Maori resource teachers have concluded they need to improve the skills of their classroom colleagues to make an impact on Maori educational underachievement.
The Resource Teachers for Learning and Behaviour Association's Maori caucus held a four day conference in Wainuiomata last week addressing the needs of Maori boys.
Organiser Jackie West says while family support and more help from other government agencies is part of the solution, what happens in the classroom is the key.
She says schools with large numbers of Maori children need to ensure their teachers have a bicultural awareness of what Maori children need.
Ms West says the under-achievement of Maori boys is a community problem that demands a multi-faceted response.
