In an education system failing Māori, how can teachers and school leaders ensure Māori students thrive in their learning environment? How might educators equip themselves to better serve and empower Māori students and their whānau?

In this Leaders’ Connect, Dr Melanie Riwai-Couch will be leading us in a conversation about how to avoid tokenism, and bust myths about what culturally responsive practice means. Come prepared to discuss some thought-provoking questions.

Bio: Dr Melanie Riwai-Couch

Melanie is the author of Niho Taniwha: Improving Teaching and Learning for Ākonga Māori (2021). She has worked in the education sector for over 25 years. She has been a teacher, tumuaki, senior lecturer, iwi facilitator, senior advisor for the Ministry of Education, kaihautū Māori and education consultant for Evaluation Associates. Her iwi are Rangitāne o Wairau, Ngati Kuia and Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō.

About the Leaders’ Connect online series

Leaders’ Connect is an interactive, relational, online space for education leaders. These one-hour online hui occur fortnightly and the aim is to:  

• Provide a safe place of connection for education leaders within NZ
• Support leaders’ wellbeing 
• Gain fresh leadership knowledge and capacity 
• Create professional connection via an online platform
• Provide a space for learning and sharing innovative practices and ideas 

“The topics for these Leaders’ Connects are so relevant. I have attended as many as I can since the start of the year. My school is a smaller rural school just south of Auckland, so the opportunity to discuss these types of topics with others in the education space is great, Kia pai to rā”, Kris Burden, Tumuaki, Hunua School.

Leaders Connect was initiated by our team during the COVID19 lockdown in March 2020 and has facilitated 30 Leaders Connect sessions in 2020 and 2021.  The Ministry of Education has funded this initiative during this time and has just agreed to sustain this initiative through resourcing it till the end of 2022.

Videos from past events

https://leadershiplab.co.nz/videos/