Guided Inquiry Project
Unit 4 — Ōhanga me te Tika: Investigate an economic justice issue through structured inquiry
Ngā Whāinga Akoranga · Learning Intentions
- We are learning to conduct a guided inquiry into a real economic justice issue.
- We are learning to evaluate the reliability and perspective of sources.
- We are learning to develop evidence-based conclusions and present them clearly.
Paearu Angitu · Success Criteria
- I can form a clear inquiry question about an economic justice issue.
- I can find and evaluate at least three sources using structured criteria.
- I can identify patterns in my research and draw supported conclusions.
- I can present my findings in an organised and clear way.
Hononga Marautanga · Curriculum Alignment
This guided inquiry project engages the Social Sciences inquiry process within Te Mātaiaho.
- Social Sciences / Ākona Pāpori: Students investigate how economic systems affect the wellbeing of individuals, communities, and society (Level 3–4). They develop and apply social inquiry skills: questioning, researching, analysing, and communicating.
- Literacy: Reading for information, evaluating sources, and communicating conclusions using evidence.
- Unit 4 — Ōhanga me te Tika: The inquiry focuses specifically on economic justice — asking who benefits, who is disadvantaged, and what change is possible.
Introduction: What Is Guided Inquiry?
A guided inquiry means you investigate a real question — not a question with a pre-set answer, but one that requires research and thinking to answer well. You will move through four phases:
- Question — identify and refine your inquiry question
- Research — gather information from multiple sources
- Analysis — look for patterns and identify who benefits or is disadvantaged
- Conclusion — make a supported argument and identify possibilities for change
The kaiako will guide you through these phases. Use this booklet to record your work at each stage.
Question — Identifying Your Inquiry
Suggested inquiry topics for Unit 4:
- Why do Māori and Pasifika households earn significantly less than Pākehā households on average?
- Is the minimum wage in Aotearoa enough to live on? Who decides?
- How has the gap between renters and homeowners grown in Aotearoa since 1990?
- How do iwi economic models differ from mainstream business, and what can they offer?
- How does poverty in childhood affect outcomes in adulthood? What does the evidence show?
- Your own question — approved by your kaiako:
My chosen topic:
Draft inquiry question: (Should begin with "How", "Why", "To what extent", or "In what ways")
Why does this topic matter? (Connect to economic justice — who is affected and how?)
Refined inquiry question (after discussing with your kaiako):
Research — Finding and Evaluating Sources
Find at least three sources about your inquiry question. Complete the table for each one.
| Source # | What is this source? (Title / URL / author) | What does it say? (Key claim or finding) | Is it reliable? (Who wrote it? When? Why should I trust it?) | What perspective does it represent? (Government / community / business / academic / lived experience?) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |
|
|
|
| 2 | |
|
|
|
| 3 | |
|
|
|
Whose voices are missing from my research so far? Who might have a different perspective that I haven't found yet?
Analysis — Finding Patterns
Look across your three sources. Answer these questions based on all your research together, not just one source.
What patterns do I notice? (What do multiple sources agree on? What do they measure or show?)
Who benefits from the current situation? (Who gains from things being the way they are?)
Who is disadvantaged? (Who bears the costs or suffers the consequences?)
What is contested or unclear? (What do my sources disagree about? What don't we know?)
How does my inquiry topic connect to historical or structural factors? (Think: not just "people's choices", but systems, policies, and history)
Conclusion — Argument and Possibility
What is my answer to my inquiry question? (Write a clear statement, then support it with evidence from your research)
What should change? (Identify one specific change — a policy, a practice, a law, or a social norm — that would make the situation more just. Be specific.)
Who has the power to make that change? (Government? Business? Community? Individuals?)
What can I do? (Even small actions count — learning, sharing, speaking up, participating in community decisions)
Whakaaturanga · Presentation Planning
Plan how you will share your inquiry findings. Choose one format:
- Oral presentation (3–5 minutes) with visual support
- Written report (400–600 words) with a bibliography
- Poster or visual display with explanatory annotations
- Short documentary or video (2–3 minutes)
- Other — negotiated with kaiako
My chosen format: ___________________________
Key points I will include:
What I want my audience to understand or think differently about after my presentation:
Aronga Mātauranga Māori
Wānanga as inquiry model. In te ao Māori, wānanga is a process of collective questioning and deliberation — not a single expert telling others what is true, but a community sitting together to pool knowledge, test ideas, and reach shared understanding. This is not the same as a debate, where the goal is to win. Wānanga seeks to deepen collective understanding.
