Teaching to the North East: Relationship-Based Learning

Ask any teacher in New Zealand about improving outcomes for Māori students, and the name Russell Bishop comes up quickly. His book Teaching to the North-East offers a clear framework: relationship-based learning that treats students’ cultural identities as assets, not challenges.

Author: Russell Bishop ·
Focus: Relationship-based learning ·
Research project: Te Kotahitanga ·
Target students: Māori and marginalized students

Here is a quick reference table of the book’s key details.

What is Teaching to the North-East?

Who is the author?

• Professor Russell Bishop of the University of Waikato (Kahui Ako ki Motueka)
• Leader of the Te Kotahitanga research project (NZCER)
• Published Teaching to the North-East in 2019

The book grew from Bishop’s decades of work with Māori communities and schools. He argues that the single most important factor in student achievement—especially for Māori and other marginalized learners—is the quality of the relationship between teacher and student (Te Kotahitanga Phase 3 report).

What is the main premise?

The premise is simple: when teachers position themselves as learners alongside their students, achievement gaps narrow. The Te Kotahitanga Effective Teaching Profile provides the practical elements to make that happen (NZCER).

The implication: if a school culture treats teaching as a one-way transmission, no amount of curriculum reform will shift outcomes for marginalized students.

What is relationship-based learning?

How does it differ from traditional teaching?

• Traditional teaching often positions the teacher as the sole knowledge holder and the student as receiver.
• Relationship-based learning treats the classroom as a community where knowledge is co-constructed (Te Kotahitanga Phase 3 report).
• The teacher’s role shifts from controller to facilitator of a dialogic environment (NZCER).

Bishop describes an approach where power is shared between “self-determining individuals within non-dominating relations of interdependence” (Te Kotahitanga Phase 3 report, p. xi). That’s a far cry from rows of desks and a teacher writing on a board.

Why is it important for marginalized students?

For Māori students, who have historically experienced lower engagement and achievement rates in mainstream New Zealand schools, relationship-based learning directly addresses cultural disconnection (NZCER). The Te Kotahitanga research showed that when teachers adopt a relational stance, Māori students participate more actively, attend more regularly, and achieve better results (Te Kotahitanga Phase 3 report).

The pattern: when students feel their culture is respected and their voice is heard, they stop resisting and start engaging.

What is the Te Kotahitanga Effective Teaching Profile?

What are the components of the profile?

• Manaakitanga – caring for students as Māori and acknowledging their mana (NZCER)
• Mana motuhake – having high expectations (NZCER)
• Ngā whakapiringatanga – managing the classroom to promote learning (NZCER)
• Wānanga and ako – using dynamic, interactive teaching styles (NZCER)
• Kotahitanga – teachers and students reflecting together on achievement to move forward collaboratively (NZCER)

These five elements are not separate steps; they overlap and reinforce each other. Bishop emphasizes that ako—the idea that teachers learn from students while students learn from teachers—is the engine of the whole profile (NZCER).

How was it developed?

The profile was developed through the Te Kotahitanga research project, a multi-phase study led by Russell Bishop and funded by the New Zealand Ministry of Education (Kahui Ako ki Motueka). Researchers interviewed Māori students, analysed classroom interactions, and identified the teaching behaviours that made a difference. The result was a evidence-based framework that schools could adopt (Te Kotahitanga Phase 3 report).

The catch: the profile requires a school-wide commitment, not just individual teacher effort. Without leadership backing, the relational shift often fades.

How can teachers implement Teaching to the North-East?

What are the practical steps?

1. Start with yourself. Reflect on your own beliefs about students. Do you see Māori and marginalized students as capable? The profile begins with a teacher’s mindset (NZCER).
2. Build relationships first. Use manaakitanga: show genuine care for students as individuals with cultural identities. This can be as simple as learning students’ names, asking about their weekend, and pronouncing names correctly (NZCER).
3. Set high expectations for everyone. Mana motuhake means you assume every student can succeed—and you communicate that belief (NZCER).
4. Redesign your classroom management. Ngā whakapiringatanga involves creating a physical and social environment where students feel safe to participate. Move desks into groups, use talking circles, and co-create rules (NZCER).
5. Teach dialogically. Use wānanga (discussion) and ako (reciprocal learning). Instead of lectures, use think-pair-share, student-led discussions, and co-construction of knowledge (Te Kotahitanga Phase 3 report).
6. Reflect with your students. Kotahitanga means you and your students review progress together. Use regular formative assessment and ask “how can we improve our learning together?” (NZCER).

What resources are needed?

The approach requires no special technology. The key resource is time for professional learning communities where teachers can practice relational strategies and receive feedback. The Te Kotahitanga programme provided in-school facilitators and coaching (Te Kotahitanga Phase 3 report). Schools can use the book itself as a starting text for staff discussions.

The trade-off: without ongoing support, even well-intentioned teachers revert to old habits. Implementation is not a one-off workshop.

What research supports Teaching to the North-East?

What is the Te Kotahitanga research?

• A multi-phase, government-funded research project (Kahui Ako ki Motueka)
• Designed and implemented by Russell Bishop and colleagues at the University of Waikato (Kahui Ako ki Motueka)
• Focused on improving Māori student achievement in mainstream secondary schools (NZCER)
• Phase 1 (2001–2003) established the Effective Teaching Profile; Phase 3 (2006–2008) tracked implementation across several schools (Te Kotahitanga Phase 3 report)

What are the results?

The Phase 3 report documented positive changes in student participation and achievement in schools that fully implemented the profile (Te Kotahitanga Phase 3 report). Specifically, Māori students reported feeling more respected, engaged more in classroom talk, and showed improved attendance and NCEA results (Te Kotahitanga Phase 3 report). The report argues that this approach “should raise educational achievement and reduce disparities” (Te Kotahitanga Phase 3 report).

The pattern: when schools commit to the full profile, outcomes improve. When they only dabble, results are mixed.

For classroom teachers in New Zealand—and anywhere with diverse student populations—the choice is clear: start building relationships first, then content, or risk perpetuating the disparities that decades of policy haven’t fixed. The relationship-based learning model from Teaching to the North-East offers a proven path, but it demands more than a read: it requires a fundamental shift in how teachers see their own role.

Related reading: April Nordstrom Teacher Misconduct – Tribunal Facts and Updates · Area of a Triangle – Formulas and Examples Guide

For educators seeking additional evidence-based methods, high-impact teaching strategies offer a complementary framework for improving student outcomes across diverse classrooms.

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