Swings + Roundabouts Spring 2020

Under the refreshed Ka Hikitia - Ka Hāpaitia there are five outcome domains including Te Tuakiritanga: Identity, language and culture matter for Māori learners. In conjunction with Ka Hikitia – Ka Hāpaitia, is the Tau Mai Te Reo/ The Māori Language in Education Strategy (also refreshed) which has a kaupapa to grow te reo Māori through education and growing education through te reo Māori. The overarching goal of Tau Mai Te Reo is for all learners to develop some level of Māori language skills to support our national identity, while learners in Māori Medium education will be able to develop very high levels of Māori language proficiency as they undertake their teaching and learning through te reo Māori. It is with this lens that this article is written from – Why we all should care and be committed to making te reo Māori stronger (and/or at least get the basics right!) The importance of te reo Māori is highlighted and shared by Dr Rangimarie Turiki Pere in Te Wheke – a celebration of infinite wisdom (1997): “ Language is the life line and sustenance of a culture. It provides the tentacles that can enable a child to link with everything in his or her world. It is one of the most important forms of empowerment that a child can have. Language is not only a form of communication but it helps transmit the values and beliefs of a people. ” Incorporating te reo Māori me ōna tikanga is a teaching requirement under 1.4 in Our Code Our Standards Code of KIA KAHA TE REO MĀORI LET'S MAKE THE MĀORI LANGUAGE STRONG Professional Responsibility and Standards for the Teaching Profession (Education Council New Zealand, 2017) which includes kaiako showing a commitment through valuing and promoting te reo Māori me ngā tikanga Māori (Education Council, 2017). Our own Aotearoa New Zealand early childhood curriculum, Te Whāriki, states “a society that recognises Māori as tangata whenua, assumes a shared obligation for protecting Māori language and culture, and ensures that Māori are able to enjoy educational success as Māori" (Ministry of Education, 2017, page 6). “ …kaiako are responsive to their [children’s] cultural ways of knowing and being. For Māori this means kaiako need understanding of a world view that emphasises the child’s whakapapa connection to Māori creation, across Te kore, te pō, te ao mārama, atua Māori and tīpuna. 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). ERO’s (Education Review Office, 2013) findings suggest that Te Whāriki is not well understood and implemented as a bicultural curriculum. Although the intent of Te Whariki is recognised in some services, there isn’t sufficient guidance to help services realise this intent. Many services made reference to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and to New Zealand’s dual cultural heritage and bicultural practice within their philosophy statements but only a few services worked in partnership with whānau Māori and were responsive to the language, culture and identity of Māori children (Education Review Office, 2013). It was found that often bicultural practice meant the use of basic te reo, some waiata in the programme, resources such as puzzles that depicted aspects of te ao Māori and posters and photographs that reflected aspects of Māori culture (Education Review Office, 2013). Many services also didn’t focus on bicultural practice as part of their self review or support raising teacher capability to implement a bicultural curriculum through involvement in professional learning programmes (Education Review Office, 2013). Skerrett (2018) argues that for a language to offer meaning-making the learning of a language needs to go beyond “symbolic splashes, or superficial language functions” (p. 5). Skerrett (2018) maintains that this is the norm for many ECEs such as “limiting the use of te reo Māori to rote-learnt songs, prayers, commands or the insertion of Māori words or phrases into English grammatical sentences, which has limited function in a meaning-making pedagogical environment” (p. 5). Stuart and Rameka (2018) describe how te reo Māori is often used more in group situations, “rather than in spontaneous teaching and learning situations” within mainstream ECE (p. 84). Stuart and Rameka (2018) suggest ECE teachers use a variety of strategies such as regularly and consistently speaking te reo Māori. For example for those working with under 2’s kaiako can name objects, ask questions and sing waiata. When working with young children kaiako can encourage young children to speak and use te reo Māori through kaiako asking questions and encouraging children to reply to questions, BY TRUDI SUTCLIFFE September 2020 { 19 }