Te Käwai Ora
Reading the world,
Reading the word,
Being the world.
Report of the Mäori Adult Literacy Working Party
To Hon Tariana Turia
Associate Minister Mäori Affairs
August 2001
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
Foreword
In the early nineteenth century, Mäori were prodigious readers and writers in te reo Mäori
and English. Today’s Mäori communities have identified low levels of literacy among
adults as an issue that they urgently want to address. The results of the 1996 International
Adult Literacy Survey confirm that many Mäori adults need to be operating at a much
higher level of literacy to participate as they would wish in their whänau, hapü, iwi and in
wider New Zealand society. Too much Mäori potential is currently being wasted.
I believe that literacy is a social, political and economic necessity. Mastery of literacy
skills is important for self-esteem and vital for whänau development, helping to build the
strong families of the future. Literacy gives people the power to function fully as citizens
who are critically literate in their history and in the world. High levels of literacy also
contribute to people getting sustainable and more highly skilled jobs. Mäori intend to play
a key role in the knowledge economy, and are working to make sure that they have the
skills to do it.
This report, Te Käwai Ora: reading the world, reading the word, being the world,
represents the combined thinking of leading adult literacy providers and academics who
are expert in mätauranga Mäori and kaupapa Mäori.
The report argues that for Mäori, successful learning depends on identifying solutions that
accord with Mäori values. Those working with Mäori learners need to take into account
Mäori definitions, priorities, and teaching and learning styles. This point is not merely
ideological; it is a recipe for success. Te Käwai Ora celebrates the flax roots initiatives
through which Mäori organisations are transforming the present and which point the way
for the future of Mäori adult literacy learning.
I hope and believe that Te Käwai Ora will stimulate debate and new awareness in this
field.
Hon Tariana Turia
Associate Minister of Mäori Affairs (Social Development)
2
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
Table of Contents
Foreword
2
Executive Summary
4
Terms of Reference
15
Recommendations
16
Introduction
19
Chapter One – How do we define a literate Mäori?
26
Chapter Two – How do we define Literacy?
34
Chapter Three – Policy
42
Chapter Four – Stakeholder Profiles
51
Profile Literacy Aotearoa
Profile Workbase
Profile The Correspondence School
Profile Te Wänanga o Raukawa
Profile Te Ataarangi
Profile Te Köhanga Reo
Chapter Five Programme Effectiveness and Best Practice
65
Profile Whäia Te Ara Tika
Profile Te Whare Ako
Chapter Six – Other Matters
81
Chapter Seven – Conclusion
89
Appendix One – Methodology
91
Appendix Two – Reference Group Members
92
3
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
Executive Summary
Terms of Reference
1. To advise Ministers on effective policy interventions with regard to improving the
literacy outcomes of adult Mäori;
2. To provide expert advice on appropriate interventions for Mäori to achieve key goals
of the Adult Literacy Strategy;
3. To identify Adult Literacy Programmes that are effective for Mäori and models of best
practice in the area;
4. To consider the appropriateness of developing a specific Mäori strategy for adult
literacy; and
5. To identify and explore issues specific to the brief of improving the literacy outcomes
of adult Mäori, not covered by the Terms of Reference listed above, which warrant
consideration.
Major Recommendations
1. That the Adult Literacy Strategy, as articulated in More Than Words, is
reconceptualised and rewritten forthwith;
2. That the new strategy views education and literacy more broadly;
3. That literacy in Aotearoa is redefined in the new strategy as a Treaty-based concept of
biliteracy, based in te reo Mäori and the English language;
4. That literacy is defined in the new strategy thus: “Literacy is the lifelong journey of
building the capacity to ‘read’ and shape Mäori and other worlds”.
In order to give effect to these recommendations a set of strategies is recommended. These
strategies are premised on the view that the new strategy will continue to seek to develop
capability, improve quality systems and increase opportunities for literacy learning. They
include recommendations on: legislation, a policy framework, policy work programmes,
capacity building, quality indicators, standards, funding, pathways, resources,
communication strategy and networking.
4
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
Introduction to the Report
Näu te rourou, näku te rourou,
ka ora te manuhiri.
From your food basket and from mine,
The well-being of the people will be assured.
At the edge of the third millennium how do we view the task of nation building? What do
we understand about the rights and responsibilities of ‘citizenship’ in this society at this
time? How do we create a society that is just, equitable and fair and is based in the lived
reality of social and economic inclusion, rather than the rhetoric of it? These are vital
questions of the day.
These are the kinds of questions which ‘literacy’ addresses. Literacy is, at its very heart, a
pivotal component of nation building. Fully realized, it enables people to take part in the
fullness of the society that they live in. In this report it speaks to the fullness of the
meaning of literacy that is expressed in the title “Te Käwai Ora: reading the world, reading
the word, being the world”. The title has emerged as a natural expression of the
discussions of the group. It begins in Mäori, and is accompanied by an English subtitle.
They are not translations of each other; they are interdependent and each is needed in
order for the full meaning to be gleaned. They speak to the possibilities of biliteracy and
biculturalism that are central features of our journey towards nationhood.
The title identifies critical themes about literacy. These are the social and historical
contexts in which literacy is understood; the skill bases that literacy, when broadly
defined, encompasses, and the competencies that the literate person is able to demonstrate.
The report speaks to the significance of each of these ideas in a range of settings, from
policy to programmes. The ancient wisdoms expressed in the whakataukï ‘näu te rourou,
näku te rourou, ka ora te manuhiri’ provide insights into how literacy can contribute to the
goals of national development in Aotearoa. The ‘rourou’ referred to in this context is
nothing less than Aotearoa itself, a diverse society; indeed, one comprising many ‘rourou’.
The themes of ‘authenticity’, ‘inclusion’ and ‘partnership’ emerge from the proverb.
It will take more than one rourou to feed the people: that speaks to the need for partnership
to be paramount. The Treaty of Waitangi is fundamental to the nation building process of
Aotearoa and it provides an excellent model for the exercise of partnership. Importantly, it
provides an inclusive model that enables everyone to have a place and to be provided for
in our society. More than a passing notion, the ‘well-being’ of the people is premised on
this. There is no sense of uniformity suggested by this, no need for ‘one size fits all’. The
gifts of each rourou are accepted and valued for the diversity that they represent. Our
society is enriched by that diversity and our challenge is to engage it.
5
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
The Adult Literacy Strategy
Speaking at the launch of the Adult Literacy Strategy, the Associate Minister of
Education, Hon. Marian Hobbs, introduced her comments by noting that there were at
least two consequences for New Zealand for the low levels of adult literacy reported. The
first was that when people in the workforce had literacy difficulties, poor literacy levels
impeded their ability to upskill themselves. The second related to the skill levels required
to participate effectively in the family and community life of ‘the knowledge society’ 1.
The Minister outlined that the creation of the new Ministerial Portfolio, the Associate
Minister of Education (Adult and Community Education) in 1999, was an important
initiative of the current government and she noted that “among the responsibilities of this
portfolio was the development of an adult literacy strategy”2. The members of the
reference group were unanimous in their support of both new initiatives. Their timeliness
and the significance that each would add to the work of those in the field of adult literacy
were highlighted and discussed by the group.
Background to Te Käwai Ora
The main aim of the establishment of the Mäori Adult Literacy Reference Group was “to
provide advice on policy development with respect to adult literacy outcomes”3. This is
particularly important given the current disparities between Mäori and non-Mäori in this
area. There is a dearth of research available in the field of adult literacy that is able to
inform the development of effective policy. This has a number of implications. One set
relates to current government policy as outlined in More Than Words. Another set relates
to the effective relationships that will be required between the Crown and stakeholders in
the field if the policy is to be successfully implemented. In the absence of a research base
to inform policy development the opinion of experts in the field has been called for. Those
on the group represent major, national stakeholders who have proven records in the field.
It was the gathering of this experience that the methodology informing the conduct of the
reference group was designed to facilitate. This expert opinion comprises the data from
which this report has been written. The members of the group were:

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


Bronwyn Yates, Literacy Aotearoa;
Susan Reid, Workbase: The National Centre for Work Place Literacy and
Language;
Te Ripowai Higgins, Te Ataarangi Educational Trust;
Wally Penetito, He Parekereke: Institute for Research and Development,
School of Education, Victoria University of Wellington;
Mereana Selby, Te Wänanga o Raukawa;
Bubs Taipana, Whäia Te Ara Tika Literacy Programme; and
Rachel Wikaira, NZ Correspondence School.
1
Hon Marian Hobbs, Speech Notes, 7 May, 2001, Launch Adult Literacy Strategy.
Ibid.
3
Correspondence, Leith Comer to Associate Minister of Mäori Affairs, 20 March, 2001.
2
6
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
The Life of the Group
The group started its journey by considering three major focus questions that addressed
critical notions informing policy scholarship in this field. The questions were:



how do Mäori define a literate Mäori?
how do we define literacy?
what are some of the major issues in the field?
The fifth Term of Reference made provision for the group “to identify and explore issues
specific to the brief of improving the literacy outcomes of adult Mäori, not covered by the
Terms of Reference listed above, which warrant consideration”. These discussions fit
within this descriptor. By starting with them the group adopted the approach of exploring
the policy scholarship before developing the policy science4. Policy scholarship “examines
fundamental principles and ideologies in struggle”5 in the policy milieu. Policy science
deals with ‘specific policy proposals and technical details’6. It is in the synthesis of both
policy scholarship and policy science that the full view will be found. Before attending to
the technical detail of the policy proposal on the table, then, as articulated in More Than
Words, the group set out their view of the “fundamental principles and ideologies in
struggle” in the field of literacy as articulated by Mäori.
Chapter One How do Mäori define a literate Mäori?
A number of main themes emerged from a discussion of the question “How do Mäori
define a literate Mäori?” They included responses to the opening question; becoming
biliterate; and barriers to Mäori literacy – historical, structural (systemic),
institutional/programme, personal. The question: “How do we define a literate Mäori?”
was responded to by one group member in a way that summarised the group view. It is as
follows:
Literacy in Mäori terms should include the ability to read and write in both
Mäori and English, i.e biliteracy and be able to use that ability competently, i.e.
to be functionally biliterate in Mäori and English. Being literate in Mäori should
also include having the capacity to ‘read’ the geography of the land, i.e. to be
able to name the main land features of one’s environment (the mountains, rivers,
lakes, creeks, bluffs, valleys etc.), being able to recite one’s tribal/hapü
boundaries and be able to point them out on a map if not in actuality as well as
the key features of adjacent tribal/hapü boundaries and being able to ‘read’
Mäori symbols such as carvings, tukutuku, köwhaiwhai and their context within
the wharenui (poupou, heke etc.) and the marae (ätea, ärongo etc.). I’m not sure
but even the ability to ‘read’ body language (paralinguistics) should not be
outside the scope of a definition of ‘literacy’ in Mäori terms. This is the sort of
4
Grace, G. (1988) Education: Commodity or Public Good? Victoria University of Wellington, Inaugural
Addresses, New Series; (1990) ‘The New Zealand Treasury and the Commodification of Education’,
in Jones, A., Codd, J. and Middleton, S. (1990) New Zealand Education Policy Today: Critical
Perspectives. Wellington: Allen and Unwin.
5
Grace, G. (1988: 16, op cit).
6
Ibid.
7
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
work that ‘the politics of everyday life’ structured in the nature of relationships
has much to say about.
This might be taking a definition of literacy too far but then again perhaps the
definition that has been imposed has been far too limiting … which might
account for the fact that many people know how to read but don’t do it very
much because it is such an anti-social activity (Wally Penetito, 2001).
In the last twenty-five years many New Zealanders have been taking part in a social
movement which is based on just these notions. A biliteracy strategy is already being
implemented in Aotearoa today. It is being led by Mäori. It is changing the social and
economic fabric of this country forever. Te Köhanga Reo, Te Ataarangi, Te Wänanga o
Raukawa and the Mäori providers in Literacy Aotearoa, for example, are among the
organisations leading the biliteracy strategy. Profiles of these organisations/movements
reveal that not only have Mäori have been instrumental in changing the face of literacy in
this country, they show how this transformation has occurred.
These programmes exhibit a number of ‘critical success’ factors:








