Te Tiriti o Waitangi and biculturalism in

early childhood education

Forsyth, H., & Leaf, G. (2010)

 Te Tiriti 0 Waitangi and biculturalism
in early childhood education
Huhana Forsyth and Gary Leaf

~ Introduction
The foundation for biculturalism lies in Te Tiriti 0
Waita ngi (the Treaty of Waitangi) that guaranteed
Tangata Whenua 0 Aotearoa (the indigenous people
of New Zea land) thei r right to te tino rangatiratanga
(self-determination). Whi le there are many defin itions
of bicultu ral ism, genera lly biculturalism in Aotearoa
implies that both Maori and Pâkehâ cultures shou ld
enjoy equal status, and to work towards thi s goa l is to
work towards a mo re equitable society (Ritchie, 2003).
Biculturalism in ea rl y childhood educati on should be seen
as a continu um composed of several goals and several
ways of impl ementing bicu ltural developments (Durie,
1994). Hence, it is more accu rate to use th e term bicuHural
deve/oprnenls in early childhood education , than to use the
term biculluralisrn. This indicates that we shou ld always
be setting goa ls fo r bicultural development and striving
to achieve these 50 as to progress further along the
continu um ta an ideal of bicu lturalism,
Thi s chapter tell s two sto ries of two different points
on the bicultural continuum. The first , told by Gary, is the
story of Te Kôhanga Reo; the second, told by Hu hana,
is of teachers in mainstrea m ea rl y childhood education
as t hey grapple with the challenge of implementing
bicultura l developments in the curriculum.

Waiting outside the marae

Reproduced with perm ission of Early Childhood

Education Centre, AUT.
ÂTA KITEA TE PAE - SCANNlNG THE HORIZON
~ Gary's story: Te k6hanga reG - early childhood
education
Te whakatüwheratanga (introduction)
Th e following story is an obiective account based on personal experiences that 1have
had with Kéihanga Reo as a Maori parent, whanau member and reluctant kaikéirero
(representative speaker) in the North and South Island of New Zealand from 1988 ta
2008. This is my view of the Kéihanga Rea movement, and because it is a personal view,
testimonia ls, educational theories, and academic references have deliberately been kept
to a minimum. Kéihanga Reo are t he result of years of cultural , social, economic and
political upheaval and they have had to overcome tremendous odds in arder to survive
- and fortunately for the Maori language, have done so. However, despite the yea rs of
struggle ta establi sh, develop and promote Kéihanga Reo doctri nes and the reams of
documentation associa ted with tha t history, Kéihanga Rea sti ll remain a mystery to many
New Zealanders. This story, although brief in nature, looks at the way Kéihanga Rea are
organised, and at the people who teach in t hem and support them as centres specialising
in early chil dhood Maori education.

Ko te tâhuhu kôrero (kôhanga reo background)

ln the early 1980s an early chi ldhood education programme, based on the total
immersion of chil dren in the Maori language, culture and values, began
The programme was t he Kéihanga Rea (language nest) movement, and the early
childhood cen tres in which this programme was delivered were a)so known as 'Kéihanga
Rea'. The first Kéihanga Reo began at Pukeatua in 1981. Ayear later, 107 Kéihanga
Rea had been established and by 1988 more t han 500 were providing education for
approximately 8 000 (15%) Maori chi ld ren under five . By th e end of 1990, 6 16 had been
establ ished and it was estimated that almost 20000 children woul d have participated
in Kéihanga Reo by the end of 1995. Wh en the first Kéihanga Reo opened, many Maori
parents (li ke me) waited ta see if Kéihanga Rea were going ta succeed and then, wh en it
appeared ail was weil, enrolled our children in the programme.
The growth of the Kéihanga Reo movement t hroughout the cou nt ry was unparalleled
in the hi story of educa ti on in Aotearoa New Zealand, but unfortunately, despite - or
perhaps because of - its rapid growth, many individual Kéihanga Rea suffered from
a number of initial teething problems These included the lack of early childhood
education Maori teaching resources, and many of t he tea chers (kaiako) and assistant
teachers (kaiawhina) remained loyal to the movement despite substanda rd c1 assrooms
and poor teaching condit ions. Aiso in the early years of the movement, kaumatua (Maori
eiders) were involved as kaiako (teachers), but despite their best intentions they were
still untrained as teachers and lacked the wherewithal ta develop language learning
strategies suitable for Kéih anga Rea. Eventua lly many of those kaumatua ended up
assisting with the children's cognitive learning by role-modelling the language for th e
children. The Kéihanga Reo movement later developed its own form of teacher training at
various levels and many kaumatua participated in and graduated from tha t training
ln 1990 the responsibil ity fo r Kéihanga Rea was transferred from the Department
of Maori Affa irs to the Ministry of Education (Te Kéihanga Rea National Trust , 2003)
The move of the Kéihanga Reo operations from the Department of Maori Affairs ta the
newly formed Ministry of Education put greater emphasis on more regulatory controls
for Kéihanga Reo. This change had huge implications at the grass-root s level. Kéihanga
Rea had to come ta terms with the regulatory environment and compliances of the
 Te Tiriti 0 Waitangi and biculturalism in ECE

early chi ldhood education sector and a mainstream department, whilst maintaining the
unique kaupapa of th e K6hanga Reo movement. From my point of view as a whanau
(family) member at the time, the move to government regulations meant that th e
environment in which my children's pre-school education took place wou Id improve
and the curriculum would remain intact - thi s has since proven to be the case, Of
course, gove rnment involvement meant t hat th e K6hanga Reo movement , and also
individual KOhanga Reo centres, relinquished some of t heir rights as th e sole authority
in management decisions and each learn ing centre became accountable to government
educational au thorities, whereas previously they had been autonomous,

Child ren with carving

Reproduced wîth permission of Early Chi ldhood Education Centre, AUT.

