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

centres, their teachers aim to be inclusive but some may feel some unease that
Tiriti-based programmes could override the cultural integrities of other ethnicities.
Indeed Te Whāriki “supports the cultural identity of all children…each
early childhood education service should ensure that programmes and resources are
sensitive and responsive to the different cultures and heritages” (Ministry of
Education, 1996, p. 18). Despite this apparent support from the Ministry, Duhn
(2008, p. 30) ponders that “it seems that Te Whāriki shies away from addressing
the complexities of multiculturalism in favour of outlining biculturalism. This is a
reflection of the wider political climate – discourses of multiculturalism in New
Zealand are overlaid by bicultural issues”. That claim certainly describes the
context of this thesis.
Spoonley (1995) sees multiculturalism as “a soft option politically” (p.
93), elaborating on this, nevertheless, to say that the establishment of biculturalism
could lead the way to a multicultural society (Spoonley, 1995). Connell‟s (1989)
belief was that working towards biculturalism rather than multiculturalism should
be seen as a priority in this country because it was Māori and Pākehā who signed
Te Tiriti. It does not mean the worth of other cultures is not recognised, but that
rights and obligations under Te Tiriti are first priority.
Stuart (2002) effectively clarifies the difference between bicultural and
multicultural by declaring:
It is important to understand that there are two cultures in New Zealand –
Māori and Pākehā, indigenous and settler. This is a political statement,
rather than a descriptive statement. The equivalent descriptive statement
is: New Zealand is a multicultural country. However, the implications of
biculturalism are political and about power sharing, rather than the
descriptive or social/anthropological statement of New Zealand‟s
multiculturalness. It is important to keep the political nature of
biculturalism in mind. And also to realise that Māori power structures
and relationships are different from the equivalent Pākehā processes.
Despite many years of a dominant settler culture, Māori culture remains
distinct and separate within New Zealand. Biculturalism is about
allowing those two power structures to function side by side. (p. 44)
As findings in chapter 6 will show, some early childhood teachers
expressed dis-ease about the relevance of biculturalism within what they perceived
to be a multicultural society. Nevertheless, “the emphasis on biculturalism is one
of the specificities of the document” (Duhn, 2008, p. 85). Similarly, this thesis is
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