining for Māori learners. Indeed, the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand holds the high expectation of teachers that they take cognisance of their role in learners’ lives and honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi (The Treaty of Waitangi) in their educational decisions (Education Council New Zealand [Matatū Aotearoa], 2017). The study discussed in this article presents one example of Pākehā (non-Māori peoples of Aotearoa New Zealand of European descent) educators’ attempts to respond to these requirements in culturally suitable ways.

To date, in Aotearoa New Zealand, the MOE’s primary strategy for addressing inequitable achievement outcomes and developing pathways for excellence has been to seek to align teaching approaches with culturally responsive pedagogy and key tenets of Māori achieving success as Māori. Two core strategies targeted at schools are the Māori Education Strategy 2013–2017: Ka Hikitia—Accelerating Success (MOE, 2013), and Tātaiako: Cultural Competencies for Teachers of Māori Learners (Education Council New Zealand [Matatū Aotearoa], 2011). These documents provide schools with guidance on ways teaching and learning can reflect Māori values and worldviews, respond to whānau (family) and iwi (tribe) aspirations, and foster partnership between schools and whānau.

Assessment is inextricable from teaching and learning (Absolum et al., 2009; Heritage, 2018). How assessment of students’ progress and achievement is derived, including what and how assessment information is used, directly impacts teachers’ work and students’ decisions about further learning (Absolum et al., 2009). Consequently, those within the education system have an ethical responsibility to ensure assessment design and practice is appropriate for all learners. Schools and teachers in Aotearoa New Zealand have obligations to embrace and reflect Te Tiriti o Waitangi in their work. The MOE’s efforts notwithstanding, given the historical dominance of West-centric assessment development in Aotearoa New Zealand, system-wide assessment constructs favour the Pākehā worldview (Bishop et al., 2009; Mahuika et al., 2011). This concern is raised in a recent review of the Tātaiako strategy through which Hetaraka (2019) engages a Kaupapa Māori (theory based on Māori knowledge) theory lens to analyse the cultural competencies for teaching and learning. While acknowledging Tātaiako as a starting point for transforming Māori learners’ education experiences, Hetaraka (2019) also problematises Tātaiako’s potential to raise Māori schooling achievement. Hetaraka (2019) questions whether the strategy can be authentically and fully realised when it is situated within a system that remains to be influenced by past education contexts, for example, pointing out that the document may be interpreted by schools to reduce deeply cultural concepts to a definitive set of teaching strategies, and not tackle cultural inequities within the delivery of Aotearoa New Zealand’s curriculum (Hetaraka, 2019).

Alongside actualising the intended outcomes of Ka Hikitia (MOE, 2013), and Tātaiako (Education Council New Zealand [Matatū Aotearoa], 2011), assessment within schools must enhance the learning and well-being of all our learners (Darr, 2018), so that their inherent strengths, talents, and capabilities are realised. Furthermore, teachers must be able to embed mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge system) within assessment structures to enable and advocate for Māori learners’ schooling success (MOE, 2014). While literature and policy support materials regarding teacher pedagogies that are culturally sustaining for Māori learners are increasingly available, there is currently much less guidance regarding culturally sustaining assessment practice.

This article reports on a study motivated by concerns regarding equity within assessment structures and practises used in many Aotearoa New Zealand schools. Using Tātaiako (Education Council New Zealand [Matatū Aotearoa], 2011) as a basis, the study examined elements of assessment design and practice that have potential for benefitting Māori learners. Core principles of mātauranga Māori and cultural sustainability were explored. First, we discuss mātauranga Māori and mātauranga-a-iwi (knowledge system distinctive to an iwi), key ideas of culturally sustaining pedagogy, and essential components of school assessment. The research design is explained, and study findings are presented in relation to one outcome of the study—a new Hauora Approach to Assessment (Well-being Approach to Assessment) framework. Descriptions of teachers’ assessment literacy in practice, contextualised through manaakitanga (care, respect, hospitality) and wānanga (a forum, a sharing of knowledge, a place of learning) and intended to benefit Māori learners, are presented. Finally, we illustrate ways teachers can engage deeply with Tātaiako (Education Council New Zealand [Matatū Aotearoa], 2011), and challenge all teachers to urgently embrace assessment practice that is equitable and enhances well-being, particularly for Māori learners.

