Abstract
Many reports on educational achievement have made clear that it is Maori children who are experiencing greater difficulties at school. Too many Maori students become alienated within mainstream schooling, and are often excluded from it. Several educationalists (Ramsay, Hawk, Harold, Marriott & Poskitt, 1993) concede that schools can no longer 'go it alone', and the call for community partnerships has been very real. While it may not be fair, or feasible, to expect schools to go it alone, the place of the school and what goes on in it is manifestly seen by all sections of society to be crucial. This is evidenced by the requirements made of schools to support young people and to endeavour to enhance their chances of success in life. There is a need to establish where educational processes are succeeding for these young people and to examine the social and cultural contexts of their life experiences. Behaviour is often defined within a cultural and community context. Yet, many Maori students live in cultural and community contexts that are quite different from those of the school and the mainstream community.
There are some studies (Beane, 1997; Ladson-Billings, 1995), on how such contexts are important for understanding and serving students experiencing difficulties at school. Peterson & lshii-Jordan (1994), however propose that there is still a dearth of information on how, and through what processes these cultural contexts are 'listened' to. In New Zealand, several intervention programmes which draw on traditional Maori principles and concepts have been developed in recent years This paper will discuss culturally relevant pedagogy inherent in those programmes.
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