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

This continuum depicts movement from negative to positive, from being
dismissive of biculturalism to intentionally implementing strategies which lead to
curriculum co-construction. The continuum thus describes teachers who only want
to embrace and grow multiculturalism at one end of the continuum, through to
teachers who want to participate in genuine power sharing and reciprocal
relationships at the other end. It is important to note, however, that this continuum
is a useful device for labelling attitudes to Tiriti-based pedagogy and teachers may
be located at any point along the proposed scale. But, as is often the case with any
such instrument, precision should not be sought, because the tool only points to
stages of teacher growth as illustrated in Table 7.1.
Importantly, the continuum represents a synthesis that was informed by
work completed by other researchers (J. Burgess, 2005; Johnston, 2001). Their
work, independently described individual pockets of where teachers were „at‟ with
respect to relationships with Māori and implementing Tiriti-based curriculum.
What matters is that they looked at different aspects which, together with my own
data can be placed on a continuum which expands on and goes beyond their
models. The final piece of the puzzle was contributed by Lavinia Tamarua who
suggested to me that there is a need to move beyond being Māori-centred (in
Johnson‟s model) to becoming involved instead, co-constructors with Māori (see
Table 7.1.).
My assertion is that these individual explanations about different pockets
of reality warranted both extension and synthesis. Therefore, based on my
interpretations of data from this study, I have included another dimension.
Specifically, I have proposed the dimension of some teachers being Māori-reliant.
Evidence supporting that concept was introduced in chapters 5 and 6. After briefly
discussing the initial stage of the continuum, which is that of being Māori-
superseded, an explanation of new construct of being Māori-reliant follows.
Some teachers in this study argued that it is paramount to include all
ethnicities equally and to value multicultural curriculum. That is indicative of their
wish to supersede biculturalism and supplant it with multiculturalism. I refer to
this as being Māori-superseded. This stage is consistent with what Stuart (2002)
calls the descriptive or social anthropological statement about Aotearoa New
Zealand, whereas biculturalism is political and about power sharing. Teachers at
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