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This article engages mātauranga Māori, social psychology and the sociology of education to argue that an individualistic approach to mental health education in schools is inadequate. In this article we discuss a recent national school curriculum policy that demonstrates the ways mental health education can be framed by Te Tiriti o Waitangi, informed by the determinants of health, and culturally located in worldviews representative of Te Ao Māori. This framework encourages schools take a ‘whole of school’ approach to mental health education, embedded in teacher development, curriculum learning, and community engagement. We argue that this approach – aligned with the three articles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi – necessarily involves schools consulting with diverse ākonga (learners) and communities, involving them in mental health curriculum development, implementation, and evaluation. When conducted in culturally and socially conscious ways, the relationship between boards, schools and the wider school community can embody effective governance (article one), honour hapū, iwi and Māori rangatiratanga (article two) and encourage equal participation and inclusion for equitable mental health education and outcomes (article three). We argue that this approach to mental health is Te Tiriti-led, relational, and more likely to be well-being enhancing for diverse young people and communities.

This strengths-based paper draws on the qualitative and quantitative survey results from whānau (family members) of tamariki (children) attending 12 schools in an urban area in New Zealand with a high proportion of Māori people. The paper describes the positive impact of effective family engagement on tamariki, from the perspectives of whānau, paying particular interest to the differences between Māori and non-Māori whānau. The views of all whānau who participated in the project support the importance of relational and culturally sustaining aspects of teaching, and challenge commonly held stereotypes about indigenous parents’ low expectations in relation to their children’s education. The paper amplifies whānau voice about their children’s school enjoyment, perceptions of teacher support and future career aspirations for their tamariki.

Middle leaders are important conduits for school policy and are often required to lead, champion and monitor change initiatives in their departments. This paper examines secondary school middle leaders’ self-reported theories, promotion and leadership of culturally responsive teaching approaches for student equity. The study participants (n = 170) are curriculum leaders in state secondary schools throughout New Zealand, serving a range of diverse populations, including Indigenous Māori students. The quantitative and qualitative data for this project were thematically analysed to inquire into middle leaders’ articulation of their culturally responsive theories, practices, and pedagogical and curriculum leadership to assist members of their departments in supporting Māori student educational success. The study found that although middle leaders could clearly articulate culturally responsive, sustaining and revitalising pedagogies and leadership in alignment with government policies and expectations, they were less clear about the measures they used to evidence these practices. In addition, less than 30% of the middle leader participants mentioned academic achievement as an element of Māori student success, and few mentioned the importance of systematic monitoring of achievement data, or using them to support better learning outcomes for Māori students (184).

This paper examines the self-reported culturally responsive practices of curriculum leaders (n = 53) and teachers (n = 105) from six state funded secondary schools in New Zealand. Participants were surveyed to examine the relationship between middle leader self-reporting of culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP) for improving Maori student engagement and teacher perceptions of those practices. School contextual factors and student academic achievement were also compared with the response ratings to understand any association between culturally responsive middle leadership and student academic outcomes. The study found that middle leaders with more experience generally reported greater confidence in their leadership of CRP. Furthermore, there was some indication that teacher perceptions of middle leader's use of CRP practices may be higher in schools with more experienced middle leaders. However, despite the crucial role middle leaders have in supporting the use of CRP in their departments, no relation was found between the confidence of middle leaders regarding CRP and student academic achievement (155).

When gifted Māori students feel they belong and find their realities reflected in the curriculum, conversations and interactions of schooling, they are more likely to engage in programmes of learning and experience greater school success. This article reports on a teacher-led project called the Ruamano Project, which investigated whether Maker and Zimmerman's (2008) Real Engagement in Active Problem Solving model (REAPS) could be adapted successfully to identify talents and benefit the student achievement and engagement of Māori boys in two rural Northland, New Zealand secondary school contexts. The project aimed to implement Treaty of Waitangi-responsive and place-based science practices by improving home–school–community relationships through the authentic engagement of whānau and iwi into the schools’ planning, implementation and evaluation of a REAPS unit. As a result of this innovation, teachers’ perceptions of Māori boys shifted, their teaching practices changed, more junior secondary Māori boys were identified as gifted by way of improved academic performance, and iwi and community members were engaged in co-designing the inquiry projects. Our research indicated that the local adaptation of the REAPS model was effective in engaging and promoting the success of gifted and talented Māori boys.

The numerous iwi (tribes) and hapū (subtribes) of Te Tai Tokerau (Northland) have a long whakapapa (genealogy) of influential leaders that have made a significant impact on the Māori world and beyond. However, ruinous media narratives that focus without relent on poverty, low employment, inadequate housing, and lagging educational outcomes—particularly among Māori—continue to negatively impact the ways students from this region define their identity. This paper presents a number of strengths-based narratives—focusing on tūpuna (ancestors) from Te Tai Tokerau whakapapa—that act as counter-narratives to this rhetoric. The paper discusses how these narratives can be used as powerful pedagogical tools that enhance Te Tai Tokerau Māori students’ self-efficacy, aspiration, optimism, and cultural pride, presenting them as powerful agents of their own destiny. This paper draws on data produced from a Marsden-funded study—led by Te Tai Tokerau descendents—that has collected and re-presented multifaceted hapū/iwi-based narratives that celebrate Te Tai Tokerau distinctiveness, success, history, and identity. This wider study has examined, contextualised, and celebrated diverse characteristics recurring in Te Tai Tokerau pūrākau (genealogical stories), pepeha (tribal sayings), waiata (songs), karakia (incantations), televisual materials, and written histories.

This article explores how schools and educators can create learning environments that foster the innate mana of students. Mana is a concept that comes from a Maori worldview and refers to a person's sense of authority, influence, self-efficacy, purpose, pride, and belonging. The Mana Model contends that student thinking, behaviour, and wellbeing are motivated by the desire to achieve a sense of mana. The mana model explains how student connectedness, belonging to place, cultural identity, academic efficacy, and willingness to develop diverse academic, cross-cultural, social, and psychological competences are crucial foundations for learning and should be central to learning environments, teaching pedagogy, and practice.