Te Kotahitanga: The Effective Teaching Profile
Published in Set: Research Information for Teachers, NZCER Press, 2009
"Ko tÅku reo tÅku ohooho, ko tÅku reo tÅku mÄpihi maurea"
My language is my awakening, my language is the window to my soul ā the ETP affirms that MÄori language and identity are not incidental to learning; they are central to it.
š Overview
Published in Set: Research Information for Teachers in 2009, this article by Russell Bishop and Mere Berryman distils the findings of the landmark Te Kotahitanga project into a practical, evidence-based framework: the Effective Teaching Profile (ETP). The ETP describes seven dimensions of teacher behaviour shown to significantly improve educational outcomes for MÄori students in mainstream secondary schools.
The research behind it was longitudinal and participatory ā it involved MÄori students themselves describing, in their own words, what helped them learn and what didn't. This methodology is itself radical: rather than positioning MÄori students as the problem to be fixed, Bishop and Berryman positioned teachers as the variable to be developed. The result is one of the most important pieces of New Zealand educational research ever published.
For ITE students, this is essential reading because it gives you a concrete, specific, named description of what culturally responsive teaching actually looks like in a New Zealand classroom ā not as an abstract principle, but as observable, learnable professional behaviour.
šÆ Key Arguments
- Teachers are the critical variable. Bishop and Berryman argue that MÄori student underachievement is not caused by students' home backgrounds, attitudes, or ability ā it is primarily caused by how teachers relate to and teach MÄori students. Changing teacher practice changes outcomes.
- Relationships before curriculum. The ETP places "creating a culturally appropriate and responsive context for learning" as its foundational dimension. Learning cannot occur when students don't feel seen, safe, or valued as MÄori.
- The 'deficit thinking' problem. The article identifies deficit theorising ā explaining MÄori underachievement by blaming students, whÄnau, or culture ā as a professional and ethical failure. The ETP is a direct antidote.
- Discourse matters. Teachers need to actively co-construct learning with students, using dialogue, questioning, and student voice rather than didactic transmission. The quality of classroom discourse directly predicts student engagement.
- Accountability to outcomes, not activity. The ETP is not about good intentions ā it is about whether your teaching is actually moving MÄori students forward. Evidence of impact is non-negotiable.
šļø The 7 Dimensions of the Effective Teaching Profile
These dimensions were derived directly from MÄori students' narratives of what effective teaching looked and felt like. Each dimension describes specific, observable teacher behaviours.
Manaakitanga ā Caring for Students as MÄori
Showing care for MÄori students' wellbeing, identity, language, and culture ā not despite their MÄoriness but because of it.
Mana Motuhake ā High Expectations
Believing in MÄori students' intellectual capability and communicating this clearly through challenge, support, and accountability.
Whakapiripiri ā Creating Collaborative Learning Communities
Structuring learning so students work together in ways that reflect MÄori values of collective responsibility and interdependence.
WÄnanga ā Using MÄori Discursive Practices
Using dialogic teaching methods that mirror MÄori traditions of wÄnanga ā deep discussion, debate, and co-construction of knowledge.
Ako ā Culturally Appropriate Contexts
Making learning relevant to MÄori students' lives and creating reciprocal teaching-learning relationships where teachers also learn from students.
Kotahitanga ā Shared Pedagogy
Collaborating with colleagues, whÄnau, and the school community to create a coherent, culturally sustaining learning environment above and beyond your individual classroom.
KÅrero TÅ«turu ā Managing the Learning Programme
Effectively organising the curriculum and classroom management in ways that privilege MÄori students' cultural knowledge and learning preferences.
š¬ Key Quotes
"Students are not the problem. The research consistently shows that MÄori students can and do achieve when teachers create the conditions for this to happen."ā Bishop & Berryman, 2009
"What MÄori students want from their teachers above all else is to be known as MÄori ā not despite being MÄori, but as MÄori people with a rich cultural heritage that is an asset in the learning context."ā Bishop & Berryman, 2009
"Effective teachers of MÄori students reject deficit theorising as a basis for professional practice. They do not blame students, their whÄnau, or their culture for educational disparities."ā Bishop & Berryman, 2009
"The Effective Teaching Profile is not about how to teach content differently ā it is about how to build the relationships within which any content can be taught effectively."ā Bishop & Berryman, 2009
š Critical Analysis
This text is enormously influential, but no text should be accepted uncritically. Here is an honest assessment:
ā Strengths
- Student-centred origins: The ETP was derived from MÄori students' own voices ā a methodologically powerful and ethical choice.
