A LITERATURE REVIEW ON KAUPAPA MAORI AND MAORI EDUCATION PEDAGOGY

Waikato Journal of Education, 2015

Current educational policies and practices in AotearoafNew Zealand were developed and continue to be developed within a frameiuork of power imbalances, which effects Maori the greatest. An alternative model that seeks to address indigenous Maori aspirations and Treaty of Waitangi guarantees for self determination is presented here. This model suggests how a tertiary teacher education institution might create learning contexts wherein power-sharing images, principles and practices will facilitate successfid participation by Maori students in mainstream classrooms. This model constitutes the classroom as a place ivhere young people's sense-making processes (cultures) are iri'corporated and enhanced, where the existing knowledges of young people are seen as "acceptable" and "official" and where the teacher interacts with students in such a way that neiu knowledge is co-created. Such a classroom will generate totally different interaction and participation patterns and educational outcomes from a classroom where knowledge is seen as something that the teacher makes sense of and then passes on to students.

2016

Current educational policies and practices in AotearoafNew Zealand were developed and continue to be developed within a frameiuork of power imbalances, which effects Maori the greatest. An alternative model that seeks to address indigenous Maori aspirations and Treaty of Waitangi guarantees for self determination is presented here. This model suggests how a tertiary teacher education institution might create learning contexts wherein power-sharing images, principles and practices will facilitate successfid participation by Maori students in mainstream classrooms. This model constitutes the classroom as a place ivhere young people's sense-making processes (cultures) are iri'corporated and enhanced, where the existing knowledges of young people are seen as "acceptable " and "official " and where the teacher interacts with students in such a way that neiu knowledge is co-created. Such a classroom will generate totally different interaction and participatio...

Education of the individual is of fundamental importance to the future of the Māori people in their determination to secure for themselves an economic future that removes them from the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder. In two papers dedicated to the advancement of Māori education, poor educational performance and marginal economic success by Māori is attributed, in large part, to the imposition of culturally inappropriate Eurocentric expectations on the minority, resulting in identity loss and disengagement within the schools and universities. For Māori, the resurgent propagation of only one culture by government and cultural hegemony by the majority has resulted in social dichotomy. Māori culture has been marginalized and a monoculture now prevails driven by the determination of government to eliminate all race-based programs from the government agenda. Education and culture are inextricably interwoven and their dissociation from each other has been culturally detrimental. With the attempts by mainstream to impose Eurocentric cultural values and education on Māori, a dissociation of education from culture became inevitable. While a European education was needed to function in a Eurocentric society the end result, descriptive of all indigenous people emerging from colonization, has been one of disillusionment and disengagement.

Abstract This thesis aims to explore the journey Māori have taken with regards to education in Aotearoa and investigate current perspectives of Māori involved in education. Historically, Māori have been forced, through assimilation, to adopt and accept methods of teaching and learning that are inconsistent with traditional Māori education practices. These historical practices are also evident in the current dominance of euro-centric education philosophies and practices observed in many schools throughout Aotearoa New Zealand today. The study is based on Kaupapa Māori theory and utilised qualitative research methods to explore 13 Māori teachers’, parents’ and board of trustee members’ observations and experiences of tamariki Māori in educational settings. The study provided a forum and audience for participants’ observations and reflections. Their kōrero (dialogue) was recorded and thematically analysed. Four overarching themes identified were: Te Ao Māori, Tino Rangatiratanga, Ako, and Tangata Whenua. A series of subthemes were also identified within each main theme. These themes with accompanying quotations from participants provide a voice for the people interviewed to express their narrative concerning education of their tamariki (children). The voices of participants also alluded to a range of potential strategies and solutions that could support Māori tamariki to experience education success. Central to improving outcomes for Māori is the need for whānau, school teachers, management and governance to reconsider their worldviews and practices to better align with the cultural needs of Māori, and to recognise the ongoing impact of historical injustices. Reflection on the significance of Ka Hikitia is presented along with a range of recommendations for key stakeholders to empower their positions and ensure their influence is felt throughout schools and their communities.

Te Kaharoa, 2008

This article employs a case-study approach to examine the crucial roles played by Māori Studies Departments in Universities throughout Aotearoa/New Zealand. Comparisons are drawn with similar centres of learning, teaching, and research in among other indigenous groups, and the article reveals the crucial role these departments play.

2012

Developed in New Zealand some twenty years ago, kaupapa Māori has had a successful impact in education, notably in Māori-medium settings such as kōhanga reo, kura kaupapa Māori and wharekura. However, in mainstream educational settings, where the vast majority of Māori children continue to be educated, achievement disparities between Māori and their non-Māori peers persist. This article focuses on Te Kotahitanga, a large-scale kaupapa Māori school reform project that seeks to address educational disparities by improving the educational achievement of Māori students in mainstream schooling. Experiences with implementing Te Kotahitanga would suggest that reforming mainstream educational practices along kaupapa Māori lines is not easy. This article examines three main impediments encountered in attempts to implement the Te Kotahitanga project in mainstream schools: confusion about the culture of the Māori child; uneven implementation of the project; and problems with measuring student progress. For the project's aims to be realised, professional development needs to be ongoing, iterative and responsive.

International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 8, 5, 377-403, 2005

This article presents the findings of a pilot study on Māori student engagement conducted by the Bay of Plenty Polytechnic. Issues related to classroom teaching and learning are not new, in fact, they are systemic and ongoing, particularly for Māori. Recent educational interventions and initiatives across the three main education sectors have sought to address institutional processes and practices in attempts to raise Māori educational success and achievement. The study sought to examine the mitigating factors that influenced the way in which students enrolled in the Youth Guarantee Programme engaged in their specific classroom setting. The key objective was to understand what constituted engagement in the classroom from the students’ and whānau perspectives. In order to do this, in-depth interviews were conducted in an effort to create a dialogue that enabled the voices of the students to be heard. Key themes were generated and these themes identify five key principles for educators, management and policy-makers to consider, when attempting to improve the educational success and achievement of Māori students at tertiary level. The five principles include (1) cultural recognition and cultural understanding, (2) providing meaningful educational contexts, (3) shifting student perceptions, attitudes and expectations, (4) encouraging a ‘will to succeed’, and (5) adopting alternative classroom practices. The findings of this study have laid the foundations for the development of a Profile of Māori Student Engagement. This study provides the starting point for further research in to Māori student engagement at the Bay of Plenty Polytechnic; research that seeks both to inform and transform pedagogical thinking and practice and institutional policy drivers.

Teaching and Teacher Education, 2009

The major challenges facing education in New Zealand today are the continuing social, economic and political disparities within our nation, primarily between the descendants of the European colonisers and the Indigenous M aori people. These disparities are also reflected in educational outcomes. In this paper, an Indigenous M aori Peoples' solution to the problems of educational disparities is detailed. Te Kotahitanga is a research and professional development project that seeks to improve the educational achievement of M aori students in mainstream secondary schools. Students 'voices' were used to inform the development of the project in a variety of ways: firstly to identify various discursive positions related to M aori student learning; secondly, to develop professional development activities, and thirdly, to create an Effective Teaching Profile. The paper concludes by identifying how implementing the Effective Teaching Profile addresses educational disparities.