2023 ECC Conference: Striving for Excellence Achieving success in early learning through building value and resilience. Come together to celebrate quality and success this July! ECE Network Planning – are you ready? Le Malaga, a Return to Wisdom A Pasifika Indigenous Framework for Leadership in ECE Does your centre support your well-being? PLEASE SHARE THIS MAGAZINE! If you know anyone who would like to read the interesting and informative articles in Swings & Roundabouts, pass it on! ISSN 1179-688X (Print) • ISSN 1179-7517 (Online) PO Box 5649, Lambton Quay, Wellington 6145 Autumn 2023
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Inside this issue... Editor Trudi Sutcliffe Editorial Enquiries publications@ecc.org.nz Advertising Enquiries Catherine Norton Waterford Press Ltd PO Box 37346, Christchurch, New Zealand. Phone: 03 983 5526 Email: catherine@waterfordpress.co.nz www.waterfordpress.co.nz Production Co-ordinator Luke Lynch Content Co-ordinator Patti Brown Graphic Designer Liki Udam Subscription Enquiries Early Childhood Council PO Box 5649, Lambton Quay, Wellington 6145 Phone: 0800 742 742 Email: admin@ecc.org.nz www.ecc.org.nz DISCLAIMER: A cancellation fee of 25% may be charged if the booking is cancelled after the sales cut off date. Your Media Consultant will be able to provide that information if you are not aware of it. Applications for advertising in Swings & Roundabouts will be considered from the following: 1) Early childhood centres and/or their associated management groups that are members of the Early Childhood Council. 2) Trade and service suppliers to the early childhood industry. 3) Government and not-for-profit organisations. Please note: Some industries may be restricted due to exclusive arrangements with the Early Childhood Council. Please note: We do not accept advertisements for staff vacancies. All advertising content is at the sole discretion of the editor. All advertising will be at the rates determined by Waterford Press Ltd. Swings & Roundabouts is produced by the Early Childhood Council and is sent free of charge to all independent early childhood centres in New Zealand. The information contained in Swings & Roundabouts is of a general nature only. Readers should not act on the basis of the information it contains without seeking advice for their own specific circumstances. The views and opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent the view of the Early Childhood Council Incorporated. All content in this magazine is copyright and may not be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the editor. Swings & Roundabouts is published quarterly for the Early Childhood Council by Waterford Press Ltd. 7 From the editor 8 CEO’s Message 10 ECC Update 12 So You Know 14 Does your centre support your wellbeing? 18 Le Malaga: Pasifika Indigenous Framework for Leadership 23 Meet the ECC Conference Keynote speakers 24 ECC Conference Programe 26 ECC Conference Social Events 28 ECE Network Planning – are you ready? 32 Gardening benefits when part of our everyday curriculum 34 Autumn in the garden 36 What business are you actually in? 39 Resource Reviews 44 Last Laugh March 2023 { 5 }
JOIN TODAY! Insider information and advice to keep you safe, viable and compliant Discounted professional development workshops and webinars Preferred supplier discounts Advocacy on your behalf when you need it Latest news and insights Tools and templates PROMOTING HIGH QUALITY ECE AND SUPPORTING INDEPENDENT CENTRES IN NEW ZEALAND ECC Members receive: "The webinars and resources have been invaluable, as well as the advocacy on behalf of the members and the sector" - Sheree "Thank you for all the help the ECC is providing, it's a total minefield and I don't know where I'd be without you guys" - Charlotte 0800 742 742 admin@ecc.org.nz ecc.org.nz
FROM THE Editor Kia ora koutou, Deepest sympathies to all those affected by our recent weather events. It's been heartbreaking, but also heartwarming as we witness communities working together with a collective spirit and within the principle of kotahitanga. Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai te iwi. With your food basket and my food basket the people will thrive. This year the ECC Conference, Striving for Excellence, is being held in the capital at the new Tākina Convention and Exhibition Centre from 21 -22 July 2023 and has a focus on achieving success in early learning through building value and resilience. Last year’s conference had raving reviews and the ECC head office is working hard to achieve this success once again. To find out what's on offer read from page 23. Phil and Tiffany Smith, from Smith Architects, ask the questions, Does your centre support your well-being? Is it even a healthy space? on page 14. The authors offer sage advice in how you can ensure your building’s physical indoor space supports the health and well-being of all and includes some questions in how you can create a beautiful human space. Tiffany is running an interactive workshop at this year’s ECC Conference on supporting participants to support those within it and what can be done to make a difference to your own health and those you care for. From 1 February 2023, the control of where a new ECE service can establish lies with the Minister of Education. Kindello Cofounder, Logan Whitelaw offers a practical and informative article, ECE Network Planning – are you ready? to support your understanding in this area and how it may affect you in the future. Well worth a read and can be found from page 18. Over the last few years Swings & Roundabouts has had the opportunity to champion Pasifika leadership through the research by Maria Cooper, Louise Gorst, with Pasifika Early Learning (AoKids). This has been a real privilege to share their learnings. The research and principals explained in the article is of use in both Pasific ECE and nonPasific supporting not just Pasific children and kaiako but all. The more that can deepen our understanding of Pasifika indigenous knowledge the better! Head to page 28 for the study’s latest findings. Over the last few years sustainability and the benefits of gardening with young tamariki has become more apparent. Just this summer alone has been an example of how weather can affect the food chain and increase the price of many of our local produce. Anita Croft shares the benefits of involving young tamariki in gardening, from fostering connection to nature, to where their food comes from, to supporting social and emotional well-being, plus much more. Go to page 32 to read more. Phil Sales article, What business are you actually in? on page 36 offers some ideas on how you can pinpoint what you are really offering to your community of learners and how this offering can set you apart from others – in essence why would a whānau choose your centre rather than the one down the road! Thank you to all our autumn contributors. Ngā mihi Trudi Sutcliffe Editor Your insurance sorted 0800 765 429 crombielockwood.co.nz /childproof Protecting over 1500 childcare centres with specialised business insurance. March 2023 { 7 }
