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The Education Hub: Māori achieving success as Māori" Part 2.
In this webinar, Janelle Riki-Waaka explores what Māori achieving success as Māori means from a Māori worldview, and how teachers and schools can consider how well their environments and practices support ākonga Māori to succeed and thrive.
The following notes are taken from this presentation.
Te Tiriti is the foundational document of our country.
Te Tiriti is the foundational document of our country.
Janelle explains that, when it was written, Te Tiriti was an agreement that the chiefs, the rangatira of Aotearoa New Zealand, would continue to have rangatiratanga, or the agency and the sovereignty over their hapū, over their tribes, their right to be self-determining... an agreement for the Crown to come to Aotearoa and establish a governor who would govern over the new settlers, the previous ones and any new settlers that came.... keeping their language, culture and identity intact.
Of course the breaching of Te Tiriti occurred with the process of colonisation, particularly of tangata whenua, and the impacts of that were devastating and continue to be ongoing.
We're still living with the ripple effects of colonisation.
We're still living with the ripple effects of colonisation.
Rather than take a defeatist view, Janelle encourages is to continue to reflect the intent of Te Tiriti, which is equitable partnership with Māori, supporting and empowering Māori to have rangatiratanga, or self-determination, to have agency, voice, choice.
Janelle talks about
"Equitable partnerships"
"Equitable partnerships"
where neither of the partners has more power than the other.
"Nothing about us, without us"
Graphic source: https://core-prod-assets.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/public/Uploads/files/Whos-at-your-table.pdf
It is suggested by Janelle that
for any frameworks to do with CSP; use the articles from Te Tiriti:
for any frameworks to do with CSP; use the articles from Te Tiriti:
Kawanatanga (honourable governance), by giving Māori a voice in all aspects of governance through genuine engagement and involvement in decision making. Make sure you have Māori representation on staff, on design teams, in the development of curriculum.
"Nothing about us without us" -
Rangatiratanga (self-determination), This is where Māori having success as Māori most closely aligns, by acknowledging: the rights of Māori to have agency, voice, and choice in what happens in schools.
Ōritetanga (equity), by co-designing for equity. This means engaging with whānau Māori to design plans, programmes, and environments, rather than merely inviting them to consult on existing plans and ideas.
Schools should also reflect both te ao Māori and te ao Pākehā,
Schools should also reflect both te ao Māori and te ao Pākehā,
This is in order to support and empower tamariki and rangatahi Māori to traverse and thrive in both worlds.
"Schools, in my opinion, should be Switzerland. They should reflect both worlds. Everywhere in this country should reflect both worlds. However, at a bare minimum, the places where we educate people should"
"The process of decolonisation (removing bias) needs to be led by non-Māori, focusing on equity not equality.
"The process of decolonisation (removing bias) needs to be led by non-Māori, focusing on equity not equality.
Go "bias hunting"
Go "bias hunting"
have diversity at the table so there are a range of "eyes on" what we are doing.
Removing bias - What does this look like in practice?
Removing bias - What does this look like in practice?
co-design the supports with the ones involved
utilise engagement rather than consultation.
Re-evaluate what we mean by success and reporting
Re-evaluate what we mean by success and reporting
"Success stories" could include all the other things that have been achieved (e.g making my own bed)
"Place a value on our reo, place a value on tikanga, place a value on mātauranga, see it as a skill, as a strength, as a gift within your children, within your tamariki. "
Kids need to be part of writing their own success stories.
Report on Māori academic achievement cleary. Often achievement data is presented as Māori achieving success as Māori. data and it is lower than the national norm - that's not a celebration! Just say : academic achievement of Māori students.
Every Māori child should have a baseline of Te reo Māori that they get in their everyday schooling
Measure and capture data around our kids' connection to their language, culture, and identity and understanding of Mātauranga Māori concepts.
"Tell me how my kid is doing in relation to their wellness in terms of their identity.....how strong their connection is to their language, culture and identity and tell me how you supported that reconnection through school."
Focus on re-indigenising
Focus on re-indigenising
Re-indigenising is restoring culture, especially after colonisation.
