We are two teachers in a bilingual Māori unit who teach in Manurewa. Ko Cynthia toku ingoa and I teach years 1 and 2, ko Byron toku ingoa and I teach years 3 and 4.
Our intention in this written submission is to identify the community or communities we will engage with and explain their context in how we could assist them in how to begin to ‘use Te reo Māori in the home’.
We will describe our actions and timeframe, and explain how they address our research question(s). Further, we will explain how we intend to collect data for our project from relevant members of the community or communities and consider ethical principles/guidelines for this process. We will provide evidence of how our data collection tools (e.g. survey questions, observation template, interview questions, etc.) work. We will also explain how kaupapa Māori principles are integrated into our inquiry of ‘using Te reo Māori in the home’ and lastly address the potential impact of our findings.
We would like to invite the community and communities in and around Clendon park Manurewa to assist their tamariki(students of the school), and whānau(relatives or wider family) in how they could begin to use Te reo Māori in the home via our Te reo Māori programme. We also would look at inviting other cultures whom do not affiliate as Māori but are wanting to speak and learn Te reo Māori respectfully. Our intentions are to address the needs of the tamariki in our school, to find their own identity as Māori speakers and to ensure that they are aware of how connections to their turangawaewae (place of belonging) can give them a voice, a place to stand and a sense of whānaungatanga (relationship or whakapapa) (Ministry of Education, 2017). These guiding kaupapa Māori principles are part of the essence in what makes the difference in valuing one another’s cultures. Ministry of education (2017a) states that ‘We know Māori students do much better when education reflects and values their identity, language and culture, and this is a central focus within Ka Hikitia – Accelerating Success 2013–2017’. (Ministry of education, 2017)
Ministry of education (2017a) believes that by providing quality leadership, teaching and learning supported by governing agencies and with the support of parents, whānau, hapū, iwi, Māori organisations, communities and businesses will help Māori students to excel and achieve to their full potential.
Actions
Our actions include a step by step process that involves whānau hui and discussion around how they could begin to use Te reo Māori in the home.
- Invite the whānau to a hui about ‘How they use and how to use Te reo Māori in the home’.
- Hand out a questionnaire to each parent and have them write their answers to inform us of their needs, wants and aspirations in terms of attaining Te reo Māori.
- We would then co-construct an appropriate resource/technology pack with the whānau, to ensure that they have the tools to help encourage Te reo in the Home.
- To assist whānau with how to create a timetable to begin to learn how to use Te reo Māori in the home.
Other actions to accelerate student and whānau learning potential are to hold weekly or fortnightly classes to enable our Māori community to stand proud and use their voice through their native tongue. By incorporating whakawhanaungatanga sessions and whakapapa online courses we would be able to further develop the entire households ability to accentuate the values of Te reo Māori me ōna tikanga in the home and transfer these back into school life and learning in the 21st century.
We agree with Ministry of education (2017a) that collaboration is about creating ways for whānau, hapū, iwi, Māori organisations and communities to contribute to what and how Māori students learn, as well as working together to provide support for Māori students’ learning.
Timeframe
Our official timeframe will be left up to the whānau to decide once they have organised and structured a time to begin to use Te reo Māori, when, where and for how long. But in order to encourage whānau to give Te reo Māori a fighting chance, we will have generic time set goals or approaches, i.e. 6 month, 12 month or bi-yearly and also have packs ready for those that are wanting to challenge themselves with differing difficulties and resources, such as books, extra karakia...etc. To ensure that the programme continues to advance at a steady pace, we would continuously pose questions, whakatauki, work modules and ask that the whānau participate in weekly or fortnightly classes.
We believe that this would support our inquiry process and questions by allowing our whānau the time and space that they need in order to find value in their own culture. Morrison (2015) agrees that this process must not be or become a chore or even something to add to the list but to be more of an acceleration and accersion of how they can and want to use Te reo Māori in their home. It must be a part of their daily routine, much like how we wake up each morning and get ready for school or work (Morrison & Morrison, 2017).
Collecting data
Collecting data as evidence can be submitted through a screencastify, video recordings or verbal conversations/presentation between ourselves and the participants of the whānau within a cultural setting such as a marae. Following this we would have the participants rate and review the various experiences they have had into the categories we give them on a 1-10 scale with opportunities to inform us on how or why they gave that rating. This process will be designed to be quick and easy and to give the whānau incentives to want to try to be better and be rewarded for their achievements.