MESSAGE CEO's This is not how I expected 2023 to start. Already ECC has been back into “reactivemode”. First we were supporting centres affected by the floods in Auckland and Northland (where states of emergency were declared), and again, more recently, for centres in the eastern and central parts of New Zealand after Cyclone Gabrielle. It was like Auckland had been returned to a lockdown of sorts – with no real warning. Disasters have a habit of catching us like that - all unawares. Auckland/Northland Emergencies The Government’s approach to the emergencies in Auckland and Northland had real strengths. However, the way the information was communicated at the start was unhelpful. People received conflicting and confusing media reports on the first day. What the Government had actually done gave centres the ability to open, but good luck getting that message through as parents thought all schools and ECEs would be closed in Auckland until after Waitangi Weekend. Not so. ECC was quick to advise our members about the best approach – advising parents to read the communications from centres and decide for themselves. I say best approach – because the fact there was flexibility means that the approach suited the way ECE centres are actually run. They are autonomous and not Crown agents. They meet regulations to be licensed and otherwise make their own decisions. This is partly why we see such a diversity of centres and what they can offer. Flexibility enables innovation. ECC did radio interviews to try to help get the message out that parents should doublecheck if their centre was closed, or actually open. A significant number of centres were not impacted at all and more than 60% of the centres we surveyed opened on Tuesday despite the confusing reports of mass closures. The real strength with Government’s approach to the Auckland emergency situation was that it enabled centres that closed to be able to qualify for insurance policy cover for loss of parent fees, as closures had been ‘directed’. Parent fees have become a necessary part of many centres’ revenue. It is no longer enough to just guarantee government funding in a disaster. Salaries and wages still need to be paid. Of course a challenge is getting clear information out to centre managers as quickly as possible. If there is an unexpected announcement and that happens late in the day – then that inherently puts great pressure on each centre manager to determine what to do the next day. And how can they communicate effectively with parents under such urgency? There’s no good option really. If they open, many parents would still not attend (rightly they think, listening to the confusing reports). It’s just not enough notice for a centre to plan changes to operating hours. Other parents have commitments they can’t change anyway – they really need more notice otherwise that childcare is essential. Closing is going to be unpopular and potentially not all parents will get the message and may turn up anyway. Teachers end up in the middle of both. Having disruptions to their work commitments and potentially faced with their own challenges at home. It’s a nightmare and with the pressure on centre managers – arguably it is our teaching teams that are forgotten. That is not ok. I was really impressed by the employers that I spoke to who were across all of this and had the courage to make difficult decisions nearly every day during the crisis, and especially those that felt confident because they were putting their people first. Government funding rules disadvantaged some centres that opened, over those that closed. If a child had been regularly absent before the floods, the government rules would reduce how much the centre could claim. If the centre had closed, they could claim funding for all the children expected to have been present. ECC’s view is that funding rules in disasters should not disadvantage centres that open over centres that have to close. During the Auckland/ Northland emergencies there were periods where this funding rule was paused – but March 2023 { 8 }
only briefly. The same pause has not been applied to Cyclone Gabrielle, yet. Cyclone Gabrielle The approach to Cyclone Gabrielle has been different. On the face of it, the key difference from the Government’s perspective was strong advice from Civil Defence in Auckland that meant it was a priority to get traffic off Auckland’s roads. It was a difficult message for ECE sector leaders to hear and understand – the entire education network closed down just because of roads. Especially hard for those located in Auckland communities without major roading challenges being evident. Not giving centres a direction to close with Cyclone Gabrielle has been a different kind of surprise. It has significantly disadvantaged centres affected by Cyclone Gabrielle compared to the Auckland/ Northland experience. ECC’s view is a direction to close, as a starting point, is the better option. Then centres where it is safe and possible to re-open can do so. However, without the direction to close the centres do not have the same insurance cover when closed. Government funding is provided but insurance for loss of income from fees from parents is generally not covered (excess applies). Update: as we went to print there was an update from ECC’s preferred supplier for insurance – Crombie Lockwood, removing the excess for eligible centres. Welcome news indeed. Predictions on the year ahead Before the twin disasters, we already knew that 2023 was going to be a challenging year, with the doom and gloom from COVID’s legacy expected to come home to roost with a (small) recession at the start of this year. For ECE, the Pay Parity policy would add pressure to this for centres. This is because when many centres opt-in to pay their qualified teachers the new higher minimum salary rates, they do not receive enough government funding to make it work. As a result, ECC expects more centres to need to close. Reducing teacher ratios and removing other benefits for teachers that the government don’t require is such a harmful thing to have triggered. This is why dealing with the problems from the Pay