Mātauranga Māori and mātauranga-a-iwi

Mātauranga Māori is a broad cultural knowledge system that reaches far beyond a simple definition of Māori knowledge. Mātauranga Māori embraces the past, present, and future, and embodies all aspects of cultural knowledge bases such as traditions, practices, values, principles, language, and contemporary ways of thinking and doing (Mead, 2012). Although concepts and principles essential to te ao Māori (the Māori world) lie in mātauranga Māori, they are applied through mātauranga-a-iwi, as iwi have distinctive ways of implementing the knowledge system specific to their immediate environment. Mātauranga Māori can therefore be seen as a more decontextualised and generic view of the cultural knowledge system than mātauranga-a-iwi, which describes values and practices at an iwi level (Doherty, 2012, 2019). Although challenging for English-medium schools, mātauranga Māori and mātauranga-a-iwi are a critical component of teaching and learning. It is through contextualising teaching and learning within students’ environments and worldview that students form connections, develop a sense of security, and are motivated to achieve (Doherty, 2019).

Culturally sustaining pedagogy

Building on previous work on culturally responsive pedagogy (Gay, 2010) and culturally relevant pedagogy (Ladson-Billings, 1995), targeted at improving teacher practice in racially and ethnically diverse classrooms in the USA, culturally sustaining pedagogy has increasing standing in education literature (McCarty & Lee, 2014; Paris, 2012; Paris & Alim, 2014). Cultural sustainability describes deliberate teaching practices that enable learners to foster and maintain their cultural identity and achieve academic success within contemporary plural society (Paris, 2012). To be culturally sustaining in practice and perspective is to embrace historical practices and heritages while drawing from and supporting learners’ present-day community-based ways of thinking and doing. Culturally sustaining practice acknowledges and strengthens learners’ counter-hegemonic capabilities, so that learners can critique historical and contemporary oppressive practices (Paris & Alim, 2014). McCarty and Lee (2014) refer to culturally sustaining pedagogy as a revitalising pedagogy, because of its power to counteract colonisation’s disruptive legacy, such as mono-cultural education policy, loss of language, and a colonised perception of sovereignty, and thereby to revitalise the cultures of Indigenous peoples. Pivotal to culturally sustaining pedagogy is challenging decontextualised teaching programmes that place Western culture at the pinnacle of education achievement (McCarty & Lee, 2014). As non-Māori represent the majority of Aotearoa New Zealand’s teaching workforce (Education Counts, 2019), a critical component of their teaching role must be to embrace culturally sustaining pedagogy and the praxis-orientated and reflexive thinking and practice that comes with this.

School assessment in Aotearoa New Zealand

Our schools have freedom to design their own assessment processes, provided they fall within the parameters of the national education goals and follow the nation administration guidelines (Absolum et al., 2009; MOE, 2017, 2018). With the national curriculum interpreted in diverse localised ways, assessment design and practice also vary greatly from school to school. Many factors impact how well schools implement assessment, including a high-stakes summative assessment agenda (Darr, 2018; Hipkins & Cameron, 2018), diverse understandings of assessment across schools (Hipkins & Cameron, 2018), and varied consideration regarding the impact of assessment on learners (Absolum et al., 2009; Xu & Brown, 2016).

Assessment literacy, the knowledge and skills that teachers utilise when measuring learners’ education achievement, is essential for effective teaching and learning programmes (Booth et al., 2014; Darr, 2018; Xu & Brown, 2016). Assessment for learning is a powerful iterative classroom assessment approach that places emphasis on assessment aspects, such as students’ own assessment capabilities and ownership of learning, and effective feedback (Absolum et al., 2009; Heritage, 2018; MOE, 2011). Within assessment for learning, assessment literacy requires teachers to use assessment to maximise student engagement and capability, and to work alongside learners as partners (Booth et al., 2014; Darr, 2018; Gipps, 1999). Formative assessment has been highlighted as a suitable assessment approach for Māori learners when implemented equitably in relation to Māori learners (Bishop et al., 2007; Mahuika et al., 2011).

