The Education Minister Chris Hipkins says the government is looking to lift the achievement of Maori students through creating culturally safe learning environments.
This follows claims that Māori students in mainstream schools have been subject to unconscious teacher bias.
The government is aware of claims of Māori students feeling that there is an unconscious teacher bias against them in the mainstream education system.
In a statement to Te Kāea, Education Minister Chris Hipkins said:
"Children's Commissioner Andrew Becroft said in his in recent report that that is what students have been telling him, and we have to listen to that. We need to lift the achievement of Maori students and that means creating culturally safe learning environments. This applies to the whole school community and is something Kelvin Davis is working on".
Research sent to Māori TV by The Ministry of Education today has revealed that mainstream teachers have had lower expectations of Māori children, have failed to effectively identify or reflect on how their practice impacts on the educational experiences of Māori students, and have had limited support to address these specific issues.
Ranginui Rikirangi-Thomas teaches in a mainstream school. He says there is a huge need for government to tackle teacher's unconscious bias against Māori children across the board.
The Human Rights Commission told Te Kāea:
"We have had fewer than five complaints alleging discrimination on race-related grounds (race, ethnicity or national origin or colour) from/about Maori children in schools, over the last three years".