Parity policy is a top priority for ECC. Parents are paying the shortfall in some communities but not all communities can afford to do this – and is it right that we expect new parents to pay this? We have got to fix this. Keeping your message clear is so important, as is feeling like you can make a difference. Because you can. It’s all a question of time and priorities. Eventually time will run out even on unfair policies like the way pay parity is currently delivered for centres. So 2023 for centres is about “just holding on” for this to get fixed and in the meantime adapting their operations so they can survive. ECC does not want to lose more centres. Loss of centres reduces the diversity and therefore quality of choice for children and their families/whānau; fees increase and waiting lists get longer. Join ECC if you perceive this crisis - because with your support we become stronger. Eventually politicians will realise that ECE is a critical service (and that centres are actually endangered – for some though it is already too late). We need the role of ECE in our country’s economic recovery to be recognised and for children’s educational needs to get put first. Ngā mihi Simon March 2023 { 9 }
ECC Update New/Updated Procedures and Guidelines ● Child Protection Risk Assessment Procedures (step 7 of the Safety Check) � ECC have updated their Risk Assessment Procedures, and created separate procedures for new and existing staff. The procedures are substantial and very detailed, outlining each step to take during safety checking and the risk assessments to carry out under GMA7a. � Risk Assessment Procedure for Existing Employees � Risk Assessment Procedure for New Employees � (These can be found under centre support/child protection on www. ecc.org.nz) � The new procedure provides a way to ensure centres document the completion of the seven-step safety check process including the documenting of the risk assessment that you did. This last aspect was a common non-compliance issue found in a very large number of ERO’s Akarangi assurance reviews in 2022. ECC monitors points of common failure like this so we can support centres to ensure they are compliant. ● Immunisation Registers � ECC have also created a guideline for Immunisation Registers which can be found under centre support/health & safety/tools & templates/guidelines ECC Update Nau mai, haere mai The Early Childhood Council (ECC) warmly welcomes the following early learning centres that recently joined the ECC: ● Te Wharemarie Tamariki, Wellington ● Born & Raised Pasifika, Whanganui ● Te Aroha o te Ngakau, Rotorua ● Otatara Preschool, Invercargill ● Taonga Education Centre; Potiki Early Childhood Centre; Kakano Early Childhood Centre; Homai Ngā Taonga Early Childhood Centre; Ngā Taonga Manako Early Childhood Centre; Aranga Early Childhood Centre; Eden Campus Early Learning Centre; Ngā Taonga Aroha Early Childhood Centre, Auckland ● Bell Block Community Nest, New Plymouth ● Little Wings, Auckland Recent ECC press releases: ● Extended Pay Parity still leaves providers short Early learning providers are being advised to check the numbers carefully before opting into the government’s Extended Pay Parity. ● ERO reports highlight need for early learning regulation overhaul New Zealand’s early learning regulations have become a punishment regime, without support and recognition for centres who strive to exceed minimum standards says the Early Childhood Council. ● Unfunded minimum wage increase to hit early learning budgets Early learning providers have no option but to absorb the government’s unfunded minimum wage increase into budgets already stretched to breaking point. To read the full articles and to continue to keep-up-to-date with ECC news and current issues and the support ECC is offering go to, https://www.ecc.org.nz/news&media/news March 2023 { 10 }
Refreshed ECC Professional Development Programme The ECC has refreshed their PD programme for 2023 with new presenters and topics that will keep your whole team informed and interested. The online workshops are designed for ECE centre managers and teachers, along with other ECE sector events from webinars, network meetings and the ECC annual conference. Recent online workshops included: ● The NELP in Practice; ● Child Protection; ● Gardening as a Vehicle for Sustainable Practices; ● Amplifying Engagement in Literature; ● Parity Funding Audit Ready; ● Phonemic Awareness and Alphabet Knowledge in ECE; ● Strategic Planning To find out what is on offer now go to https://www.ecc.org.nz/events/ To view and purchase webinars which have previously been ran by ECC and recorded, please visit this page, https://www.ecc.org.nz/pastwebinars . Previous webinars include: ● Webinar Recording: Fair Pay Agreements - What You Need to Know - 15 Dec 2022 ● Webinar Recording: Recent Funding Changes - Special Bulletin - 19 Dec 2022 March 2023 { 11 }
New model to better support kids with the highest needs The Government is committed to designing a system that better supports our kids and young people with the highest needs, Associate Minister of Education Jan Tinetti recently announced. The Highest Needs Review was launched in April 2021 and was completed recently, with 1100 submissions received. “Following the feedback from the review, the Government has agreed to substantial changes to ensure our learners with the highest needs have their needs met,” Jan Tinetti said. “To ensure that the support system is better fit for purpose a mixed model approach will be developed that creates a partnership between the student, their whānau and the early learning centre or school. This will give students and whānau greater choice and control over what support looks like and works best for them,” Jan Tinetti said. The new system will include seven building blocks for change: 01. A new service delivery system; 02. Customised tailored supports; 03. An integrated and inclusive schooling network; 04. Learning supports for Māori and Pacific students and their whānau and families that are developed by Māori and Pacific people; 05. A confident, capable workforce with the capacity to respond; 06. A new funding model to support a tailored and flexible approach; and 07. Stronger integration with other agencies. The Ministry of Education is to work alongside Whaikaha to design and develop the new system and report back to the Minister mid-year. Read the Highest Needs Review stakeholder voice report, developed by NZCER here: link https://www. education.govt.nz/highest-needschange-programme COVID-19 vaccine to be available for highrisk under 5 year olds Ministers have approved use of the paediatric Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children aged six months to four years who are at higher risk of severe disease if they were to catch COVID-19. Eligibility is limited to children who are severely immunocompromised, or who have complex and/or multiple health conditions which increase the risk of severe disease from COVID-19 (following the Starship Child Health table of underlying comorbidities). Bookings for the vaccine can now be made on Book My Vaccine or calling Healthline (0800 28 29 26). The Immunisation Advisory Centre (IMAC) hosted a webinar about the vaccine. A recording is available here, https://www. immune.org.nz/education/ webinars. YOU SO March 2023 { 12 }