Two MOE position papers provide insights into effective assessment practice: The Ministry of Education Position Paper: Assessment (Schooling Sector) (MOE, 2011) and Rukuhia Rarangahia, Aromatawai: Ministry of Education Position Paper (MOE, 2014). To support teachers to develop their assessment practices so that Māori learners’ potential can be maximised, Rukuhia Rarangahia, Aromatawai (MOE, 2014) provides a conceptual approach to assessment distinctly grounded in Māori beliefs, values, and aspirations. In comparing aromatawai (assessment) to the harakeke (flax) plant, the framework emphasises holistic development and encourages teachers to consider how their assessment approaches contribute to learners’ well-being and growth. Embedded within aromatawai, ako (teaching and learning) and tairongo (senses) are situated as core foundations for teaching and learning with Māori learners. Ako is described as being based on the belief that children are born with inherent understandings of learning and an instinctual quality to seek and grow knowledge. As a process of learning, ako acknowledges whānau as the anchor for learning and encourages inclusion and collaboration. Implemented from an understanding of ako, the design and practice of aromatawai is informed by learners’ identities and occurs as an intrinsic part of teaching and learning programmes (MOE, 2014). Tairongo is described as the physical and feeling parts of the human body that engage the senses, including touch, taste, smell, sight, hearing, and intuition. Tairongo relates to teachers understanding themselves and their work, and helps them consider the world as their learners might see and experience it. Teaching practice that embeds an understanding of tairongo validates teachers using their intuition as a relevant tool for aromatawai (MOE, 2014).

The vision of the New Zealand Curriculum (MOE, 2007) encompasses the well-being of all learners being enhanced by assessment design and practices (Darr, 2018). Consideration of the influence on well-being of assessment is vital, especially in countries such as Aotearoa New Zealand, where Indigenous culture, language, and worldviews have been historically excluded from the schooling and education system. In contrast to a traditional West-centric view of education, a holistic and bicultural approach creates a culturally safe environment, where identity and self-worth are valued (Macfarlane et al., 2007).

In summary, although there is useful guiding literature and policy, there are few available examples of assessment practice culturally sustaining for Māori learners, or of how mātauranga Māori can be reflected in, or used to understand school-based assessment. This study examined perspectives regarding what is fundamental to the design and practice of classroom-based assessment that benefits Māori learners and acknowledges their capabilities and successes. Attention was given to identifying principles of mātauranga Māori represented in Tātaiako (Education Council New Zealand [Matatū Aotearoa], 2011) and the Effective Teaching Profile (Bishop et al., 2007) that are particularly suitable for assessment design and practice, and, with four experienced educators, examining how these principles might impact both teachers’ assessment literacy and their classroom assessment decision-making.

Methods

A kaiāwhina (helper, assistant) provided cultural guidance throughout the study and was pivotal in helping the Pākehā researcher develop an authentic, genuine, open, and appreciative approach for interviewing participants. The kaiāwhina supported determination of themes, and provided advice on specific Māori terms, their interpretations, and ways to centre analysis using a Māori perspective. Full ethical approval was gained for the study from the Human Ethics Committee, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington and all ethical requirements were followed.

Two qualitative data gathering methods were used: document analysis and semi-structured interviews. Thematic document analysis (Mutch, 2013) was used to identify key ideas within Tātaiako (Education Council New Zealand [Matatū Aotearoa], 2011), the Effective Teaching Profile, and Bishop et al.’s (2007) student interview descriptions. Individual, semi-structured interviews were conducted with four education practitioners from the primary and secondary composite, secondary, and tertiary sectors. Participants met at least four of five selection criteria: identifying as Māori, holding at least 5 years’ experience teaching Māori learners, having an understanding of mātauranga Māori principles within Tātaiako (Education Council New Zealand [Matatū Aotearoa], 2011), feeling confident sharing experiences of education in relation to assessment, and showing an interest in the study. Mutch’s (2013) thematic analysis approach was adapted to analyse interview data. To enhance consistency and integrity in locating categories, defining descriptions, and mapping out final themes, Braun and Clarke’s (2006) phases of thematic analysis were used to cross-check the analysis at each stage.

