A kaupapa Māori education researcher expects many Māori groups will embrace the chance to start charter schools.
University of Waikato professor Mere Berryman co-authored Te Kotahitanga, a programme aimed at improving the way teachers and schools engage with Māori pupils in the classroom.
She says the charter schools established under the previous National-ACT government weren’t around long enough to provide reliable data on whether the model is a solution to the intergenerational harm inflicted in whānau through New Zealand’s education system.
But she says Associate Education Minister David Seymour’s promise of more autonomy for educators could be exciting for Māori.
“I’m looking forward to seeing that greater autonomy because I do think how power plays out in education and how power plays out in society for Māori has been one of the things that disempowered and undermined our autonomy or our feelings of belief in ourselves going forward,” Professor Berryman says.
Minister Seymour yesterday announced this month’s Budget will include $153 million over four years to establish 15 new charter schools and convert 35 state schools.