Children’s identification documents and the Privacy Act 2020 requirements Please note the change in the Ministry’s recommendation with regard to keeping copies of identity documents. As per the Privacy Act 2020, personal information should only be kept for as long as it is required for the purposes for which it is collected. For information about collecting private information go here, https://www. privacy.org.nz/responsibilities/ your-obligations/collecting/. Early learning services use identity documentation such as birth certificates to verify that children are who the parents say they are. Once this confirmation has been completed there is no reason to hold on to copies. For Ministry of Education verification and evidencing purposes, early learning services can add the following list to their enrolment forms: Original official identification document sighted: ● ● New Zealand birth certificate ● ● New Zealand passport ● ● Foreign birth certificate ● ● Foreign passport ● ● Other Staff initials: ______ Date: ______ The MoE is reviewing ELI Data Quality checking processes in line with Privacy Act requirements. You can find more information here, https://www.education.govt.nz/ early-childhood/funding-anddata/privacy-statement-faqs/. KNOW First-aid course requirements MoE has become aware that there are some first-aid providers offering courses to the early learning sector who are not providing the unit standards required to meet HS22 of the licensing criteria for home-based services and HS25 for kōhanga reo and centre-based services. The core health unit standards 6401 and 6402 need to be included in the first-aid qualification for staff working in centrebased services and kōhanga reo. MoE recommends that staff should complete unit 6400, which will teach them how to manage first aid in emergency situations. There advise is for you to check the status of the first-aid qualifications for your staff. For more information go here, https://www. education.govt.nz/early-childhood/peopleand-employment/first-aid-qualifications/. March 2023 { 13 }
What is the indoor space? An indoor space is made up of four key pillars, and it is the quality of these four pillars that determine the quality of the indoor space for us as human beings. The four key pillars are: 01. Indoor Environment Quality (IEQ) - how well a building’s physical indoor space supports the health and well-being of all those using that building. 02. The nature of the activity or activities within the space – e.g., in a preschooler’s room there may be a family play area, a gathering area for reading and other group activities such as an art area. 03. How the space is managed – the daily operation of the room e.g., where activities are placed, are there too many resources or not enough, how and where resources are stored, is the space kept organised, is the room used the way it was designed and intended to be used, how the room is maintained, is the space cleaned thoroughly and regularly. 04. The psychological environment – is essentially the influence of the centre’s pedagogy, values and curriculum on the space. Why is this important? These four key pillars are the foundation of any indoor space, and they are inherently interconnected. The overall strength of all four pillars impacts the physical well-being of those in the space i.e., their physical state - their health and feeling comfort. This in turn Does your centre support your well-being? By Phil and Tiffany Smith, Smith Architects influences a persons mental well-being i.e., their psychologically state – their overall happiness and feeling of engagement which directly impacts how well a child learns and develops and how productive a team member may be. If one of these pillars is wea,k it will over time weaken the remaining pillars (See Figure 1.). Research has shown that the early years of a child’s life are important with most brain development occurring from conception to age one and continues at a rapid pace throughout the next few Figure 1. An indoor space is supported by four key pillars that directly impact the well-being of those in the space. Does your centre support your well-being? Is it even a healthy space? When a child is continually unwell, we’ve all heard or used the phrase “they are just building their immune system.” While this is true to some extent this phrase in fact is often being used to cover up a growing issue within early learning centres and New Zealand buildings in general. This issue is having and will have significant long-term effects on our health and well-being. An issue so serious that the World Health Organisation warned in the 1980s that it would be coming. The issue is that the poor quality of the indoor spaces we live in is creating unhealthy places for us to be in. March 2023 { 14 }
years. It has also shown that this brain development is created through a wonderful dance between nature and nurture and we know that one of the key elements of nature is the physical environment in which a child lives. What are the building blocks of IEQ? IEQ is made up of 14 building blocks (see Figure 2). Each building block can positively influence an indoor space if: Each building block has been designed in the context of the other three indoor space pillars and That building block’s design supports the other building blocks within the IEQ pillar. For example, when windows are designed into a space, the solution should consider the nature of the activity in mind, how the space will be managed and maintained and the values of the centre. They should also consider ventilation, security and safety, acoustics, thermal comfort, beauty and culture, views to outside, airborne particulate control, odour control, daylighting, and fungi control. If all these factors are considered, you will create a beautiful human space e.g., St Kentigern Preschool. If one of these considerations is not factored in you will, over