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

The following week Alison recorded that one of the Māori mothers from
the marae came to the session:
T‟s mum came and made Māori bread with the children. It‟s the first
time she has stayed in the session, so this was special. She was
wonderful with the children and it was lovely to chat with her, which is
what we try and do when parents helpers spend a little time with them
(Jl: A, 10/6/04).
By August, further input by whānau Māori had expanded the
whanaungatanga relationship:
They greet me back and yeah. And we‟ve had another family start, and
their mother obviously speaks a lot of Māori at home. So when I was
here I was then able to listen to her saying, talking about the rolling pin
and naming all these things in Māori. It‟s quite interesting learning from
her which has been good (Tr: B, 6/8/04).
Relationships progressed with one Māori parent in the kindergarten
bringing her whānau from the marae to visit. This led to several other members
becoming involved in kindergarten sessions which meant authentic relationships
developed between whānau Māori and teachers, thus enabling more Tiriti-based
curriculum:
This week we had parent teacher chats. I received many positive
comments on how their children had been going home and sharing their
Māori songs they have learnt with family/whānau (Jl: B, 20/6/04).
When whānau feel welcome in a centre, progress towards
whakawhanaungatanga occurs:
Whānau feel comfortable coming and staying with their children. They
want to share their ideas, songs, “talents” with our kindergarten. We
have enough knowledge to speak and act appropriately in Māori (R.
410).
Building relationships with whānau Māori means connections and
reciprocal relationships become viable. An ideal approach of building respectful
relationships with whānau Māori can enable an authentic Tiriti-based curriculum to
develop. One way of ensuring empowering relationships for teachers involves
professional development, through which non-Māori gain skills needed for
implementing effective Tiriti-based programmes.
6.4.7 Professional Development
Professional development was discussed throughout this research, by
teachers in the case studies and by survey respondents. Fleet and Patterson (2001)
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