He rautaki whakaako hei whakatō te reo Māori ki ngā whare kōhungahunga: Teaching strategies for the embedding of te reo Māori within the early childhood education programme at Toi Ohomai
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26473/ATLAANZ.2025.1/001Keywords:
te reo Māori, early childhood education, teaching strategiesAbstract
As part of honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi, kaiako (teachers) in Aotearoa New Zealand are expected to embed te reo Māori in their teaching practice. Therefore, students in the Bachelor of Teaching Early Childhood Education (BTECE) and Master of Teaching Early Childhood Education (MTECE) programmes at Toi Ohomai receive te reo Māori lessons to prepare for this responsibility. To meet Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations, kaimahi (staff) must understand strategies for embedding te reo Māori effectively. This study used a mixed methods approach, collecting data through an online survey of BTECE and MTECE students, followed by a focus group using whakawhiti kōrero (exchanging of ideas) to explore students experiences in learning te reo Māori in and outside of the classroom. Findings identified learning waiata, teacher-initiated activities, and interactive tools as effective strategies. Students also requested te ao Māori knowledge during their studies. This research hopes to inform kaimahi teaching strategies in the embedding of te reo Māori to ensure graduating teachers honour Te Tiriti in their practice. Many of these practices may also be of interest to Tertiary Learning Advisors and student support teams as they may help to inform their work with academic staff in co-delivery, or pre-semester workshops related to te reo Māori and tikanga.
References
Braun, V. & Clarke, V. (2021). Thematic analysis: A practical guide. Sage.
Brouwer, J., & Daly, N. (2022). Te puna pukapuka pikitia: picturebooks as a medium for supporting development of te reo Rangatira with kindergarten whānau. Early Childhood Folio. 26(1), 10–15. https://doi.org/10.18296/ecf.1103
Bishop, R., & Glynn, T. (1999). Culture counts: Changing power relations in education. Dunmore Press.
Education Council New Zealand. (2017). Our code, Our standards: Code of professional responsibility and standards for the teaching profession.
Caruth, G. D. (2013). Demystifying mixed methods research design: A review of the literature. Mevlana International Journal of Education, 3(2), 112–122. http://dx.doi.org/10.13054/mije.13.35.3.2
Gaches, S., Martin, R., Clark, B., & Paerata, M. (2022). Educating the teacher educators: Embedding Te Tiriti o Waitangi relationships in ongoing professional learning and development. Asia-Pacific Journal of Research in Early Childhood Education, 16(3), 99–121. https://www.pecerajournal.com/detail/30005568
Gaciu, N. (2021). Understanding quantitative data in educational research. Sage.
Greenwood, J., & Te Aika, L., H. (2008). Hei Tauira: Teaching and learning for success for Māori in tertiary settings. Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha: The University of Canterbury.
Growing Up in New Zealand. (2015). Growing up in New Zealand policy brief. The intergenerational use of te reo Māori: Evidence from growing up in New Zealand. University of Auckland.
Hill, M., & Thrupp, M. (2019). The professional practice of teaching in New Zealand. (6th ed). Cengage Learning.
Katoa Limited. (2012). Background Papers: Māori medium initial teachers education outcomes. Report commissioned for the Ministry of Education.
Klenowski, V. (2013). Assessment for education: Standards, judgement and moderation. SAGE.
Lee, W., Carr, M., Soutar, B., & Mitchell, L. (2013). Understanding the Te Whariki approach: Early years education in practice. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203075340
McKim, C. A. (2017). The value of mixed methods research: A mixed methods study. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 11(2), 202–222. https://doi.org/10.1177/1558689815607096
McMillan, H., Te Hau-Grant, R., & Werry, S. (2017). Mai i te pō ki te ao mārama: From the darkness into the light – Supporting early childhood education students to become culturally competent. He Kupu, 5(2), 27–35. https://www.hekupu.ac.nz/article/mai-i-te-po-ki-te-ao-marama-darkness-light-supporting-early-childhood-education-students
Ministry of Education. (1996). Te Whāriki. He Whāriki mātauranga mō ngā mokopuna o Aotearoa: Early Childhood Curriculum.
