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Chapter Five: F<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>gs from With<strong>in</strong> the Case Studies<br />

5.1 Overview<br />

“I can see the results especially from the children – because we s<strong>in</strong>g<br />

some songs and we count and how many animals and we say tahi, rua,<br />

toru and then he said „wha‟” (Tr: Chris H, 8/12/08).<br />

With<strong>in</strong> each case study, teachers made progress <strong>in</strong> implement<strong>in</strong>g Tiriti-<br />

<strong>based</strong> <strong>curriculum</strong>. This chapter describes the sett<strong>in</strong>gs, children, and staff of each of<br />

the three case studies, but importantly, delves much deeper <strong>in</strong>to the ethos of each<br />

centre <strong>in</strong> order to „unpack‟ centre culture. This is because that <strong>in</strong>volves the<br />

philosophy, spirit, and wairua which ultimately <strong>in</strong>fluence the ways <strong>in</strong> which<br />

teachers implement Tiriti-<strong>based</strong> <strong>curriculum</strong>. Because it was important to me to<br />

recognise the contribution of each participant, f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>gs are presented <strong>in</strong> ways which<br />

acknowledge the voices of teachers (Fenech, Sumsion, & Shepherd, 2010).<br />

Themes became apparent when the data from each case study were<br />

scrut<strong>in</strong>ised. In particular, a variety of successful Tiriti-<strong>based</strong> <strong>curriculum</strong><br />

approaches emerged. For example, excursions were important <strong>in</strong> Case Study One;<br />

whakawhanaungatanga and pōwhiri were <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>gly highlighted <strong>in</strong> Case Study<br />

Two; and f<strong>in</strong>ally <strong>in</strong> Case Study Three support strategies for teachers were<br />

demonstrably essential. As will be shown, each of these themes as stated above<br />

could become the focal po<strong>in</strong>t of action development for these teachers.<br />

Conversely, challenges also emerged concern<strong>in</strong>g how best to implement<br />

Tiriti-<strong>based</strong> programmes. In Case Study One these <strong>in</strong>cluded conflict<strong>in</strong>g views<br />

about the necessity for further professional development. A further challenge for<br />

these teachers was reconcil<strong>in</strong>g the ethics of role modell<strong>in</strong>g te reo Māori when it<br />

was not their first language. Susta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g Tiriti-<strong>based</strong> <strong>curriculum</strong> was difficult for<br />

Case Study Two teachers, and <strong>in</strong> Case Study Three, teachers encountered differ<strong>in</strong>g<br />

perspectives of giv<strong>in</strong>g and receiv<strong>in</strong>g support.<br />

The f<strong>in</strong>al section of this chapter considers the f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>in</strong> each case study<br />

that related to the criteria by which the case studies were selected. As I have said<br />

previously I wondered if such aspects as the type of centre, and whether or not<br />

programmes were teacher-led or child-<strong>in</strong>itiated would <strong>in</strong>fluence the manner <strong>in</strong><br />

which teachers implemented Tiriti-<strong>based</strong> <strong>curriculum</strong>. The three other factors I took<br />

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