- Specificity: Gives teachers concrete, named behaviours rather than vague aspirations. You can observe and develop against these dimensions.
- Evidence-based at scale: Te Kotahitanga was implemented in over 50 schools ā this is not a small case study.
- Rejects deficit thinking explicitly: One of the clearest articulations in NZ literature of why deficit theorising is both wrong and harmful.
- Transferable: Many researchers argue the ETP dimensions are effective for all students, not just MÄori.
ā ļø Tensions & Limitations
- Teacher burden: The model places enormous responsibility on individual teachers without fully addressing structural and systemic barriers.
- Context specificity: Original research was in secondary schools. Application to primary or early childhood contexts requires care.
- Implementation complexity: The ETP was delivered with intensive professional development. Simple exposure to the profile without support may have limited effect.
- Post-programme sustainability: Research on long-term sustainability after the programme ended is mixed.
- Heterogeneity within MÄori: Treats MÄori as a category without sufficiently foregrounding intra-community diversity (iwi, rural/urban, etc.).
Aotearoa Lens: This research is deeply NZ-specific and represents one of the most significant contributions to global culturally responsive pedagogy literature. It should be read alongside Scaling Up Education Reform (Bishop et al., 2010) to understand both the theory and its implementation at scale.
š« Classroom Implications
What does this mean on Monday morning? Practical applications derived from the ETP dimensions:
Know Your Students' Whakapapa
Find out which iwi students identify with. Use this knowledge to connect topics to their specific heritage, not to a generic "MÄori" experience.
Audit Your Language
Notice when you explain low achievement by attributing it to home life or culture. Replace deficit explanations with professional inquiry: "What can I do differently?"
Use Dialogic Teaching
Move from one-way explanation to genuine discussion. Ask genuine questions you don't know the answer to. Let students challenge each other and you.
Track Disaggregated Data
Look at your class data specifically for your MÄori students. Is the gap closing? Are there patterns? Professional accountability means looking at this regularly.
Connect with WhÄnau
Initiate positive contact with MÄori students' whÄnau before problems arise. Build trust first. WhÄnau are partners, not problems to manage.
Share with Colleagues
Kotahitanga (solidarity) means this can't just be your classroom. Bring ETP conversations into your team. What does it mean for your subject area?
š Discussion Questions
Use these for individual reflection, seminar discussion, or professional learning groups:
- Bishop and Berryman argue that teacher practice, not student background, is the primary cause of MÄori underachievement. How does this claim sit with you? What evidence would change your view?
- Can you think of a time when you (or a teacher you observed) engaged in deficit thinking about a student? What would a non-deficit reframe of that situation look like?
- Of the 7 ETP dimensions, which do you feel most confident embodying? Which would require the most professional development for you personally?
- The ETP was developed specifically for secondary schools. How might the dimensions look different in a primary school, an ECE setting, or a kura kaupapa MÄori?
- The research places enormous responsibility on individual teachers. What structural changes in schools would be needed to support teachers in implementing the ETP sustainably?
š Connected Resources on Te Kete Ako
Theorists:
Concepts:
Related Readings:
ITE Modules:
š Further Reading
- Bishop, R., Berryman, M., Cavanagh, T., & Teddy, L. (2009). Te Kotahitanga: Addressing educational disparities facing MÄori students in New Zealand. Teaching and Teacher Education, 25(5), 734ā742.
- Bishop, R., O'Sullivan, D., & Berryman, M. (2010). Scaling up education reform: Addressing the politics of disparity. NZCER Press.
- Bishop, R. (2019). Teaching to the North-East: Relationship-based learning in practice. NZCER Press.
- Ministry of Education. (2009). Ka Hikitia ā Managing for Success: The MÄori Education Strategy 2008ā2012. Ministry of Education.
- Penetito, W. (2010). What's MÄori about MÄori education? Victoria University Press.