What Is Ako? A Maori View Of Teaching And Learning

This piece draws on a collaboration by Aroha Puketapu with Graeme (Kereama) Smith, reframed here as a companion to the main Ako definition page.

From a Māori view, ako is not just a teaching technique. It is a reciprocal relationship between akonga and kaiako where knowledge, attention, context, identity, and responsibility move between teacher and learner. This makes ako a kaupapa for relational and culturally intelligent education, not simply a method for classroom delivery.

For the shorter companion definition, see What Is Ako?. This post sits inside the wider Cultural Intelligence in Education pathway.

Ako is a relationship between akonga and kaiako

Picture a triangle.

• Tapatahi – On the first side, the teacher has something to give. This is mātauranga.
• Taparua – On the second side, the learner has something to give. This may include time, attention, contribution, and commitment.
• Tapatoru – On the third side, all aspects of both kaiako and tauira lives are added holistically.

What improvements does ako make possible?

Ako creates holistic improvements because it treats learning as relational, embodied, thoughtful, and spiritual. These improvements can include:

• Hearts / manawa: we are moved by life’s experiences, stories, facts, examples, and narratives.
• Minds / hinengaro: we change our thinking by understanding new information. At its peak, this changes our actions and behaviour.
• Body / tinana: learning is not only abstract; it is embodied and practised.
• Spirit / wairua: the centre of one’s being is recognised and strengthened.

The transaction is reciprocal in nature. There is mutual respect in the action of giving and receiving. Ako asks educators to pay attention to power, authority, dignity, context, and the conditions that allow both kaiako and akonga to participate well.

What kind of learning environment does ako create?

Ako can create an environment of gratitude and responsibility. This includes:

• The gratitude of being selected to learn.
• The gratitude of having someone to teach.
• The gratitude of knowledge passed down from others before both kaiako and tauira.

No one has a monopoly on knowledge. We are contributors, but not owners of the whole. This matters because teaching can easily become ego-driven if the educator treats learner behaviour as an inconvenience rather than a signal to understand.

In formal teaching contexts, it is easy to see systems that punish learners for the visible symptom while ignoring the life context behind it. A learner arriving late may be treated only as a compliance problem, when the deeper question is what has happened around that learner and what support, structure, or response is needed.

This is where ako becomes more than a word. It challenges educators to understand the relationship, not just enforce the rule.

Related Cultural Intelligence Pathways

Read the companion definition page, What Is Ako?, for a concise explanation of reciprocal teaching and learning.

Ako also sits alongside kaitiakitanga, because both concepts ask educators to think relationally about care, responsibility, learner mana, and long-term capability.

These posts are part of the broader Cultural Intelligence in Education pathway.

FAQ: Ako From A Māori View

What is ako from a Māori view?

From a Māori view, ako is reciprocal teaching and learning. It is a relationship between akonga and kaiako where knowledge, context, responsibility, and contribution move between teacher and learner.

What is the relationship between akonga and kaiako?

Akonga and kaiako are learner and teacher, but ako makes the relationship reciprocal. The teacher brings knowledge and responsibility, while the learner also brings experience, attention, context, identity, and contribution.

What do tapatahi, taparua, and tapatoru suggest?

Tapatahi, taparua, and tapatoru can be used as a simple relationship model: what the teacher gives, what the learner gives, and what both bring holistically into the learning relationship.

How does ako improve teaching and learning?

Ako improves teaching and learning by making the relationship more responsive, respectful, and contextual. It helps educators notice learner experience rather than treating learning as one-way delivery.

How does ako connect to cultural intelligence?

Ako connects to cultural intelligence because it requires educators to pay attention to relationship, identity, power, context, reciprocity, and the cultural conditions that shape learning.