The project investigates how years 9-10Maori student achievement in mainstream schools can beimproved

In the past,many people believed that these students simply had tochange to fit into the system. Rosetta Stone software That thinking must bechallenged. If the attitudes, structures and processes ofthe system are failing our young people, then it is not theyoung people who should change it is the system itselfwhich must change. That is what we mean byinclusion.Inclusive education is about embracing all,doing whatever it takes to provide each student aninalienable right to belong, not to be excluded. Thecultures, policies and practices in schools must adapt andrespond to the diversity of students. We must identifyopportunities, tailor education to the learner. We mustinvest in people and local solutions. We must be willing tolearn.And students with differences must not be looked atas having problems to overcome. All students have potential,and their diversity must be celebrated and embraced.Theframe of Rosetta Stone Latin America Spanish diversityrejects the notion of a single normal group and various other or minoritygroups of students. The process of inclusion is notalways easy. It demands a shift in attitude that some finduncomfortable. And it requires the determination to change.I want to just share an example from a study of theconcept, inclusion, as it relates to Maori. Inclusion and Maori educationFor years the Englishmedium education system has not been a good fit for manyMori. In response, Mori have developed kohanga reo, kurakaupapa Mori and whare wnanga. These provide a pathwayfor education which has at its very heart the world and thevalues and the aspirations of Mori.Mori mediumeducation has produced some outstanding results for Mori.Strengthening this pathway will remain a focus for thefuture. However, we need to step up the performance of thewhole education system to ensure Mori enjoy success asMori in whatever setting theyre in. The TeKotahitanga project has given us a fairly good idea ofexactly how well the system is performing in relation toMaori education. The project investigates how years 9-10Maori student achievement in mainstream schools can beimproved. Rosetta Stone English In the project, teachers who were interviewedidentified that deficits within the home or problems thatMaori students brought with them to school were deemed themajor influence on Maori achievement. In turn, theirperceptions of Maori students as having inadequatenutrition, access to drugs and alcohol, inadequate parentalsupport or lack of access to resources were described as themajor reason for schooling failure.Yet what the studyfinally concluded, was that it was actually the deficittheorising of teachers their low expectations of theirstudents that was actually the major impediment tostudent achievement. In other words, the teacher attitudesled to a downward spiralling self-fulfilling prophecy ofMaori student achievement.It doesnt have to be toohard.Mori students, interviewed for the Te Kotahitangaproject, said that they were more likely to listen in classif the teachers listened to them. One student said: whenteachers listen and you can ask questions, learning stuff [ Rosetta Stone Software ] isokay .The students were more likely to want to learnwhen the teachers understood something about their culture,their home, their whnau something about whatsimportant to them.There is no better time than now forour schools, our teachers and our communities to realisethat Mori students identity, language and culture arefundamental to who they are as learners.