Guiding principles for the education of gifted Maori students and their possible relevance to gifted indigenous students in Taiwan

This paper contains the content of a presentation to CAGE's 2014 conference on multicultural gifted education in Taiwan. It introduces a set of guiding principles for educating Māori learners with special education needs, including gifted students. He waka tino whakarawea: a wellequipped canoe is used as a metaphor to illustrate the purpose of each principle in providing a culturally appropriate, effective education for Māori students. Each principle is described and discussed in relation to its relevance to gifted education. Associated issues are outlined including a Māori concept of giftedness, identification strategies, the under-representation of Māori students in gifted education and the shortage of professionals with the cultural knowledge needed to provide for them. Measures to address these challenges are presented. The applicability of each principle to the education of gifted indigenous students in Taiwan is raised. Questions are posed to guide reflection on present practices and factors that may contribute to more successful identification and provision for gifted indigenous students. Ko Tararua te maunga Ko Otaki to awa Ko Tainui te waka Ko Hotoroa te tupuna Ko Ngāti Raukawa te iwi Ko Jill Bevan-Brown ahau Ngā mihi nui ki ngā tangata whenua o tenei whenua Ngā mihi ki te rangatira me te kaiwhakahaere o tenei hui, Wei-Ren Chen Kia ora ki ngā tāngata katoa e huihui mai nei i tenei ra, Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa.