A recent report from the Education Review Office has reported that many schools are failing their tamariki with disabilities.
But it found that schools that had a greater number of Māori and Pasifika students performed better at valuing diversity and were found to be more inclusive.
Professor Missy Morton from the University of Auckland talked to TeAoMāoriNews about Māori leadership and how it serves disabled learners.
Morton said that as well as having better inclusion for disabled learners, they were much better at engaging with whānau, so that children enjoyed their schooling and had better learning outcomes.
“But it’s also significant to note that Māori disabled learners are still experiencing exclusion and poor outcomes, with a fifth of families reporting feeling discouraged from enrolling their child at a local school, with 24% being asked to take their child home.”
Morton said it was essential for people to understand the key elements of disabled learning and care and better understand the available support systems, “support in terms of additional services input or supports in terms of teacher education and teacher development.”
Morton said the schools with the best inclusion were the schools that weren’t very financially well off and tended to be really resourceful and committed to welcoming all students and their community to being a part of the school.
“There is a heart and mind shift as well as increasing access to support and teachers' education.”