Supporting Inclusion for All; Especially for Students Vulnerable due to their Economic Circumstances: Introducing Manuaute o Te Huia.

Abstract

In recent years, New Zealand schools have been challenged to cater for increasing numbers of students in material hardship without comprehensive support. New Zealand once led the world in putting equity at the centre of education policy and practice, this is no longer the case. Recent Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) findings reveal that modern, high-performing education systems balance excellence with equity. Programmes in North America and Australasia such as Bridges Out of Poverty and others are growing in popularity although featuring an underlying deficit ideology. “Te Manuaute o Te Huia”, supported by local kaumatua, is applied here in one school to support learning conversations to achieve inclusion, particularly for economically-vulnerable students. This article examines how one school, the RTLB service and its community leaders, including Maˉori advisors, used a shared understanding of ‘equity literacy’ in an education setting and the appreciative inquiry process to enhance learning opportunities for all students and especially those from low socio-economic backgrounds. It also outlines how a New Zealand version of an equity literate framework and a strengths-based process, used with key community input, can generate additional support to create and sustain ongoing success, especially for those students vulnerable due to their socio-economic circumstances.