A refreshed Ministry of Education Maori learning strategy is being praised by a tribal education group for wanting first-hand information from students about their time at school.
The Government is investing $27 million in initiatives aimed at lifting achievement among the country's poorest students.
More than a quarter of the fund - $8 million - has been devoted to expanding the 2008 Ka Hikitia strategy over four years.
The ministry plans to accelerate student success partly by listening to first-hand stories from students and their families about education.
Awanuiarangi Black is a spokesperson for the tribal education group Nga Kaikokiri Matauranga. He says the ministry will gain a good insight into Maori community life.
He is commending the ministry for drilling down to a community level, because he believes this is the first time it has done so.
Mr Black says one reason it would be good for the agency to sit down with a student, his or her whanau, hapu and perhaps tribe - would be that it would identify the aspirations of the iwi and the tribe's expectation of a tribal young person.