Literature and a conceptual framework (Xu & Brown, 2016) were used to devise a model for investigating the research question, providing a lens for collecting and making sense of the data (Figure 1). Xu and Brown’s (2016) framework illustrates aspects of assessment literacy and how they interrelate, such as developing a contextualised theory of assessment and understanding how to negotiate assessment within the limits of social and cultural values and norms. These components formed the basis of the devised model, helping shape steps for identifying principles of mātauranga Māori in Tātaiako (Education Council New Zealand [Matatū Aotearoa], 2011) and the Effective Teaching Profile (Bishop et al., 2007) particularly suitable for assessment design and practice, and that might impact teachers’ assessment literacy and classroom-based assessment decisions.

Figure 1.

Transforming assessment for equitable learning and student well-being: a methodological model for exploring teacher assessment literacy contextualised to benefit Māori learners.

Strategies used to reduce threats to credibility and ensure trustworthiness included minimising researcher bias using kaiāwhina peer review, researcher reflexivity, and theory triangulation. Methods triangulation, low-inference descriptors, incorporation of rich and detailed descriptions of the study context and study participants, and an audit trail (Ary et al., 2006; Johnson & Christensen, 2012) were also used.

Analysis

Manaakitanga and wānanga were identified as mātauranga Māori principles, represented in Tātaiako (Education Council New Zealand [Matatū Aotearoa], 2011) and the Effective Teaching Profile (Bishop et al., 2007), particularly pertinent for assessment design and practice. Manaakitanga resonates with the aspect of care emphasised within culturally linked pedagogies, the intertwined nature of learning and culture, and the importance of knowing self and others. Wānanga captures the significance of dialogue, power-sharing, and the potential for challenging the status quo. In exploring how manaakitanga and wānanga might impact teachers’ assessment literacy and the decisions they make about assessment in the classroom, themes and subthemes were created and described below.

Cross-checking data analysis using literature, consultation with the kaiāwhina, and repeatedly reading the voices of interview participants was critical for evaluating the suitability of themes and subthemes, and for respectfully representing a perspective on assessment for Māori learners. Cross-checking reinforced how manaakitanga and wānanga act as culturally embedded principles, and the extent to which embedding these concepts within English-medium education requires authentic and genuine knowledge of and commitment to Māori culture, language, experiences, and worldview. Cross-checking also reinforced that expressing manaakitanga and wānanga as a set of teaching strategies for assessment was inappropriate and in conflict with key tenets of culturally sustaining practice (McCarty & Lee, 2014; Paris, 2012; Paris & Alim, 2014). Finally, cross-checking enabled consideration of whanaungatanga (the concept of relationships) as a metaphor for valuing and establishing relationships with all those critical to student success, and as foundational for developing teachers’ cultural competencies.

Results

The results are presented as a series of ideals—as themes and subthemes—with a summary statement made for each, followed by key ideas from literature interwoven with ideas shared by participants. Considerations for teachers’ assessment literacy being contextualised to benefit Māori learners, and framing teacher and student interactions within the classroom using manaakitanga and wānanga are shared.

Manaakitanga

In this study, manaakitanga within the learning environment was strongly grounded in the student’s mana (status, presence, authority) and in teachers caring for learners as culturally located people. Learners participate as themselves, and benefit from everything education can provide (Bishop et al., 2007). The caring that occurs through manaakitanga is steadfast, encourages connections, and is not bound by arbitrary conditions (Macfarlane et al., 2007).

Ngā hononga (connectedness)

Assessment within connections-based classrooms acknowledge hauora (well-being, health) as vital for learning, where teacher and student interactions are framed by a belief of care, harbour a vision for fairness, and empower learners to engage fully in their schooling.

Care

Classroom practice involving assessment needs to acknowledge Macfarlane et al.’s (2007) view of the interconnected bond between care and learning. Participants believed that care was a reciprocal construct and felt teaching and learning should uplift the mana of learners, teachers, and others within the learning environment. From the participants’ perspectives, respect was given and received by everyone. Teachers are required to uphold a genuine duty of care for learners, while learners are expected to give the same commitment of care to others.

