The visibility of te reo Māori in ECE settings in Aotearoa New Zealand
“Strength for an endangered
language comes from its status, people being aware of how to support
revitalisation, people acquiring and using it and from the language having the
right words and terms to be used well for any purpose."
Incorporating the bi-cultural/bilingual early childhood curriculum Te Whāriki into ECE centres across Aotearoa New Zealand should be visible and evident. However, a vast majority of ECE settings are continuing to educate from a “mono-cultural. monolingual, perspective and position” (Gordon-Burns & Campbell, 2014, p. 23). The underlying principles in Te Whāriki (2017) are clear, the ability to translate these principals into teaching practice based on “sincere, respectful, reciprocal treaty-based relationships between people, places and things that also span the past, present and future is a complex task” (Lee, Carr, Soutar, & Mitchell, 2013).
The decline in speaking te reo Māori has affected Māori culture and identity, as the link between language and culture is so strong they cannot be separated (Lee, Carr, Soutar, & Mitchell, 2013). Investing in the regeneration of te reo Māori is vital in keeping the culture alive, it is necessary for all teachers to undertake this task and teach our youngest tamariki respect and the value of Māori culture and language (Lee, Carr, Soutar, & Mitchell, 2013). Te Whāriki (2017) supports the principle that "all children should be able to access te reo Māori in their ECE setting, as kaiako weave te reo Māori and tikanga Māori into the everyday curriculum”. (Ministry of Education, 2017, p. 12).
Creating a truly bi-cultural practice and respecting the Tiriti o Waitangi, whereby there was a commitment to be equal partners and have equal say, to have the same protection and to be able to participate in the same way (Gordon-Burns & Campbell, 2014). A quote from Te Whāriki (2017) supports the importance of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, “the Treaty has implications for our education system, particularly in terms of achieving equitable outcomes for Māori and ensuring that te reo Māori not only survives but thrives” (Ministry of Education, 2017, p. 5) If this commitment is to be upheld then the speaking of te reo Māori and the knowledge of tikanga Māori (Maori customs and protocols) and Māori ways of being need to be visible and valued in every ECE setting in Aotearoa New Zealand (Lee, Carr, Soutar, & Mitchell, 2013; Mead, 2016).
Gordon-Burns & Campbell (2014), quote research that indicates that Māori children that are educated in Māori education settings like Kōhanga Reo achieve better results than Māori children educated in English medium settings. This difference is attributed to the importance placed on ngā tikanga a iwi (Māori customs and protocols) additionally, having teachers that are “culturally responsive” and who teach with cultural integrity (Gordon-Burns & Campbell, 2014, p. 24). Ka Hikitia supports that Māori learners learn better in environments that reflect their own identity, their own culture, through the language spoken and the values expressed in the setting (Ministry of Education, 2013).
Kōhanga reo settings were set up to help the abate the decline of Māori language, and the loss of identity of Māori people, by forming tangible links between the older native speaking generation and the young generation (Skerret, 2014). The fully immersion education indeed was innovative in promoting Māori language and culture and it was led by Māori people for Māori people (Skerret, 2014). It was very successful until the several policy changes by the government including The Meade Report, the Before Five Policy Statement and Pathways to the Future subjected it to be regulated under the white stream sector, secondly as at the time there was no recognised training for teachers in Kōhanga Reo it was seen as lower quality as there were fewer qualified teachers in this sector (Skerret, 2014), This in effect created an untenable situation for the Kōhanga Reo and marked its decline (Skerret, 2014). So following the insurgence of Kōhanga Reo between 1982 until 1992 when the numbers peaked at 850 this has declined dramatically to today there are approximately 460 Kōhanga Reo nationwide (Skerret, 2014;Te Kōhanga Reo National Trust, 2018).
This decline in turn has impacted on the survival of the te reo Māori and tikanga Māori and Māori medium education (Skerret, 2014). Skerret (2014) goes on to discuss with the recent introduction of Ka Hikitia education strategies there is a focus on supporting Māori learners and recognises that great change is needed to foster a positive outlook for Māori learners in the future, this goes some way to stemming the decline. This decline of Māori medium learning settings highlights how vital it is for English medium settings to teach all tamariki in a truly inclusive, bi-cultural way.
Gordon-Burns, D., & Campbell, L. (2014, November). Biculturalism in early childhood education in Aoteraoa/New Zealand: A consideration of attitudes, policy, and practice. He Kupu: The Word, 3(5), 23-37. Retrieved from https://www.hekupu.ac.nz/article/biculturalism-early-childhood-education-aotearoanew-zealand-consideration-attitudes-policy
Lee, W., Carr, M., Soutar, B., & Mitchell, L. (2013). Understanding the Te Whāriki Approach: Early years education in practice. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.
Ministry of Education. (2013). Ka hikatia accelerating success 2013-2017: The Māori education strategy. Retrieved from www.education.govt.nz: https://www.education.govt.nz/assets/Documents/Ministry/Strategies-and-policies/Ka-Hikitia/KaHikitiaAcceleratingSuccessEnglish.pdf
Ministry of Education. (2017). Te Whāriki: He whāriki mātauranga mō ngā mōkupuna o Aotearoa/Early childhood curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Author.
Skerret, M. (2014). Policy and inhibiters of bicultural/bilingual advancement. In J. Ritchie, & M. Skerrett (Eds.), Early childhood education in Aotearoa New Zealand: History, pedagogy, and liberation (pp. 35-53). New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.
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