In Terms 3 and 4, 2023 we are sending regular newsletters about curriculum and assessment changes, for those who have signed up to receive updates. If you would like to receive these updates then please register here.
Curriculum News #1: Mātauranga Māori Focus
September 1st
We've spent some time exploring Te Mātaiaho, speaking with colleagues across a range of learning areas, including other Networks of Expertise, and thinking about how the education changes can strengthen environmental education (which includes sustainability, nature connection, place-based learning and climate education and action). We're also following the NCEA changes and will send you subject-specific updates over the next few months.
Although we're excited about these changes, we also know it's a difficult time for our sector, with uncertainty about timeframes, content and resources adding to workload and stress levels. We hope to support our network of education providers and teachers by letting you know about updated changes and filtering content so we can help you make the best use of your time.
This first newsletter is focused on the core elements of the education changes: giving effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and supporting every ākonga to experience success in their learning.
We now have an Indigenous framework for our national curriculum, Te Mātaiaho, with concepts such as the interconnectedness of people and the environment, and our mutual wellbeing, at the heart of all learning. This is a huge step and offers educators the chance to benefit both personally and professionally from a more reciprocal and regenerative way of learning and living.
Explore Te Mātaiaho
We encourage you to set aside some time to read and unpack Te Mātaiaho Framework, with a particular focus on new areas such as:
- Whakapapa (pg 6)
- Mātaitipu: Vision for Young People (pg 16)
- Mātaiaho: Weaving learning within and across learning areas (pg 22 - 24), which includes: "planetary value: supporting global citizenship and living sustainably within the earth’s resources, protecting its ecosystem and biodiversity."
- Mātaiahikā: Connecting to place and community (pg 40)
WATCH this video with Dr Wayne Ngata (5 mins) exploring the whakapapa and elements of Te Mātaiaho and consider how your work and organisation's values and vision aligns, and how you could help support schools as they explore and implement the refreshed curriculum. Check in with the teachers you work with and discuss how they're feeling about the changes.
Engage with Learning
Choose one or two resources from the list below to start exploring the most recent advice and perspectives about uplifting mātauranga Māori in our work with young people.
WATCH: Mātauranga Māori in Education, Dr Te Ahukaramū Charles Royal (Marutūahu, Ngāti Raukawa, Ngā Puhi) - Education Hub webinar recording, August 2023 (55 mins)
“Ensuring Māori success and enriching education through mātauranga Māori are two key ways by which a school or education institution may address Te Tiriti o Waitangi.”
WATCH: Māori achieving success as Māori, Janelle Riki-Waaka, Education Hub webinar recording, August 2023 (60 mins)
“Decolonisation starts with placing a value on the other worldview…just place a value on te ao Māori, just place a value on our reo, on mātauranga…see it as a skill, as a gift, as a strength within your tamariki.”
WATCH: What is a knowledge system? Pauline Waiti and Rosemary Hipkins explore the idea of knowledge systems with examples from science and mātauranga Māori in this Science Learning Hub webinar recording from August 2023 (57 mins)
“Concepts such as mauri, wairua, whakapapa and kaitiakitanga belong to the mātauranga Māori knowledge system. They do not have a direct equivalent within the science knowledge system and should never be assimilated into it.”
LISTEN: Mātauranga Māori and School Science, Radio Waatea interview with Professor Georgina Stewart (9 mins)
"I see this as the opening of a door. Not a prescription to teach mātauranga, but an opportunity for teachers who are motivated to embrace some new thinking and challenge their own understandings.”
What does this mean for your organisation and personal development?
Spend some time exploring your organisation's values, connections with mana whenua and cultural competency. Allocate time to engage with some of the online and in-person training available, to better understand and give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
WATCH: Cultural Safety in Environmental Education, Arihia Latham (Kāi Tahu, Kāti Mamoe, Waitaha), Enviroschools. NZAEE conference recording, October 2022 (22 mins)
“One of the issues within our sector is that we grasp onto a concept (such as kaitiakitanga) without having the depth behind it. Generally Tangata Whenua are kaitiaki. Tauiwi can act as Tangata Tiaki.”
NZAEE Website Collections
Connecting to Place, Mātauranga Māori and Histories has recently been updated with links to new professional learning and classroom resources, and includes a section at the end for Tangata Tiriti or tauiwi (non-Māori) with links to organisations that offer training.
Indigenous Worldviews is a collection of articles, videos and podcasts, organised into sections based on how much time you have (starting from 10 minutes).
We'd love to hear from you if you have a story to share or requests for resources about specific aspects of the education change programme.
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