they are ‘flax roots’ initiatives, which have been developed by Mäori, for Mäori and in
Mäori;
they have been developed outside of what has been known as ‘the mainstream’;
they are informed by mätauranga Mäori and kaupapa Mäori;
they have each created transformative, solutions-focussed, radical alternatives to
mainstream models;
they now have each achieved over two decades of effective praxis and lead their
respective sectors;
they have each transformed participation and achievement rates in their respective
sectors;
equitable resourcing of the initiatives has been a huge issue, but it has not stopped the
momentum of development; and
they are now each recognised and celebrated internationally as ‘authentic’, ‘global
exemplars’ of indigenous development.
Name
Te Ataarangi
Te Köhanga Reo
Literacy Aotearoa
Te Wänanga o Raukawa
Year of Formation
1979
1982
1982
1981
These programmes draw from a number of bodies of knowledge that inform Mäori
development. It is in the synthesis of these bodies of knowledge that their ‘authenticity’ is
to be found. The bodies of knowledge tell us about ‘knowing about Mäori knowledge,
doing things the Mäori way and being Mäori’ and are termed ‘epistemological,
methodological and ontological’. Key concepts in this chapter draw from diverse bodies of
knowledge. They refer to the difference between ‘Mäori realities’ (ontology), ‘Mäori
world views’ (epistemology) and ‘Kaupapa Mäori’ (methodology).
8
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
There is no single ‘Mäori reality’. ‘Being Mäori’ is informed by diverse Mäori realities.
Diversity in this sense is ontological in nature, referring to the nature of being. Literacy
programmes for Mäori will need to provide for multiple pathways in response to this
notion of ‘diverse Mäori realities’. There is no single ‘Mäori world view’. Mäori world
views are known at the whänau, hapü and iwi levels. In this sense mätauranga Mäori
(Mäori knowledge) can be differentiated as mätauranga whänau, hapü, iwi and Mäori.
Diversity in this sense is epistemological in nature, referring to the theory of/methods/the
grounds of knowledge. Literacy programmes based in mätauranga whänau, hapü, iwi and
Mäori knowledge give expression to Mäori world views. ‘Kaupapa Mäori’ articulates how
Mäori world views, mätauranga Mäori, inform the development of methodologies
authentic to Mäori. Literacy programmes that are based on kaupapa Mäori will implement
processes and protocols which are drawn from the mätauranga whänau, hapü, iwi and
Mäori.
The question of what is Mäori about mätauranga Mäori, and therefore about analyses of
Mäori literacy, must be answered in epistemological as well as methodological and
ontological terms if it is to be identified as authentic and not a feature which, it could be
argued, is found in any population or any general programme.
Chapter Two
How do we define literacy?
The group identified the following as the parameters of the task of defining literacy in
Aotearoa: literacy and ‘survivability’ (meaning the ability to survive sustainably); Te
Wheke and universal laws of literacy; clashing world views – colonisation and
adaptability; and whänau, hapü and iwi literacy.
At stake in the deliberations of the group was the critical issue of the survivability of
Mäori. ‘Being Mäori’ was identified as a starting point. The challenge was to work from
this point, through an assessment of the notion of survivability, to literacy. A member of
the group asked the following focus question: “How will we recognise ourselves in a
thousand years’ time? By measures of blood alone? Or will there be a world view, which is
an expression of a lived culture, articulated in our own language, which will be
recognisable as Mäori?”
One of the questions being explored is the question of “what is Mäori literacy?” Literacy
programmes for Mäori are not only about reading and writing, which are associated with
‘reading the word’, though they include this. They are also about outcomes that show that
people have increased cultural and political knowledge. As well as knowing how to speak
te reo this includes knowledge about whakapapa, knowledge about who you are and where
you come from. When asked “What is it about learning te reo that is a literacy outcome?”
the answer lies in the ability for Mäori to be able to read the Mäori world view.
Te reo Mäori was a major theme of the analysis of this discussion. The reason is clear: it is
language that gives expression to culture. Further, the group argued that the Mäori world
view can only be expressed through the Mäori language. In arguing this they are arguing a
position which suggests that there is a philosophical difference between Mäori realities
and Mäori world views. The former are identified as ontological considerations, the latter
as epistemological considerations.
9
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
The retention, maintenance and revitalisation of the Mäori language are identified as
critical issues for the survivability of whänau, hapü, iwi Mäori in epistemological terms.
Without te reo Mäori, Mäori lose the ability to define what is ‘Mäori’ about ‘being Mäori’
in terms which are authentic to Mäori in Aotearoa. Te reo Mäori, therefore, comprises one
of our defining characteristics as a people. At the end of the day the survival of our culture
is expressed as a function of our ability to express ourselves by way of a number of
mediums including those that link us to the e-world.
The group identified that in the work of Rangimarie Rose Pere, as expressed in “Te
Wheke”, universal laws of literacy were to be found 7. “Te Wheke” identifies central
principles of mätauranga Mäori which, when taken together, enable the Mäori world view
to be explored. A critical function of the model of “Te Wheke” in the field of literacy is
that it provides a means to analyze and explore Mäori epistemology, at a range of levels;
namely, at the whänau, hapü and iwi levels.
The politics of being literate in a global community in authentic terms, defined from
within cultures, rather than being externally imposed, was inescapable. With regards to
Mäori, however, there still seemed to be a view by sections of the wider society that we
need to conform to someone else’s view of how we celebrate who we are. At issue here
are questions about power and control: Who has the power to control Mäori affairs? How
did they get that control? And, how do they maintain it? At the macro, structural level the
answers to these questions are shaped by the impact of colonisation on our ontological
journey as a nation. Knowing about colonisation, about how and why our people came to
be in the position that we are, was considered a vital component of literacy by the group.
Political literacy was identified as a central feature of literacy in this country. Colonisation
brought together different world views: and they clashed! Much about the world view of
one was oppositional to the world view of the other.
A strong theme emerged that literacy was tribally located and that whänau, hapü and iwi
were literacy providers. As well as the epistemological aspects of this, which relate to
mätauranga whänau, hapü, iwi and Mäori, there are also ontological aspects; for example,
as these relate to historical grievances and issues. Two major issues are noteworthy in this
section. Given the principles of the Mataatua Declaration, this would suggest that the
development of the field of literacy in Aotearoa must be undertaken with Mäori, as tangata
whenua, in partnership with the Crown. Te reo Mäori and mätauranga whänau, hapü, iwi
and Mäori would sit alongside the English language and Päkehä culture, equal in status, in
any framework developed for use in this field: ‘quality’, as a consequence, will have its
parameters set by the biliteracy strategy 8. It follows from this that with a biliteracy
strategy it will not be possible to “address both the capability of providers and the
development of effective tools for the measurement of learning gains” 9 in monolingual or
monocultural terms.
7
Pere, R. (1987, 1990)
Ibid.
9
ibid.
8
10
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
The ability to define and control what counts as Mäori knowledge remains with Mäori.
With these notions of definition and control articulated, Mäori knowledge could then
become available to humanity through its partnership with the Crown. The theme of
effective partnerships in this context is vital. The Mataatua Declaration notes that
“existing protection mechanisms are insufficient for the protection of Indigenous Peoples’
Intellectual and Cultural Property Rights”. This initiative should not become a means for
the Crown to appropriate Mäori knowledge. Further, access to Mäori knowledge would
first be given to Mäori and direct descendants of Mäori as a priority right. These notions
have implications both for policy and operations.
The definition of literacy offered by the group is:
Literacy is the lifelong journey of building the capacity to ‘read’ and shape
Mäori and other worlds.
Chapter Three
Recommendations
The group’s view of the grounds for the recommendations made are set out in this chapter.
The chapter also develops an overview of the effective policy interventions that are needed
to improve the literacy outcomes of adult Mäori. Twenty issues/themes were identified
and then briefly explored. They are: education and literacy broadly defined; biliteracy and
language issues; coordination; what is meaningful for Mäori?; national definition of
literacy; partnerships and the Treaty of Waitangi; shared vision; fear and ignorance about
Mäori development: the role of education; lifelong learning; beyond party politics;
multiple pathways; student-centred literacy; resourcing; mana enhancement;
whakamä/whakamana; time; research; capacity building; communication strategy; and
networking.
11
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
Chapter Four
Stakeholder Profiles
A selection of stakeholder profiles is included in Chapter Four. These profiles have been
developed in order to glean a sense of the history of literacy provision in Aotearoa. Taken
together the stories provide insight into a number of the critical issues that this report
addresses. They are also testimony of the experience in this field which has been built in
the last twenty-five years.
The lessons offered from the profiles include models of:
 whänau, hapü, iwi literacy (Te Wänanga o Raukawa);
 te reo Mäori programme development based on notions of ‘ako’ (Te Ataarangi
Educational Trust);
 how the Crown / Mäori relationship at the policy level can be implemented as well as a
model of whänau based, intergenerational learning (Te Köhanga Reo);
 organisational development based on the Treaty of Waitangi and programme
development based on notions of ‘reading the world, reading the word and being the
world’ (Literacy Aotearoa);
 workplace literacy and language (Workbase: The National Centre for Workplace
Literacy and language); and
 distance learning and flexible learning pathways (The New Zealand Correspondence
School).
Chapter Five
Current Literacy Programmes
The diversity that is the ‘lived reality’ of Mäori people is such that there is now general
agreement that there is no ‘one Mäori voice’ or ‘one Mäori pathway’ in any field, and that
holds true for the field of literacy. Mäori are everywhere: expressed as many voices and
taking many pathways. This chapter aims to open up some of the possibilities that the
group explored. One notion that the group was keen to dispel was the possibility that
establishing best practice could, if they were not careful, become a new way to create a
‘one size fits all’ approach … a normative new orthodoxy. This was not an outcome that
they wanted to contribute to. In the early part of the chapter a general discussion on
programme effectiveness and the concept of best practice is outlined. The key themes
generated here were: decolonisation, tutors, student-centred learning, value structure,
resourcing to provide quality, ‘sticking to the kaupapa’, literacy resource centre and
technology. A set of reflections on Mäori pedagogies/Mäori world views follows. Finally,
two case studies of literacy programmes have been included to enable the issues presented
in this chapter to be considered in context. The programmes are ‘Whäia Te Ara Tika’ and
‘Te Whare Ako’, each an example of effective programmes exhibiting best practice in
their own right.
12
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
Chapter Six
Other Matters
Several issues that the group felt warranted discussion were identified at the first meeting.
The first three have been discussed in earlier chapters in this report (How do Mäori define
a literate Mäori? How do we define literacy? What are the main issues in the field of
literacy?). This chapter sets out initial responses to two issues (a compilation of
government spending in the field of literacy and statistics on Mäori
Literacy/Achievement). It was beyond the resources of this report to provide
comprehensive responses to the remaining issues, but we have recommended that they be
followed up in policy work projects at a later date.
Conclusion
The idea of ‘looking back to the future’, is an ancient wisdom that introduces this
conclusion. The future is known through the past, literally, in the Mäori world view, by
facing the past. The relationship is not linear but cyclic: past, present, future, each known
in relation to each other, and each adding to the wisdom of the other. The group wanted
reference to the early experiences Mäori had of literacy in Aotearoa included in this report.
A series of facts and observations about this experience are included as quotations from
published texts to set the scene in the early chapters. They show that the early experience
of literacy for Mäori, in Mäori, was illuminating. The lessons are many.
One of the major themes from this time was that it was initially a ‘success’ story for Mäori
and for the major stakeholder in the field at the time, the missionaries and the churches
that they represented. The quotations were chosen carefully to show the rapid, positive
response Mäori had to early print literacy and their success with it. They also give an
indication of the volume of texts that were procured by Mäori at this time.
The initial ‘success’ story was tempered by time, for reasons that are worth revisiting here.
History records that Mäori saw in literacy a key to a new future, a grand, inclusive and
prosperous new future in which they could be partners in national development, walking
tall alongside their newly arrived fellow citizens. The vision was bold, brave and exciting
– and Mäori took to it with passion! What they learned was that they did not, in fact, share
the same vision as other stakeholders in the field. The vision of those working with Mäori
was not of equality or partnership. It was far more limited.
C.J.Parr offers some insights:
“It is only fair to add that the major task of the Missions of all denominations, as
envisaged in the 1830’s and 1840’s, was the Mäoris’ spiritual conversion. Though
recognised as important, the Mäoris’ material welfare was secondary to this primary
task”10
The title of this report speaks to the fullness of the vision of what literacy, properly
defined, could be, and in the view of this group, should be in Aotearoa.
10
Parr, C.J. (1961: 448) ‘A Missionary Library. Printed attempts to instruct the Mäori, 1815 – 1845’,
Journal of the Polynesian Society, 70, pp 429 - 450.
13
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
Te Käwai Ora:
Reading the world, Reading the word, Being the world.
It is a vision in which literacy is the lifelong journey of building the capacity to read and
shape Mäori and other worlds. It is an inclusive vision. It is a vision, which connects the
history of this nation with its future. It is a vision that speaks to the urgent task of nation
building in Aotearoa and the possibilities of globalisation.
14
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
Terms of Reference
“A new era opened early in the 1830s when Mäoris for the first time sought to
read and write Mäori ... Between 1835 and 1839 almost everybody, young and
old, wanted to read and write their own language. Many self appointed
teachers began village schools and all over the Island Mäoris learned to read
and write. For a time their enthusiasm seemed endless.”11
The group was established:
1. to advise Ministers on effective policy interventions with regard to improving
the literacy outcomes of adult Mäori;
2. to provide expert advice on appropriate interventions for Mäori to achieve key
goals of the Adult Literacy Strategy;
3. to identify Adult Literacy Programmes that are effective for Mäori and models
of best practice in the area;
4. to consider the appropriateness of developing a specific Mäori strategy for
adult literacy; and
5. to identify and explore issues specific to the brief of improving the literacy
outcomes of adult Mäori, not covered by the Terms of Reference listed above,
which warrant consideration.
The group identified the following issues as warranting discussion:
 how do we define a literate Mäori?
 how do we define literacy?
 what are the main issues which challenge the field?
 a compilation and an analysis of government spending in the field of literacy
which reported actual spending by any government department working in the
area, including a profile of the budget allocation;
 a compilation of government ‘policy’ on adult literacy which reported the
policies/strategies of any government department working in the area;
 research reports. It was reported that there a number of research reports on
adult literacy, Mäori adult literacy, which have been commissioned, reported
and which then seem to have disappeared into a void. The group identified a
frustration with having such research available but not utilized. They wanted a
set of these reports for annotation as a resource section in the final report so
that the findings could be made more widely available through it and therefore
have a chance of affecting policy development; and
 statistics on Mäori literacy/achievement.
… between 1830 and 1840 great numbers of Mäoris learnt to read their own
language and became extraordinarily enthusiastic readers of Mäori …12
Parr, C. J. (1963: 211) ‘Mäori Literacy 1843–1867’, in Journal of the Polynesian Society, 72, pp 211 –
234.
11
12
Parr, C.J. (1961: 429) ‘A Missionary Library. Printed attempts to instruct the Mäori, 1815–1845’, Journal
of the Polynesian Society, 70, pp 429 - 450.
15
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
Recommendations
Major Recommendations
It is recommended that:
1. the Adult Literacy Strategy, as articulated in More Than Words, is reconceptualised
and rewritten forthwith;
2. the new strategy views education and literacy more broadly;
3. literacy in Aotearoa is redefined in the new strategy as a Treaty-based concept of
biliteracy, based in te reo Mäori and the English language;
4. literacy is defined in the new strategy thus: “Literacy is the lifelong journey of
building the capacity to ‘read’ and shape Mäori and other worlds”.
In order to give effect to these recommendations the following strategies are
recommended. These strategies are premised on the view that the new strategy will
continue to seek to develop capability, improve quality systems and increase opportunities
for literacy learning.
Recommended strategies:
Legislative
It is recommended that the Education Act be amended to show reference to the Treaty of
Waitangi.
Policy
Policy Framework for Adult Literacy
It is recommended that the policy framework for literacy be defined as a Treaty-based
framework for biliteracy, based in te reo Mäori and the English language.
Policy Work Programmes
It is recommended that:
 all government projects on literacy be aligned and coordinated with reference to the
reconceptualised and rewritten adult literacy strategy;
 all government-led development of literacy be approached within the Treaty-based
policy framework and include as of right equal Mäori and non-Mäori participation;
 a project be undertaken to compile and analyse all government spending in the field of
literacy, reporting actual spending by government department, including profiles of the
budget allocation;
 a project be undertaken to compile and analyse all government policy work on adult
literacy which reports the policies/strategies of any government department working in
the area;
 a project be undertaken to prepare an annotated bibliography of research on adult
literacy, Mäori adult literacy and literacy to inform the policy work programmes; and
 that a project be undertaken to prepare a full report on statistics of Mäori
literacy/achievement.
16
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
Capacity Building
It is recommended that:
 capacity building is prioritised for proven existing providers so they can further meet
learner needs by providing quality programmes and best practices; and
 that new capacity in the field is built within the new parameters of literacy as set out in
recommendation one.
Quality Indicators
It is recommended that a system of quality indicators is developed in Mäori and English
where:
 providers are assessed according to the terms of their financial and professional
capability to provide adult literacy learning programmes;
 providers are regularly monitored to ensure ongoing ability to deliver such
programmes;
 programmes are assessed to check they are appropriate for learners and using
appropriate resources; and
 learning outcomes are assessed using assessment measures which are developed from
the knowledge code relevant to the programme, e.g. mätauranga Mäori or western
knowledge.
Standards
It is recommended that standards of practice for tutoring, training and other literacy work
be developed that affirm both Mäori and non-Mäori cultural knowledge practices and
values.
Funding
It is recommended that funding formulae be calculated on an equitable basis, so that they
provide resources which enable the quality standards set out in the re-defined strategy to
be achieved.
Pathways
It is recommended that:
 multiple pathways towards the goal of biliteracy are provided for in te reo Mäori and
in English;
 literacy pathways which are based in mätauranga Mäori and which provide for the
enhancement, expansion and status rating of te reo and tikanga Mäori are resourced
with urgency as a part of the Crown response to the endangered status of te reo Mäori;
and
 the pathways and delivery of Mäori adult education, programmes are flexible so they
respond to the needs of individual learners.
Resources
It is recommended that:
 urgency be given to the production of texts in Mäori and English which are based on
Mäori themes and topics suitable for adult consumption; and
 there is an increase in access to all resource materials suitable for adult literacy.
Special sections in libraries mainly for adult literacy need to be provided (plus the
other resources – videos, radio, cd roms etc).
17
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
Communication Strategy
It is recommended that a nation-wide promotional campaign be launched with cooperation
and involvement of Te Taurä Whiri i Te Reo Mäori to:
 increase awareness of literacy and language acquisition as a benefit for all New
Zealanders;
 remove the stigma of a lack of literacy and language skills, and to counter the
perception that literacy is the responsibility of each individual in isolation; and
 build on whänau and family involvement and desire of education as a lifelong process.
Networking
It is recommended that networks be developed between iwi, community and national
literacy providers to enhance and provide educational opportunities for all learners.
“The spread of books (and with them literacy) by direct and indirect diffusion meant that a
large number of Mäori people were soon literate in their own language. Markham (in
March 1834) estimated that there were “not less than Ten Thousand people in the South
Island that can read, write and do sums in the Northern end of the Island.” “More
impressive still are the figures available for book production in New Zealand. From 1835
to 1849 William Colenso printed about 3 500 000 pages of religious material and in 1840
produced over 2 000 000 more. In 1841 the newly established British and Foreign Bible
Society printed 20 000 New Testaments; in 1843 and again in 1845 other lots of 20 000
were turned off their press. This meant that by 1845 there was at least one Mäori
Testament for every two Mäori people in New Zealand.”13
Jackson, M. (1975: 33) ‘Literacy, Communications and Social Change’ in Kawharu, H. (Ed) Conflict and
Compromise. Auckland: A.H. and A.W. Reed.
13
18
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
Introduction
Näu te rourou, näku te rourou,
Ka ora te manuhiri.
From your food basket and from mine,
The well-being of the people will be assured.
At the edge of the third millennium, how do we view the task of nation building? What do
we understand about the rights and responsibilities of ‘citizenship’ in this society at this
time? How do we create a society which is just, equitable and fair and which is based in
the lived reality of social and economic inclusion, rather than the rhetoric of it? These are
vital questions of the day.
These are the kinds of questions which literacy addresses. Literacy is, at its very heart, a
pivotal component of nation building. Fully realised, it enables people to take part in the
fullness of the society that they live in. This report speaks to the fullness of the meaning of
literacy that is expressed in the title “Te Käwai Ora: reading the world, reading the word,
being the world”. The title has emerged as a natural expression of the discussions of the
group. It begins in Mäori, and is accompanied by an English subtitle. They are not
translations of each other, they are interdependent; each is needed in order for the full
meaning to be gleaned. They speak to the possibilities of biliteracy and biculturalism that
are central features of our journey towards nationhood. The title identifies critical themes
about literacy. These are the social and historical contexts in which literacy is understood,
the skill bases that literacy, when broadly defined, encompasses and the competencies that
the literate person is able to demonstrate. The report speaks to the significance of each of
these ideas in a range of settings, from policy to programmes.
I think the key idea about literacy is that it is a process, it is about a means to an
end, it is about coming to know. It is a process that has effects spelled out in
things like greater understanding, deeper perceiving, more informed behaving,
and an empowering sense of becoming. This is why defining literacy as simply
being able to read and write is simplistic, even being able to read and write in
more than one language. Becoming literate is like acquiring a ‘lifeline’ to
knowing the self and the world. Something like Te Käwai Ora might do it.
(Wally Penetito, 2001)
The ancient wisdom expressed in the whakataukï “näu te rourou, näku te rourou, ka ora te
manuhiri” provides insights into how literacy can contribute to the goals of national
development in Aotearoa. The ‘rourou’ referred to in this context is nothing less than
Aotearoa itself, a diverse society, indeed, and one comprising many rourou. The themes of
authenticity, inclusion and partnership emerge from the proverb.
19
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
It will take more than one rourou to feed the people: that speaks to the need for partnership
to be paramount. The Treaty of Waitangi is fundamental to the nation building process of
Aotearoa and it provides an excellent model for the exercise of partnership. Importantly, it
provides an inclusive model that enables everyone to have a place and to be provided for
in our society. More than a passing notion, the ‘well-being’ of the people is premised on
this. There is no sense of uniformity suggested by this, no need for ‘one size fits all’. The
gifts of each rourou are accepted and valued for the diversity that they represent. Our
society is enriched by that diversity and our challenge is to engage it.
The Adult Literacy Strategy
Speaking at the launch of the Adult Literacy Strategy, the Associate Minister of
Education, Hon Marian Hobbs introduced her comments by noting that there were at least
two consequences for New Zealand for the low levels of adult literacy reported. The first
was that when people in the workforce had literacy difficulties, poor literacy levels
impeded their ability to upskill themselves. The second related to the skill levels required
to participate effectively in the family and community life of ‘the knowledge society’14.
The speech also briefly sketched a selective account of the history of the adult literacy
movement in New Zealand. Notable in the account is the leadership role played by
voluntary, community-led initiatives in this field. The Minister said that the creation of the
new Ministerial Portfolio, Associate Minister of Education (Adult and Community
Education) in 1999, was a new initiative of the current government and she noted that
among the responsibilities of this portfolio was the development of an adult literacy
strategy 15.
The members of the reference group were unanimous in their support of both new
initiatives. Their timeliness and the significance that each would add to the work of those
in the field of adult literacy were highlighted and discussed by the group.
The description of the account of the history of the adult literacy movement given at the
launch is described as selective for two reasons that are of importance to this report. The
first is that the ‘history’ outlined is one which reports initiatives in the aspects of literacy
which would be described primarily as ‘reading the word’. It is an historical account that
renders Mäori all but invisible in the field. In the time under consideration, since the mid
1970s, Mäori have been leading the way in what is now openly referred to as a renaissance
in Mäori language and culture. This renaissance has included programmes that are widely
accepted as literacy programmes that are based in mätauranga Mäori and delivered
through the medium of te reo Mäori. Literacy programmes associated with this
renaissance integrate the dimensions of ‘reading the world’ and ‘literacy in te reo Mäori’,
which are also two significant features of literacy in Aotearoa.
14
15
Hon Marian Hobbs, Speech Notes, May 7, Launch Adult Literacy Strategy.
Ibid.
20
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
Taken together, the experience of the many literacy providers in Aotearoa is testimony of
the breadth of the field and need for multiple pathways to literacy in a diverse society such
as ours.
When Samuel Marsden bought 200 acres of land at Rangihoua in 1814 for the first
mission station, he drew up a deed of conveyance and solemnly had the Mäori chief ‘sign’
(sic) it by drawing on it a copy of his moko or facial tatoo pattern. The price was twelve
axes, itself a potent symbol of the shift from a neolithic culture to the iron age, the
deforestation of New Zealand and the pastoral economy to come. But the subtler, much
more elusive and indeterminate technology was literacy 16.
More Than Words
On 7 May 2001, the Adult Literacy Strategy More than Words was released. The strategy
responds to concerns about low levels of adult literacy reported in, for example, The
International Adult Literacy Survey (1996). The survey has been described as “the first,
large scale national literacy survey of working age adults in New Zealand” 17. Key findings
of the survey included the following:







the distribution of literacy skills within the New Zealand population is similar
to that of Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom;
approximately one in five New Zealanders is operating at a highly effective
level of literacy;
New Zealanders do less well at document and quantitative literacy than at
prose literacy;
the majority of Mäori and Pacific Islands people and those from other ethnic
minority groups are functioning below the level of competence in literacy
required to effectively meet the demands of everyday life;
labour force status and income are related to level of literacy;
increased retention into the senior secondary school appears to be associated
with higher literacy levels; and
Mäori with tertiary qualifications have literacy profiles similar to those of
tertiary educated European/Päkehä 18.
16
McKenzie, D. F. (1985: 10) Oral Culture, Literacy and Print in early New Zealand: The Treaty of
Waitangi. Wellington: Victoria University Press.
17
Office of the Minister of Education (2001: 28) More Than Words.
18
Office of the Minister of Education (2001: 21) More Than Words
21
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
The strategy is described as providing “a comprehensive, long term approach to adult
literacy”19. The long term approach has three key elements:
 developing capability to ensure adult literacy providers to deliver quality
learning through a highly skilled workforce with high quality teaching
resources;
 improving quality systems to ensure that New Zealand programmes are world
class; and
 increasing opportunities for adult literacy learning by significantly
increasing provision in workplaces, communities and tertiary institutions 20.
Four principles underpin the strategy:
 rapid gains for learners;
 programmes to match learners’ needs;
 best practice, good evaluation and research to inform development; and
 teaching that meets the needs of the wide diversity of learners 21.
In 1993 Te Whiri Kaupapa Ako (ARLA, now Literacy Aotearoa) asked four people
to share their stories and views… This is Laurie’s story…
I asked around if there was a literacy course I could take. The first place I went was the
Social Welfare, then to the Labour Department – they all said no. I got the opportunity to
read and spell when I got to jail. So I went for it. I feel good about myself. I’m building
my self-esteem up again and my confidence. This course is doing a lot for me and I’m
learning lots at the same time. I’m not going to let my kids get in the same situation where
I am now. I realise now that reading and spelling is an important thing to learn at school. I
thought that I was the only person in NZ that couldn’t read and spell properly, until now.
We have a small group, a good teacher who comes in once a week. I’m writing this so that
other people out there with the same problem like mine will realise that you can get help
for it now. Not only in jail. When I get out I will still be taking this course 22.
Background to Te Käwai Ora
The main aim of the establishment of the Mäori Adult Literacy Reference Group was “to
provide advice on policy development with respect to adult literacy outcomes”23. This is
particularly important given the current disparities between Mäori and non-Mäori in this
area. There is a dearth of research available in the field of adult literacy for informing the
development of effective policy. This has a number of implications. One set relates to
current government policy as outlined in More Than Words. Another set relates to the
effective relationships that will be required between the Crown and stakeholders in the
field if the policy is to be successfully implemented.
19
Hon Marian Hobbs (2001: 4) Speech Notes, Launch of Adult Literacy Strategy, May 7, 2001.
Office of the Minister of Education (2001: 3) More Than Words.
21
Hon Marian Hobbs (op. cit: 4).
22
Kahungunu Iwi Newspaper, Issue 6, (1993: 3)
23
Correspondence, Leith Comer to Associate Minister of Mäori Affairs, 20 March, 2001.
20
22
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
One of the main aims of the Adult Literacy Strategy is “the development of a quality
framework for the sector with which to assess … programmes”24. The framework will
“address both the capability of providers and the development of effective tools for the
measurement of learning gains” 25.
In the absence of a research base to inform policy development the opinion of experts in
the field has been called for. Those on the group represent major, national stakeholders
who have proven records in the field. The reference group’s methodology was designed to
capitalise on this varied expertise. This expert opinion comprises the data from which this
report has been written. The members of the group were:







Bronwyn Yates, Literacy Aotearoa;
Susan Reid, Workbase: The National Centre for Work Place Literacy and
Language;
Te Ripowai Higgins, Te Ataarangi Educational Trust;
Wally Penetito, He Parekereke: Institute for Research and Development,
School of Education, Victoria University of Wellington;
Mereana Selby, Te Wänanga o Raukawa;
Bubs Taipama, Whäia Te Ara Tika Literacy Programme; and
Rachel Wikaira, New Zealand Correspondence School.
This extremely busy group of experts gave of their time without hesitation because of their
passion for the kaupapa. One of the first questions asked related to the change being
sought. The group wanted to know where the report would go and whether it would really
lead to change. The group was finding a way to politely ask if members were wasting their
time by taking part. Was this another exercise of meaningless consultation? This question
could only be answered in the context of good faith. The group was called together to
provide input into a pressing issue of the day and it did so in good faith that it served a
genuine purpose which would lead to change of some sort.
The Life of the Group
The reference group met four times to discuss the terms of reference and to produce the
final report. The meeting schedule and agenda items are set out below:




24
25
Meeting 1 - May 7, administration, discussion of focus questions;
Meeting 2 - May 23, 24, Terms of Reference –1-4;
Meeting 3 - June 13, Term of Reference 5; and
Meeting 4 - June 26, Final Report.
Ibid.
ibid.
23
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
The agenda items for the first meeting of the group were to attend to administrative
matters and to discuss the first two terms of reference. The group started its journey
instead in a different place: they considered three major focus questions that addressed
critical notions informing policy scholarship in this field. The questions were:



How do we define a literate Mäori?
How do we define literacy?
What are some of the major issues in the field?
The fifth Term of Reference made provision for the group “to identify and explore issues
specific to the brief of improving the literacy outcomes of adult Mäori, not covered by the
Terms of Reference listed above, which warrant consideration”. These discussions fit
within this descriptor. By starting with them, the group adopted the approach of exploring
the policy scholarship before developing the policy science26.
Grace 27 argues that policy research can take two forms: policy scholarship and policy
science. Policy scholarship “examines fundamental principles and ideologies in struggle”
28
in the policy milieu. Policy science deals with “specific policy proposals and technical
details”29. It is in the synthesis of both policy scholarship and policy science that the full
view will be found. Anderson observes the following:
Policy research tends not to be bound up in a particular discipline. In fact, it is
best pursued when the varying strengths and perspectives of several
disciplines can be brought to bear on a problem … it is the combination of
these diverse perspectives which provide the information required by the
decision maker who has the ultimate responsibility for a course of action 30.
Before attending to the technical detail of the policy proposal on the table, as articulated in
More Than Words, the group set out its view of the “fundamental principles and
ideologies in struggle” in the field of literacy as articulated by Mäori.
26
Grace, G. (1988) Education: Commodity or Public Good? Victoria University of Wellington, Inaugural
Addresses, New Series; (1990) `The New Zealand Treasury and the Commodification of Education’,
in Jones, A., Codd, J. and Middleton, S. (1990) New Zealand Education Policy Today: Critical
Perspectives. Wellington: Allen and Unwin.
27
Grace, G. (1988, op cit).
28
Grace, G. (1988: 16, op cit).
29
Ibid.
30
Anderson, G. (1990: 187) Fundamentals of Educational Research. London: The Falmer Press.
24
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
Freire describes language as being the ‘real stuff’ of culture and constitutes both a terrain
of domination and field of possibility. Gramsci makes similar claims about language being
both ‘hegemonic and counter hegemonic’ which was ‘instrumental in both silencing the
voices of the oppressed and in legitimating oppressive social relations’ (Giroux, 1987: 8).
Freire goes on to claim that ‘the dominant class, which has the power to define, profile,
and describe the world, begins to pronounce that the speech habits of the subordinate
groups are a corruption, a bastardization of dominant discourse’. He further states that ‘all
languages are valid, systematic, rule-governed systems, and that the inferiority/superiority
distinction is a social phenomenon (Freire and Macedo, 1987: 53) 31.
31
Jenkins, Kuni (1993: 20) Becoming Literate – Becoming English. Monograph No 14, RUME, Auckland
University.
25
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
Chapter One
How do Mäori define a literate Mäori?
1. ‘Literacy’ in Mäori terms should include the ability to read and write in both Mäori and
English, i.e.biliteracy; and
2. to be able to use that ability competently, i.e. to be functionally biliterate in Mäori and
English.
Being literate in Mäori should also include:
3. having the capacity to ‘read’ the geography of the land, i.e. to be able to name the main
land features of one's environment (the mountains, rivers, lakes, creeks, bluffs, valleys etc.);
to be able to recite one’s tribal/hapü boundaries and be able to point them out on a map if
not in actuality as well as the key features of adjacent tribal/hapü; and
4. being able to ‘read’ Mäori symbols such as carvings, tukutuku, köwhaiwhai
and their context within the wharenui (poupou, heke etc.) and the marae (atea, arongo etc.).
I’m not sure but even the ability to ‘read’ body language (paralinguists) should not be
outside the scope of a definition of ‘literacy’ in Mäori terms.
This is the sort of work that ‘the politics of everyday life’ structured in the nature of
relationships has much to say about. This might be taking a definition of literacy too far but
then again perhaps the definition that has been imposed has been far too limiting … which
might account for the fact that many people know how to read but don’t do it very much
because it is such an anti-social activity. (Wally Penetito, 2001).
A number of main themes emerged from this discussion. The group’s views are reported
in sections one to three.
1.1 How do Mäori define a literate Mäori?
1.2 Becoming Biliterate
1.3 Barriers to Mäori Literacy:
1.3.1 Historical,
1.3.2 Structural (systemic),
1.3.3 Institutional/Programme,
1.3.4 Personal
Early discussion focussed on the goals and outcomes of being a literate Mäori. What did
Mäori want from literacy and how would they be described when they had achieved that
goal were two questions explored. In the natural course of sharing stories about their work
people also began to identify themes, patterns and experiences encountered in the journey
towards biliteracy. An integral theme of those discussions related to barriers: why were
some Mäori literate and others not? What were the barriers to Mäori literacy and how
could these be overcome?
26
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
1.1 How do Mäori define a literate Mäori?
Te Ripowai Higgins, Trustee of the Te Ataarangi National Trust and Head of School of Te
Kawa a Maui, School of Mäori Studies at Victoria University, spoke about people who
come to Te Ataarangi to learn, an organisation that she has had many years of experience
working with. Te Ripowai identified that te reo Mäori me ona tikanga were part of the
total Te Ataarangi package. The guiding principles of the organisation were drawn from
tikanga Mäori and had never changed in the duration of the organisation. They are:
 ‘He ngäkau mähaki’;
 ‘Akotia te reo ahakoa ko wai’.
Te Ripowai commented that people enrolling with Te Ataarangi know what they want
from it when they enrol. They want te reo, they want the fun of learning, and they want to
feel safe because they are not in Päkehä institutions. They want their mates there, they do
not want qualifications, they want more Mäori environments. They want things that they
did not have access to, and they come because they are attracted to Mäori associated with
the organisation – in this case Te Ripowai herself and her colleague and tribal brother Pou
Temara. They want what she describes as ‘tüturu stuff’, knowledge that is authentic to
Mäori. They come to Te Ataarangi because they know that they can get what they want
from it.
Biliteracy was also identified as a goal they sought. She commented that Mäori do not
want to be monolingual or monocultural. Students want knowledge that connects them
with ‘old things’; they are looking for knowledge that they have only heard about before.
They want to know about what is described as ‘their world’. The programme aims to give
them a sense of where they are and who they are. Te Ripowai told us that she asks the
university students who enrol with her at Victoria why they come to university to find taha
Mäori. A large percentage of mature students include in their response the idea that it is
quite a scary feeling to have to do that. As well as learning the language she also noted
that there was a dimension that related to the cultural things about when you give
knowledge out. That learning was also part of the process. The programmes she is
associated with provide responses to a language revitalisation need.
In the last two decades literally thousands and thousands of New Zealanders have been
taking part in a phenomenal social movement which is based on just these notions.
Whether this report is effective in promoting a biliteracy strategy at the national level,
which the Crown decides to champion or not, one thing above all else is clear. A biliteracy
strategy is already being implemented in Aotearoa today. It has been for at least twenty
years. It is being led by Mäori. It is changing the social and economic fabric of this
country forever. Te Köhanga Reo, Te Ataarangi, Te Wänanga o Raukawa and the Mäori
providers in Literacy Aotearoa, for example, are among the organisations leading the
biliteracy strategy that is taking place. This list of organisations is not exhaustive, it is
selective, but it proves the point being made. Profiles of these organisations/movements
reveal that not only have Mäori have been instrumental in changing the face of literacy in
this country, they show how this transformation has occurred.
27
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
These programmes exhibit a number of ‘critical success’ factors:
 they are ‘flax roots’ initiatives, which have been developed by Mäori, for Mäori and in
Mäori;
 they have been developed outside what has been known as ‘the mainstream’;
 they are informed by mätauranga Mäori and kaupapa Mäori;
 they have each created transformative, solutions-focussed, radical alternatives to
mainstream models;
 they now have each achieved over two decades of effective praxis and lead their
respective sectors;
 they have each transformed participation and achievement rates in their respective
sectors;
 equitable resourcing of the initiatives has been a huge issue, but, it has not stopped the
momentum of development; and
 they are now each recognised and celebrated internationally as authentic, global
exemplars of indigenous development.
Name
Te Ataarangi
Te Köhanga Reo
Literacy Aotearoa
Te Wänanga o Raukawa
Year of Formation
1979
1982
1982
1981
These programmes draw from a number of bodies of knowledge that inform Mäori
development. It is in the synthesis of these bodies of knowledge that their ‘authenticity’ is
to be found. The bodies of knowledge tell us about “knowing about Mäori knowledge,
doing things the Mäori way and being Mäori” and are termed “epistemological,
methodological and ontological”. The meaning and role of each are briefly described and
discussed below.
Methodological is defined as “the theory of knowledge and the interpretive framework that
guides a particular research project...” 32. In these programmes, mätauranga Mäori provides
the theory of knowledge; kaupapa Mäori33 the interpretive framework for the movement.
Mätauranga Mäori outlines an authentic Mäori knowledge base. This enables the
development of programmes that are based in the Mäori world view. Through the
interpretive framework of kaupapa Mäori matters of process and protocol are articulated.
This enables Mäori to develop approaches to programme delivery that are based in Mäori
knowledge.
32
Lather, P. (1992) Lather, Patti (1992) `Critical frames in educational research: Feminist and post
structural perspectives’, Theory into Practice, 31 (2) pp 87 - 99.
33
Smith, Graham Hingangaroa, (1997). The development of kaupapa Mäori: theory and praxis. A Thesis
submitted to the University of Auckland in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of
Philosophy, (Education); Smith, Linda (1996) Nga Aho o te Kakahu Matauranga. D Phil: Auckland
University.
28
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
Not only is the curriculum philosophically different from any other, the means of delivering
it are also. It is in the methodology of the programmes that some of the most transformative
developmental lessons are to be learned. Many people have missed these crucial points and
wrongly assume that such programmes, for example Köhanga Reo, are pre-school
programmes, like any other, just delivered in the Mäori language.
Epistemological is defined as “a theory of method or the grounds of knowledge” 34. The
theory of knowledge these programmes draw from is mätauranga Mäori. The articulation
of the world view of this group, and the language of its expression, are found nowhere else
in the world. It is this world view, the bodies of knowledge emanating from this and the
telling of the stories which comprise the collective whakapapa of whänau, hapü, iwi Mäori
which comprise ‘mätauranga Mäori’. These bodies of knowledge differentiate Mäori from
any other people in the global community. This is where the stamp of authenticity is to be
found.
That is part of why these programmes have been able to deliver authentic Mäori solutions
which are grounded in and theorised from the Mäori world view: they have pioneered the
act of reclaiming our stories and the right to tell them ourselves. This feature cannot be
taken for granted in any sense. Historically, the notion of promoting and providing for
mätauranga Mäori in the public sphere of New Zealand society has been a hugely
problematic issue. Enabling the idea to become operationalised poses a radical
developmental challenge for many. This view does not preclude the integration of other
bodies of knowledge with mätauranga Mäori. The provision for inter-cultural
understanding and growth is a feature of Mäori knowledge codes as much as it is for any
other group. The history and nature of post contact development between Mäori and other
cultural groups makes this point clear. In the final analysis the selection of the full
knowledge base that informs Mäori programmes should properly remain the business of
Mäori: the choices available to them, as to any other group, come from the global context.
However, the question of what is ‘Mäori’ about mätauranga Mäori must be able to be
answered in epistemological as well as methodological and ontological terms if it is to be
identified as authentic to these lands.
Ontology is defined as “a branch of metaphysics dealing with the nature of being”. 35 In
this case study the ontological considerations relate to the development paradigm dating
from the post contact period, signified by the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, and the
notions of ‘being Mäori’ which emanate from this. Mäori argue that policy in Mäori
Affairs can be traced through the following cycle: from Mäori development, to
assimilation, to integration to a contemporary return to Mäori development.
It is the long-term impact of interruptions to Mäori Development in ontological terms that
has resulted in the creation of diverse Mäori realities today. Whänau/hapü/iwi are Treaty
signatories with the Crown. In this context whänau/hapü/iwi are partners with the Crown
in national development.
34
Burchfield, R. (1986) The New Zealand Pocket Oxford Dictionary. Auckland: Oxford University Press.
35
Burchfield, R. (1986) The New Zealand Pocket Oxford Dictionary. Auckland: Oxford University Press.
29
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
One of the outcomes of the way in which nationhood was forged in this country is that
whänau/hapü/iwi did not become equal partners in the process. The impact of colonisation
was that Mäori became disposed, positioned as other, marginalised and silenced in their
own lands.
One of the critical issues that this country has had to grapple with as a consequence of this
history is the issue of citizenship. “The Price of Citizenship”36 is an ongoing debate in
which Mäori continue to argue for the right to be Mäori, citizens of this country, in the
fullness of all that that means. In the keynote address to the Mäori Education Hui Taumata
held in Türangi, Mason Durie argued that this means living as Mäori, according to age old
traditions and tikanga37 whilst at all times being willing, able and equally competent in
dealings with the wider world. In the context of education, for example, he argued that if a
Mäori child leaves the education system of this country not literate in his or her own
whänau/hapü/iwi defined Mäori world, as well as educated in the ways of wider world,
then he/she is not fully educated 38.
History records that iwi responded in a range of ways to the nation building process. Some
were oppositional to it, and fought against the Crown; others were sympathetic to it, and
fought with the Crown. This has created a legacy for whänau/hapu/iwi that continues to
impact on contemporary realities. The impact has been felt in economic, social and
political terms.
Whereas some tribes are still negotiating with the Crown to resolve outstanding historical
grievances; others have negotiated directly with the Crown to settle and have, therefore,
moved beyond grievance mode into economic and social development mode.
Whänau/hapü/iwi live diverse realities: there is no one Mäori voice, be it at the
whänau/hapü or iwi level.
The impact of these changing policies has been to move ‘mätauranga Mäori’ and the
ability to live as Mäori from the realm of the public sphere, informing all aspects of life, to
the private realm. In this sense the changing face of ‘being Mäori’, of living as Mäori,
became a private matter which the state sought to legitimise through particular policy
initiatives. Whänau/hapü/iwi have been dislocated from their traditional trajectories. It is
the reclamation of these trajectories that literacy programmes based in mätauranga Mäori
and kaupapa Mäori contribute to.
36
Ngata, Apirana, Sir (1943) The Price of Citizenship : Ngarimu V.C. [Wellington, N.Z. : Printed by
Whitcomb & Tombs, 1943]
37
Durie, Mason (2001) ‘A Framework for Considering Mäori Educational Advancement. Opening
Address’. Hui Taumata Mätauranga, Turangi.
38
Ibid.
30
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
1.2 Becoming Biliterate
The main goal people spoke about in relation to Mäori literacy was that our people want to
learn te reo Mäori. That has been a huge demand from the Mäori community. The desire
to learn the language is seen as a step on the pathway to biliteracy. It is also described as a
difficult pathway. Some of the obstacles along the path are discussed below.
One obstacle related to language learning in general. Mäori coming to learn te reo Mäori
are doing so as second language learners, English is their first language. One of the issues
that arises is the issue of expectations. Teachers of Mäori shared that Mäori often have
unrealistic expectations about learning te reo. The observation was made that the ability to
learn in a second language is affected by the ability to learn in first language. If there has