Your guided inquiry is closest to wānanga when you:
- Acknowledge multiple perspectives, including those you disagree with
- Seek out the voices of those most affected, not just official sources
- Treat your conclusion as provisional — open to revision when you learn more
- Connect your findings to a practical response, not just abstract understanding
Reflection: In your inquiry, whose knowledge did you prioritise? Whose knowledge might have been harder to find, and why?
Ngā Rauemi Tautoko · Resources already provided
- Related handout: Economic Justice Deep Dive — provides background reading for some of the suggested inquiry topics.
- Related handout: Economic Choices: The Basics — provides key vocabulary for framing inquiry questions.
- Suggested databases: Stats NZ (stats.govt.nz), Child Poverty Action Group reports, Ministry of Social Development Household Incomes Report, Te Ara Encyclopedia.
- Kaiako note: The source evaluation table works well as a formative checkpoint midway through the inquiry. Review it with students before they move to the analysis phase.
- Status: Ready to print and use
Aronga Rerekē · Differentiated Pathways
Tīmata · Entry Level
Choose a topic from the suggested list. Focus on two sources instead of three. Complete Phase 1 and Phase 4 with teacher support. Present findings verbally or through a poster with key words and images.
Paerewa · On Level
Complete all four phases and the presentation planning. Ensure your conclusion clearly connects evidence to your inquiry question and identifies a realistic response.
Tūāpae · Extension
Form your own inquiry question on a topic not in the suggested list. Find at least four sources including one peer-reviewed or government statistical source. In your conclusion, propose a specific policy change and evaluate its likelihood of success using a stakeholder analysis.
📋 Teacher Planning Snapshot
Ngā Whāinga Ako — Learning Intentions
Students will engage with this resource to critically examine economic systems — understanding how wealth, power, and resources are distributed in Aotearoa New Zealand, and exploring indigenous and alternative economic frameworks that prioritise collective wellbeing, mana, and tino rangatiratanga over individual accumulation.
Ngā Paearu Angitū — Success Criteria
- ✅ Students can explain how economic inequality is produced and sustained through systems, not just individual choices.
- ✅ Students can describe at least one alternative economic model — including a Māori or indigenous framework — that challenges dominant assumptions about wealth and justice.
Differentiation & Inclusion
Scaffold support: Provide structured comparison frameworks (e.g., two-column tables: "current system vs alternative") for entry-level access. Offer extension tasks asking students to research a specific Māori economic enterprise (e.g., Ngāi Tahu Holdings, Tainui Group Holdings) and evaluate how it balances commercial success with cultural values.
ELL / ESOL: Economic concepts (equity, redistribution, exploitation, surplus value, collective ownership) need concrete grounding — use local NZ examples and visual infographics. Allow oral discussion of economic justice issues before written analysis. Draw connections to students' home countries' economic systems as valid comparative frameworks.
Inclusion: Economic discussions can touch on students' lived experiences of poverty, precarity, or privilege — create a safe, non-judgmental space. Neurodiverse learners benefit from concrete case studies rather than abstract theory. Frame economic justice as a systems problem, not a personal failing — this reframe is both accurate and inclusive.
Mātauranga Māori lens: The Māori economy before colonisation was not "primitive" — it was a sophisticated system of reciprocal exchange (utu), collective resource management (rāhui, kaitiakitanga), redistribution through manaakitanga, and wealth measured in relationships and obligations rather than individual accumulation. Colonisation deliberately disrupted these systems through land confiscation and the introduction of individual title. Contemporary Māori economic development — through iwi corporations, Māori land trusts, and social enterprises — represents a reclamation of rangatiratanga in the economic sphere. The concept of ōhanga Māori (Māori economy) offers a genuinely alternative framework for thinking about justice, sufficiency, and collective flourishing.
Prior knowledge: Students benefit from basic familiarity with how markets and governments work. No specialist economics knowledge required — the unit builds this progressively through accessible case studies.
Curriculum alignment
- The Economic World — Social Studies: Understand how economic decisions affect people, communities, and environments, and how different groups seek to influence economic systems and outcomes.
- Understand — Social Studies: Systems shape how people and groups organise themselves — including economic systems that distribute power, rights, and resources.