Ministry of Education. (2009). Tea ho Arataki marau mō te ako I te reo Māori – kura auraki: Curriculum guidelines for teaching and learning te reo Māori in English medium schools: Years 1–13. Learning Media.
Ministry of Education. (2017). Te Whāriki: He Whāriki mātauranga mō ngā mokopuna o Aotearoa early childhood curriculum.
Ministry of Education. (2019). The Statement of National Education and Learning Priorities (NELP) & Tertiary Education Strategy (TES).
Pine, R. S. (2018). Teacher training attitudes and motivations towards learning te reo Māori.MAI Journal, 7(2), 155–169. http://doi:10.20507/MAIJournal.2018.7.2.4
Ritchie, J. (2002). Bicultural development: Innovation in implementation of Te Whāriki. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 21(2), 32–37. https://doi.org/10.1177/183693910202700207
Ritchie, J. (2008). Honouring Māori subjectivities in early childhood centres. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 9(3), 202–210. https://doi.org/10.2304/ciec.2008.9.3.202
Ritchie, J. (2009). Bicultural development in early childhood care and education in Aotearoa/New Zealand: Views from the field. Early Learning Project.
Ritchie, J. (2018). A fantastical journey: Re-imagining Te Whāriki. Early Childhood Folio, 21(9), 9. https://doi.org/10.18296/ecf.0046
Rodriguez, K., Schwartz, J., Lahman, M., & Geist, M. (2011). Culturally responsive focus groups: Reframing the research experience to focus on participants. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 10(4), 400–417. https://doi.org/10.1177/160940691101000407
Rona, S., & McLachlan, C. J. (2018). Māori children’s biliteracy experiences moving from a kōhanga reo setting to a kura kaupapa Māori, bilingualand mainstream educationsetting: an exploratory study. New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies, 53, 65–82. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40841-018-0107-6
Ross, R. M. (1972). Te Tiriti o Waitangi: texts and translations. New Zealand Journal of History, 6(2), 129–157. https://muse.jhu.edu/article/867905
Skerrett, M., & Ritchie, J. (2021). Te Rangatiratanga o te reo: sovereignty in Indigenous languages in early childhood education in Aotearoa. Kōtuitui: New Zealand Journal of Social Science Online, 16(2), 250–264. https://doi.org/10.1080/1177083X.2021.1947329
Simmonds, H., Reese, E., Atatoa, P, C., Berry, S., & Kingi T. K. (2020). He Ara ki ngā rautaki e ora tonu ai te reo Māori. Pathways to retention and revitalisation of te reo Māori. Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi.
Sukamolson, S. (2007). Fundamentals of quantitative research. Language Institute Chulalongkorn University, 1(3), 1–20. https://www.iicseonline.org/Quantitative_MethodsII.pdf
Statistics New Zealand. (2022). Te reo Māori proficiency and support continues to grow. https://www.stats.govt.nz/news/te-reo-maori-proficiency-and-support-continues-to-grow/
Taani, P. (2019). Whakaritea te pārekereke: how prepared are teachers to teach te reo Māori speaking tamariki in mainstream primary schools? [Master’s thesis, University of Otago]. https://hdl.handle.net/10523/9736
Thomas, D. R. (2006). A general inductive approach for analyzing qualitative evaluation data. American Journal of Evaluation, 27(2), 237–246. https://doi:10.1177/1098214005283748
Thomas, T., Rokx, R., & Keelan, R. (2017). Engaging in the Spirit of Māori Cultural Traditions. Traditions Exchange, March/April, 62–66. https://exchangepress.com/article/engaging-in-the-spirit-of-maori-cultural-traditions/5023462/
Tuuta, M., Bradman, L., Hynds, A., Higgins, J., & Broughton, R. (2004). Evaluation of the te auhua Māori mainstream pilot project. Ministry of Education.
Williams, N., Fletcher, J., & Ma, T. (2023). Advice from Māori experts for bicultural early childhood education in Aotearoa New Zealand. New Zealand of Educational Studies, 58, 271–290. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40841-023-00294-3