been poor achievement in the first language the ability to learn any other language,
including Mäori, will be negatively affected by this. This produces a situation that is
described as being like a ‘double whammy’. In such classes it was noted that Päkehä often
learn Mäori better than Mäori because of their success with English as a language.
Teachers commented that they spend a lot of time teaching English when they were
teaching Mäori.
Experienced literacy tutors shared views of Mäori literacy programmes. The starting place,
they felt, was the students, their whakapapa, their self-esteem and confidence. Learning to
whakapapa is the most important thing to learn. It opens up the whole person. From there
tutors can talk to them and introduce basics: once they start talking the students are like a
sponge; they have lots of skills already and others that they have missed out on.
1.3 Barriers to Literacy
1.3.1 Historical
One of the major barriers to literacy that was identified had very old roots in our history.
That is the link between colonisation and literacy. This relates to the way in which our
nation was forged. In particular, it relates to the institutionalisation of the English
language and the Päkehä culture.
A literate Mäori was described as someone who knew who he or she was as a Mäori and
who was able to access further development. As well as this level of cultural literacy in the
Mäori world there was an added component that made the link with biliteracy. That was
understanding the English language and the colonisers’ practices in order to transform
them. Literacy was fundamentally about being able to define ourselves and being able to
negotiate new futures on our own terms.
1.3.2 Structural (Systemic)
One of the structural issues that emerged related to the relationship between the field of
adult literacy providers and the policy-making community. People expressed concern at
having to argue with policy makers about the role of Mäori in the field, at all levels, from
policy development to programme provision. There was a sense that people were regularly
debating with the Ministry of Education over the question ‘why involve Mäori?’ Given the
statistics in the field, and the nature of the leadership that Mäori have provided in the last
twenty years, this was considered inappropriate. Te Köhanga Reo, Te Ataarangi and Te
31
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
Wänanga o Raukawa were all cited as examples of successful programmes/movements
that were generated from within the Mäori community.
This highlighted the need for the policy making community to ensure that the policy
making process had entry points for Mäori to feed solutions into. People spoke of the need
for the doors into the policy making community to be open and for Mäori to be invited in,
not to feel as if it is a constant battle to break the doors down to get in to the policy
making forum.
At the systemic level, people spoke about the ‘mainstream’ and the way in which Mäori
are locked out of this. This related to the monolingualism and monoculturalism that
characterises the mainstream in this country. Trying to transform the status quo when it is
in this form is a big enough task. Added to that is the knowledge that many in the
mainstream have poorly developed historical and structural analyses of how the
mainstream came to be that way. As one person commented “The point about the
mainstream is that they can take the mainstream for granted”. Mäori do not have that
luxury. Every part of the change process is hard fought.
1.3.3 The Institutional/Programme
The role of literacy in lifelong learning provided a catalyst for discussions beyond the
adult sector. Issues about literacy during the years of compulsory schooling and the role of
teachers in the achievement of successful literacy outcomes were also raised. The teachers
in the group came at the issue from a professional viewpoint. That was, if a problem
existed in a classroom a teacher might reasonably ask what could have been done to create
a different outcome. The question begging was what part of school failure is teacher
failure? The group argued that the issue was about much more than individuals at any one
stage of life. At stake was a range of factors at the structural and institutional level that
included the school system, policies and procedures.
1.3.4 The Personal
The impact of not being biliterate, perhaps not being literate in either culture or language,
was described at the personal level. People spoke of a lack of confidence, shyness,
feelings of failure, low self esteem and self worth in the people they worked with. The
students need to be given the confidence that whoever and whatever they are is valid.
When they succeed in the basics – basic tables, basic maths – they feel great. Bubs
Taipana told the story of one woman whose aim was to read ‘Thomas the Tank Engine’ so
that she could later read it to her children. She achieved this goal and then went on to
polytechnic to do a catering course. She invited her tutors to the polytechnic to have a
meal. She was a real success story: so confident.
People enrolling in the programmes come from a range of different situations. Some are
older and come from larger families where they have to go to work to help families.
Others might have faced restructuring at work, are now in between jobs and do not know
who they are. Others have missed out on learning at school.
32
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
Literacy programmes for Mäori were also about dealing with people who do not know
who they are in terms of cultural literacy – people who fall through the cracks into cultural
chasms. Te Ripowai spoke about her experience of working with Tühoe people in this
space who are at the point of rediscovering who they are. This group of Mäori is the group
that has lost its ancestral language and cultural traditions through colonisation. The impact
of this dislocated space is considerable at the personal level. In both psychological and
psychiatric terms Mäori living in this cultural chasm inhabit a world where they know few
comfort zones.
Issues of access were highlighted for a number of groups of people and options sought to
enhance their opportunities. The groups included people isolated by rural location, those
incarcerated and those isolated by circumstance such as teenage mothers, the aged and
infirmed. In such cases the ability to be able to access programmes using distance
education or a similar methodology, perhaps e-learning on line, was discussed.
Discussion also centred on the impact of literacy work at the personal level on those
working in the field. People talked about literacy workers as being a particular breed of
people, a people with a particular passion for life and how it should be able to be lived.
People spoke of the sense of anger and frustration that fighting to bring about change
caused. Others spoke about how tiring it was at a personal level to engage in such
kaupapa-based mahi. We remembered those of our leaders who literally gave of their
lives, who died too young, for the cause of trying to create a society in which ‘being
Mäori’ could be as normal a part of everyday life as ‘being Päkehä’. The phrases recalled
from the whaikörero at their tangi invariably included the words ‘moumou täima’: that
their early losses had been a waste of time. With the passing of each kaumätua a sense of
deep loss was registered: a sense that the tötara in te wao nui a Täne were slowly
disappearing. Others were sprouting and undoubtedly growing in their place, but the
project of adding tötara to any forest was a very long term one.
The people who were left behind, to pick up and carry on the mantle of their lives and
work, take their stories and memories to be an inspiration, a reason to carry on with the
struggle no matter how difficult it is.
33
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
Chapter Two
How Do We Define Literacy?
At the first meeting the question of how to define literacy was considered in depth. At this
time closure on an actual `definition’ was not sought. Rather, the conceptual terrain that it
would need to cover was explored.
At the final meeting, the group addressed the question of definition again. The group used
the definitions of Literacy Aotearoa and Workbase, two of the major stakeholders in the
field, as starters to prompt a brainstorm of ‘must have’ characteristics of literacy in
Aotearoa. A summary of this discussion led to the final step in the process: writing the
actual definition.
Summaries of the discussions of the first meeting are presented first; then the two working
definitions from Literacy Aotearoa and Workbase are listed. Key ideas from the
brainstorm of ‘must have’ characteristics are tabulated and finally, the definition is
presented. Along with the definition is an accompanying explanation written by one of the
group members, Wally Penetito. The group recorded that they wished to have the
definition listed and then accompanied by Wally’s whakamärama in this way.
2.1 Summary of Initial Discussion
2.2 Literacy Aotearoa/Workbase Definitions
2.3 ‘Must have’ characteristics
2.4 Definition and Whakamärama
2.1 Summary of Initial Discussion
The group identified the following as the parameters of the initial discussions it held:
 2.1.1 Literacy and Survivability;
 2.1.2 Te Wheke and Universal Laws of Literacy;
 2.1.3 Clashing World Views: Colonisation and Adaptability; and
 2.1.4 Whänau, Hapü and Iwi Literacy.
2.1.1 Literacy and Survivability
The group was under no illusion about what was at stake in its deliberations: the critical issue
identified was the survivability of Mäori. ‘Being Mäori’ was identified as a starting point. The
challenge was to work from this point, through an assessment of the notion of survivability, to
literacy. The following focus question was asked by a member of the group: how will we
recognise ourselves in a thousand years’ time? By measures of blood alone? Or will there be a
world view, which is an expression of a lived culture, articulated in our own language, which
will be recognisable as ‘Mäori’?
34
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
Mäori
International
Concepts of Literacy
Survivability
Literacy
One of the questions that Mäori are exploring is the question: ‘What is Mäori literacy?’
Literacy programmes for Mäori are not only about reading and writing, which are
associated with ‘reading the word’, though they include this. They are also about
outcomes, which show that people have increased cultural and political knowledge. As
well as knowing how to speak te reo this includes knowledge about whakapapa,
knowledge about who you are and where you come from. When asked “What is it about
learning te reo that is a literacy outcome?”, the answer lies in the ability for Mäori to be
able to read the Mäori world.
Te reo Mäori was a major theme of the analysis of this discussion. The reason was clear; it
is language that gives expression to culture. Further, the group argued that the Mäori
world view can only be expressed through the Mäori language. In arguing this they were
arguing a position which suggests that there is a philosophical difference between Mäori
realities and Mäori world views. The former are identified as ontological considerations,
the latter as epistemological considerations. This philosophical difference is explored in
more detail in section 3.1.3 below, “Epistemological World Views in Clash”. The
retention, maintenance and revitalisation of the Mäori language are identified as critical
issues for the survivability of whänau, hapü, iwi Mäori in epistemological terms. Without
te reo Mäori, Mäori lose the ability to define what is ‘Maori’ about ‘being Mäori’ in terms
which are authentic to Mäori in Aotearoa. Te reo Mäori, therefore, comprises one of our
defining characteristics as a people. At the end of the day the survival of our culture was
expressed as a function of our ability to express ourselves by way of a number of mediums
including those which link us to the e-world.
35
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
Parents in the group explored the notion of defining literacy in terms of their dreams for
their children. They talked about knowledge from all worlds being at their disposal, such
as being able to raise gardens, knowledge about fishing, and taonga as much as accessing
other knowledge bases; for example, technological knowledge. The abilities to stand tall in
both cultures, to ‘read’ and write in both languages/cultures were stressed. Aroha was
expressed for children trapped in cultural chasms, between worlds, between cultures. The
sense of these children losing out on both cultures, proficient in neither, was lamented.
2.1.2 Te Wheke and Universal Laws of Literacy
The discussion went far beyond a sense of reading words. “Reading worlds, reading
words, being worlds” was used as a way to describe the complexity under consideration.
Reading the world as much as reading the word and understanding the world as much as
reading it were openly explored. The group discussed the idea that expressing a way of
being, a way of living was what literacy was ultimately about. The need for the definition
to be holistic, to integrate the past, the present and the future in ways authentic to Mäori
was stressed. People looked to the definition to include cultural, political, linguistic and
tribal features. They looked for Mäori to have the right to define and control those aspects
of literacy that relate to Mäori as expressions of rangätiratanga, of Mäori leading Mäori
Development, of Mäori Development being ‘by Mäori, for Mäori, in Mäori and about
Mäori’39.
The group identified that in the work of Rangimarie Rose Pere, as expressed in “Te
Wheke”, universal laws of literacy were to be found40. Te Wheke identifies central
principles of mätauranga Mäori which, when taken together, enable the Mäori world view
to be explored. A critical function of the model of “Te Wheke” in the field of literacy is
that it provides a means to analyse and explore Mäori epistemology, at a range of levels.
Differences between bodies of knowledge are therefore able to be identified and
assessments made about what knowledge is authentic in Mäori terms and what is not. It
also enables Mäori knowledge to be articulated at the whänau, hapü and iwi levels. For
those who have difficulty of accepting the base view that literacy can be based on ‘Mäori’
knowledge, or mätauranga Mäori, “Te Wheke” takes this three stages further, providing a
means to validate and affirm ‘mätauranga whänau’, ‘mätauranga hapü’, and ‘mätauranga
iwi’ as well as mätauranga Mäori.
2.1.3 Clashing World Views: Colonisation and Adaptability
As if to point the way in our work, the journey to our first meeting took us past a private
Muslim school for girls in Auckland. One of the fundamental principles of the school is
the celebration of difference. This is a principle that is accepted by the wider mainstream
society in this case. The ‘lived’ sense of literacy in the fullness of all it means, and its deep
embededness in context and culture were inescapable. The politics of being able to be
literate in a global community in authentic terms, defined from within cultures, rather than
being externally imposed, was equally inescapable.
39
40
Penetito, W. (1988)
See Pere, R. (1987, 1990)
36
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
With regards to Mäori, however, there still seemed to be a view by sections of the wider
society that we need to conform to someone else’s view of how we celebrate who we are.
At issue here are questions about power and control; who has the power to control Mäori
affairs? How did they get that control? And, how do they maintain it? At the macro,
structural level the answers to these questions are shaped by the impact of colonisation on
our ontological journey as a nation. Knowing about colonisation, about how and why our
people came to be in the position that we are in, was considered a vital component of
literacy by the group.
Political literacy was identified as a central feature of literacy in this country. Colonisation
brought together different world views, and they clashed! Much about the world view of
one was oppositional to the world view of the other.
Discussions around notions of ‘flexibility’ and ‘adaptability’ arose from analyses of the
impact of colonisation. The comment was made that Mäori probably would not have
survived if we had not been able to adapt and to be flexible, and that this was one of the
strengths of our tipuna. Part of this discussion moved to consideration of the differences
between ‘adaptability’ and ‘colonisation’. Adaptability was primarily about decision
making which was in Mäori control and interests, and which stemmed from mätauranga
Mäori. There was a sense of cultural continuity and growth associated with such change.
Change brought about by colonisation, on the other hand, was externally driven, imposed
and premised on notions of disempowerment.
The changing nature of mätauranga Mäori came in for special consideration. Some
knowledge that was highly prized/valued (tapu) was taken away so that future generations
would not have to deal with it. This notion led to issues about the protection of
mätauranga Mäori. Do we risk losing it by being over protective or watering it down by
being under protective? Who are the rightful guardians of mätauranga Mäori? In the
modern world knowledge had become so accessible that there was a view that it had
become abused. Some knowledge was for special places, for special occasions.
Restrictions about some knowledge existed. People spoke about a ‘tikanga bound’ set of
ideas about knowledge. When planning for the future the need for balance was stressed on
the grounds that mätauranga Mäori always had balance. As well as stressing the rights that
people had to certain knowledge, the responsibilities that went with those rights should be
equally stressed; for example, knowledge of karanga.
2.1.4 Whänau, Hapü Iwi Literacy
A strong theme emerged that literacy was tribally located and that whänau, hapü and iwi
were literacy providers. As well as the epistemological aspects of this, which relate to
mätauranga whänau, hapü, iwi and Mäori, there are also ontological aspects. The initial
discussion of this theme is set out in the section on ‘Te Wheke’ above, in which the
critical features of the development of the individual in the context of the whänau are set
out.
37
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
The significance of Mäori views of biliteracy in the debates in this country can be
considered alongside a number of external indicators. One is the Mataatua Declaration on
Cultural and Intellectual Property Rights of Indigenous Peoples41. The first set of
declarations are reproduced here as they provide the necessary framework for the
discussion that follows:
We:

declare that indigenous peoples of the world have the right to self determination, and
in exercising that right must be recognised as the exclusive owners of their cultural and
intellectual property;

acknowledge that indigenous peoples have a commonality of experiences relating to
the exploitation of their cultural and intellectual property;

affirm that the knowledge of the indigenous peoples of the world is of benefit to all
humanity;

recognise that indigenous peoples are capable of managing their traditional knowledge
themselves, but are willing to offer it to all humanity provided their fundamental rights
to define and control this knowledge are protected by the international community;

Insist that the first beneficiaries of indigenous knowledge (culture and intellectual
property rights) must be the direct indigenous descendants of such knowledge; and

declare that all forms of discrimination and exploitation of indigenous peoples,
indigenous knowledge and indigenous cultural and intellectual property rights must
cease.
Two major issues are noteworthy in this section. Given the principles of the Mataatua
Declaration, this would suggest that the development of the field of literacy in Aotearoa
must be undertaken with Mäori, as tangata whenua, in partnership with the Crown. Te reo
Mäori me ona tikanga would sit alongside the English language and Päkehä culture, equal
in status, in any framework developed for use in this field. Quality, as a consequence, will
have its parameters set by the biliteracy strategy42. It follows from this that with a
biliteracy strategy it will not be possible to “address both the capability of providers and
the development of effective tools for the measurement of learning gains” 43 in
monolingual or monocultural terms.
The ability to define and control what counts as Mäori knowledge remains with Mäori.
With these notions of definition and control articulated, Mäori knowledge could then
become available to humanity through its partnership with the Crown. The theme of
effective partnerships in this context is vital. The Mataatua Declaration notes that
“existing protection mechanisms are insufficient for the protection of Indigenous Peoples’
Intellectual and Cultural Property Rights”. This initiative should not become a means for
the Crown to appropriate Mäori knowledge. Further, access to Mäori knowledge would
first be given to Mäori and direct descendants of Mäori as a priority right. These notions
have implications for both policy and operations.
41
Mataatua Declaration on Cultural and Intellectual Property Rights of Indigenous Peoples (1993).
Ibid.
43
ibid.
42
38
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
The experience of movements and organisations such as Te Ataarangi, Te Köhanga Reo,
Te Wänanga o Raukawa, Literacy Aotearoa and Workbase could be used to develop
research of international significance on the barriers that indigenous peoples face to
literacy and empowerment. Beyond the delineation of barriers, an important exercise in
itself, these movements also provide successful exemplars of what constitutes good
practice. It is this knowledge, based as it is now on more than twenty years of experience,
which the world could gain much from. Analyses based on leading writers in the field of
anti-racist education, such as Paolo Freire, have been instrumental in describing for
indigenous peoples how we have been disempowered from our ancestral languages and
cultures through education. They have been less helpful in detailing the form that
authentic transformative solutions should take in cultural terms. That could only come
from indigenous peoples themselves. Upholding the theme of the World Indigenous
Peoples Conferences in Education of “the answers lie within”, these solutions have come
from the people, at the ‘flax roots’ level.
The Raukawa experience was cited as a positive example in this regard. The tribal
developments which have led to the creation and development of Te Wänanga o Raukawa
have also led to the creation of tikanga Mäori learning environments. Cultural conflict is
not viewed as part of such a learning environment. Part of the reasoning for this was
articulated in the idea that in order to be liberated and free one does not have to get even.
Te Wänanga o Raukawa identifies the marae as an authentic model of a Mäori
environment – a true home – a safe space for whänau/hapü/iwi to key into. Here comfort
zones are delineated in Mäori ways; the option is very attractive to Mäori people who
view it as an authentic learning space. This is considered a safe space for mätauranga to be
drawn from. The Te Wänanga o Raukawa approach is to work from a set of principles,
rather than policies, to create a tikanga Mäori environment, then teach programmes from
it. An example was shared which related to the issue of security: no locks were put on the
doors, as theft was not considered consistent with tikanga Mäori.
2.2 Definitions
Workbase
Literacy is a “complex web of reading, writing, speaking, listening, problem-solving,
creative thinking and numeracy skills.”
Literacy Aotearoa
Literacy is “listening, speaking, reading, writing and critical thinking, interwoven with the
knowledge of social and cultural practices. Literacy empowers people to contribute to and
improve society.”
39
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
2.3 ‘Must Have’ Characteristics
The following is a list of key ideas from the ‘brainstorm’ session by the group:



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

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
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


Defining biliteracy in institutional terms could be a stroke of genius because
institutions embody the philosophical and methodological base. I’d like to see a policy
framework which embodies the philosophical base from past times to today and which
has a way of operating which establishes it in Mäori as being a Mäori thing.
There are levels of literacy. All of us are at different levels, it’s a lifelong process: we
all are on a journey, ‘he mutunga kore’. What was considered `literate’ in my mother’s
time was different from today. There’s stuff my mother knew that I don’t and things I
know that she wouldn’t. It’s a changing thing, every few years there is a new foci.
Literacy is also a way one expresses oneself.
I like the continuum idea. You’re never totally literate at any point in time, nor
illiterate.
I think the two languages and two cultures need to be stated, English and Te Reo
Mäori, that’s what we are talking about. I’d really like us to have a simple definition
that gives positive vibes and is about improving your quality of life.
We should go for a sentence or two then bring in the körero around it.
I like the idea of the definitions being expanded.
It needs to be expanded, that’s the thing that policy frameworks don’t usually do.
It’s one thing to have a definition but you need to ensure that there is a commitment
to the application.
How about ‘read’ and ‘engage in’?
How about ‘shape’? That refers to operationalising something.
Lifelong is pai because it links into the whänau.
This is an offering for everyone in New Zealand, to contribute to the wider strategy.
It’s about English and Mäori, because of the Treaty.
40
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
2.4 Definition and Whakamärama
Definition
Literacy is the lifelong journey of building the capacity to ‘read’ and shape Mäori and
other worlds.
Whakamärama
1. ‘Literacy’ in Mäori terms should include the ability to read and write in both Mäori and
English, i.e. Biliteracy; and
2. to be able to use that ability competently ie to be functionally biliterate in Mäori and English.
Being literate in Mäori should also include:
3. having the capacity to ‘read’ the geography of the land, i.e. to be able to name the main land
features of one’s environment (the mountains, rivers, lakes, creeks, bluffs, valleys etc.); to be
able to recite one’s tribal/hapü boundaries and be able to point them out on a map if not in
actuality as well as the key features of adjacent tribal/hapü; and
being able to ‘read’ Mäori symbols such as carvings, tukutuku, köwhaiwhai and their context
within the wharenui (poupou, heke etc.) and the marae (ätea, ärongo etc.).
I'm not sure but even the ability to ‘read’ body language (paralinguists) should not be outside the
scope of a definition of ‘literacy’ in Mäori terms.
This is the sort of work that ‘the politics of everyday life’ structured in the nature of relationships
has much to say about. This might be taking a definition of literacy too far but then again perhaps
the definition that has been imposed has been far too limiting … which might account for the fact
that many people know how to read but don’t do it very much because it is such an anti-social
activity. (Wally Penetito, 2001).
41
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
Chapter Three
Policy
Ko te pae tawhiti, whäia kia tata.
Ko te pae tata whakamaua ki a tina.
Seek ye the distant horizon, the horizon which ever recedes,
the horizon which causes dread - for on that path, will lie our destiny.
For ease of reference the Terms of Reference relating to ‘policy’, which this chapter
addresses, are:
 to advise Ministers on effective policy interventions with regard to improving the
literacy outcomes of adult Mäori;

to provide expert advice on appropriate interventions for Mäori to achieve key goals of
the Adult Literacy Strategy; and

to consider the appropriateness of developing a specific Mäori strategy for adult
literacy.
The response of the group to these terms of reference is best presented as the summary
view that forms the basis of the recommendations of this report. The group recommends:

that the Adult Literacy Strategy, as articulated in More Than Words, is
reconceptualised and rewritten forthwith;

that the new strategy views education and literacy more broadly;

that literacy in Aotearoa is redefined in the new strategy as a Treaty based concept of
biliteracy, based in te reo Mäori and the English language; and

that literacy is defined in the new strategy thus: “literacy is the lifelong journey of
building the capacity to ‘read’ and shape Mäori and other worlds”.
The chapter which follows sets out the group’s view of the grounds for these
recommendations and comprises an overview of the effective policy interventions which
are needed to improve the literacy outcomes of adult Mäori.
42
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
3.1 Education and Literacy Broadly Defined
This group worked from the premise literacy should be viewed as a part of a holistic
understanding of lifelong education. In the context of lifelong learning it does not make
sense to only talk about adults, in the post-compulsory sector, in English. The strategy
needs to be comprehensive. The view is that it is not. At present, it is too narrowly defined
and of limited vision.
It is proposed that the Adult Literacy Strategy is reconceptualised and rewritten as a new
strategy that is:

a biliteracy strategy;

based in the Treaty of Waitangi;

based in Te Reo Mäori and the English language;

able to provide for multiple pathways;

able to create pathways that are flexible so that they respond to the needs of individual
learners;

inter-generational;

lifelong, from birth to death;

cross-sectoral: community, centre, institution, work and industry based;

