Moerewa School and the statutory intervention of a Commissioner in 2012

Keri Milne-Ihimaera (Ngāi Tahu), Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiarangi

My doctoral research explored the story of Moerewa School and the statutory intervention of a Commissioner in 2012, during the time I was principal of the school. It asked how the school supported the community’s dream for a relevant, “cradle to the grave”, education for their children, “as Māori”, and explored the institutional barriers that shattered that dream and challenges us to think about what lessons can be learned from that experience? 

The Moerewa story is a story of a community marginalised and rendered powerless in a Eurocentric education system. At the heart of the issue is the contrast between a western neoliberal paradigm in education, and the aspirations of Maori for an education approach by Maori, for Maori. 

The catalyst for the intervention was the school’s decision to make public interim student NCEA results that were significantly higher than the norms for Decile 1, Maori learners. These results were hotly disputed by the Ministry of Education and NZQA, however after intense and proven unprecedented scrutiny by NZQA, were found to be close to the school’s original claims. Moerewa school’s experience is one where statutory intervention designed for schools defined as “failing”, should not have been the option. 

Other schools, while possibly not as public as Moerewa’s, have similar stories of disempowerment in communities that were led to believe our education system gave them autonomy to shape an education model to fit their children. This context is important, as I chose to write this thesis to not only document the story from the perspective of an ‘insider’ in the research, but also to represent the previously untold position of the community and students involved. I also chose to write in a style that made this work accessible to the community and students involved in the struggle.

This Bridging Grant application is being submitted, to support the printing of duplicate copies of this thesis to present to Moerewa School, and to key community members who were involved in the research. This ‘publication’ of the work is important, as it gives the community tangible proof that their story has indeed been told, and that the work is completed. I intend to present these official thesis documents to the school and community during official meetings being set up to present my research back to those involved in the school during this time. While this may not be seen as ‘publication’, I feel it is an important first step, before further publication can be considered by me. It will also mean that students who were participants in the research, and current younger students of Moerewa School, might aspire to write their own ‘community stories’ after seeing this thesis printed. With a community as my audience, it means more copies of a completed thesis need to be printed, than would usually be expected. I’m hoping that this grant can assist with the printing costs.