Why more Māori teachers?
“I had huge whanau support from the moment I started,” remembers Shirlene. From humble beginnings, Shirlene developed a love of learning and is now mentoring others in early childhood professional development. For more inspiration read Shirlene’s story.
New Zealand needs more Māori teachers and teachers of te reo Māori across all sectors – ECE, primary and secondary.
Currently 22 percent of state school students are Māori compared with 10 percent of teachers who are Māori.
Growing numbers of Māori students are enrolled in kohanga reo (Māori medium early childhood education services), kura kaupapa (Māori medium schools) and kura reorua (bilingual and Māori language immersion classes in mainstream schools).
Young Māori need role models to teach and guide them. As a Māori early childhood, primary or secondary teacher, you'll have the chance to make a difference to the future of young Māori. It is important we have more Māori teachers as they help to:
- increase participation of whanau, hapū and iwi groups in education
- raise expectations leading to higher educational achievement for Māori
- develop capacity of Māori and their organisations to develop their own education programmes.
There are many Māori-focused early childhood services throughout New Zealand and many of them need qualified registered teachers. TeachNZ ECE scholarships recognise this fact by providing access to a number of Māori-focused ECE qualifications throughout New Zealand. The ECE scholarship application form below lists these.
There is also an incentive for those interested in teaching in a primary or secondary total immersion/bilingual setting. View the Māori Medium application form below for a list of teacher education qualifications which have been approved for this scholarship.