Wâhanga tuarua - tâku kôrero (my story)

When my sibl ings and 1attended primary school in the 1950s there were few
opportunities available to us to learn te reG Maori (the Maori language), Despite my
father being a native speaker, te reo Maori was not spoken at home, However, we did
occasio nally visit our maternai o r paternal grandpa rents and when the time wa s right,
they wou Id speak to us in te reo Maori , Although ail four of our grandparents were
articu late speakers o f te reo Maori ', they in sisted that we (their gtandchildren) learn the
English language. Their view was shared by a number of Maori at tha t time and was
based on the belief of dimini shing viabili ty,
ÂTA KITEA TE PAE - SCANNING THE HORIZON
ln the 1940s and 1950s socia l fo rces within Maori com mun ities were
dimin ishing the viabil ity o f t he language. Factors incl uded Maori urban
migration after the Second World War, the dominance of English language
broadcasti ng through diverse comm unicati ons med ia and the belief held by
many Maori parents t hat English was goi ng to be more beneficial fo r th eir
children.

(Mangan , 1995)

Th at belief was insid ious beca use it permea ted Maori society seemingly witho ut
detection and remain ed in place unti l weil into the late 1980s. 1suspect it is sti ll a
contributing fa ctor in the decision made by some Maori parents to forfeit the opportunity
to learn te reo Maori untillater in their lives.
My brothers and sisters were also unwitt ingly affected by the 'dimini shi ng viabi li ty'
view of te reo Maori , because our pa rent s believed in this view and as a res ult we never
spoke te reo Maori. Our wha nau was not the on ly one affected by thi s view. We lived in
a small isolated forestry village with a large Maori population; the commun ity was cl ose
and there were many speakers of the Maori la nguage that lived there. But English was
still the principal com mu nity language. 1heard te reo Maori spoken only amongst people
who cou ld already spea k the language, wh ile the ch ildren in the community only spoke
in English. When we visited ou r relations in city centres such as Auckland the situation
appea red to be the same as none of my close relatives cou Id speak te reo Maori. So
our whanau situation was, 1 bél ieve, a reflection of what was happening in most Maori
communit ies arou nd New Zea land at that tim e. .
From my perspective, Kohanga Reo offered Mao ri with a background sim ilar to mine
an opportunity to teach our chil dren about the culture that we had not experienced when
we were chil dren . There were many Maori who insisted that 'it (Koha nga Reo) would n't
last' , and that learn ing te reo Maori was 'a waste of t ime'. 1am adamant t hat once again
comments such as those were born ou t of th e 'dim in ishi ng viability of te reo Maori ' view.
Nonetheless, despite the pakeha and Maori cri tics and detractors, history has proven t hat
Koha nga Reo are a viable opti on fo r Maori in early ch ildhood education.

Wahanga tuatoru - nga heke me nga piki (the ups and downs)
Thi s section presents some 'facts' and 'fallacies' associated wit h Koha nga Reo.
The first fallacy about Kohanga Reo that 1will look at is one t hat is espoused in the
KOhanga Reo movement: 'tota l immersion in te reo Maori in Te Kohanga Reo (is implicit)
in its daily operations'. The truth is that there are KOhanga Reo that fail to maintain a
tota l im mersion environment fo r ail of their daily opera tions; instead, 85% is probably
a more realistic figu re. Fred Genesee ( 1987) of McGili Universi ty in hi s seminal book.
Learning Tftrougn Two Languages: Si udies of immersion and bilingual education , provides th e
fo llowing definition of immersion:
Genera lly speaking. at least 50 percent of inst ructio n d uring a given
academ ic year must be provided through th e second language for the
program to be regarded as immersion. Programs in wh ich one subject
and language arts are taught through the second language are ge nerally
identified as enriched second language programs.

