Our recommendations

In our view, tangible improvements in the success of Māori students will require concerted and collaborative work to put Ka Hikitia into effect in the day-to-day work of the entire education system.

The Ministry of Education, as the lead agency in education, needs to take care not to rush or under-resource the push for Ka Hikitia. It is particularly important that the next "refreshed" phase of Ka Hikitia avoids repeating the mistakes made earlier.

Some of our recommendations are specifically for the Ministry of Education. Some are for the education agencies referred to in this report (the Ministry of Education, the Education Review Office, the New Zealand Qualifications Authority, the Tertiary Education Commission, and the Teachers Council) and also Te Kura (the Correspondence School) and Careers New Zealand. Others are for all public entities involved in education, including schools.

We would expect to see progress on each recommendation by 2015, in the middle of our five-year audit programme.

Our recommendations for the Ministry of Education

1. We recommend that the Ministry of Education apply what it learned from the introduction of Ka Hikitia to ensure that the next phase of implementation is effective, including:

• thoughtful planning and engagement with those expected to deliver the next phase of Ka Hikitia, with adequate resourcing;
• clear leadership and management responsibilities for embedding Ka Hikitia into day-to-day business in the Ministry and throughout education agencies; and
• improved accountability and reporting mechanisms.

2. We recommend that the Ministry of Education identify and target resources to support the activities that have been the most effective in putting Ka Hikitia into effect.

Our recommendations for education agencies

3. We recommend that all education agencies better co-ordinate efforts to support improvements in schools, including:

• building understanding of, commitment to, and action on the aims of Ka Hikitia in schools; and
• schools setting up and sharing teaching practices that are effective in improving Māori students' educational success.

4. We recommend that:

• the New Zealand Teachers Council use its approval mechanisms for initial teacher education qualifications and programmes and the Tertiary Education Commission use its purchasing of these qualifications and programmes to ensure that student teachers and newly qualified teachers have the right skills to engage effectively with Māori students; and
• the New Zealand Teachers Council use its influence and approval mechanisms to ensure that monitoring and appraisal processes for teacher registration lead to improved teaching practices and engagement with Māori students and their whānau.

Our recommendation for all public entities involved in education

5. We recommend that all public entities involved in the delivery of education engage and consult Māori students, in ways that are respectful and safe for the students, to ensure that the experiences and opinions of Māori students contribute to improving the education they receive.