Launch of Te Marautanga o Aotearoa

Te Kura Mâori o Porirua

It’s 25 years now since the first Kohanga Reo, Pukeatua opened in Wainuiomata. Some of younger ones might not know what 25 years feels like – but let me tell you, its a very long time. Back in those days everyone was talking about the New Zealand team at the soccer world cup – the rugby world cup didn’t even exist!

Kohanga Reo were set up to preserve te reo; because we were worried that the language might not survive. Who would say such a thing today?!

•A survey released on the health of the reo by Te Puni Kôkiri during Mâori Language Week revealed a total of 52 per cent of Mâori surveyed said they could speak te reo, to some degree.

•It recorded a 9% increase in the number of Mâori who can speak more than a few words or phrases in te reo Mâori since the last survey in 2001.

•And it found significant increases in the number of younger Mâori who could speak te reo and the number of speakers with high proficiency levels has more than doubled among the 15-35 age group

Increasing competency among the younger age group is critically importance to us in achieving the intergenerational language transmission.

We have an established and highly respected Mâori Television service which supports language in the homes on a daily basis. We are continuing to support the demand for Mâori medium education which is an essential part of the education landscape. I’m pleased to say that over the past eight years the Labour-led government has thrown its weight behind that kaupapa on a number of fronts.

Mâori medium education is growing. There are 350 Mâori medium primary and secondary schools teaching around 17,500 students. They are important to you and me, as Mâori, but also to our communities and, I believe, to New Zealand society generally.

In 2001 Professor Mason Durie wrote about what the goals of the education system should be for Mâori. He proposed three goals:

•to be able to live as Mâori;
•to be healthy, wealthy and successful;
•and to actively participate as citizens of the world without sacrificing their Mâori identity.

Both Mâori communities and the government share these goals.

Today we will launch a document that we believe will help realise Mâori potential, support Mâori learners, and also support our shared goals for Mâori education.

The vision for Te Marautanga o Aotearoa is to develop successful learners – kia tû tangata te âkonga [enabling students to achieve their full potential] which is also the goal of ‘Ka Hikitia’ the draft Mâori education strategy that we launched in August.
There is great potential within Mâori youth. We want to realise that so we can prepare young people for the 21st century.

The government has worked with the Mâori medium education sector on how the curriculum could help achieve those goals. Together we share an understanding of Te Marautanga o Aotearoa and how it can benefit all Mâori medium students. I want to acknowledge and thank everyone who worked on the document we are launching today.

Remember that there are two documents which will, together, form our national curriculum. The first is the New Zealand Curriculum for English medium schools. The second is Te Marautanga o Aotearoa – the draft curriculum for Mâori medium schools that we are launching today.

The curriculum acknowledges Mâori values, knowledge, heritage and culture and how important they are to us. It realises that specific Mâori ways of learning are essential to Mâori Medium education. It acknowledges that te reo Mâori is the heart and soul of this journey.

This is not just a translation of the English medium curriculum. It sets the direction for learning in a Mâori context; about the things that are important to us.

For example, both curricula talk about working co-operatively with peers and in groups; and both talk about raising personal awareness and self-worth. But the Mâori medium curriculum talks about the importance of being generous and caring for visitors, and of learning about whakapapa – things that are specifically important to Mâori, and are unique to this curriculum.

At Te Kura Kaupapa o Te Koutu in Rotorua they teach not only te reo and English, but also Spanish as a third language. That’s exciting in itself – but it’s especially important because they learn Spanish through the medium of te reo Mâori – something that’s unique among kura. Te Reo is a passport to the world – quite literally, through the school visits to Mexico.

This is about exposing students to other cultures and to the world which makes them more secure in their Mâori identity, and their own place in the world.

Mâori medium schools – the Kura at Te Koutu and here in Porirua – are essential to achieving that success. Working together – schools with whânau, hapû and iwi – we can achieve that success.

We invite you to participate in the consultation; we want to know what you think of Te Marautanga o Aotearoa. To the educators I strongly urge you to lead the discussion in your local communities. This is an opportunity to put the needs and values of Mâori learners at the heart of Mâori medium education. We must seize the opportunity to make this an enduring curriculum for our schools and our young people going forward.