(Genesee. 1987: 1)

1personally have yet to encounter a KOhanga Reo that doesn't struggle to maintain
a tota l immersion te reo Maori environ ment for the enti re day. In the Kohanga Reo th at
1 have experienced, although kaiako attempted to teach children in a total immersion
 Te Tinti 0 Waitangi and biculturalism in ECE

environ ment throughout the day t hey (ka iako) wou ld at some time have to (reluctantly)
'break into' te reo Pakeha (E nglish language) to explain to tamariki (child ren) the
deta ils o r meaning of a Maori word o r custom. 'Breaking into' the English language is
done grudgingly but was, and still is, necessary because in ail th e K6ha nga Reo 1have
encou ntered the tamariki (children) who attended , despite being of Maori parentage,
still came from English-speaking households. In fact, the K6hanga Reo is t he only place
where te reo Maori was used as the prim ary language of lea rn ing and com munication fo r
these ch ildren .
The second fallacy is that K6hanga Reo are not bicultural due to te reo Maori being
the principal medium of education and the adheren ce o f--K6hanga Reo to Maori customs
and protocols.
Th e Treaty of Wai tangi is New Zealand's fo unding docu ment. It was signed between
Maori and representatives of the Sovereign of England in 1840. The principle of
pa rtn ership is weil established in Treaty iu ri sprudence. Both th e Courts and the Waita ngi
Tribunal frequent ly refer to the concept of partnership to describe th e relati onsh ip
betwee n th e Crown and Maori. Partnershi p in this context is often referred to as
'bicultural', and Maori and the Crown - that is, the New Zealand government - are the
tw.aJounding partn ers of bicul turalism in New Zealand . Robert loseph in the draft paper
entitled 'Constit utional provisions for plural ism, bicu ltura lism and mul ticulturalism in
Canada and New Zealand, Perspecti ves from the Ouébécois, first nations, and Maori'
defi nes bicultura li sm as
a contested term and litl ha s been defined as a context where two
fo und ing cultures are entitled to make decisions about their ow n lives fo r
mutua l co-ex istence. Bicu lturali sm supports the po liti cs o f affin ity and
di ffe rence based on mutual understanding , appreciètion, respect, and
power sha rin g Within Ca nada and New Zealand biculturali sm suggest s
that the subordinate group shou ld be eq uall y influentia l within the lega l,
political and inst it utiona l systems of the state. 1ndeed , biculturalism refers
to a process where two separate nati ons exist within t he geo-politica l
iuri sdictions of Canada and New Zea land with control over th eir own affairs.
Furthermore, it is essential that both groups are recognised and defined in
t heir terms.
lIoseph , 2000, 6-7)

According to th is defin it ion of 'bicultural ism', Maori, who are one of the two
founding cul tures in New Zea land are 'enti tl ed to make decisions abo ut thei r own lives
for mutu. 1co-ex isten ce' (Ioseph , 2000, 6-7). Therefore, Maori have th e right to esta blish
K6hanga Reo for mutual co-ex isten ce. The Crown has long since moved on from bei ng
iust a representative fo r th e British monarchy. It now represents a diverse range of
cultures; hence New Zea land is now referred to as a mul ticu ltu ra l nation. However, t hose
cu ltures have their own homeland and a language base outsi de New Zeala nd . Maori have
no other place but th is (Skerrit, 2008 ).
Furtherm o re, Kohanga Reo philosophies, sim il ar to Kaupapa Maori princi ples,
espouse eth ics and values such as 'whanaungatanga' wh ich are derived fro m 'whanau'
(fam ily) and focus on positive and ethical va lues to incorporate inclusivity, rather than
excl usivity. Maori and non-Maori, who are invo lved wi th Kohanga Reo, work t ogether
side by si de sharing in ail of t he associated duties undertaken by whana u members in a
Kohanga Reo. As a result, KOha nga Reo advocate and practise 'b iculturalism' under the
ma ntle of 'whanau ngatanga' or relationshi ps.
liTA KITEA TE PAE - SCANNING THE HORIZON
Wahanga tuawha - te Kahanga Reo me ana tangata - (Kahanga
Reo hierarchical structures)
He afla le mea nui 0 le Ao? Wflal is Ine mosl imporlanl Ining in Ine World?
He langala, ne langala, ne langala. Il is people, il is people, il is people.
This section briefly explains the various roles and duties of the groups, people and staff
involved wi t h t he daily routines at Kôhanga Rea.

The National Trust Board

Although each Kôhanga Rea is autonomous with a hierarchical system of sorts in place,
each one is still accountable ta the Te Kôhanga Rea National Trust Board - the governing
body that oversees Kôhanga Rea nationally and dist rib utes government funding.
However, the National Trust Board has very little ta do with the day-to-day routines of
Kohanga Rea.

Te Whânau
The 'Wh;;nau' (family) in t he context of t he Kohanga Rea is the col lect ive term t hat
refers ta a body of parents, teachers, grandparents and ca regivers of the children who
attend Kohanga Rea. As 1commented earl ier, t he 'Whanau' makes most of the major
decisions in terms of the overall daily opera t ions and functionality of the Kôhanga Rea ,
The 'Whanau' in the Kôhanga Rea is comparable ta a public school's Board of Trustees,
and holds regular huihuinga (meetings) ta discuss, legitimise, and support management
decisions aimed at improving the overall operations of t he Kôhanga Rea. Fo r exampl e,
before kaiako ca n attend professionallearni ng courses, the whanau must agree. The
'W hanau' is the cornerstone of the Ko hanga Rea management process, ln addition ,
parents are expected ta support kaiako either by providing re sources such as manaaki
(in-cla ss assistance), koha (donations), awhi (sta ff support) and whatever else t hey feel is
necessary and appropriate ta help staff and tamari ki (children) during the teaching day.