whänau/hapü/and iwi based; and

enabling of people to ‘read the world’, ‘read the word’ and ‘ be the world’.
This idea suggests that a whole range of agencies and providers need to work together to
ensure that literacy is not only a right for all people but also a skill they can access,
achieve and utilise in their everyday lives. That means that it includes the work of
everyone: schools, business, industry, marae, whänau and government agencies. This is a
sensitive matter, and it is difficult to put this politely, but literacy is too critical an issue for
patch protection to obscure the issues and delay intervention. This strategy needs to be
owned and honored by the whole community, Mäori and non-Mäori, from early childhood
to the post-compulsory sectors to community volunteers and workplace training providers.
Everyone has a role to play, and play it we must for the future wellbeing of our society.
43
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
The group talked about people presenting at literacy classes with multiple needs: health,
mental health, economic, housing and welfare for example. This raised obvious issues for
this report. Some related to the specialist training literacy workers needed in order to be
able to cope with the changing face and needs of literacy. Others related to the connection
between literacy and health issues. The need for a view of ‘waiora’, or total well-being, to
underpin the strategy was stressed. The group expressed the view that you cannot separate
literacy from health, housing, economics and social development generally. The ability to
attain the spiritual, physical, intellectual and whänau ‘wellness’ to operate in whatever
circumstances life presented was something every New Zealander should be able to enjoy.
The strategy needs to integrate all sectors of our society.
3.2 Biliteracy and Language Issues
One of the major issues that the group addressed was the issue of biliteracy, where the
Mäori and English languages exist on an equal par, as they should as the official languages
of Aotearoa. In the current environment biliteracy was identified as a difficult goal to
achieve. Many of the issues related to te reo Mäori related to matters about saving a
language. The Mäori language was described as an endangered language during the
deliberations. A short while later, on June 21, national news media carried a story with the
headline “Mäori an endangered language”44. Worldwatch Institute, a United States based
think tank, was reported to have listed Mäori on an international list of endangered
languages.
People were concerned about the quality of language spoken, the lack of sophistication in
te reo Mäori and the lack of depth in its use. The appearance of pidgin Mäori and the
fossilizing of the Mäori language were matters of concern. What are we promoting when
we are promoting te reo Mäori? Raising the quality of te reo Mäori so that it is on a par
with English in terms of functionality and sophistication was an issue. The new strategy in
biliteracy would contribute greatly to the renaissance of the Mäori language.
3.3 Coordination
Concern was expressed about the lack of coordination amongst government agencies
working in the area of adult literacy. A number of agencies were noted as working on
different projects, using a range of different definitions of literacy. This begged a number
of obvious questions. The first hinted at fiscal responsibility by linking questions of
coordination with those of efficiency and effectiveness. If “ad hocery” rather than
coordination were predominant in the field, how could effectiveness and efficiency be
assured? Further, without such coordination how would duplication be minimised?
The second related to definitions. What purpose was being served by the use of a range of
literacy definitions even within the government agencies themselves? The use of a
commonly agreed definition of literacy seemed overdue. The adult literacy community felt
that they were watching the Government reinvent themselves, popping up doing things
other providers in the field were doing. Policy in the field is the responsibility of the
Ministry of Education and it is to this Ministry that the field looks in this regard.
44
See the Dominion, June 21, 2001; The Evening Post, 20.6.2001.
44
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
The impact of the Tertiary Education Advisory Commission (TEAC) Review was also
raised as an issue. Concern about possible moves to reduce the numbers of providers in
this area and to realign the activities of others has immediate implications for Mäori both
as providers and as students in these institutions. This raised the issue of the extra need for
effective coordination and consultation between Government and Mäori groups at this
time.
3.4 What is Meaningful for Mäori?
The group felt that one of the major issues was the need to look at what is meaningful for
Mäori. This includes the ability for Mäori to work in partnership with government
agencies to define this. In recent years this has meant pioneering programmes based in
mätauranga Mäori at whänau, hapü, and iwi levels, which are delivered in te reo Mäori
and which integrate principles and processes preferred by Mäori. There is already a
significant body of evidence that when these criteria are met Mäori support for such
programmes is huge. As ‘evidence’ in this case, it is worth identifying and considering the
critical success factors of a number of organisations that have had a national impact in this
regard. Though not an exhaustive list, the examples of Te Ataarangi Educational Trust, Te
Köhanga Reo, Te Wänanga o Raukawa and Literacy Aotearoa will be considered. These
organisations have been the pathfinders for Mäori and can now show the way in terms of
developments in the field. The continued support of the people for their programmes and
organisations is testimony that they have earned the descriptors of “proven leaders with
proven records”.
3.5 National Definition
The idea of what counts as a literate person needs to be commonly agreed on. In the
context of Aotearoa this means “biliteracy” in English and te reo Mäori, the two official
languages. It also means that we need to establish a shared vision, working with the same
definition of literacy should inform all aspects of the literacy enterprise, from policy to
implementation to programmes. Key ideas include the notion that literacy is not a unitary
essence, rather, the group argued, it is a series of continuum. No one is illiterate: everyone
is simply becoming more literate.
The origins of the definition that the group developed are set out in full in chapter three of
this report. It is reported here again for ease of reference. The group has suggested the
following as a national definition for literacy in Aotearoa:
“Literacy is the lifelong journey of building the capacity to ‘read’ and shape Mäori
and other worlds.”
45
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
3.6 Partnerships and the Treaty of Waitangi
A major theme in the discussions related to partnerships. Of critical importance is the need
to establish what literacy means in Aotearoa and to develop our own policy frameworks,
quality systems and programmes together, as Treaty partners, as a feature of our continued
nation building. We do not want to follow in anyone else’s path. In a field such as literacy,
which is so context bound, the question asked was “How could we?”
The group was of the strong opinion that literacy in Aotearoa should not be benchmarked
to someone else who has imported a model here. They argued that the notion of
partnership that informs analyses of the Treaty of Waitangi is still not well established. In
this regard the use of the Treaty of Waitangi was considered by some in the public service
to be confusing and scary. And yet, where the Treaty of Waitangi is used to inform
organisational development, quite the opposite is the case. Effective outcomes can and do
result. Indeed, in at least one case national and international awards have been won on this
basis. The success was based on knowing how to move past ticking a box to say “I’ve
done a Treaty of Waitangi Workshop” to the ability to work with the Treaty to inform
organisational practice and development in Aotearoa.
Government officials need a year in the kitchen on the marae, learning what their place is
‘at the back’, some felt. The view expressed was that if you are going to write policy for
Mäori then you should write it after you have been in the marae kitchen, as there you learn
where you stand in the wider scheme of things. People talked about learning to walk the
talk and knowing what the talk was, and not paying lip service. The worst case scenario
related to public servants who are monitoring Mäori programmes but who have little
action knowledge of what they are talking about. This reference related to public servants
whose only contact with Mäori was through their paid work. The group was of the view
that the public service/bureaucracy also need to be critically literate and that a customised
literacy programme may well be needed for this group.
It is a bottom line expectation that anything developed to have impact on Mäori should
involve Mäori from the conceptual stage, not at the end as an add-on. It’s about
understanding that bottom line direction for Mäori and it is about change and cultural
enhancement for all of us. Policy makers are so institutionalised, the culture of noninclusion needs to be broken down. They need to recognise that they have a culture.
3.7 Shared Vision
The view that training and education enhances educational outcomes and employability
should be part of what informs a shared vision for literacy. But there are concerns that the
current vision is too heavily prescribed by employment needs and that this is where the
new funding is being targeted. Whilst there was no denying the validity of training in the
work place, or the importance of this, people reiterated the need for the vision to be broad
and shared. They also spoke of the need to ensure that shared visions about literacy
informed every part of the literacy enterprise, from the policy level to the operational level
of programmes and resources. This was seen as leading to greater consistency in the field
with less chance of individual managers interpreting and reinterpreting policy according to
their own individual perception.
46
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
3.8 Fear and Ignorance: Role of Education
The role of the education system in educating the citizens of Aotearoa was raised in the
context of historical amnesia! Concern was expressed at the continued lack of awareness
of the full history of this country, including the Mäori experience of this. Fear and
ignorance in relation to Mäori development was identified as a direct result of this
scenario amongst middle New Zealand.
The following question was put to the group: “If we know everything that we need to
know to make a difference in Mäori education then why haven’t we?” Where are the
blocks? Fear and ignorance were identified as two major obstacles in this work. The desire
to live as Mäori citizens of Aotearoa seems still to create issues for people who want to
ask why Mäori hold on to being Mäori. It is almost as if the celebration of being Mäori
was an act of petty stubbornness, rather than a right of citizenship. To increase
understanding between cultures, more effective bridges need to be built and that is a
central role of the education system in a society such as ours.
3.9 Lifelong Learning
The group was of the view that what is at stake is not just an adult literacy strategy, but a
literacy strategy per se. This is what the schools are working towards; it should be the goal
that everyone is working towards. It is a strategy which should be intersectorial and which
should involve all those agencies whose work has an impact on education.
Literacy was viewed by the group as a feature of lifelong learning; not just as an
individual, as a parent, as a child expelled from school. When you learn, the influence
spreads to the wider whänau. Literacy was identified as a whänau, hapü and iwi building
process.
3.10 Beyond Party Politics
Feeling existed that literacy should be viewed as an issue of nation building, an issue so
important to our whole society that it is beyond the political realm. Whoever the
government of the day is, the impetus that is being developed with this work should be
such that it is able to carry on. One of the worst things to happen to a good idea is that a
change of government occurs; it is now routine for good programmes to be shelved or
redesigned simply because there has been a change of government and a change of
perception. Changes are made because programmes and ideas are perceived to belong to
‘the other side’, rather than because there has been a change of need or of understanding in
the field.
Literacy was described as an issue which could be treated in this way – a ‘hot potato’
which is a national problem and a political problem needing a risk management strategy.
In the context of nation building, literacy also provides a chance for a national opportunity
to be developed which is an investment in the future of our society. The hope that this
view would prevail in relation to literacy was expressed.
47
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
3.11 Multiple Pathways
The emphasis on student-centred programmes was closely linked with a theme of
resourcing diversity. People argued for the provision of multiple pathways towards the
shared vision and goals of literacy in Aotearoa, so that the diversity in society was
provided for. Further, it was suggested that the pathways would need to be resourced
equitably, rather than equally, so that all programmes were able to deliver the quality
standards sought in the new policy environment. Some pathways would be more resource
intensive than others and this idea was explored so that some options were not prematurely
closed off because of cost.
One of the issues raised in this discussion related to the valuing of choices that students
are making. Given some current observations, people asked: “Does policy exist which
dictates what students should take?” Questions were raised about whether the Department
of Corrections (students in prison) and WINZ (students who are on benefits) were open to
all types of learning, all programme choices, for example.
3.12 Student-Centred
One of the strongest themes to emerge from the discussions related to the need for
programmes in the field to be student-centred. That is, developed in response to students’
actual needs, as expressed by them, rather than a pre-determined set of needs that are
externally generated from, for example, a policy context. Policy interventions can be
limiting. Industry training specifies that people must be working towards a qualification.
Older working people, for example, are reported as having interest in acquiring subsets of
skills; for example, improved computer literacy. They do not necessarily want to do a
level 2 course in computing.
3.13 Resourcing
Resourcing is an issue on a number of levels. First, it was argued that as literacy is a basic
human right, courses should be free to the student, with the service being paid for. To do
this successfully requires a lot of money. Resources need to be flexible. The resourcing
issues were viewed as matters of long-term social change: investments in the human
resources of our society. In the long-term the rewards are much greater if literacy issues
are resourced well so that people benefit from the positive, constructive use of these
resources.
3.14 Mana Enhancing
With a diverse set of programmes on offer, and the notion of multiple pathways accepted,
the wider social issue of acceptance was canvassed. People engaged in literacy
programmes, whatever their choice, needed to feel that that choice was valued and
affirmed by the whole society; that it was an exercise in ‘mana enhancing’. There are two
aspects to this idea. The first relates to valuing the programmes equally. This was
considered to be important so that a pecking order does not become attached to literacy
programmes, with some viewed as ‘first class’, others as ‘second class’ programmes. The
second relates to validating programmes in terms relevant to the pathway itself.
48
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
3.15 Whakamä/Whakamana
The concept of whakamä was identified as being a close companion to those who present
with literacy difficulties. This raises very specific issues when working with whänau,
when working in counselling contexts and in the management of privacy issues with
providers and learners. The adoption of relevant cultural frameworks in this particular
aspect of literacy training and provision is vital. Empowering those with literacy
difficulties is about making a difference in the lives of individual New Zealanders. In the
context of whänau, hapü and iwi development the empowerment of each member of the
whänau is a project in itself. This work is about reinstating mana: mana wahine, mana
tane, mana tamariki. It is important here to acknowledge the role of Mäori women in the
many programmes of Mäori Development in this country in recent decades, including in
literacy programmes.
Of increasing concern amongst literacy tutors is the need for specialist training for those
who work with people presenting with multiple health and welfare needs. The needs of
those who are recovering from mental health disorders, suffering from addictions and
those in recovery programmes are adding major challenges to an already demanding field.
3.16 Time
The biggest issue for policy intervention is time. Providers have to have enough in order to
provide the intervention sought. Students can go through ten years of schooling before
they leave and present as adults with literacy problems. Those working in the field of adult
literacy are expected to turn this situation around within 6-24 weeks, during which time
they are expected to get the students through a literacy course and get them a job,
irrespective of what their levels of literacy were before the start of the course. Some
students have to get two credits a week, which is unrealistic.
3.17 Research
The lack of research in the field was commented on. People identified that they had all
been in booklets about the field. But they asked where the research was that says, “Why
does this programme work well and how can it be taken somewhere else to assist others?”
If there are organisations spending millions of dollars in the field, should research not also
be a priority?
Some concern was expressed that research that has been done is not being used to best
effect. In some cases the view was expressed that it fell into a concept that was not
understood. For example, if your practice establishes a whänau environment, tuakana,
teina relationships in the leaning process, if you model manaaki, the common things that
you would expect walking into a wharenui, you will be creating a safe learning
environment for Mäori.
There must be common links as to why programmes have been successful. What are these
common things coming through? It could be established, for example, that there are
common best practice starters for future programmes.
49
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
Stakeholders in the group spoke about moving away from doing research for agencies.
They shared the view that it was as if the research went into a black hole, as it was never
heard about again. There was little apparent evidence of the research being used to inform
policy or being useful in an operational context.
3.18 Capacity Building
The need for capacity building with existing providers was highlighted and included
capacity building at a number of levels: organisational, managerial and tutor training. A
wide range of creative capacity building opportunities was called for including training,
quality systems, mentoring, scholarship exchange between providers, sharing information,
swapping programmes and resource development. Resources using media other than
books were called for to broaden opportunities. Clear benchmarks for quality provision
and resources were called for to assist people to reach the quality standards sought,
especially the existing providers.
Increasing compliance costs is an issue for some providers who have been in the field, but
who have not had the resources to build the capacity that they want. They are in danger of
being left behind, or being left out, because they do not have the resources to meet the
compliance costs.
3.19 Communication Strategy
The group called for a public campaign to increase awareness about literacy. A
communication strategy could highlight the role that literacy plays in our lives, its
relevance and the positive difference that it can make in a person’s life. As well as being
of benefit for the individual it is also an issue of much wider significance for whänau,
hapü, iwi and community development.
3.20 Networking
Networking was suggested as a useful way to build partnerships between providers,
programmes and communities. The ideas of linking programmes, such as is the case with
Whäia Te Ara Tika to a provider, in this case the rünanga, offers exciting opportunities to
both build new capacity and to strengthen existing capacity. Opening up networking
opportunities in this way enables exciting opportunities to be created in the community.
Marae and other community venues open up as possible locations.
50
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
Chapter Four
Stakeholder Profiles
A selection of stakeholder profiles is included in this chapter. These profiles have been
developed so that a sense of the history of literacy provision for Mäori in Aotearoa can be
gleaned from them. Taken together, their stories provide insight into a number of the
critical issues that this report addresses. They are also testimony of the experience in this
field which has been built in the last twenty-five years.
The lessons offered from the profiles include models of:
 tribal development through whänau, hapü, iwi literacy (Te Wänanga o Raukawa);
 te reo Mäori programme development based on notions of ‘ako’ (Te Ataarangi
Educational Trust);
 how the Crown/Mäori relationship at the policy level can be implemented as well as a
model of whänau based, intergenerational learning (Te Köhanga Reo);
 organisational development based on the Treaty of Waitangi and programme
development based on notions of ‘reading the world, reading the word and being the
world’ (Literacy Aotearoa);
 Workplace literacy and language (Workbase: The National Centre for Workplace
Literacy and language); and
 distance learning and flexible learning pathways, a one-to-one programme for those
isolated through circumstance or location from other programme providers (The New
Zealand Correspondence School).
4.1 Literacy Aotearoa 45
The core business of Literacy Aotearoa is to provide quality adult literacy services that
meet the needs of Aotearoa. This business is carried out in accordance with the values,
principles and processes of Literacy Aotearoa and in fulfilment of its mission statement.
Literacy Aotearoa was established to:
 develop accessible quality literacy services; and
 ensure the people of Aotearoa are critically literate.
Literacy Aotearoa is a national not-for-profit organisation, established in 1982, as the
Adult Reading and Learning Assistance (ARLA) Federation. It currently has 58 Poupou
(member provider groups) throughout the country, and links with non-affiliated literacy
providers. In carrying out its mission statement Literacy Aotearoa operates within a
fundamental commitment to student-centred learning, at no direct cost to the student.
Trained coordinators and tutors work with students in the context of their goals and
situations, using flexible learning methods to maximise learning opportunities and
achievements. Literacy Aotearoa has an annual average number of 9,000 students
accessing its services.
Literacy Aotearoa is a treaty-based organisation, operating in accordance with Tino
Rangatiratanga and guided by Manaaki Tangata. This means that it provides a service to
all adults needing literacy assistance, and works actively to recognise and implement
Maori as well as Tauiwi practices as legitimate norms within literacy provision.
45
Bronwyn Yates, Literacy Aotearoa.
51
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
Literacy Aotearoa works with the understanding that literacy embraces listening, speaking,
reading, writing, numeracy and critical thinking, interwoven with the knowledge of social
and cultural practices. Literacy empowers people to contribute to and improve society.
In its provision of quality literacy services, the organisation’s work includes group and
one-to-one tuition, service provision in both te reo Mäori and English, and flexible
methods of delivery, working with students in the context of their learning goals and life
situations. Ngä Poupou provide literacy learning support within a range of tuition types,
including men’s and women’s literacy group tuition, “returning to paid work”
programmes, parenting programmes on how to help children with homework, CV
preparation, and driver’s licence courses. In addition, literacy and numeracy tuition is
provided through a range of sites, including marae, homes, community houses, prisons,
Training Opportunities programmes and the workplace.
Literacy Aotearoa is involved in a number of development projects. For some years, the
establishment of a national quality assurance system has been its priority.
Te Poutama Painga – Quality Assurance Standards of Literacy Aotearoa has been
developed to assist the organisation’s members and associated providers to implement a
quality assurance system that is appropriate for the diverse communities which Ngä
Poupou serve. In developing Te Poutama Painga the standards and guidance information
has been developed to give effect to Mäori and Tauiwi student-centred practices.
Member providers, international and local research, and local tertiary body standards
informed the quality assurance standards and kit.
Literacy Aotearoa offers a range of tutor training programmes. The initial tutor training
programme is a 100-hour certificated programme and deals with the social and political
context of literacy, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, adult learning, effective tutoring, improving adult
reading, writing, and numeracy, and programme planning and assessment. An
arrangement has been negotiated between an overseas provider, the Open College of the
North-West, and Literacy Aotearoa to provide a workplace tutor training programme.
Along with other stakeholders, it is participating in the NZQA project to develop
professional qualifications for adult literacy workers.
International recognition was achieved by Literacy Aotearoa, in both 2000 and 2001. In
2000 the organisation received Honourable Mention in the King Sejong UNESCO
International Literacy Prize. In 2001 the two Chief Executive Officers, Ms Bronwyn Yates
and Mr Peter Isaacs, travelled to Australia to attend a conference of the Australian Council
of Adult Literacy and shared a brief summary of the work and journey of Literacy
Aotearoa. Its participation was judged an outstanding success by those present, including a
senior official from the Ministry of Education in New Zealand. So successful was the
presentation that the pair is to return to Australia later in 2001 to address another national
annual conference of literacy providers in Australia.
52
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
Literacy Aotearoa won two major national awards in 2000. These were:
i. The Inaugural Manaaki Tangata Innovation prize at the EEO Trust's Work and Life
Awards; and
ii. The National Award for Outstanding Provider in Adult Education and Community
Learning, awarded by the Adult and Community Education Association (ACEA) and
the National Resource Centre for Adult Education and Community Learning (NRC).
53
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
Far North ARLA
Literacy Mid-North
Literacy Kaikohekohe
Literacy Whangarei
Te Aka Whiri Ako o Whangarei
Te Roroa Learning
Assistance
Auckland Region
Auckland ALS
Te Whau
Tumanako
He Waka Mätauranga
Waitakere WEA
North Shore ALS
South Auckland ALS
Glen Innes
Hibiscus Coast ARLA
Hauraki ARLA
ARLA/ESOL WBOP
Waikato ARLA
Te Timatanga Höu
Eastbay Adult Literacy
Tokoroa ARAG
Literacy Rotorua
Waitomo Literacy Trust
Literacy Taupo
Literacy Turangi
Tairäwhiti Learning
TALELTS
Te Ara Koru Mö Te
Kaupapa Ako
Hawkes Bay ARLA
Literacy Wanganui
Palmerston North ARLA
Te Whare Äkonga
Literacy Central Hawkes
Bay
Dannevirke ARLA
Literacy Feilding
Horowhenua ALS
Adult Literacy Aotearoa
Kapiti
Tü Kaha Mäori Literacy
Scheme


