Being victims of racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, disempowerment and language loss it could be expected that indigenous people would be supportive of the Inclusion Movement with its philosophy of valuing and acceptance of all people. This supposition is examined for Maori, the indigenous people of Aotearoa/New Zealand. In…

This paper examines the situation for Maori learners for special needs in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Despite considerable legislation and official documentation supporting the provision of culturally appropriate special education services for Maori, research shows that these learners are often neglected, overlooked and sometimes even excluded. The main…

This paper challenges some of the ill-informed and misleading assumptions made about Maori students and their whanau, and about Maori teachers and education professionals. In particular it examines four prominent assumptions that impact on Maori, namely: We are all New Zealanders; We know all about Maori students and praise; We know what whanau…

This article presents the findings of a survey to gather information about the scope, prevalence and effectiveness of programmes and services for Maori children and youth with special needs. Analysis of relevant organisational documentation including a postal survey completed by 78 people from 56 different special educational, Maori, support and…