Kaiako Matua (KM)

ln terms of staff that manage the daily routin es of the Kohanga Rea, the persan at the
top of the Kohanga Tatai Whakapapa (arder of management) is the 'Kaiako Mat ua' (KM
or senior teacher) of whom male teachers are referred ta as 'mat ua' (symbolic paternal
figure) and females as 'whaea' (symbolic materna i figure) This symbolic reference ta
a male o r femal e parent is in keeping wi t h the Kohanga Rea philosophy of wh;;nau
involvemen!. Senior matua in Kohanga Rea are supported very weil as good Maori male
role models are rare in Aotearoa schools today, sa Kohanga Rea attempt ta support and
develop their mal e teaching staff as best as is humanly possible.
The Kaiako Matua that 1have kn own go ta great lengths ta underpla y their role
of senior teacher. Nearly ail of them emphasise that at Kohan ga Rea ail teaching
sta ff participate equally in wh;;nau learn ing, and the senior role is shared rat her tha n
belonging ta one persan, but from my observations th e Ka iako Matua are ve ry much in
charge of the daily routines at the Kohanga Rea.
ln Kôhanga Rea that 1have observed, where Kaiako Matua had left for one rea son
o r another, t he whanau stepped in and took over the role of kaitiaki (guardian) and
provided leadership and support for th e staff and tamariki until a new KM was appoin ted.
Nevertheless on th e two occas ions that 1 witness ed the loss of a valued and deeply loved
Kaiako Matua, it proved ta be a long and d istressi ng process for ail concerned, 1 have
been part of t he process of supporti ng two Kohanga Rea that lost their Kaiako Matua and
as a direct result of this loss, staff attrition rates increased. This subseq uently led ta the
 Te Tiriti 0 Waitangi and biculturalism in ECE

Kô hanga being defi cient in human resources th at inevitably led to th e Whanau losi ng
faith in the Kôhanga and it s ability to maintain a hi gh qua lity of delivery. Fortun ately in
each case a re placement was found and in each case com mun ity faith was eventuall y
resto red.

Kaiako
Th e next in line o f au t hority are t he kaiako (teachers). aga in add ressed either as 'matua'
or 'whaea', and it is in thi s positi on particularly that for some inexplicable rea son wâ hine
(women) overwh elmingly o utn umber tane (men). Fo r exa mple, ou t of the seven Kôhanga
Reo that 1 have been involved wi th , t here was on ly one male kaiako. Kai ako in KOhanga
Reo are always learning to teach or learn ing te reo, which meant tha t kaia ko were either
good teachers but reaso nable te reo Maori speakers or vice versa. Thi s prevail ed fo r most
of the kai ako that 1 met. Th ose who were good at both were often sought after by oth er
Kôhanga Reo as senior teachers and those who were learn ing the teaching professio n
spent many ho urs of trainin g and supporting t he Kai ako Matua.

Kaiawhina
Kai awhina (teacher's aides) are next in the line of auth ority. Wh en 1 first beca me involved
-wTihKôhanga Reo, the posit io n of kaiawhina was not a paid o ne and parents worked
voluntarily, but now kaiawhi na are pa id. Ka iawhina who show promi se as teachers are
encouraged and nurtured by staff and whanau,

Matua
The Kôhanga Reo Tru st ad voca tes th e inclusion of young Maori whanau who bring with
them people from a range of cultural and socio-economi c backgrounds
The KOha nga Reo kaupapa is powerful in d rawing people together to
support each other and work towards the ultimate goal o f a bilingual and
bicu lt ural natio n as envisaged in the Treaty of Wa itangi.

(Government Review Team, 1988: 47)

Thu s through Kôhanga Reo, Maori parents in particular have become more involved
wit h the early educat ion of their tamariki (children) which d iffers marked ly from the
situati on when 1wa s a chil d, when many Maori parents had littl e o r no involvement with
th ei r ch ildren's education. Add itio nally, because Kôhanga ReD are underpinned by Maori
social development philosophies such as manaaki tangata (empowerm en t of people
through suppo rtive d iscourse) and whanaungata nga (encouragi ng posit ive rel ati o nshi ps),
KOhanga have become a rendezvous poi nt for Maori. pakehâ (European) ann r Aren ts
and caregivers from oth er cu lt ures. Non-Maori partners, both male and fema le, regu larly
attend Kôhanga ReD either as interested whanau or as active participants in th e teachi ng
and learning processes of th e Kôhanga Reo - either way th ey become involved with
KOhanga Reo.
To conclude , KOhanga Reo are open to ail New Zea landers and are beneficial fo r
ail New Zea landers beca use by revitali sing Maori language and cust oms, t hey are also
renewing Maori principles such as whanaungata nga (relationship), manaaki tangata
(s upport through voice ), awhi (embrace) and ta utoko (o ngoing support) wh ich focus on
positive and beneficial human interaction. It is th is huma n interaction, th is engagement,
that was, is, and will conti nue to be what makes Te Tiriti 0 Wa ita ngi a livi ng docu ment ,
and it is what wi ll move us as a nation towards tru e biculturali sm ,
Têna tatou.
ATA KITEA TE PAE - SCANNING THE HORIZON
Huhana's story: Biculturalism in mainstream early
childhood education
Given that Te Wnariki is acclaimed both nationall y and internati o nall y as a bi cultura l
curri cul um document , one would expect main st ream earl y childh ood education ce ntres
in thi s cou ntry t o be opera ti ng in a bi cultural mann er so ed ucato rs are both familia r
with and co nfident in applying th e princip les o f th e Treaty of Wa itangi in t heir teaching
practice. But d o we yet ful ly understand what it mean s to be bicul t ural in our education
syst em and are o ur earl y childh ood ce ntres reall y applyi ng a bi cultural curr icul um ?