time, have issues within this space that will need to be addressed. A Room should consider ventilation, security and safety, acoustics, thermal comfort, beauty and culture, views to outside, airborne particulate control, odour control, daylighting and fungi control. (Saint Kentigern Preschool, Auckland. Photography Caroline Ducobu) Figure 2. IEQ is made up with 14 building blocks. What can you do to make your space a beautiful human space? ● Understand how your centre’s pedagogy and values support the physical and mental well-being of those within the space. ● Look for each of the IEQ building blocks in your centre. Understand how they work and how they impact each other as well as the other 3 key indoor space pillars. ● Integrate how the indoor environment of your centre works into the centre’s CPD programs and daily routines e.g., the use of windows to provide ventilation, the heat pumps to heat and cool a room, natural light vs artificial lighting and noise levels. ● Chat with your colleagues, parents, and children to see if they understand the pedagogy of the centre and if they have seen daily examples of how it is being practised. ● Ensure there is a good regular cleaning and maintenance program in place with clear ownership and an appropriate budget. Just like any good habit, add these into what you do every day keeping them practical and fun. Get your children involved so they too can learn the importance of a healthy space. Saint Kentigern Preschool, Auckland. Photography Caroline Ducobu March 2023 { 15 }
Keep your windows clean and clear – resist the temptation to cover the windows with notices and artwork. Keep the windows clear to let as much natural light in as possible. If the light coming in is glaring, then look to shade the windows in summer by planting deciduous trees outside. This way when the leaves fall in winter you will still get the warmth and light coming into your room. (Saint Kentigern Preschool, Auckland. Photography Caroline Ducobu) Five things you could do right now to improve your indoor environment quality: 01. First thing in the morning and before you leave at night, throw open all the doors and windows for 5 to 10 minutes to refresh the inside air – even if you have mechanical ventilation. 02. If you have natural ventilation in your centre, make sure you open the windows and doors during the day – even if it’s just a crack on those colder and wetter days. Heat pumps only heat and cool, they don’t provide fresh air. 03. Keep your windows clean and clear – resist the temptation to cover the windows with notices and artwork. Keep the windows clear to let as much natural light in as possible. If the light coming in is glaring, then look to shade the windows in summer by planting deciduous trees outside. This way when the leaves fall in winter you will still get the warmth and light coming into your room. 04. Monitor the noise levels in your room. If it is too noisy (i.e., above 35 dB LAeq with reverberation times not exceeding 0.6s (World Health Organisation Geneva, 1999)), look to see how you can teach the children to be mindful of their noise and look to bring in carpet, acoustic wall and ceiling boards and other soft furnishings. 05. Keep your room dust free – do the shelf and under moveable furniture check! You will be surprised by what you find…especially under that rug… March 2023 { 16 }
Early Childhood Council Conference 2023 – Interactive workshop At this year’s Early Childhood Council Conference, I will be running an interactive workshop to work through with you how your centre is supporting those within it and what can be done to make a difference to your own health and those you care for. Please come and join me, Tiffany Smith, on 21st July in Wellington, I would love to meet you. About the authors Phil and Tiffany Smith, owners of Smith Architects, have specialised in designing world-class education architecture for over 20 years in NZ, Australia and the UK. They believe in crafting beautiful human spaces based on research that brings together architecture and evolutionary psychology. They have been recognised for their achievements in sustainable early childhood architecture with their designs achieving many local and international awards for centres including St Kentigern Preschool, Kakapo Creek Children’s Garden, Gaia Forest Preschool, Three Trees Learning Centre, Campbells Bay Early Learning Centre, Fantails Childcare, Chrysalis Early Learning Centre, Kristin Early Learning, New Shoots Children's Centres and Te Mirumiru Childhood Education Centre. Website: www.smitharchitects.nz Reference World Health Organisation Geneva. (1999). Guidelines for community noise. Retrieved from http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_ file/0009/383922/noise-guidelines-exec-sum-eng.pdf?ua=1 C r a f t i n g B e a u t i f u l H u m a n S p a c e s +64 9 522 2552 15 Hargreaves St, Auckland 14-16 Buckingham St, Arrowtown www.smitharchitects.co | | Gaia (Earth) Forest Preschool Kakapo Creek Children’s Garden Chrysalis Early Learning Centre, Avondale Future Early Learning Centre Saint Kentigern Preschool March 2023 { 17 }
Culturally sustaining leadership, and Pasifika children succeeding as Pasifika, are of strategic importance to education in Aotearoa. These goals are also vital for self-determining Pasifika communities. We use the term "Pasifika" (or "Pacific" if other writers have used this) to refer to peoples from the Pacific Islands with unique cultures, languages, and identities. Policymakers’ intentions have been to build leadership capacity across the profession (Education Council, 2018a, 2018b), to strengthen teachers’ cultural competencies for supporting Pacific learners (Ministry of Education, 2018), and to improve participation of and outcomes for Pacific learners through several education plans. However, the idea that educational leadership can be enriched by Pasifika Indigenous knowledge is yet to be acknowledged as a legitimate way to promote Pasifika children’s success in this country. The significance of leadership lies not in its hierarchies, but in its potential to contribute to a better world for all. Hence, in this article, we focus on what leadership means if its purpose is to contribute to a better world for Pasifika children in early childhood education (ECE). As we write this article, we think about who and what we bring with us to this place of reflection, honouring our ancestors who guide us in different ways. We also think about the unique cultural lenses we bring to our shared work. The ideas we share derive from our research project which involved the first two authors from