Ako – A Traditional Learning Concept for Maori and Pacific Youth, and Its Relationship to Lifelong Learning

Summary Ako is a traditional Polynesian concept meaning both to learn and to teach. This paper examines this concept and its relationship to education for Maori and Pacific youth against the backdrop of lifelong learning. It argues that success for Maori and Pacific youth can only be successful if attention is paid to their cultural as well as their academic needs. It argues for the educational development of the whole person incorporating the intellectual, spiritual and physical components of the self and the community rather than the economic and labour imperatives that often drive educational systems.