Here an ear", childhood teacher uses Bronfenbrenner's model (see O'Connor and Diggins
(2002)) ta reflect on how she should include te reo in her practice.

Level 1: What happened from my perspective? Why did it have significance for me?
Today a teacher asked rt 1 would get the digital camera and take photos of the group with
whom she was playing a game of 'Kei a wai' (a Maori language leaming game). The reason
she wanted me to take photos was to capture a mixture of children trom different ethnicities
playing the game of another language together. She told me that when children hear another
or a different language, their interest is drawn into the game. 1 explained that 1 had played
the game but didn't feel 1 knew how ta pronounce the words in te reo sa 1 would say one .
ward in te reo and then describe the picture in English. She explained that the only way ta
get confidence is by just doing it, having a go at pronouncing ail the Maori words as best as
you cano When she finished the game she came and got me and said, 'l'd like you ta take
the nex! game, my goal is ta have you be an expert, just give it your best, take your time.'
1 was thinking, 'l 'm not sure about this'; 1 was self-conscious about her hearing me try ta
pronounce the wards as she is sa good at il. 1 gave it a good go, trying ta remember the little
pronunciation Ilearnt in first-year Maori. Another teacher came and stood behind rne and
complimented me on what good pronunciation 1 had. Sa already rny confidence had lilted
and the children didn't seem ta notice that 1 was a beginner at te reo . 1 even managed ta
teach them how ta say 'no' in te reo sa that they were also using te reo in the game along
with me. l'm glad she threw me in there ta do il.

Level 2: What happened from the perspective of the centre, its philosophy, policy, and
teachers? How did any of these things influence what happened?
This teacher who encouraged me ta take a game of 'Kei a wai' with the kids is very skilled
in te reo. She has done courses in te reo and she is a lecturer in bilingualism. She talked ta
me with passion about teachers trying ta use te reo in centres. She believes that teachers
olten don't use te reo because they don't feel confident Uust like me) and the only way ta get
confidence is by giving it a go. Her personal philosophy is also extended into the centre's
philosophy and the other teachers make an effort in using te reo and other languages of the
children in their centre.

Level 3: Refleet on the requirements of early childhood education - the philosophy of

the setting, statutory requirements, e.g. Desirable Objectives and Practices (DOPs)
and regulations
The Kindy is situated in a multi-cultural community. This influences the variety of different
ethnicities that attend the Kindy. The centre ensures that they make families and their
 Te Tiriti 0 Waitangi and biculturalism in ECE

children from ail different ethnicrties feel welcome, Te reo is also inftuenced by the local
community as rt is a national language of New ZeaJand and 1feel there is more awareness
of this in communrties now, So using games like the one 1did enhances the children's
understanding of te reo as a relevant living language,
level 4: How has this event been influenced by Govemment policies, national and
international pressures and wider societal altitudes? What helps explain what
happened? Does Te Whilriki help? Or any other wntings?
1believe the New ZeaJand earfy childhood curriculum document Te WhaJiki has inftuenced the
use of te reo in ear1y childhood centres,
Te WhaJiki (MoE, 1996) states:
'Ail children should be given the opportunity to develop knowledge and an understanding of
the cu~ural heritages of both partners oITe Tiriti 0 Waitangi' (p, 9),
'There should be a commITment to the recognITion of Màori language - stories, symbols, arts
and crafts - in the programme' (p, 72),
'Staff should be suppcrted in leaming the language' (p, 73),
'Strana 4 - Communication: '
Goal2 Children develop an appreciation of te reo as a living and relevant language,
Goal 3 Children experience the stories and symbols of their own and other cu~ures,'