Three participants brought up holistic factors as worth considering alongside assessment data and shared their belief that providing for the whole child was paramount to learners’ learning. They valued the alignment between spiritual, emotional, physical, and familial dimensions of hauora, and discussed ways of eliminating barriers to learning located within these dimensions, such as access to food and feeling valued. Two participants identified that learning should not be separated from the ebbs and flows that occur in life’s cycles, believing that assessment should allow for the ups and downs that are a natural part of human life.

Empowerment

In this study, empowerment was seen as teachers relinquishing power and authority in the teaching and learning programme. Simultaneously, learners build confidence in their own learning and assessment capabilities, and their autonomy for school-based experiences is enhanced, for example, the learning contexts or their aspirations. When learners have greater control in their learning and ambitions, willingness and commitment is reciprocated (Smith, 2003). Three participants described scenarios for learners actualising empowerment. These included teachers accepting learners in their entirety, respecting learners’ self-expression, and embracing learners’ ambitions while providing unfailing support for success. By teachers being in partnership with learners, participants felt learners could achieve their future aspirations. Three participants discussed the influence of dispositions on learners’ success. They believed that a critical part of the teacher role was expecting and supporting learners to know, understand, and demonstrate key learning competencies and behaviours, such as resilience, perseverance, self-management, and high performance.

Fairness and justice

In determining equitable assessment, study findings suggested that teacher and student interactions need to be framed by equitable opportunities, including experiences and resources. From an equity stance, akin to teaching and learning from a broad set of strategies, and not a one-size-fits-all model (Berryman et al., 2018), the intent of assessment is not to provide the same opportunities for all, but rather to shape teaching and learning so that outcomes produce fair and just results (Klenowski, 2009).

Avenues for equitable assessment design and practice featured in three participants’ transcripts. These participants highlighted a broad view of assessment, attending to what learners could do, what they knew, how they knew, and next learning steps. From their contributions, it was clear they felt assessment needed to reflect authentic situations and student diversity and give learners some level of control in the assessment process. One participant saw possibilities in using group assessment, where learners contribute their capabilities with the collective, rather than being assessed as an individual.

For fair and just assessment design and practice, inclusive education is paramount. This means Māori learners’ background, experiences, cultural heritage, linguistic codes, and connections are components within assessment approaches (Absolum et al., 2009; Klenowski, 2009), rather than non-Māori learners being placed in a privileged position because their culture aligns with teachers’ assessment understandings, beliefs, and skills.

Ahurea tuakiri (cultural identity)

When assessment is influenced by strong understandings of identity, teachers’ practice honours and respects learners’ cultural identity, and they have a deep understanding of themselves, their assumptions, values, and beliefs and how these relate to the learning environment.

Awareness of self

When teachers’ awareness of self is embedded in assessment design and practice, they can celebrate the richness of society, keeping pace with learners’ diverse cultural practices and ways of being (Paris, 2012). They position themselves as connected participants in learners’ learning and are willing to be challenged (Bishop & Berryman, 2009; Bishop et al., 2007). Such teachers’ understanding and beliefs about Indigenous culture is not deficit led, nor acted out in detrimental ways, negative relationships, or lower achievement outcomes (Bishop & Berryman, 2009). They are reflective practitioners, who work to transform assumptions and prejudices within themselves, the education system, and society. Sadly, interview extracts emphasised that many teachers hold negative preconceived stereotypes and beliefs. Generally, participants felt student ethnicity, background, and behaviours were often viewed negatively, creating a significant barrier to learning. As an alternative, participants encouraged teachers to spend time understanding their own teacher identity and to challenge deficit ways of thinking.

Student identity

Validating learners as culturally located people is upheld in assessment design and practice. Teacher and student interactions should emphasise progress and academic success, while valuing learners’ cultural identity (Berryman et al., 2018). Teachers and learners celebrate that Māori learners may have experiences, understandings, and a worldview that is dissimilar to their own (Bishop et al., 2007).

Learners are confident in the Māori and Pākehā worlds and participate with uplifted mana, esteem, and success (Berryman et al., 2018). They balance the demands, opportunities, values, and aspirations of both worlds, with a sense of belonging and pride. Teachers nurture this orientation and appreciate the cultural and linguistic flexibility that is required across cultural settings (Paris & Alim, 2014).