the University of Auckland, and Pasifika Early Learning (PEL) (AoKids). Our project provided a platform for the leaders and teachers of PEL’s ECE centres to contribute to the conceptualisation of leadership grounded in Pasifika Indigenous knowledge and experience. This collaboration led us to collectively develop Le Malaga, a framework of leadership principles, which we introduce in this article. Practice and Policy Tensions Pasifika peoples have a strong place in ECE in Aotearoa. Currently, approximately 14,605 Pacific children and 2,395 Pacific teachers are part of licensed ECE services (Education Counts, 2023b, 2023c). These numbers warrant serious consideration for ways that Pasifika Indigenous knowledge underpins leadership practices to support Pasifika children’s educational experiences, unique cultures, languages, and identities. The establishment of Pacific ECE services in Aotearoa in the 1970s and 80s led the way in terms of preserving and nourishing Pacific language and culture of young children (Togiaso, 2021). However, despite Pacific children experiencing the largest jump in ECE participation to date, from 86% in 2011 to 93% in 2021 (Ministry of Education, 2021), Pacific medium services (where teaching is in a Pacific language at least 51% of the time) declined in number from 132 to 118 between 2016 and 2020, and now represent only 3% of all licensed services (Ministry for Pacific Peoples, 2020). These changes have occurred against a backdrop of increasing enrolments of all children in education and care centres from 156,187 in 2011 to 194,697 in 2021 (Education Counts, 2023a). This situation suggests that most Pasifika children attend English medium ECE services, raising a question about how well these children are supported by educational leaders and teachers who draw on Pasifika Indigenous knowledge as part of a culturally sustaining education. Underlining this tension is the fact that Pasifika ways of knowing, being, and doing are hardly visible in discourses of leadership in ECE in Aotearoa (Cooper & Matapo, 2021). Understanding the agenda for leadership as outlined in relevant policies can help ECE leaders and teachers of Pacific children to respond to these tensions. For example, Tapasā, the Ministry of Education’s (2018) cultural competencies framework for teachers of Pacific learners, provides practice guidance for leaders and teachers that can contribute to quality educational provision for these learners. While the emphasis on culture and leaders may stimulate much-needed conversations By Maria Cooper, Louise Gorst, with Pasifika Early Learning (AoKids) Le Malaga, a Return to Wisdom: a Pasifika Indigenous Framework for Leadership in ECE March 2023 { 18 }
within the sector, it is important to note that Tapasā was not written as a comprehensive guide for leadership practices in education. Moreover, leaders and teachers are likely to need research-informed professional learning support to engage deeply with the intent of Tapasā, as is the case when implementing other important policy documents such as Te Whāriki. Fortunately, national-level support regarding Tapasā is forthcoming (e.g., Teaching Council, 2023), although there is no guarantee all leaders and teachers will access this and other initiatives to benefit Pasifika children in their settings. Another example of policy with an agenda for leadership is the Teaching Council’s Leadership Strategy for the profession (Education Council, 2018b), and its accompanying Capability Framework (Education Council, 2018a) which brings the Leadership Strategy to life. Together, these policy documents aim to provide comprehensive leadership guidance, more than what has been available at this level, for teachers with or without designated leadership roles. Importantly, the Leadership Strategy recognises the diverse multicultural communities that make up the education sector. It also refers to Indigenous ways of knowing, being, and doing as being relevant to developing distinctive elements of leadership, although this is only mentioned in relation to Māori and not Pasifika. Moreover, while developing leadership capability in all parts of the sector is a clear agenda of the Leadership Strategy and Capability Framework, acknowledgement that Pasifika Indigenous knowledge can enrich educational leadership for Pasifika children’s success remains under-regarded. The Project Our project was motivated by our strong belief in the value of Pasifika Indigenous knowledge for leadership and that research for Pasifika should be carried out by and with Pasifika. We invited 15 leaders and teachers from five Pasifika-led multicultural ECE settings to engage in talanoa (open talk) with us to reflect on, discuss, and articulate their understandings of leadership that can foster success for Pasifika children. Definitions and understandings of success rested with our participants. Most of our participants identified as Samoan, one had Niuean-English heritage, and one was English. To reflect Samoan as the main identity, which is also shared by the first author and PEL directors, we incorporate Samoan terms where appropriate in this article, but acknowledge that other Pasifika groups may have their own understandings and conceptual terms for the same ideas. We were also guided by the Samoan concepts of va fealoa’i (respectful relationships) and teu le va (looking after the relational space) in our approach to relationship building with participants and our guardianship of the knowledge they shared with us. In honouring the sacredness of Pasifika Indigenous knowledge, we recognised that probing for more details during talanoa was not always appropriate or desired. Summary findings were shared with participants in a written report, all-staff webinar, and more broadly in two practitioner articles that provide further details on the project (Cooper, Ah-Young et al., 2021; Cooper, Gorst et al., 2021). Le Malaga – The Journey The term “le malaga” means the journey in Samoan. This term came to us as we reflected on participants’ collective meanings of leadership that seemed to navigate the past, present, and future. Many talked about learning about leadership by observing and listening to the ways Pasifika elders led family events, church gatherings, and village life. Some talked about leadership in relation to family migration from the Pacific Islands to Aotearoa to benefit the family and the sacrifices that this involved. Hence, this alignment between leadership and a journey encouraged us to think deeply about the spiritual and cultural continuity of leadership. We realised that to ignore the geneology