From discussions and anecdotal evidence From teache rs working in ma in stream

ce ntres, it appea rs t here is sti ll a lot of uncertainty about applying a bicultu ral
approach in ea rl y childh ood educati on. Recen t resea rch support s thi s. Ritchie and
Rau (2002 , 2) reported that while resea rch ing, 'ma ny co-resea rchers expressed
concern about th e limited implementation o f t he bicultural aspirations contained
within both th e earl y childh ood eurriculum and the Revised Statement o f Desirable
Objectives and Practices'. Ritchie (2002 ) fou nd t hat there is a lack of confidence
among teachers and teacher ed ucators to deliver bicultural programmes as man y feel
they do not have the competence to meet th e expectations of providing a bicultural
currieulum in lin e with the philosophy underpinnin g Te Wh"riki. Th is would indicate
thrlt 'just havi ng' regulat io ns a nd a bicultura l curriculum does not gua ran tee a
bieultural approach in practice. So why are some ce ntres not fu lly implem enting this
widely accla imed bicu ltural curriculum docu ment?
Perhaps t he answer lies in a new approach to understand ing what b icu lturali sm
mean s in th e context of Aotearoa New Zeala nd . Accordin g to Bell (2004, 103). 'wh ile
bicul t uralism posits two fo unding peoples, it rest s o n th e Treaty of Wa itangi'. Vet
1have found students and teachers ali ke who, whi le supporti ve of the idea ls o f
bicultura lism based on t he Treaty, constan t ly stru ggle wi th any rea l con fi dence in
applying th ose idea ls. Bell pu t forward th at historica lly an d politically, the perception
is that the Treaty partners are 'Maori' and t he 'Crow n' and goes o n to suggest that
'the Trea ty processes and bieultural engagement currently sideline Pakeha' (Bell ,
2004 , 103), Thi s t hen may be the deeper issue - t hat Pakeha have, in essence, a way
of 'opti ng out' of any rea l o bli gation to engage as partners in t he Trea ty, Perhaps it is
time to ca li fo r new cu lt ura l political approaches, approaches ofgenui ne engagement
between Pakeha and Maori and between Pakeha and the Treaty?
ÀTA KITEA TE PAE - SCANNING THE HORIZON
50 wh at does thi s mean for practiti oners working in early chil dhood cen tres? To
begin with it mean s pakeha are partn ers in the Treaty whether th ey recogni se this o r not ,
and an y good partnership is based on engagement. Genui ne engagement cannot occur
unl ess th ere is an ackn owledgement of what Maori and pakeha share, and thi s bri ngs
with it obligations that relate directl y t o th e widely accepted underl ying principles of th e
Treaty. Th ese are th e principl es of protecti on, parti ci pati on, and , of course, pa rtnershi p,
Engagement on these terms requires comm itment from both parties, and ongoing
act ions t hat reflect understand ing and cul tural respect.
Currently one of th e major issues rega rdin g cultu ra l res pect surro unds questi ons of
th e inclusion of 'authentic' Maori cult ure in mainstrea m earl y ch ild hood centres. A fear
of being labelled 'tokeni stic' in th eir practi ce often deters teachers from full y engaging in
th e bicul tural curriculum . Further to this, stud ent t eachers have noted that many centres
are making little or no attempt to embrace th e bicultural curriculum , Mel , a recent
graduate commented th at:
ln none of the placement centres 1attended, did any of th e staff use te reo
despite having Waiata tapes and CDs provided by the Ministry of Educa ti on.
Many of the centres had only small token gestures to honour bicu lturali sm.
Mel has articulated one of th e issues identi fied by student teachers and teachers.
Many feel th e existin g education system does not prepare t hem adequately for creatin g,
and working, in a bicultural environment. Linda, wh o works in a centre that is firml y
committed to implementing th e bicultural curri culum, talks of th e practi ca l di ffi culties o f
this:

Th rough th e Earl y Childhood Education curriculum we are expected

to integrate bi cultural ism yet we have very basic knowledge to fost er
th is approach. Many of the teachers 1work with trained long before th is
approach wa s part of th e cu rri culum .
Both Linda and Mel express concern s arou nd issues of being accused of tokenism,
ye t the limited implementation of th e bicultural aspirations contained within the earl y
chi ldhood curriculum may be altributed t o more t han ju st a fear of being labelled
'tokeni stic'. What is often slated as one of th e major barri ers to centres that genuinely
wish to be bicultural in th eir approach is, firstl y, a reliance on one o r two indi viduals to
provide kn owledge and , secondl y, a generallack of flu ency in t e reo Maori by ail staff. Mel
talked abo ut one o f her student teaching experiences.
Il did conce rn me that th e ex te nt of the children's experi ences wc rc whnt
1t ook into th e centres in th e few weeks that 1wa s th ere. In many o f th ese
centres 1brought my own music, poi and rakau sti cks for th e chil dren to
express th emselves, and experim ent with . Thi s in itself was diffi cult as 1
was concerned that 1was trying to take over or fo rce te reo on the centres.
Thro ugh the experiences 1provided for children, d uring my last placement
th e head tea cher has since becom e proacti ve in introdu cing and prov iding
more oppo rtuniti es for children to intera ct using te reo, incl uding greetings,
coun t ing, and colo urs. 1don' t bel ieve t hat thi s is eno ugh but it is head ing in
th e right di recti on.
Further to thi s, Linda observes that alth ough th ere is often a genu ine attempt t o
include acti vities and te reo Maori in her centre, thi s in itself rai ses some im porta nt
q uestion s.
 Te Tiriti 0 Waitangi and biculturalism in ECE

