Ako Mātatupu aims to address education inequity by removing financial barriers for prospective teachers looking to serve low socioeconomic areas. Image by Mathieu Stern on Unsplash.
Education achievement in Aotearoa New Zealand is famously plagued by inequity.
We have a large socioeconomic achievement gap in schools, placing us in the bottom of all OECD countries for educational equality. Most students who are not meeting progress expectations are from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, are Māori or Pacific students, or a student with a disability. In the latest round of PISA results, the equity gap seemed to have widened in New Zealand. The causes of educational inequity are complex and interlinked, and include the long shadow of colonialism, the inequitable distribution of resources and the wider socioeconomic climate. The battle to close this achievement gap is ongoing, and involves policy-makers, school leaders and teachers, and communities. One charity working to address education inequity for our young people is Ako Mātātupu – Teach First NZ.
Ako Mātātupu has been operating for over a decade. The program is a two-year, employment-based, initial teacher education scholarship pathway that supports participants to become qualified teachers. So far, the programme has trained over 400 people, working with partnership schools, to become teachers in low-income communities. The program is grounded in Māori and Pacific worldviews,with the vision of an Aotearoa where all young people are supported to thrive and achieve in the education system.
Nadeen from the teacher education team at Ako Mātātupu with participants. Image: Supplied.
Importantly, the charity aims to recruit people passionate about making a difference for young people, rather than those simply seeking employment as a teacher. Ako Mātātupu actively recruit for people in certain hard-to-staff fields who are keen to make a difference in New Zealand. Some schools nominate existing teacher aides or LATs, working as partner schools to support them through the program.
CEO Liam Munday says the program is partly addressing equity issues by removing financial barriers to teacher training in low socioeconomic communities.
“It allows people to be able to get into the classroom and train on the job. So for those that maybe are career changers, it means they don’t have to give up their salary. You’re on the job, you’re on a full scholarship and you’re also earning.
Ako Mātātupu CEO Liam Munday. Image: Supplied.
“The research supports this model of developing teachers, too – we’re training participants in a really robust way.”
Munday says participants find the mix of theory and practice valuable, as it allows for reflection and immediate feedback on their practice.
Ako Mātātupu is about to begin for the next cohort of participants, and they are still seeking partner schools. They also encourage interested schools to get in touch to see how they could work with Ako Mātātupu, as after over a decade of operation, the program will soon expand their offering into the primary sector, following strong interest from primary school leaders.
“A life-changing experience”
Ruiha Epiha is a Te Reo Māori teacher at Tāmaki College, and Ako Mātātupu graduate. She had been teaching as an LAT at Tāmaki, and principal Soana Pamaka encouraged her to join the program. Epiha said the employment-based pathway was crucial, and that the program aligned with her personal values.
“I liked their kaupapa of being able to grow great teachers to help tackle the educational equity problem in our schools, especially our low decile schools. As an alumni of a low decile school I understood what that meant.
“I grew up here in Glen Innes, which is a low socioeconomic community, and I attended Tāmaki College. While the opportunities seemed great, I knew state schools like ours don’t get a lot of opportunities that other schools have.
“But what really drew me back here was our tamariki, especially our ākonga Māori. Growing up in GI, I know they have a deficit mindset about themselves as Māori because of negative connotations like drug addiction, alcoholism and homelessness. I wanted to come back and teach our tamariki that there is more to Te Ao Māori. Being Māori is amazing – we’re an amazing people and our language is beautiful. I came back to do that and to help revitalise our language within communities like this one.”
Ako Mātātupu graduate and Te Reo Māori teacher at Tāmaki College, Ruiha Epiha. Image: Supplied.
Epiha says being with Ako Mātātupu was “unlike any other institution that I’ve studied in.
“Ako Mātātupu has such an understanding of Māori and Pasifika and our lifestyles. Many of us are caretakers of our sick elders or children, or are sole parents, many of us are suffering financial hardships, or we have three to seven children and families to care for. Many of us have church or whānau, hapū responsibilities and so on. Ako Mātātupu is so tailored to that – I’ve never experienced anything like it. Even the concept of time is different, and I loved that.”
Epiha describes the program as “intense” but well set up to support students. It begins with a six-week wānanga in the school holidays from November of any given year. The first two to three weeks were spent learning and connecting with one another, then there were assessments in the last few weeks. At the end, their cohort had practicum experience at a nearby school to teach classes and observe teachers. After the summer, the next two years are spent with a mentor, while working and training as a teacher at the partner school.
“The whole program was so intense, but in the same breath, it was amazing as well. It was a life-changing experience that stretched me and pulled me in ways that sometimes hurt, but also sometimes healed me. It just allows you to grow in ways that you never thought possible.”
