Search

A primary task for refugee families and children who are resettling in a new country is to develop a sense of belonging in that place, time and context. This article theorises the "powhiri," the traditional Maori ceremony of welcome or ritual of encounter, as a metaphor for refugee families and children coming to belong in Aotearoa New Zealand. The theory-building is derived from observation of "powhiri" at the Mangere Refugee Resettlement Centre, where refugees live on their first arrival in Aotearoa New Zealand; pedagogical documentation from the Early Childhood Centre at the Auckland University of Technology Centre for Refugee Education; collaborative discussions with the co-researcher, Ruth Ham, who is the "kaiako" ('head teacher') at the Early Childhood Centre; and recordings of discussions with interpreters. The next phase in this research will be to trial and evaluate this theory and strategies of belonging in three different early childhood centres, two of which include refugee families, and the third, immigrant families.

Belonging and being are inextricably linked. From a Maori perspective, belonging and being can be viewed through a number of interconnected historical and contemporary frames. One frame is derived from Maori perceptions of the creation of the universe and genealogical relationships to the universe and everything in it. Another frame of belonging and being stresses increasingly diverse and complex positionings that require negotiation of radically different terrains of assumptions, behaviours, values and beliefs. This article explores two interrelated aspects of being and belonging from a Maori perspective: "whakapapa" ('genealogical connections') and "whanaungatanga" ('family relationships'). It discusses how each aspect has changed over time as a result of colonisation, urbanisation and western education, and identifies how the reflection of each has been transformed.

Before the arrival of Europeans in Aotearoa, New Zealand and their subsequent settlement in the 1800s, there was no concept of a Maori identity. Over time, however, as a result of rapid colonisation, Maori became a minority population in New Zealand. Consequently, the term Maori as normal or usual, began to lose its meaning (Webber, 2008), and another meaning began to emerge based on contrasts with the Pakeha settler population. This paper explores the complex and increasingly diverse nature of Maori identities in contemporary Aotearoa/New Zealand, including contemporary early childhood contexts. It discusses the importance of negotiating the terrains of cultural knowledge, values and understandings in order to define what "being Maori" means for teachers and children in an increasingly diverse and complex settings.

Tuakana/teina is an important feature of a traditional Polynesian kinship model. Historically it referred to a pairing of older and younger male siblings and cousins, and older and younger female siblings and cousins. In contemporary early childhood education (ECE) contexts, tuakana/teina describes the practice of older, more expert children caring, teaching and taking responsibility for those younger or less expert. This article explores the tuakana/teina understanding and practices that were evident in a recent Teaching and Learning Research Initiative (TLRI)-funded research project, Te Whatu Kete Matauranga: Weaving Maori and Pasifika Infant and Toddler Theory and Practice in Early Childhood Education (2015-16), and highlights the importance of children learning tuakana/teina roles and responsibilities in ECE contexts. We argue that tuakana/teina is not just a culturally responsive pedagogical approach: it also supports children's agency and learning by empowering them to take responsibility, care for, and nurture others.

In this article, the authors argue that the use of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) standardized tests to evaluate the early childhood education sector, while it may be perfectly "scientific", could be disastrous for "Te Whariki", a curriculum that is child-centred and learning-oriented. The basic principle that underpins "Te Whariki" is "to empower the child to learn". They present some of the implications of implementing the OECD outcomes framework that might threaten the foundations of "Te Whariki", such as: (1) New Zealand's early childhood education curriculum takes a sociocultural perspective on learning; the OECD measures provide a "one-world" view in an internationally standardized context; (2) an unwarranted international reputation can be established; (3) low-income communities may be especially vulnerable; (4) follow-on interventions, teaching to the OECD measures, are likely to encourage a pedagogy of compliance; and (5) more important issues to focus on were established. As the early childhood sector in New Zealand continues the implementation of "Te Whariki" in the 21st century, it is the authors' view that we would be better placed to build on the work that has already begun to develop broad outcomes for "Strengthening the Learning and Realising Potential" with reference to the five sociocultural strands of learning outcomes in "Te Whariki" (Learning Outcomes Working Group of the MoE Research Policy Forum, 2011), and to keep in mind the principles, strands and goals in the "Te Whariki" document itself. [For "The Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development's International Early Learning Study: Opening for Debate and Contestation," see EJ1110064.]

This "whakatauki" or "proverb" speaks to Maori perspectives of time, where the past, the present and the future are viewed as intertwined, and life as a continuous cosmic process. Within this continuous cosmic movement, time has no restrictions--it is both past and present. The past is central to and shapes both present and future identity. From this perspective, the individual carries their past into the future. The strength of carrying one's past into the future is that ancestors are ever present, existing both within the spiritual realm and in the physical, alongside the living as well as within the living. This article explores Maori perspectives of the past and the models and inspiration they offer. In this way, it provides a critique of the practices in early childhood education, highlighting the importance of cultural concepts and practices, and discusses implications for both teaching and academic practice.

This article reflects on issues of Indigenous creativity in Maori arts education, along with what we see as problematic tensions of the assessment of intangible elements. Our writing is motivated by a desire to start a global dialogue on Indigenous/Maori epistemologies, pedagogies and ontologies, and the contradictions and tensions that threaten these through global assessment drives within schools. We argue that current student assessment regimes are being increasingly influenced by international neoliberal agendas, which focus on universal, measurable outcomes. By critically exploring the assessment of creativity in the arts from a Maori perspective, we reflect on several contradictions and tensions in current assessment drives within schools. In particular, the intangible dimensions of being and flow and their connection to creativity are examined, and we conclude with recommendations for further work in this area.

Concern has been raised about the under-achievement of Maori children in education. The problem has tended to be located with Maori children rather than with assessments. Clearly if one takes a sociocultural perspective achievement is situated. Although studies in early childhood education have examined and developed assessment tools and frameworks there has been little attention given to early childhood assessment methods that are congruent with Maori worldviews, ideas of valued learning and aspirations for children. This paper illustrates and provides insight into assessment by and for Maori. The paper analyses the nature of assessment understandings and practices that reflect traditional Maori values. It highlights culturally relevant assessment that makes sense to Maori, that reflects "being Maori" and that supports Maori ideals and aspirations for children.

Language is a casement into cultures' deepest meanings. As children acquire languages, they implicitly adopt the mores of people around them; read the symbols, artefacts and codes. In this article, we examine the importance of language and literacy in the early childhood curriculum Te Whāriki: He Whāriki Matauranga mo ngā Mokopuna o Aotearoa/Early Childhood Curriculum (Ministry of Education, 1996). The focus of the article is on literacy from a bicultural perspective. Adults support children in finding out about both their social and physical worlds. They use their 'imaginations to explore their own and others' identities' (MoE, 1996, p. 25). Our aim is to offer teachers in mainstream early childhood centres (ECE) strategies to apply, practise and situate literacy approaches that reflect Te Ao Māori through stories reflecting symbolic representations of people, places and things. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kaupapa Mäori theory serves as the overarching philosophical framework for two interrelated projects discussed in depth in this article: (a) the New Zealand Ministry of Education funded Kaupapa Mäori Learning and Assessment Exemplar Project (KMLAE); and (b) the author's doctoral work, which chronicles the progress of participating Mäori centers toward the development of Mäori early childhood assessment approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]