During ou r music tim es at the centre we integrate waiata, with a large range
of songs, actions and instruments, including poi, and rakau sticks . Th is is
hugely popular with the children and most teachers. Basic te reo is used,
but 1often wonder shou ld it be used if not pronounced correctly o r should
it be left to the ones who are able and confident to use it? Shouldn't basic
te reo be part of a profess ional development progra mme fo r early ch ildhood
centres and shou ldn't training programmes al so provide this for our future
teachers?
This difficulty and unease in implementing te reo Maori into ou r mainstream centres
can resu lt in some teachers seeking justifications not to do 50. Often the commonest
of these is 'we have no Maori children in our cen tre so th ere is no need for us to use
the language'. In response to this , it is important that ail educators in this country
recog nise the importance of includ ing te reo Maori in their daily practice . There are
several very sound reasons for this. First and foremost, fo llowing the 1986 Waitangi
Tribunal's decision to include te reo Maori as a taonga and the right of Maori to retain
this under Article Two of the Treaty, and through th e 1987 Maori Language Act, te reo
Maori became an officia l language in Aotearoa New Zea land. Th e second rea son is tha t
asearly chil dhood educators we sliould ail be aware of the advantages of bil ingua lism in
regard to children's learn ing and development. A third , but by no means final, reason is
ta overcome our reluctance to learn the language and admit t hat we can nat be bicultu ral
wit hou t being bilingual. As if none of those reasons are compelli ng enough, we also
need to acknowledge the agreement we made to preserve and protect te reo Maori under
Article Two of the Treaty.
While many students and teachers are beginning to affirm a willingness to include
Maori language and Maori pegadogy in the curriculu m, and although teacher educati on
is moving towa rd s providing a deeper knowledge in this area, the fact remains tha t in
most instances Pakeha retain control of the process of representing Maori culturally
in mainstream centres. The result of this is that it somehow gives rise to the 'assertion
of authentic Maori cul ture as being somehow "detached" from t he existence of actual
Maori people' (Bell , 2004, 98), and thi s is far more 'tokenistic' than practices currently
associated wi th tokenism , such as putting up Maori words around the room, or includ ing
Maori stories at mat time. Th e perception tha t Maori culture ca n be 'detached' from
actual people is as inconceivable as is Pakeha being in some way detached from th e
Crown as partners in the Treaty

~ Conclusion
Thi s th en returns us to the need to acknowledge our posi ti on as partners in the Trea ty.
Màori and Pàkehà . It is time for us to re-engage in the re lat ionship that began when
the Treaty was first signed , and ta begin actioning our com mitment to delivering a
curriculum-based understanding that is delivered with cul t ural res pect. In order to do
that , we need to look further than the curriculum document itself. In early chi ldhood
ed ucation we mu st look ta Te K6hanga Reo in order to fully engage with our Trea ty
partners and begin to understand the phi losoph ies and pedagogical practices that Te
Wlll,r;k; wa s founded on. Wal ly Penetito (1998, 105) has written that 'Recla iming whànau/
hapü/iwi histori es must be an important eleme nt in the knowledge-to-iden tity equati on
and one everybody can get involved in'. To acknowledge our Treaty partners and move
towards bicultural teaching, we must make room for this recl aim ing of histori es, the
'telling' of authentic stories, voices that info rm us, voices that 'spea k with knowledge of
identity and beliefs.
 ÂTA KITEA TE PAE - SCANNING THE HORIZON
He miiti whakaniranira
E nga mana, e nga reo, e nga karangamaha
ote motu, tënei te mihi atu ki a koutou nga
kaiwhakawa ki roto i 0 kou tou taimaha tanga
i tënei wâ tonu kou tou mâ ngâ kaipupuri 0
te reo rangatira ki roto 1nga tini Kohanga
Reo ara mai i te raki tae atu ki te tonga, mai
i te hauauru tae atu ki te tairawhiti, tëna
koutou katoa.
He mihi whakahirahira, ki nga kohanga i
Whakatane, ki Wairau i te tauihu 0 te waka-
a-Maui whakawhiti atu ki Whanganui-a-Tara
tae noa ki Tamaki-makau-rau ki Mangere i
te tairawhiti ki aku whanaungatanga hoki
i Whangarei Terenga Paraoa no reira tëna
rawa atu koutou katoa kia tau te rangimarie
ki ru nga i a tatou katoa,
To titose people who are tne proprietors of autllOrity,
and la Inose wno speak as represenlatives, as
weil as tite multitude of tribal representatives
II1rougnoullfJe isles , salutalions la yon ail, lliis is
an acknowledgemenl 0150 la litose who carry lite
burdens of this generation, and la those wito upnold
tite sanclity and developmenl of the Melori language
in Ihe early childitood language learning nesls from
IfJe norln 10 Il,, soul11, from tlJe east ta the wesl ,
greerings la you ail.
TfUs is also a kind and warm greeting la tite
Kônanga Rea in Wflakalane, and Wairau, at Ine
nead of Ihe canoe of Maui, tnen across la Wellington
and finally to Auckland la Mangere Easl and
0150 to my relatives in Whangarei Accordingly, 1
acknowledge you 011. Let peace reign upon you 011.
He mihi hoki ki nga Kôhanga Reo 0 te Motu.
Large carving

Reproduced with permission of Early Childhood

Education Centre. AUT.
 Te Tiriti a Waitangi and biculturalism in ECE

1. Discuss what an authentic bicu~ural development would be. What would a tokenistic
bicu~uraJ development be?
2. Discuss what resources are available in your community for learning te reo. These could
include language courses, as weil as resources available trom agencies and television.

Draw a biculturaJ continuum and insert goals onto it that would progress your implementation
of bicu~uraJ teaching.

