The model for addressing cultural diversity that is presented in this book is based on an indigenous Kaupapa Maori response to the dominant discourse within New Zealand. It promotes self-determination as guaranteed in the Treaty of Waitangi as a metaphor for power-sharing and has as its goal the advancement of educational outcomes and life opportunities for Maori children and those from other cultures.
In this model the classroom is a place where young people's sense-making processes (cultures) are incorporated and enhanced, where the existing knowledge of young people are seen as "acceptable" and "official", and where the teacher interacts with students in such a way that new knowledge is co-created and not seen as something that the teacher makes sense of and then passes on to students.