is an exciting project byDr Ngaroma Williamssupporting Māori learner success and understanding of tikanga and the use of te reo Māori in early childhood education that is proving popular with educators.
Dr Williams(Te Arawa | Ngāti Raukawa ki Wharepūhunga | Ngāti Awa) is a pūkenga (lecturer) at Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | Ҷֱ (UC). Together with a group of emerging UC researchers, she has developed a suite of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and te reo me ngā tikanga Māori teaching and learning resources that can be downloaded for free from the.
The resource has been downloaded over 30,000 times since its launch in June this year. The launch comes at a critical time for early childhood education, following the refresh ofTe Whāriki(2017), the sector’s curriculum first published in 1996.
Building on her recent UC doctoral research calledKi te Hoe: Journeying Towards Indigenising the Early Childhood Curriculum in Aotearoa New Ҷֱ,Dr Williamshas responded to the need for more resources to support kaiako (teachers) to become confident and authentic in bicultural teaching practice.
Ki te hoe: Indigenising Practiceis an inspiring kete (package) that all kaiako (teachers) can use to strengthen their bicultural teaching practice.
Unique in its bicultural framing, it embodies a vision that all children grow up in Aotearoa New Ҷֱ as competent and confident learners, strong in their identity, language and culture.
It is used across a range of curriculum areas and comprises various materials:
- 27 te reo Māori rerenga kōrero (everyday phrases)
- a karakia and waiata booklet with audio files
- a lunar calendar with a set of tikanga Māori principles
- monthly whakataukī (proverbs)
- an information folio to support kaiako (teachers) to become conversant with Te Tiriti o Waitangi
- and a set of 12 iwi pepeha booklets.
“The reality is there has not been a lot of movement in the bicultural space since 1996,” Dr Williams says.
“The Education Review Office reports onTe Whārikifrom 2008 and 2013 found teachers were not confident in using te reo or integrating tikanga Māori into their practice. When I went out and did my own research, I found a lot of teachers were just using two-word utterances like ‘kia ora’ or ‘ka pai’ without really knowing what else to do.
“What is really worrying is that 96% of tamariki Māori are in mainstream early childhood education settings and are not being enabled to learn as Māori. I thought it was about time that we got some more resources out there – hence,Ki te Hoe – Indigenising Practicesuite of te reo me ngā tikanga Māori resources for the sector.”
She hopes the resources will be well-used, not just during Te wiki o te reo Māori (11-17 September) but in everyday practice.
Dr Williams created the resources withand UC lecturersKari Moana Te Rongopatahi, DrA. Delaune,Awhi Clarkeand Rikke Betts.
The team is currently developing a suite of resources for the primary and secondary education sectors.
