Māori and bicultural positions: Professional development programme for Resource Teachers Learning and Behaviour

Abstract

The Ministry of Education has introduced a new and far-reaching policy initiative, Special Education 2000. One component of this policy is the provision of professional development for approximately 700 Resource Teachers [Learning and Behaviour (RTLB)]. These resource teachers will help schools to meet the needs of students experiencing mild to moderate learning and behavioural difficulties. An important aim of the professional development programme is to prepare RTLB to improve the quality of support to teachers of Māori students in conventional and Māori medium classes. The programme consists of four courses, one introducing key concepts, one focussed on class-wide interventions, one focussed on school and community, and the fourth being a professional practice folio. This paper describes the Māori and bicultural content of the first two courses within the RTLB programme. It assesses the extent to which the programme addresses critical questions (Bishop, 1994; Bishop, 1996) relating to the ownership and control of Māori content included in the first two courses.