of leadership (Kelly et al., 2014) may diminish the value of culture, traditions, family values, sacrifice and resilience, and local/contextual Indigenous knowledge (both shared and sacred), which matter to Pasifika communities. Collective Leadership Principles for Pasifika Children’s Success Our collaborative analysis of participants’ views led to a range of themes and findings that reiterated the importance of Pasifika Indigenous knowledge to enriching educational leadership. Here, we focus on the main outcome of our interpretation of these findings, specifically, six principles of leadership that are grounded in collective Pasifika Indigenous knowledge, experience, and respect for the bicultural underpinnings of Aotearoa. These leadership principles (see Figure 1) are distinct but interrelated, and together, provide a principled framework for culturally sustaining leadership aimed at fostering success for Pasifika children in ECE in Aotearoa. The principles are presented as broad ideas to allow for nuances if and when thoughtfully considered in relation to contexts outside of the research context. Through these principles, we argue that Pasifika-led articulation of leadership and success for Pasifika children in ECE reflects distinct expressions of cultural and spiritual identity. The leadership that these principles form, honours the past, present and future and reflects culturally responsive conditions, processes, and practices. An explanation of each principle and specific examples from our study follow. The principles: Ancestral, Family, and Spiritual Teachings as Inspiration This leadership principle is about looking back at life experiences with past and present family members and bringing forward the important lessons of leadership to address contemporary challenges. It March 2023 { 19 }
highlights the importance of maintaining strong connections between the past, present, and future and staying open and connected to the teachings of the ancestors so that they live on. Examples were when participants spoke about how they had learned to lead by looking back to their aiga (family) and nu’u (village) for leadership inspiration and drawing lessons from these treasured memories for their current practice. Valuable lessons for leadership included working together like a family; seeing leadership in the migration stories, sacrifices, tautua (service) and alofa (love) of their families; looking to the family lotu (church) and spirituality for guidance; and embracing parents’ and grandparents’ visions, values, and wisdom. Shared Visions, Aspirational Goals, and High Expectations of Success This leadership principle refers to having shared visions and aspirational goals for Pasifika children in ECE: to know who they are in relation to their cultures, languages, identities; and to develop confidence, abilities, leadership, and learning. These ideas represented participants’ understandings of success. This principle also involves acknowledging and supporting Pasifika families’ high expectations that their children will grow strong in their languages, cultures, and values. Alongside these shared visions and aspirational goals, it is equally important to acknowledge and address the challenges that may hold Pasifika children back from achieving their best and to understand that ECE must support both children and their families for Pasifika children to enjoy success as Pasifika. Cultures of Respect, Inclusion, Learning, and Connection This leadership principle refers to creating cultures in ECE settings that are based on: respecting and appreciating all things Māori; that support multiculturalism, plurilingualism, a culturally inclusive philosophy; and that make meaningful contributions to Pasifika children’s experiences. It also involves engaging with Pasifika families in a range of ways to support their children’s success. Examples were when participants shared ways they acknowledged and celebrated all cultures in their centres, included families and community members, and maintained strong connections to and fostered Te Ao Māori (te reo and tikanga Māori) learning as well as Pasifika language and culture learning. Tautua/Service: Educating Children as a Shared Commitment This leadership principle refers to serving others before the self and embracing this way of being to ensure the education of children is a shared commitment, not something that one person can and should do alone. In the study, many participants did not question the importance of tautua (service) in their personal and professional lives. Rather, they emphasised tautua as an expected way of life, including in relation to being a good leader, as an underpinning value of Fa’a Samoa (the Samoan way), and in working together to benefit the family and community. Pasifika-Centred Ways of Knowing, Being, and Doing For this leadership principle, Pasifika-centred “ways of knowing” refer to understandings of the world that have been embedded in Pasifika traditions and cultural practices over the generations. One dominant way of knowing valued by our participants was the use of creative expressions such as metaphors, imagery, and proverbs to give life and meaning to leadership. Examples of Samoan proverbial expressions related to leadership were: “O le ala i le pule o le tautua - the road to leadership is through service” and “E lē sua se lolo i se popo e tasi - it takes a lot of coconuts to produce enough copra to make a small bit of oil.” Pasifika-centred “ways of being” refer to how Pasifika peoples are in and approach the world, influenced by their ways of knowing. Examples of their ways of being a leader included looking to cultural traditions and the legacies of elders for wisdom, acting with cultural humility, having a love of learning, and being strong-minded and confident. In addition, Pasifika-centred “ways of doing” refer to the practices and happenings in the world that reflect Pasifika ways of knowing and being. Common ways of doing were: tautua, leaders listening and creating space for talanoa to talk openly for deep meaning, and leaders supporting the collective, that is, colleagues, families, and communities. Values that Sustain Pasifika Cultures, Languages, Identities, and Relationality This leadership principle refers to establishing and nurturing values that ground Pasifika culturally, relationally, and spiritually and are transferred from one generation to the next. As most of the participants identified as Samoan, three values that were emphasised throughout the study were: alofa (love), tautua (service), and fa’aaloalo (respect). Another strong value expressed was maintaining va fealoa’i (respectful relationships), which was often mentioned with the Māori value of whakawhanaungatanga (building relationships). Leadership as Traces of the Past For us, what ties these six principles together is the idea of looking to the past, specifically families and ancestors, as Figure 1: Le Malaga: Collective Leadership Principles for Pasifika Children’s Success March 2023 { 20 }
