Abstract:
This research aimed to celebrate Māori teacher success and attract more Māori to the professional practice of teaching by re-telling the ‘stories’ of four of the numerous successful Māori teachers within Aotearoa-New Zealand. The four teachers invited to participate in this case study graduated from a Rotorua-based regional pre-service teacher education programme, between the years 2000-2010 and now hold leadership positions within their schools. The aim of the project was to explore the ways that their respective pathways unfolded, the challenges they encountered, and ultimately the successes they experienced. The research methodology was based on the qualitative tradition, drew upon a narrative inquiry conceptual framework, and was underpinned by kaupapa Māori principles. The participants were invited to individual interviews, in a forum where they openly and generously shared their ‘stories’ since graduating as teachers and reflect on the factors they attribute to their success.The narratives informed the importance of whānau (family), collegiality, risk taking, ongoing learning and feeling valued and supported as success factors. These findings support and build on the importance for Māori learner success, of Mana Motuhake (a positive sense of Māori identity), Mana Tū (a sense of courage and resilience), Mana Ūkaipo (a sense of place), Mana Tangatarua (a sense of navigating success in two worlds) with the overarching lever of Mana Whānau (a sense of family) as found by Macfarlane, Webber, Cookson-Cox & McRae (2014). This paper argues that these Māori values are qualities that need to be nurtured and practiced within educational communities, and across the pedagogical terrain. It further argues that re-telling success ‘stories’ by way of the tandem of narrative inquiry platformed on kaupapa Māori values has the potential to reach out to educators across the sector in the quest for facilitating and supporting quality education outcomes for Māori.