supporting tiriti-based curriculum delivery in mainstream early ...

However, once I had started the data collection, several informal
discussions were had individually, in particular with two members of the Māori
Advisory Committee. I formally sent to each member summaries of the tentative
findings of the research. The first of these invited feedback on the results of the
questionnaire and about my shift from action research to appreciative inquiry.
Several emails and one face-to-face interview occurred as a result of the first
summary being sent to the Māori Advisory Committee.
Towards the end of the research as I was reaching further tentative
conclusions another summary was sent to the members of the Māori Advisory
Committee. On this occasion one member sent feedback and as she was no longer
in Aotearoa New Zealand an email discussion ensued.
It is ironic that one area I know makes a difference is in building
relationships with Māori, was an area that in my concern to “get it right” I was
unable to be as effective as I had hoped to be. It was, however, important to also
be mindful that Pākehā need to be patient, listen, and await invitations (Glynn,
2009). While I could have taken more initiatives to invite the members of the
Māori Advisory Committee to participate, leaving them to control their level of
participation was also an appropriate consideration.
Bearing in mind protocols and understandings of kaupapa Māori research,
prior to starting the research I needed to consider the implications of the ethnicity
of the teacher participants. Although this research was carried out in mainstream
centres with the majority of the staff likely to be of diverse ethnic identity, there
could also be teachers who were of Māori descent. The process of consultation,
therefore, would be particularly important, as it may well have been an area of
sensitivity for Māori teachers; if for example, they had experienced limited access
to Māori culture and language when they were children. On the other hand,
individuals of Māori ethnicity cannot be expected to be the experts to supply
knowledge for everyone else simply because of their ethnicity (Manning, 1998).
That notwithstanding, none of the case study participants were Māori.
An ethical issue in relation to Tiriti-based pedagogy involved realising
that “[Māori] knowledge is highly valued and particular types of information…
[are] highly prized and tightly regulated” (Jahnke & Taiapa, 1999, p. 42). As I am
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