Elizabeth Rata collection of Te Komiti o Ngā Kura Kaupapa records

Elizabeth Rata is a sociologist of education and a professor in the School of Critical Studies in Education, Faculty of Education, University of Auckland. She is Director of the Knowledge in Education Research Unit (KERU) and leds the Knowledge-Rich School Project. Her post-PhD research was into the effects of ethnic politics on educational change. This work provided the foundation for her most recent research about the importance of academic knowledge in the school curriculum. Elizabth was a founding member of Te Komiti o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori o Tāmaki Makaurau.

Te Komiti o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori o Tāmaki Makaurau was established in 1987 with the goal of establishing Māori language total immersion primary schools for Kohanga Reo children. Its primary objective was to ensure the survival and development of Te Reo Māori as the language of the Tangata Whenua of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Operating until 1990 the Komiti was a major advocate for Kohanga Reo movement; supporting curriculum development, funding for Kohanga Reo schooling, and advocacy for educational policy change. The Komiti sought to gain support of an alternative, state funded schooling option that included total immersion teaching in Te Reo, as a means to addressing Māori educational failure within the existing school system.