Wānanga

Within Te Kotahitanga, an Aotearoa New Zealand–based professional development programme (Bishop et al., 2007), learners reiterated the benefits of classroom interactions other than traditional approaches such as teachers positioned as experts imparting knowledge. Rather, learners valued dialogic learning paradigms where feedback was learning focused, prior knowledge was highly regarded, and there were many opportunities for sharing and reflecting (Bishop & Berryman, 2009). In this study, wānanga, as a principle for guiding teachers’ decisions about assessment design and practice, typified such effective teaching interactions. The classroom is a critical space for purposeful and meaningful dialogic learning that embeds power-sharing and where learners are vital contributors to the teaching and learning process (Berryman et al., 2018). Through wānanga, learners’ ideas, knowledge, experiences, and perspectives are deliberately actualised, creating deeper learning (Bishop & Berryman, 2009).

Mana ōrite (power-sharing)

Teachers uphold the equitable vision of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and give space for learners to seek fairness and just outcomes. Through active participation in the teaching and learning system, learners gain authority to participate in decision making and negotiate classroom practices. Mana ōrite influences learners and teachers to work together as co-learners.

Partnership

Teacher and student assessment interactions are framed by the “relational intent” (Berryman et al., 2018, p. 4) of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. As a mutual and reciprocal relationship, the intent of partnership is to ensure everyone’s mana is enhanced, and all cultural knowledge and experiences are respected (Berryman et al., 2018). Critical reflexivity drives teachers’ capacity to examine their own regressive practices, and to encourage learners to be equally self-aware (Paris & Alim, 2014). Learners are influenced to act with critical consciousness, voicing their needs, preferences, and ambitions (Smith, 2003).

Active participation

When assessment is shaped with a commitment to active participation, teachers actively engage with theories and pedagogies that transform school life for learners, fuelled by a sense of responsibility for learners’ achievement and recognition of their position of power in shaping classroom culture, experiences, and outcomes (Bishop & Berryman, 2009; Smith, 2003). Participants shared perspectives demonstrating the power of critically engaging in education theory. Overall, their message was that teachers need to think critically about how pedagogical knowledge is enacted, recognising pedagogies that evoke deficit practice and those that can transform learners’ lives.

Learners actively participate for their own gains, as well as for all learners’ success. For teachers, this means they embed learning structures that emphasise the progress and achievement of the collective, rather than solely focussing at the individual level. As such, learners take responsibility for each other, and reciprocate support to peers who need it (Berryman & Eley, 2017; Macfarlane et al., 2007). Classroom practices validate that learners often make meaning in collaboration with others (Bishop et al., 2007).

Co-construction

Through co-construction, classroom assessment design and practice shift beyond teachers’ gathering, interpreting, and sharing learning progress and goals with learners to teachers and learners sharing ownership of the learning environment (Macfarlane et al., 2007). Ako, as a reciprocal and responsive process and a culmination of all other learning concepts, is the foundation of quality practice. Within the teaching and learning environment, an ako focussed approach supports teachers to know learners as people and understand their motivations, interest, qualities, and aspirations. It requires teachers to adapt learning so that all learners’ potential is realised, and to reflect on their practice in ways that are transformative for learners (MOE, 2014). Through ako, teachers and learners collaborate for the best possible progress and achievement outcomes. Three participants talked about benefits of teachers working alongside learners as co-learners. They believed that teachers grow knowledge of learners, the teaching craft, and the modern world by assuming a learner identity.

Whakamana i ngā kōrero (rich dialogue)

In classroom settings where equity for assessment has primacy, communication through rich dialogue is prominent. Dialogue is valued as a context for learners’ prior knowledge and experiences to provide new ideas, insights, and understandings (Mahuika et al., 2011). Teachers deliberately create dialogue-based learning interactions that are learning focused, robust, and inclusive with learners.

Learning focused

Interviews highlighted teaching strategies for ensuring learning-focused assessment, including rich dialogic conversations naturally embedded in the classroom environment. Three participants especially valued teachers utilising authentic settings and taking time to watch and learn. They acknowledged assessment processes that learners understood and a classroom culture that supports learners to contribute, respond, and share.

