Jennifer Milani (Colson) ID#: 9505531

“Māori is a strongly oral culture. If the spoken language is lost then the Māori culture is

diminished forever. It was fear of a dying language that inspired Māori to action in the

1970s.” (Te Puni Kōkiri, 2003, p.4).

Generations of fluent Māori speakers had been lost. An historical culture was fading away

into the background as dependents of fluent Māori speakers preferred to communicate in

English. “By 1975 fewer than 5% of the population spoke Māori.” (Tocker, 2018, pp.6).

Urgent action was required. Māori believed younger generations needed to speak Māori to

revitalise this lost language. 1982 welcomed a beginning in the form of Te Kōhanga Reo.

Childcare took on a full immersion approach and by 1985 there were over 6,000 students

enrolled around New Zealand.

Despite its success, by 1985 students were leaving Te Kōhanga Reo and entering primary

schools. Te Reo Māori was once again heading towards extinction.

After working closely with children from Te Kōhanga Reo in West Auckland, Peter Sharples

was concerned at how quickly their language was lost upon entering mainstream schooling.

One student within a month had completely stopped speaking Māori. Sharples believed

“Pākehā schools had oppressed the Māori mana. (Winitana, 2011, p. 181).

The eminent crisis led Sharples in 1985 to take action. Students were graduating from Te

Kōhanga Reo with nowhere to continue full immersion studies. Collaborating with Kia

Ngawari Kōhanga Reo at Hoani Waititi Marae, the first Māori full immersion primary school

was born.

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Sharples and his team sought to create an education system built entirely on a Māori

philosophy incorporating Māori history, culture, language and its people.

As there was neither funding nor support from the government at that time, material had to

be sourced from scratch and fundraising was required. (Winitana, 2011, p.175).

“The establishment of these providers was driven by Māori who shared a common

commitment to Māori teaching and learning philosophies and pedagogies and who saw the

need to address the failure of the education system to be responsive to Māori learners.”

(Ministry of Education, 2011, pg.1).

In 1987, Māori was declared an official language adding more support the Full Immersion

Schools campaign. In the same year Kāterina Mataira wrote Te Aho Matua which became

the Kura Kaupapa Māori Movement philosophy. (Winitana, 2011, p.176).

Five years after commencing, The Education Amendment Act of 1989 accepted Māori

Immersion Schools as an alternative schooling for Māori within NZ. (Winitana 2011, p.177).

Winitana (2011) revealed that by 1993, 23 state-funded Kura Kaupapa Māori were operating

with 11 more awaiting funding with 14 more in the process of being established. There were

63 Kura Kaupapa with more than 6000 students by 2006.

Initially, Pākehā were not accepting of the new Māori schools and were extremely

concerned about what they possibly did not understand. Some even went so far as to call it

apartheid, Tucker (2018) surmised. Winitana (2011) elaborated further that politics used the

idea to breed mayhem.

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Government intervention in 1999 brought in reforms which many believed reduced the

overall quality of the Māori language instruction.

Winitana (2011) construed that on one hand Māori immersion schools had become

protected under New Zealand Education laws while on the other hand, the Education

Review Office were trying to measure Māori schooling against mainstream educational

policies. It was not until 2001 that Rūnanga were able to introduce review criteria purely

supporting the schools’ vision statement Te Aho Matua. (Winitana, 2011, p.177)

Ministry of Education statistics (n.d) exemplified that Māori in full immersion and bilingual

schools were high achieving, had fewer disciplinary issues and less truancy than Maori in

mainstream schools. Clearly many believed these education settings were successfully

supporting Māori to become more prosperous.

“There are important educational advantages to being bilingual. The more your bilingual

students can use both their languages in curriculum learning, the better. The two languages

support each other and are interdependent, and bilingual speakers have some cognitive

advantages over those who know only one language.” (Ministry of Education, n.d, para. 3).

With this in mind, Kura Kaupapa encompasses more than just the regeneration of the Māori

language. They present positive academic outcomes, strong cultural ties and the rebirth of

Hauora into Māori communities.

Obviously, this accomplishment does not come without its challenges. Māori Education, like

mainstream education, withstands teacher shortages, lack of resources and requires

constant support from family, iwi, hapū and education policy makers.

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To ascertain where Kura Kaupapa regeneration is at today, I interviewed a Richmond Road

Primary School teacher.

Richmond Road Primary is unique as it offers 4 separate units: English, Te Reo Māori,

Samoan and French that work harmoniously to make sure students education is forefront

for all units.

“We honour the unique history of bilingual education at Richmond Road School and ensure

its continued rigour through strong leadership and effective bilingual teaching and learning

pathways in Te Whānau Whāriki, Mua i Malae, and L’Archipel. “(Richmond Road School,

2018, chpt Charter.)

Edwina Mills, a primary school teacher, works part-time in association with her son Troy

Mills, the head of the Māori Rōpu, at Richmond Road Primary School.

Mills (Milani, J. Personal Communication, 2018, March 27) explained each unit works

independently offering the curriculum and corresponding assessments for that unit.

In the Te Whānau Whāriki unit all teachers must be fluent in Māori as well as trained

primary school teachers following the same paths to registration that mainstream teachers

do. Teacher aids, RTLBs etc. are also required to have Māori Language assessment.

The school operates like any other offering full immersion curricular subjects.