Select bibliography
Baker, C. (2000). A Pareurs and Teacflers Guide to Bilingualisrn . Great Britain : WBC Book Manufacturers.
Baker. C. (2002). Foundalions of Bilingual Educa!ioll lHld Bilil19ualism. Great Britain: Biddles.
Bell . A. (20041 . 'Cultural vandalism' and Pakeha politics o f gu il t and responsibili ty. In P. Spoon ley.
C. Macpherson and D. Pearson teds) Tml gala Ta/1gata: The changing contours of New Zealand.
Victoria: Dunmore, pp. 89-1 09.
Ourle, M. ( 1994). Whaiorc.l: Maori "ea/lft deve/apment. Auckland: Oxford Un ive rsity Press.
Genesee, F. (1987) . Learning 'Tflrough 1'wo Languages: Sludies of immersion and bilingual education .
Cambridge, MA: Newbury House.
Covernment Review Team. (J 988) . Goverl1ment review of le kOflanga reo: Langl4age is Ine Ufeforce of Ine peoplel
Te wnakamalau a le kawana i le kohaflga reo. We llington: Te KChanga Reo National Tru st.
Joseph, M . (2000). 'Constitutional Provisions for Plu ralism , Biculturalism and Multicult uralism in
Canada and New Zealand: Perspectives from the Québécois, First Nations, and Maori'. Laws
and Institutions for Aotearoa / New Zealan d, Te Matahauariki Research Institute.
Mangan, H. ( 1995). He Puna Taunaki : Te reo Milori in/ibraries. Availab le online at: http://www/trw.org.nzi
He-Puna/one.htm (accessed on 19/ 10/20091.
Ministry o f Edu ca tion. (1996) . Te W(u'iriki: He W(relriki maalauranga ma ngt'l mokapul1a 0 Ao/earaa / Early
chi/d{wad curriculum. Wellington: Learnin g Mpoia
Murphy. M ., McKinley, S. and Bright. N. (2008) . 'Whakamana{ria le reo Melori' He Tirohanga HDlaka : An
exploration af issues and influences t(tal effect le rea Maari competeflce af gradua/es fram Maori medium ITE
programmes . Wellington: NZ Teachers Council.
O'Connor. A. and Diggi ns, C. (2002). On Refiecliol1: Refieclive praclice for early chi/dfwod educalors. Lower
Hutt. NZ: Open Mind.
Orange. C. 120061. Tf" Siory of a Trealy. Wellington, Bridget Williams.
Penetito. W. (1998. July). 'He haeata tiaho': Strategie planning for whêma u, hapCl , and iwi ed ucat ion .
Paper presented at the Te Oru Rangaha u Co nference, Massey Un iversity, Palme rston North.
Ritchie, 1. (2002). 'It's becoming pa rt of the ir knowing': A study of bicultural developmen t in an early
childhood teacher education setting in Aotearoa/New Zeala nd. Unpublished doctoral thesis,
Uni ve rsity of Waikato, Hamilton.
Ritchie. 1.120031 . Te Whariki as a potentiallever for bicu ltura l development. In 1. Nuttall (edl
Weavil1g Te Wntiriki: Aa/earoa New Zealand's early chi/d{lOod curriculum documenl in tneory and practice.
Wellington: New Zea land Co uncil fo r Educational Research, pp. 7?- 109.
ATA KITEA TE PAE - SCANNING THE HORIZON
Ritchie , 1. and Rau, C. (2002). Wnakawhanaul1galanga : Partllerships in bicultural deve/apment in ear/y
childhood care and educa/ion. Available on line at: http://www. tlri .org. na/ pdfs/92 07_summaryreport.
pdf (accessed 15/0 1/09).
Ritchie, 1. and Rau, C. (2006). Whakawhaftaungatal1ga: Parln ersnips in bieu/rural developmen/ in ea r/y
cl1ildhood ca re and educa tion, 41 , Avai lable on 1ine at: http://www.t lrLo rg.na/pd fs/9207 _fina lreport.
pdf (accessed 10/02/09).
Ro hrer, T. (2009). Embodiment and experientialism in cog niti ve lingui sti cs. ln Dirk Geeraerts and
Herbert Cuyckens (eds) The Handbook of Cognitive Linguistics. Oxford: Oxford Uni versity Press.
Skerrit. M . (2008). Foreword , in M . Murph y et al. (2008). 'Whakamanahia te reo Mdori' He Tirohanga
HOta ka : An exploration of iss ues and influences that affecl te reo Maori compeletlCe of graduates from Maori
medium ITE programmes. Wellington : NZ Teachers Coun cil. p. iii .
Te KOhanga Rea National Tru st (2003). About Us. Availabl e o nline al httpi/www .ko hangaac.nzJ
hi story.h tml(accessed 19/10/2009).

Useful web sites

Te KOhanga Reo Nat iona l Tru st - http://www.kohanga .ac.nzlnews.html
Library and In formation Association o f New Zealand Aotearoa - http://www.lia nza.org. nll

Readings
Findin gs of th e Wai tangi Tribunal relating to Te Reo Maori and a da im lodged by Huirangi
Waikarepuru, and Nga Kaiwhakap Om au i Te Rea (In c.) 1986.