ABOUT THE AUTHORS References Cooper, M., Gorst, L., with Pasifika Early Learning (AoKids) (2021). “Journeying” a return to wisdom: Initial impressions and reflections on leadership in Pasifika-led multicultural ECE settings. Swings & Roundabouts (December)https://digitalpublications. online/waterfordpress/swings-roundaboutssummer-21/18/ Cooper, M., & Matapo, J. (2021). Mobilising tofā sa’ili for ECE leadership: A talanoa confronting dominant conceptualisations from a Pasifika perspective. ACCESS: Contemporary Issues in Education, 41(2), 26-32. https://doi. org/10.46786/ac21.2955 Cooper, M., with Ah-Young, V. F. & Fautua, I. (2021). “Initiating” a return to wisdom: Exploring leadership in ECE through a Pasifika Indigenous lens. Swings & Roundabouts (March) https:// digitalpublications.online/waterfordpress/ swings-roundabouts-autumn-21/16/ Education Council. (2018a). Educational leadership capability framework. https://teachingcouncil. nz/assets/Files/Leadership-Strategy/ Leadership_Capability_Framework.pdf Education Council. (2018b). The leadership strategy for the teaching profession of Aotearoa New Zealand. https://teachingcouncil.nz/ professional-practice/rauhuia-leadershipspace-home/rauhuia-leadership-space/ leadership-strategy/ Education Counts. (2023a). Pivot table: Enrolments in ECE (2000-2021). https://www. educationcounts.govt.nz/statistics/participation Education Counts. (2023b). Pivot Table: Number of teaching staff by ethnicity (2019-2021). https:// www.educationcounts.govt.nz/statistics/ staffing Education Counts. (2023c). Time series data: Enrolments in ECE (2000-2020). https://www. educationcounts.govt.nz/statistics/participation Kelly, D., Jackson, B., & Henare, M. (2014). “He apitihono, He tātaihono”: Ancestral leadership, cyclical learning and the eternal continuity of leadership. In R. Westwood et al. (eds.), Coreperiphery relations and organisation studies (pp. 164-184). MacMillan Publishers. Ministry of Education. (2018). Tapasā: Cultural competencies framework for teachers of Pacific learners. https://teachingcouncil.nz/assets/ Files/Tapasa/Tapasa-Cultural-CompetenciesFramework-for-Teachers-of-PacificLearners-2019.pdf Ministry of Education. (2021). Education indicator. Education and learning outcomes: Early learning. https://wwweducationcounts.govt. nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/208713/EarlyLearning-Participation-Oct-2021-IndicatorReport.pdf Ministry for Pacific Peoples. (2020). Pacific Aotearoa status report: A snapshot. https:// www.mpp.govt.nz/assets/Reports/PacificPeoples-in-Aotearoa-Report.pdf Sinclair, A. (2007). Going back. Leadership for the disillusioned. In Moving beyond myths and heroes to leading that liberates (pp. 57-74). Allen & Unwin. Teaching Council of Aotearoa. (2023). FAQs: Tapasā. https://teachingcouncil.nz/resourcecentre/tapasa/tapasa-resources/ Togiaso, J. (2021). Visionary women: Sustaining the language and culture in Samoan early childhood centres. Early Childhood Folio, 25(2), 9-13. https://doi.org/10.18296/ecf.0096 Maria Cooper is co-Associate Dean Pacific and a senior lecturer at the University of Auckland’s Faculty of Education and Social Work. She researches and teaches on educational leadership, early years curriculum, Pasifika learners, and infant-toddler pedagogies. She has Samoan and Slovakian heritage, enjoys time out with her husband and three children, and was born, raised, and still lives in central Auckland. Louise Gorst is a professional teaching fellow at the University of Auckland’s Faculty of Education and Social Work. She teaches on a range of courses, and researches leadership, leader identity, and teachers’ influence and leadership of curriculum and pedagogy in ECE. Louise is an experienced, fully certificated teacher and mentor. She has connections with English and Irish ancestry and has lived in Auckland all her life. Louise enjoys spending quality time with her husband and two children. vital to leading in the present. Nearly every participant referred back to life with family, elders, and community when sharing their understandings, practices, and experiences of leadership. In the literature, the concept of leadership has a long history but it is often studied as an ahistorical concept, that is, without looking back to one’s personal backgrounds, histories, and connections (Sinclair, 2007). Yet, Indigenous communities often make sense of leadership as a cultural and spiritual process, which involves embracing and carrying the values passed on from parents, grandparents, and the ancestors into their work and ways of leading (Kelly et al., 2014). It was clear to us that our participants embraced and carried their family and ancestral values, stories, and ways of leading with them in to their everyday work. This idea that leadership carries traces of the cultural and spiritual past concurs with Kelly et al.’s notion of ancestral leadership, which “draws upon knowledge that is built on earlier experience and continues to reflect leadership dynamics from the bonds of ancestry by virtue of a continuous exchange between three realities: the human, the cosmos and the divine” (p. 165). Closing thoughts In closing, we believe that the leadership framework we offer in this article provides a tool that can be used to enrich leadership conditions, processes, and practices to support Pasifika children in ECE. At the very least, it may encourage other leaders and teachers to reflect on their leadership practices and ways that these practices enable Pasifika children to enjoy learning and success as Pasifika. For us, the framework means this plus much more. It is a reflection of our active resistance to the idea that culture-free notions of leadership are all that there is to know and be guided by in ECE. It is also a mark of our commitment to unsettle any notions of leadership that are at risk of being too entrenched in our education systems and to transform them so that they are (more) inclusive of Pasifika knowledge and experience, while respecting our bicultural foundations. This is in keeping with our hope for a better world for Pasifika (and all other) children in this country. March 2023 { 21 }
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