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

I was drawn towards those methodologies which epitomised ideas of
participant power, equity, and collaboration between researcher and participants.
Laidlaw‟s (1996) quote resonated with my thinking. She said “I was always
supremely conscious about my responsibility not to write about others in ways that
violated their own sense of the processes and their feelings and ideas about them”
(Laidlaw, 1996, p. 116). In this thesis I too seek to be absolutely mindful of the
potential folly of invalidly interpreting the thoughts of others.
After completing a Master‟s degree, my first employment was as co-
ordinator for a home-based early childhood education service. Whilst matching
families with suitable caregivers, I noticed that when children were with a
caregiver of a similar culture, or with a caregiver who accepted their culture, they
were not only happy, but developed educationally as well. When caregivers tried
to mould children into their generally Western ways, the placement was less
successful. With most caregivers being Pākehā, and many children being Māori,
this situation may have been inevitable. Despite caregivers sharing with me their
very best intentions I found this practice of intentional assimilation difficult to
condone.
It was during this time that the draft of Te Whāriki (Ministry of Education,
1993) was first introduced and the hope arose that we could become bicultural
early childhood teachers. As a starting point we practised reciting the Māori names
of the principles and strands. Shortly after this I began to teach in an education and
care centre. As a team we were unclear about how to plan curriculum experiences
from Te Whāriki. We began by using our collective experience of curriculum
activities to align these with strands of Te Whāriki.
Personally, I attempted to include te reo Māori greetings in my daily
routines. To achieve this, I enlisted help from whānau Māori of children attending
the centre. To gain some knowledge and skills I also participated in te reo Māori
night classes. Later, when a new Māori graduate joined the centre, the two of us
began to implement Tiriti-based pedagogy. Our staff of six also comprised two
members who were ambivalent about Te Whāriki and two who were strongly
against Tiriti-based pedagogy. They believed assimilation was the best approach
for all non-Pākehā children. Eventually the young Māori teacher left, as the
conflict, despite the intervention by a kaumātua, became disempowering. It was
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