ABSTRACT. This article uses critical policy discourse analysis to examine the inclusion of indigenous Maori knowledge within contemporary Maori education policy, by comparing two Maori education polices written 40 years apart: Maori children and the teacher (MC&T, 1971) and Tataiako: Cultural competencies for teachers of Maori learners (2011). Both documents were considered innovative when they first appeared, and the purpose of both is to provide guidelines for teachers of Maori students. Many messages are similar in both, but only the 21st-century policy includes the idea of teacher practice being guided by ethical principles derived from traditional Maori knowledge. The analysis in this article troubles the success of this particular policy innovation, and suggests that questions may need to be raised about how Maori knowledge has been included in this policy document, and what may have been lost in the process. pp. 84–98

Keywords: classroom relationships; deficit thinking; indigenous knowledge; literacy policy; Maori education; policy discourse analysis