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Handbook of Indigenous Education pp 1–22Cite as

Colonialism, Māori Early Childhood, Language, and the Curriculum

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Abstract

This Chapter unsettles Māori language in education generally, and in the early childhood curriculum particularly, its historical antecedents, and government leaden-footed policies (Waitangi Tribunal, Pre-publication Waitangi Tribunal report 2336: Matua Rautia: the report on the Kōhanga Reo claim. Waitangi Tribunal, Wellington, 2012) in a colony which still is colonizing. It troubles some of the norms of Te Whāriki: He whāriki mātauranga mō ngā mokopuna o Aotearoa: Early childhood curriculum (Ministry of Education, Te Whāriki: he whāriki mātauranga mō ngā mokopuna o Aotearoa: early childhood curriculum. Learning Media, Wellington, 1996; Ministry of Education, Te Whāriki: he whāriki mātauranga mō ngā mokopuna o Aotearoa: early childhood curriculum. Ministry of Education, Wellington, 2017) (Te Whāriki) and provides further ideological clarification around what has come to be known as kaupapa Māori (praxis, pedagogy, power and curriculum). It provides a challenge to curriculum in the early years, a challenge to the hegemonic norm, countering dominant discourses and contesting universalization, raising questions about the relationality of language to the curriculum. It promotes a re-framing of the curriculum through a Māori (see Glossary) pedagogical frame as a resistance to the displacement/replacement theory brought about through colonization. It argues that te rangatiratanga o te reo (the sovereignty of the Māori language to Māori culture) is not just about resistance to injustice and the inversion of colonial rule, but the assertion of Māori sovereignty through Māori language in “our place,” all of it and everywhere. It is a reassertion of the legitimation and authority of te reo Māori and the rights of children to live te reo Māori, to live its history, its future, its identity, its world-views, its values, its symbolism, and its spirit. This chapter remains interested in the politics and policy environment while concentrating on our Māori children – our greatest allies in the Māori language revitalization endeavor.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand

    Mere Skerrett

Authors
  1. Mere Skerrett
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mere Skerrett .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Melbourne, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Elizabeth Ann McKinley

  2. Office of the Pro-Vice Chancellor Māori, The University of Waikato, Hamilton, Waikato, New Zealand

    Linda Tuhiwai Smith

Section Editor information

  1. University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand

    Margie Hohepa

  2. University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand

    Carl Mika

Glossary

Aotearoa

Land of the Long White Cloud/New Zealand

Hapū

Smaller tribal groups/Sub-tribe/pregnant

Hui

Meeting, gathering

Iwi

Tribe, people, bones

Kaupapa Māori education

A distinctly Māori, philosophically and linguistically enriched, education system

Kōhanga reo

Māori language nest (Early Years Educational Setting)

Marae

Formal Māori gathering place

Mātauranga Māori

Māori knowledge systems

Pākēhā

Non-Māori New Zealanders

Papatūānuku

Mother earth

Rangatiratanga

Sovereignty/Self-determination

Tamariki

Children

Taonga

Treasure, anything prized

Te

The

Te Aho Matua

The central thread

Te ao Māori

Māori worldviews

Te ao Pākehā

Pākehā worldviews

Te Puni Kōkiri

Ministry of Māori Development

Te reo

The language

Te reo mauriora

The flourishing language

Te Taura Whiri

Māori Language Commission

Tikanga

Custom

Tino Rangatiratanga

Right to exercise authority, chiefly autonomy, self-determination

Tūrangawaewae

A place to stand

waiMāori

Fresh water/Māori stream in education

Waka

Canoe

Wānanga

Institution of higher learning, discuss in depth

Whakairo

Carving

Whānau

Family (including extended)

Whare

House

Whāriki

Flax woven mat

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© 2017 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

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Skerrett, M. (2017). Colonialism, Māori Early Childhood, Language, and the Curriculum. In: McKinley, E., Smith, L. (eds) Handbook of Indigenous Education. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-1839-8_17-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-1839-8_17-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-10-1839-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-10-1839-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference EducationReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Education

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