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A programme which has improved outcomes for Maori students by showing teachers how to work with them has been rated world-class, just as it’s about to lose government funding.
Te Kotahitanga, developed by Waikato University’s faculty of education, is one of this year’s WISE award winners.
The six winning initiatives will be showcased at next month’s World Innovation Summit for Education in Doha, which is on the theme of Reinventing Education for Life.
WISE chair Sheikh Abdulla bin Ali Al-Thani says the six represent inspiring models for all who seek to overcome obstacles to education.
The Education Ministry has stopped funding for Te Kotahitanga, claiming it will be replaced by a new programme to help schools respond to Maori students.
Pauline Barnes, the group manager, curriculum, teaching and learning, says the Building on Success programme will build on Te Kotahitanga and other programmes like Starpath and He Kakano.
But Professor Russell Bishop from Waikato University says Te Kotahitanga is based on more than a decade of research and development in the classroom, and it can’t be cherrypicked for a substitute programme.
Copyright © 2013, UMA Broadcasting Ltd
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