Community Contexts of Maori-English Bilingual Education is a multi-case study of six primary school bilingual programmes located throughout the South Island. These six programmes comprised the total number of programmes officially designated by the (former) Department of Education as bilingual and which were administered from the Southern Regional Office of the Department. Each of these programmes employed the services of a kaiarahi reo and had been in operation for at least one school year at the beginning of Term I, 1989. The focus of the study is the interlocking sociocultural and pedagogical contexts which affect, and which, in turn, are affected by the recent inclusion of Maori as a language of instruction within the New Zealand public school system. The material presented in this report resulted from quantitative and qualitative study over an eighteen month period commencing in February, 1989. Data collection techniques included interviews, classroom observations and questionnaire surveys which were used to compile base-line data on the numbers and backgrounds of pupils enrolled in the programmes, classroom practices, perceptions of parents and school staff and outcomes of the programmes. The research also included a number of interviews with affiliated personnel such as Kohanga Reo parents and staff, local kaumatua, and officials from the Ministry and Department of Education. A number of issues are covered in the study; including the rationales for establishing programmes, staffing policies and procedures, resource allocation, bilingual teaching methodology, the range and depth of bilingual and bicultural innovation, community involvement and levels of satisfaction and concern with the programmes.