Participants positioned having an overall kaupapa (vision, purpose, topic) as an essential foundation for using wānanga within teaching and learning programmes. Teachers and learners knowing what was good for all people and understanding the process was central to this kaupapa. One participant shared their belief that whanaungatanga was the essence of kaupapa relating to wānanga, and if teachers prioritised and nurtured effective relationships, then learning and well-being would flow from this.

Such interpretations of wānanga are critical for ensuring learning-focused dialogue as a route for making decisions about student progress and success, and support the ethos that every student has learning potential, legitimate knowledge, and valued experiences to share (Berryman et al., 2018). They reinforce the importance of learners’ developing understanding their own learning progress and success, through face-to-face interactions, such as small group discussions.

Robust and inclusive

Within this study, wānanga as a space for robust and inclusive dialogue was seen as a way for teachers to gauge what learners know, think, and can do. Critical to this, dialogic interactions occur in open and honest ways, where learners inquire, question, evaluate, and problem solve (Bishop et al., 2007). Teachers purposefully listen to learners’ ideas and perspectives, being open-minded to learning directions (Bishop & Berryman, 2009). Because teachers welcome and accommodate student voice, misunderstandings are minimised and broad views of knowledge are valued (Klenowski, 2009).

Learners are confident and connected because their knowledge of the world and social and cultural experiences are a natural part of learning conversations. Their cultural difference is a vehicle for enhancing others’ learning, and dialogic assessment practices ensure the learners’ culture flourishes (Klenowski, 2009). Participants described shared values and practices they felt were essential for wānanga. These were framed around working collectively, encompassing concepts of togetherness, collaboration, and cohesion. Participants talked of acceptance and inclusiveness, and how these help ensure all learners feel comfort expressing their ideas.

Discussion

The findings above are summaries that may create space for continued learning about mātauranga Māori and mātauranga-a-iwi. The themes, subthemes, and concepts overlap and provide considerations for teachers shaping assessment constructs in English-medium schools. The Hauora Approach to Assessment framework (Figure 2) draws the findings together, towards embedding equity within classroom-based assessment to benefit Māori learners. Whanaungatanga, the impetus of learners’ success as Māori, is at the heart of framework, flanked by manaakitanga and wānanga, indicating their reliance on whanaungatanga and the interrelated nature of the three principles.

Figure 2.

A Hauora Approach to Assessment (Well-being Approach to Assessment): an assessment framework for embedding equity within classroom-based assessment to the benefit of Māori learners.

The subthemes branching from the centre overlap and interconnect. This represents the subthemes and concepts acting as interrelated practices. The outer ring houses three assessment components. Core values and practices of mātauranga Māori and culturally sustaining pedagogy must flow from the centre to the outer ring, placing assessment into a cultural context, illustrated with arrows indicating application within teaching and learning.

While the study focused on classroom-based assessment, it has a range of implications for school leaders, policy makers, and researchers. Because assessment is largely constructed at a school level (MOE, 2011), the findings remind school leaders of the complexity of assessment and the need for school-wide development and support in reflecting transformative pedagogies, such as culturally sustaining pedagogy, and cultural competencies in assessment. For teachers to implement equitable assessment, school leaders must recognise the implications for school-wide assessment approaches and ensure models of best practice are enacted (Absolum et al., 2009). Using the Hauora Approach to Assessment framework as a model for critiquing embedded assessment design and practice or assessment tasks presents a potential starting point for achieving this. The findings challenge policy makers to promote an assessment system that can achieve improved student well-being and learning through reflecting literature and narratives that portray broad visions of learning, success, and assessment, and dissociating assessment from paradigms that provoke deficit-led discourse. Finally, the findings encourage researchers to continue examining issues within assessment, so that the lives of all, and particularly those traditionally underserved, can be enhanced through education.

Limitations

This study focused on examining factors related to teachers’ assessment literacy, towards ensuring effective and equitable assessment in classrooms of Aotearoa New Zealand. Limitations include that classroom assessment and teachers’ practices are heavily influenced by decision making at systems and school-wide levels (MOE, 2011; Xu & Brown, 2016). Literature was used to strengthen data interpretations and provide deep insights about teachers’ assessment practice, hence although a range of analysis strategies were used (Ary et al., 2006), descriptions of themes and subthemes were influenced by the theoretical underpinnings within the reviewed literature. On reflection and in acknowledgement of Hetaraka’s (2019) review, if this study or if a similar analysis of Tātaiako (Education Council New Zealand [Matatū Aotearoa], 2011) was replicated, a different inductive approach may draw out differing themes and subthemes. Assessment must emphasise learners’ assessment capabilities and their autonomy and ownership of their learning (Absolum et al., 2009; Heritage, 2018; MOE, 2011). Further research would benefit from including student perspectives.

