Enacting Tiriti-based practice in early childhood education in Aotearoa

Abstract

The early childhood curriculum, Te Whāriki, suggests that educators consider the following reflective question: “In what ways do the environment and programme reflect the values embodied in Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and what impact does this have on adults and children?” (Ministry of Education, 1996, p. 56). Since Te Tiriti has become part of such early childhood education discourse in Aotearoa, teachers and teacher educators have engaged in consideration as to what this means in terms of their practice (Cubey, 1992; Rau & Ritchie, 2003,2006; Ritchie, 2002, 2007; Working Party on Cultural Issues. Rōpū Hanga Tikanga, 1990). This paper will utilise some data from a recent Teaching and Learning Research Initiative study, Te Puawaitanga (Ritchie and Rau, in press), to illustrate some possibilities for Tiriti-based enactment that honours the relationships between educators and whānau/families as central to the learning process and educational programme. Teachers in this view accept responsibility for generating programmes that reflect their commitment to Tiriti-based practice, involving tamariki and whānau of their centres as co-constructors in a process in realisation of the vision of Ka Hikitia – Managing for Success: Māori Education Strategy, 2008-2012, for Early childhood services to “promote and reinforce Māori cultural distinctiveness in the context of their teaching and learning environments” (Ministry of Education, 2008, p. 31).