Creating Strong Achievement Gains for Màori Students in the English-medium Mathematics Classrooms Creating Strong Achievement Gains for Màori Students in English-medium Mathematics Classrooms

This case study examines the responsiveness of classroom practice to Màori students ’ needs in two Wellington English-medium primary schools through the eyes of two senior-level and two junior-level teachers and their Màori students. Particular attention is paid to the characteristics of the teachers selected by their facilitators and principals because they produced strong achievement gains for Màori students and to the role that the wider school environment played in supporting culturally responsive practices. The study identifi es three key characteristics – the school environment, the pedagogy, and the teachers – and provides evidence that involvement in the Numeracy Development Projects had provided a context for good teaching practices to be revisited in mathematics learning. Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi engari he toa takitini. My strength is not that of a single warrior but that of many