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Te Tiriti o Waitangi

Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi engari he toa takitini.
I come not with my own strengths but bring with me the gifts, talents, and strengths of my family, tribe, and ancestors.

E ngā maunga, e ngā awa, koutou e whāngai nei i ā tātou kōhungahunga ki ngā wai o te puna mātauranga, mei kore ake koutou hei kawe i te kaupapa nui whakaharahara nei. Mauriora! 

Two tamariki singing together

The Government is committed to honouring the Crown’s commitments arising from Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It recognises both the tino rangatiratanga of Māori and the kawanatanga of the Crown in the design and delivery of the education system, and acknowledges the vital interest of whānau, hāpu, and iwi in the system’s effectiveness for Māori.

The following are concepts and links to key documents that give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi across the educational pathway and can support you to implement a bicultural local curriculum for all mokopuna within your community.

The vision that underpins Te Whāriki requires “a society that recognises Māori as tangata whenua, assumes a shared obligation for protecting Māori language and culture, and ensures that Māori are able to enjoy educational success as Māori" (Te Whāriki, page 6).

A bicultural curriculum

Te Whāriki is a bicultural curriculum. In practice this means that as part of a commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, all tamariki experience, learn about, and connect with te ao Māori (the Māori world).

Bicultural principles and practices provide the foundation for promoting equitable educational success for tamariki Māori – with kaiako responding to the values, knowledge, and strengths tamariki Māori bring to their learning.

Māori success as Māori

Māori learners achieving educational success as Māori starts with kaiako understanding te ao Māori as a foundation for designing learning environments with and for Māori tamariki and their whānau that:

  • are positive, relevant, and responsive to their aspirations as Māori and citizens of the world
  • enable them to see, feel, and hear their culture around them – feel connected to the service
  • the essence of the Māori world view is relationships, not just between people – whānau, hapū, iwi – but also between the spiritual world and the natural world
  • everyone and everything is traced and explained through whakapapa, the ancestral layers that contribute to the “people, places, and things” of the present and into the future.

Significance of whakapapa

Understanding the significance of whakapapa as a taonga in te ao Māori brings responsibilities and obligations for all kaiako with regards to the learning and wellbeing of tamariki Māori – obligations that include:

  • fostering their unique potential and inherent capabilities as Māori living in te ao Māori
  • respecting and promoting the use of te reo Māori (with attention to correct pronunciation)
  • productive partnerships with family/whānau about aspirations and learning.

Key resources

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