These rauemi (resources) are part of the Ki Te Hoe: Indigenising Practice project by Dr Ngaroma Williams with support from University of Canterbury. The project aims to shift the ECE sector from monolingual and monocultural to bilingual and bicultural.
According to Ngaroma, the name of the project says it all: “It is about Kaiako (teachers) navigating their own professional responsibilities in ensuring te reo Māori not only survives but thrives.”
The authors of the Te Tiriti o Waitangi resource (left to right): Rikke Betts, Dr Ngaroma Williams and Dr Andrea Delaune.
Ngaroma’s doctoral thesis highlighted that Kaiako were not confident in using te reo Māori, articulating tikanga Māori and understanding the relevance of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in practice. She knew exactly how to develop tailored resources that could support the teaching professionals here in Aotearoa, New Zealand.
The resources include the following:
- A brochure set of everyday te reo phrases used in 27 curriculum areas and activities
- Karakia and waiata booklet
- Māori Lunar Calendar
- An information folio supporting educators to navigate Te Tiriti o Waitangi within ECE contexts
- A set of information booklets with pepeha for 12 iwi
Building on from Ngā Taonga Whakaako
The project builds on Ngaroma’s earlier project funded by Ako Aotearoa – Ngā Taonga Whakaako, which was undertaken with Mary-Liz Broadley and Keri Lawson-Te Aho and supported by Open Polytechnic. Those resources have been useful to a wider education audience, and while the rauemi from this latest project are designed for people working in ECE, many other educators and staff working in other parts of our education system will find them valuable.
“(The resources) are starting points so that practice can be moved along to a more confident teaching profession in using te reo Māori as an everyday language,” says Ngaroma.
Project launch at University of Canterbury
The Ki Te Hoe resources were launched in a korowai ceremony at University of Canterbury on Saturday 10 June. Their popularity confirmed in the first week with over 800 page views of the project and individual resource pages on the website.
Ako Aotearoa Southern Hub Manager Jennifer Leahy was proud to attend the launch along with Ako Aotearoa Tumuaki Helen Lomax:
“The ceremony to launch the rauemi was a very special celebration of all the hard work and collaboration from Ngaroma,” says Jennifer.
“It was wonderful to hear from the Ministry of Education how popular the resources were on the first day of availability, as educators all over the country were eager to use these useful tools.”
Ako Aotearoa Southern Hub Manager Jennifer Leahy and Tumuaki Helen Lomax revealing the rauemi (resources) under the korowai.
Ako Aotearoa plans to provide a Professional Development and Learning workshop on this topic in the future, and watch this space for further resources from Ngaroma.
Check out the full suite of resources on the Ki Te Hoe project page in our Knowledge Centre.
