Partnership (te noho kotahitanga), quality
management and Maori knowledge and practices

The Tiriti o Waitangi (Treaty of Waitangi) has had far-reaching implications across all sectors of the New Zealand education system. This process and its outcomes have often been challenging and sometimes problematic for institutions founded on traditional, enduring European models of organisation, governance and epistemology. This paper critically examines this process in the context of one New Zealand tertiary institution with a primary focus on the institution's approved 'partnership' document: Te Noho Kotahitanga.

In reflecting upon this document and its associated initiatives, it is argued that quality in teaching and learning requires the inclusion of not only European models of teaching and learning, but also indigenous models of teaching and learning. This institution has adopted a Quality Management System that requires all programmes to include Matauranga Maori knowledge and practices. This process is described and the issues identified as part of a broader discussion on the aims and nature of Te Noho Kotahitanga, its Treaty Responsiveness plan and its impact up to this date on the academic culture of the institution.