The various categories of our survey could include such things as:
- Attitude towards new learnings,
- Ability to apply learnings,
- Contexts of useage,
- New learning aspirations,
- Overall attitude towards programme,
- Thoughts on content delivery and workload
- Kaupapa Māori principles,
- Feedback on the participants’ whare tapawhā - Holistic view of participant
Evidence of Data collection tools
Other data collection tools that our programme is looking to incorporate are:
Whānau hui - this is where the community collective on the programme will come together and discuss how their experiences with engaging in Te reo Māori are going. The whānau hui is a space where participants and facilitators can speak openly about the ‘how to’, ‘why do’, and ‘could you’ questions and also be able to model how to pronounce and use certain words/phrases or whakatauki in different contexts (Krashen, 1987).
Facebook group/ page/ messenger service (Google+ community) - This would be an open forum for those looking to share, use, acquire and knowledge from each other and form a cyber community for those that are unable to attend every hui/class/session or module that would otherwise been worked on in person (Morrison & Morrison, 2017).
Separated(or collective) whānau interview - This is another form of interaction that would be used for participants that are in the very early stages of acquiring Te reo Māori, to ensure that they are well supported and continuously encouraged to continue to learn and apply with gusto and perseverance (Morrison, 2015).
Assessment presentation/ Module reviews - We would use this as a form of measuring the quality and quantity of Te reo Māori that the participant and whānau have and if they have any gaps in foundational knowledge.
Kaupapa Māori Principles
We believe that at the core of our inquiry are kaupapa Māori principles that are integral to having our Te reo Māori in the home programme succeed. It encompasses Māori values that enable the whānau to be grounded in Te Ao Māori to be able express themselves in their own living environment. The guiding kaupapa Māori principles that would be supports and fostered throughout our programme include:
Tino Rangatiratanga - To give the opportunity for our whānau to re- establish their roots and reconnect/strengthen their Māori social structures (Iwi, hapū, urban hapū...etc). To become aware of how to uphold and enhance the prestige of Māori customs.
Taonga Tuku Iho -To begin to learn the language that is passed down through their tūpuna/ancestors who have gone to keep the essence of Te reo Māori alive for the generations of tomorrow. This is also to motivate the participants ability to acknowledge their state of knowing, doing and understanding the Māori world with a Māori lense which are considered valid through their knowledge of Te reo Māori (Rangahau, 2018).
Ako / Whānau / Kaupapa - To begin to learn with and from each other learning knowledge from their elders to pass on to the next generation. Communal and contextual based learning are a part of learning Te reo Māori in different Māori settings (Ministry of Education, 2017). The settings would range from having a meal with whānau, to arriving on a marae for a hui or event such as an opening of a new building. These different contexts would all provide learning opportunities for the collective community where they would then be able to wānanga (share information) about the various experiences and kaupapa that arise (Pacific-Asian Education, 2011).
Potential impact of findings:
Our programme is designed as a communal approach that supports our tamariki, whānau and community that are trying to implement how to use Te reo Māori in the home.
‘Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini’ (It takes a village to raise a child). We strongly believe that without the support of our whānau, teachers, government agencies and others, that we will continue to lose our language, culture and identity (Ministry of Education, 2017). It has brought about the realisation that we need to do as much as we can to support our students and whānau in learning their own identity to ensure they are not just another statistic to have failed the education system (Pacific-Asian Education, 2011). The following bullet points accentuate the potential impacts below that will result in the participants and whānau being able to grow towards becoming a proactive Te reo Māori community.
- Māori cultural awareness and greater awareness of other cultures
- Stronger sense of cultural identity
- Communicate effectively in native language with Māori contexts like marae
- Revitalizing Te reo Māori for the next generation
- Passing on knowledge of cultural importance
References
Krashen, S. (1987). Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition. Retrieved from; https://www.sk.com.br/sk-krash-english.html
Ministry of Education. 2017. Clendon Park School; Māori achieving success as Māori. Retrieved from http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/Curriculum-stories/School-snapshots/Clendon-Park-School
Ministry of Education. 2017a. Ka Hikitia: Accelerating Success 2013–2017. Retrieved from https://www.education.govt.nz/assets/Documents/Ministry/Strategies-and-policies/Ka-Hikitia/KaHikitiaAcceleratingSuccessEnglish.pdf
Morrison, S. 2015. Māori Made Easy; For everyday learners of the Māori language. Penguin Group.
Morrison, S., & Morrison, S. 2017. Māori At Home; An everyday guide to learning the Māori language. Penguin Random House New Zealand.
Pacific-Asian Education. 2011. The Trans-acquisitional Approach: A Bridge to English in Kura Kaupapa Māori. Retrieved from http://programs.crdg.hawaii.edu/pcc/PAE_23__1__final_11.pdf#page=91
Rangahau. 2018. Principles of Kaupapa Māori. Retrieved from; http://www.rangahau.co.nz/research-idea/27/
No comments:
Post a Comment