Janelle reminds us: "Māori succeeding as Māori" is every single time my kids succeed in their Māoritanga, it might be everything from learning a karakia, to standing on the haka stage, to learning a whaikōrero or a karanga, or learning about matariki, or learning about ikura, or all of that beautiful māturanga. Every time they reclaim their identity and they re-indigenise, that is Māori achieving success as Māori.
Academic success is important, but the re-indigenisation of our Māori kids, I promise you, for those that are not doing so well academically, let's shift the focus to re-indigenising and watch their academics grow, watch their confidence in te ao Pākehā grow the more strongly they are able to walk in te ao Māori."
See below for Janelle's Five point plan for Re-indigenisation.
Re-indigenisation process
What genuine engagement looks like.
What genuine engagement looks like.
Janelle Riki-Waaka reminds us that "There isn't a blueprint for this because every whānau community and every mana whenua group is different and diverse"
Your first conversation with mana whenua should be, kia ora, this is who we are. How can we serve you? The very first question you should ask your whānau Māori is this:
how would you like for us to engage with you? What would that look like? Ask them when they want to meet. Ask them what do you want to talk about, what's important to you, who do you want at the hui, you know, allow them to have mana in that space.
"Allow them to say, actually, I want to have hui on a Wednesday or a Saturday or a whatever. I want to have the hui on the marae. I want to, you know, allow them to have some mana in that space and feel part of the process"
Do some learning; you need to know who your kura is. "Start where your feet are. Each school setting has been sheltered by a tribe - the mana whenua. It lives on a piece of whenua. Know what that whenua is, where it's from.
Ask your whānau members, "What are your aspirations for your tamariki as Māori? What do you want them to be as Māori?"
"Because a lot of Māori whānau will say things to you like, I really want them to have reo, I didn't have reo. I really want them to know tikanga, I really want them to have this or that, you know, I didn't get that when I was a kid. So ask them what their aspirations are for their kids as Māori. So genuine engagement, you have to remove the power."
For hui, co-design the agenda, if it has to have an agenda. Always follow tikanga, have karakia and whakawhanaungatanga.
"And just know that whatever you think you might get out of the hui, don't plan for it because whakawhanaungatanga could take over the whole time and that's because it's needed. Your Māori whānau wanted to know each other. I want to say this about, and one of my favourite quotes, for Māori, everything moves at the speed of trust."
So if your relationship with whānau Māori isn't good, there's not enough trust.
Go back to the relationship. Talk about anything and everything other than whatever kaupapa it is that you want to talk to them about. Just focus on positive relationships.
Self assessment idea
Self assessment idea
Janelle uses herself as an exemplar to demonstrate her matrix for assessing other aspects of Māori experiencing success as Māori.
Questions for exploring the key ideas from this webinar
Questions for exploring the key ideas from this webinar
What can you do for your whānau Māori? What do they need and want from you?
How can you support mana whenua? What can you offer mana whenua, and how could you help with their aspirations, strategies, and goals?
What opportunities do you and could you offer for ākonga Māori to strengthen their language, culture, and identity?
What might our school select as pou for the re-indigenisation of ākonga Māori, or for strengthening ākonga Māori’s language, culture, and identity? What might our mana whenua select as pou?
How do we show that we have been successful in our engagements?
How might we show a story to our whānau about how we have been successful in strengthening ākonga Māori knowledge, understanding, and proficiency in their language, culture, and identity?
Powerful question: (evaluate who is the best person to ask this)
"What's it like to be Māori at this school?"
Watch from 10.18 - 12.47 for some key tips when utilising a Mana Ōriti approach.
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a key part of CSP.
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a key part of CSP.
The UDL Guidelines 3.0 were developed in 2024 in response to "a strong call from the field—both practitioners and researchers alike—to address critical barriers rooted in biases and systems of exclusion for learners with and without disabilities"
According to the CAST website, expansions to this iteration of the UDL Guidelines include:
Putting UDL in conversation with other asset-based approaches and theoretical frameworks — including pedagogies that centre, value, and sustain learners’ cultural practices — and making their intersections and complementary nature more explicit.
The CAST website has a wealth of practical material for teachers and schools to design learning from a Culturally Sustaining pedagogical perspective.
for example:
Represent a diversity of perspectives and identities in authentic ways
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