Conclusion

Aotearoa New Zealand education is undergoing reform to ensure greater responsiveness to Māori learners, and towards education that improves all learners’ outcomes and well-being (MOE, 2019). As we move forward, achieving the vision of the New Zealand Curriculum (MOE, 2007) presents teachers and schools with opportunities both exciting and challenging (Darr, 2018). Yet, the changes in play bring to question whether assessment policies and practices, highly significant aspects of all learners’ education, will be reshaped to the extent necessary. For many Māori learners enduring English-medium education that separates learning from culturally located ways of thinking and being (Macfarlane et al., 2007), this question is critical and urgent.

Teachers’ assessment literacy is connected with the pedagogical decisions they make about teaching and learning, student outcomes, and assessment design and practice (Heritage, 2018; Xu & Brown, 2016). Māori learners’ experiences of school and their ability to enjoy and achieve educational success are strongly determined by the schools they attend and their classroom teachers (Averill et al., 2014). In aligning pedagogical beliefs and values with Aotearoa New Zealand’s bicultural fabric, cultural sustainability, and equity goals, enhancing teachers’ assessment literacy in relation to responsiveness to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and Māori learners offers potential for enhancing practice.

From this study, a Hauora Approach to Assessment framework is presented as a research-informed approach for contextualising assessment in English-medium schools within a Māori worldview. Constructed from Māori-centred competencies, participants’ voices, and perspectives shared through seminal literature, this framework is intended to resonate with the visions of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the New Zealand Curriculum (MOE, 2007). In attending to manaakitanga and wānanga, teachers have the potential to make equitable pedagogical decisions (Xu & Brown, 2016) that allow learning and well-being to flourish. This study suggests that when teachers adopt the Hauora Approach to Assessment framework in their classroom environment, they are better placed to acknowledge and embrace and empower learners’ inherent capabilities, their unique and powerful cultural ways of living, and their wide-ranging successes.

Teachers in Aotearoa New Zealand schools have the opportunity to nurture and contribute to the lives of learners and help them achieve their aspirations. Teachers’ own lives can be enriched by the diverse and unique qualities learners bring to the classroom. Inspired by the voice of one participant who beautifully articulated the role of a teacher, “Our duty of care is to treat every child the way we would want our own child treated, with respect and the upmost care and love” (Kerr, 2019, p. 66).

Footnotes

Acknowledgements

The authors are very grateful to all who generously provided their very valuable time, advice, and guidance for this study.

Declaration of conflicting interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

ORCID iD

Brigit Giovanna Kerr

Glossary

ahurea tuakiri cultural identity

ako teaching and learning

aromatawai assessment

harakeke flax

hauora well-being, health

iwi tribe

kaiāwhina helper, assistant

kaupapa a vision, purpose, topic

Kaupapa Māori theory based on Māori knowledge

Māori Indigenous peoples of Aotearoa New Zealand

mana status, presence, authority

manaakitanga care, respect, hospitality

mana ōrite power-sharing

mātauranga-a-iwi knowledge system distinctive to an iwi

mātauranga Māori Māori knowledge system

ngā hononga connectedness

Pākehā non-Māori peoples of Aotearoa New Zealand of European descent

tairongo senses

te ao Māori the Māori world

Te Kotahitanga An Aotearoa New Zealand–based research and professional development programme that supports teachers to improve Māori students’ learning and achievement.

Te Tiriti o Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi; Māori refer to Te Tiriti o Waitangi as their guiding document; The Treaty of Waitangi, the English version of this document, is not a direct translation and does not uphold the same intent as Te Tiriti o Waitangi

whakamana i ngā kōrero rich dialogue

wānanga a forum, a sharing of knowledge, a place of learning

whānau family

whanaungatanga the concept of relationships

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