Kura Kaupapa Maori: Tomorrow’s Schools and Beyond

Abstract

Kura Kaupapa Maori are a distinctive and unique feature of the New Zealand education system. This report outlines a literature review that seeks to examine the position of such schools within the reformed New Zealand educational environment since 1988. The project focuses on the Tomorrow’s Schools reforms, before giving a briefer review of the New Zealand Curriculum Framework, Assessment for Better Learning and the Report of the Literacy Taskforce. A number of themes emerge, including the increasing acknowledgement of Kura Kaupapa Maori in policy documents over time, the lack of specific provision for such schools, and the incongruence of Maori beliefs and aspirations and the philosophical foundation of the policy arena.