Each unit operates separately however there are numerous opportunities to mix with the

other units. Excluding the playground, children have joint house sports and syndicate art

programmes. Senior students have leadership roles across all the 4 units.

There are many positive attributes in having these full immersion units. Children speak

Māori to each other all day, every day. As well as creating a sense of belonging and identity,

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they recognize they are unique and are proud of their ancestry, language, and academic

achievement.

The Māori unit integrates Māori issues and culture into classroom work when and as much

as possible. Lessons have been done on the Treaty of Waitangi, Māori carving, Pā

construction, and historical events. While the objective is to teach all that is Māori, being

such a multicultural school, they have an immense appreciation for all cultures, not just

their own.

Mills (2018) discussed that working within this environment is not without its challenges.

At the request of parents there were ideas to integrate an English language day however

this only lead to the students opting to speak more and more in English with each other.

After a lot of discussion, this idea was removed and any bilingual lessons are done after

lunch to allow Māori to be spoken while playing.

Majority of issues the teachers face are usually parental ideas and opinions. Regrettably a

lot of parents are not able to speak fluent Māori, so outside the classroom, English is the

overriding language. To counter this Troy Mills offers all parents the possibility to have free

Māori instruction in order to create bilingualism at home. Needless to say, majority of

students have only access to fluently spoken Māori at school.

The students themselves come to school ready to learn and a recent ERO report proves

their academic success.

“School achievement information shows that students achieve well throughout the school.

Students’ achievement and progress is carefully monitored. By Year six the majority of

students are achieving at, or above the National Standards in reading, writing and

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mathematics. Students display fluency in a range of languages, express pride in their cultural

heritage and are confident in their identity.” (as cited in Richmond Road Primary, 2016, chpt

2.)

To conclude Haunui-Thompson (2017) reported that “Māori who attend Kaupapa Māori

schools were more likely to stay in school until they were 17 - compared to those in

mainstream schools.” (para.4). Haunui-Thompson also distinguished that those in Kaupapa

schools were more likely to “achieve NCEA Level 2 or above.” (para. 5).

If this does not spell success, I am not sure what can. To have young Māori willing to attend

to school, learn and achieve academic success is an extremely positive outlook for the

continued regeneration of the Māori language.

Where to from now? While it is assumed that the future educational planning is ongoing

and constantly being reviewed, it is vital that these schools have strong support from iwi

and hapū.

A report by Māori language commission (2000) provided number key strategies that are

crucial place in order to have continued success.

 Māori language at your marae

 Māori in homes of iwi and hapū members

 Māori language education for iwi members (children and adults).

 Links with local Te Kōhanga Reo and Kura Kaupapa Māori (p.6)

Developing in more depth the above strategies, would continue to enhance Te Reo Māori

regeneration possibly creating full bilingualism for all Māori in the coming future.

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References:

Education Counts (2011, April). OECD Review on Evaluation and Assessment Frameworks for

Improving School Outcomes. Retrieved from

https://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/publications/schooling/oecd-review-on-evaluation-

and-assessment-frameworks-for-improving-school-outcomes/chapter-1-the-school-system.

Haunui-Thompson, S. (2017, Sept 14). Māori in kaupapa institutions more likely to stay in

school. Retrieved from https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/339426/Māori-in-

kaupapa-institutions-more-likely-to-stay-in-school.

Ministry of Education. (n.d). TKI: Being Bilingual. Retrieved from

http://pasifika.tki.org.nz/LEAP/Being-bilingual.

Māori Language Commission. (2000, March). A guide for iwi and hapū to the preparation of

long-term Māori language development plans. Wellington, New Zealand: Māori Language

Commission.

Ministry of Education. (2015, August 22). Māori Language in Education: goals and actions.

Retrieved from https://www.education.govt.nz/ministry-of-education/overall-strategies-

and-policies/the-Māori-education-strategy-ka-hikitia-accelerating-success-

20132017/history/ka-hikitia-managing-for-success-2008-2012/ka-hikitia-managing-for-

success-2008-2012-focus-areas/Māori-language-in-education-goals-and-actions/.

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Provost, L. (2012, August). Controller and Auditor General. Education for Māori: Context for our

proposed audit work until 2017. Retrieved from https://www.oag.govt.nz/2012/education-for-

Māori/part3.htm.

Richmond Road Primary School. (2018). Curriculum Charter. Retrieved from

http://www.richmondroad.school.nz/wordpress/curriculum/charter/.

Stats NZ. (2017, February 17). Māori Language in Education. Retrieved from

http://archive.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/snapshots-of-nz/nz-social-

indicators/Home/Culture%20and%20identity/Māori-lang-educ.aspx.

Te Puni Kōkiri. (2003, March). A shared Vision for the further of Te Reo Māori. Wellington,

New Zealand: Ministry of Māori Development.

Tocker, K. (2018, March 22). Te Reo Māori: Language Regeneration [PowerPoint slides].

Retrieved from CANVAS: Auckland University Website:

https://canvas.auckland.ac.nz/courses/32109/files/1849633?module_item_id=414403.

Walker, R. (n.d). Reclaiming Māori education. Retrieved from

http://www.nzcer.org.nz/system/files/Chapter%201%20Ranginui%20Walker.pdf.

Winitana, C. (2011). My Language, My inspiration. Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand: Huia

Publishers.