Nelson ARLA
Buller Adult Reading
Literacy Marlborough

Sth Wairarapa ARLA
Ngä Kupu Mätauranga




Hutt Adult Learning
Read, Write Plus
Porirua Language Project
Whänau Family Support
ARLA
Society
Wellington
Literacy Westland
Wairarapa ARLA
Adult Reading Assistance Scheme (Christchurch)
Ashburton ARAP
Literacy South Canterbury
Aoraki Community Care Trust
Literacy Upper
Clutha
Literacy North Otago
Literacy Aotearoa Dunedin
Gore ALP
Southland ALP
54
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
4.2 46
Workbase (The National Centre for Workplace Literacy & Language) is a national notfor-profit organisation that works in partnership with business, the education sector and
government to raise the literacy, English language and numeracy skills of the workforce.
Initially a development unit within the ARLA Federation (now Literacy Aotearoa),
Workbase was established in 1996 as a separate organisation and receives an annual grant
from Government in support of its activities. It also undertakes contracts for services with
a wide range of private and public sector organisations.
Workbase:

promotes the need for and benefits of better workforce literacy;

provides information and advisory services on best practice workforce delivery,
including policy input to government;

coordinates the development of the vocational adult literacy sector through the
provision of professional development opportunities, development of quality assurance
procedures and distribution of internationally recognised teaching and learning
materials;

initiates research and development projects designed to increase understanding about
literacy skill development;

delivers literacy solutions in workplaces and widely disseminates the key learnings
from these projects; and

administers the Workplace Basic Skills Development Fund to subsidise providers to
deliver workplace literacy programmes providing increased learning opportunities for
employees with a particular focus on Mäori and Pacific Peoples.
Workbase is active across sector boundaries in recognition that literacy impacts on a range
of policy and practice contexts.
Workplace Literacy Programmes
In 2000 Workbase delivered literacy programmes in nine workplaces. All these projects
were funded by the individual enterprise with some of the businesses accessing Industry
Training Funding through their relevant ITO. More than 1,150 attended these programmes
with the majority of learners (1,033) attending Te Whare Ako, Workbase’s long standing
Open Learning Centre at Norske Skog Tasman, Kawerau, Bay of Plenty. Fifty percent of
Te Whare Ako learners are Mäori and nearly 90% of them are male with 70% being aged
between 36 and 55 years.
46
Susan Reid, Workbase: The National Centre for Workbase Literacy and Language.
55
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
International Links
Workbase is part of a number of international groups of adult literacy experts. In addition
it is an Associated Centre under UNESCO’s Asia Pacific Education Innovation
Development programme.
Policy Advice
Workbase has a history of providing significant policy advice to Government and many of
the recommendations made in Workbase’s “Blueprint for Literacy” released in August
2000 were incorporated into the Government’s Adult Literacy Strategy “More Than
Words” released on 7 May 2001.
Regional Initiatives
In addition, Workbase has been prominent in providing regional literacy summits
throughout Aotearoa New Zealand in conjunction with local partners. In 2000 the
Manukau literacy summit jointly organised by Workbase and COMET (City of Manukau
Education Trust) was the catalyst for the formation of the Manukau Literacy Taskforce.
Workbase is continuing to focus on regional strategies for literacy skill development and
coordination with a new initiative soon to be launched in Hawkes Bay.
Research Projects
Workbase is currently working on two national research projects.
Learning in Industry Project (LIP) is a research project jointly funded by Skill New
Zealand Pükenga Aotearoa and five Industry Training Organisations (ITOs): Plastics,
Apparel and Textile, Competenz, Seafood and Forest Industries Training. The aim of the
project is to research the literacy skills required by process operators in these industries
and to assist industry trainers to identify operators with literacy difficulties and plan a
training pathway for them.
The other piece of research is a Skill New Zealand Pükenga Aotearoa funded project
working with five TOP and Youth providers in Tamaki-makaurau to improve the capacity
of the providers to respond to the literacy needs of their learners.
Advisory Services
Workbase provides information and advice to employers, education providers and
government departments and more than 340 items were borrowed from our library in
2000. There are 200 borrowers registered with our library, and staff also visit providers to
demonstrate the quality teaching and learning materials in the library and on the Workbase
Resources catalogue. Workbase has maintained a commitment to bringing quality learning
and teaching materials to practitioners in New Zealand and now has distribution
agreements with six international publishers.
56
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
4.3 The Correspondence School - Te Kura-ä-Tuhi 47
E huaki ana ngä tatau ki ngä äkonga i ngä wähi katoa
Opening doors for learners everywhere
“The Correspondence School is the leading provider of student-centred, distance
education at early childhood, primary and secondary school levels through skilled
teaching, innovative multimedia delivery and strategic partnerships”
Background
The Correspondence School is New Zealand’s major provider of distance early childhood,
primary school and secondary school education. It is New Zealand’s largest school with a
roll of more than 18,000 students. In June 2001, the Correspondence School’s adult roll
was 6245.
The Correspondence School offers programmes to students at early childhood, primary,
and secondary level. It also provides programmes in gifted education, special education,
remedial education, and adult continuing education, including specialist adult education
courses such as English as a Second Language (ESOL). The school offers more than 300
courses – 200 of these are at secondary school level.
The Correspondence School is a state school with registered, accredited and approved
courses at all levels of the New Zealand Curriculum. It offers the full range of
qualifications from the National Qualification Framework. These are mainly at secondary
school level (for example, the National Certificate of Educational Achievement) and are
available to all students enrolled at the school. Specific qualifications like the National
Certificate in Computing Skills, The National Certificate in Business, Administration and
Computing Skills, and The National Certificate in Employment Skills are also offered.
Course Delivery
The majority of courses are delivered through print-based booklets, with audio and/or
video support. Comprehensive resource kits are available to assist the learner, for
example, science kits and craft materials. The move to electronic delivery of courses via
CD-ROM and the web will further enhance the learning opportunities for all students.
Through partnerships, it is hoped that more adults will be able to make use of community
facilities and computer access, and therefore take advantage of this electronic delivery.
Te Reo Mäori me ona tikanga
The school offers te reo Mäori me ona tikanga courses. Twenty-five percent of adults who
are enrolled in the Correspondence School do te reo Mäori courses. The Correspondence
School also teaches students from kura kaupapa schools, providing curriculum support in
courses other than Mäori.
47
Rachel Wikaira, NZ Correspondence School.
57
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
Correspondence School Adult Education
The Correspondence School has had an adult roll since the 1940s. Adults mainly enrolled
in courses for personal enrichment. In recent years adults have enrolled at the
Correspondence School to gain second chance education. Currently 70% of adults, both
Mäori and non-Mäori, are enrolled for this reason. Another recent trend is the increase in
young adult enrolments, both Mäori and non-Mäori, in the 16 – 20 age group.
Adult enrolments include people who are:
 studying from home;
 attending community education programmes such as Training Opportunity
Programmes or Private Training Establishments;
 inmates, through the Department of Corrections;
 beneficiaries, who may be eligible for financial assistance through Work and Income
New Zealand (WINZ).
Benefits of a Correspondence School Education for Adults
There are a number of reasons why the Correspondence School is the school of choice for
many adult students. These include:

flexibility of study. The Correspondence School is not constrained by school
timetables. It offers greater learning flexibility, allowing home based learning supported
by quality course materials and support from teaching staff. Students can begin courses at
any time of year, and course completion time frames are adapted to suit individual needs.
This allows more flexibility to complete courses alongside work and family commitments.
 a student focus.
An individualised, approach is available to each student, with courses offered at all levels
of the curriculum to meet the needs of each learner.
 costs.
The minimal administration fee of $80 for a full-time course is very reasonable and
compares favourably with fees charged by other organisations. Any student enrolled in
this category receives a full teaching service.
 support networks.
The Correspondence School support network encourages the adult learner to contact their
Dean or subject teacher via a free phone number, fax or e-mail. Contact with teachers is
encouraged. This includes increasing support through the regional representatives
network. There are two Mäori regional representatives who cover the iwi of the East
Coast, Mataatua and Te Arawa.
58
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
Current Initiatives
The Correspondence School has a successful record in developing and monitoring pilot
programmes. Past programmes and initiatives have included ETV– Teaching languages
and Technology.
The Correspondence School is currently piloting the following programmes:
 the Kawhia Learning Centre – where a group of at-risk young Mäori teenagers not
attending the local school have direct access to a teacher, a tutor in te reo Mäori,
learning resources, and computer access;
 Great Barrier – learning centres based at each of the three primary schools, with tutor
support for students studying with the aid of computer technology;
 Wharekura – a bilingual computer course offered to students at two wharekura; and
 Resource Teachers of Learning and Behaviour – The Correspondence School assists
these specialist teachers who support students enrolled at other schools with special
needs.
 The East Coast Schools On-line Education Pilot – an online English/mathematics
project that involves a partnership with Te Kete Ipurangi, The Correspondence School,
the teachers, year 12 students and the community – whänau, hapü, and iwi, of Te
Waha o te Rerekohu Area School, Ngata Memorial College and Tolaga Bay Area
School.
Future Directions
With regards to mätauranga Mäori the school has these initiatives as a focus for future
development:

a strong Mäori representation on the Board of Trustees;

an enhanced Te Hautanga ä-Rohe group (in the early 1990s the Correspondence
School set up Te Hautanga ä-Rohe. The purpose of this group is to act as a liaison
between iwi, the rohe (region) and the school. These people act as resource persons for
the school including the regional representatives. It is intended that this group will
increase in size and have a stronger mandate); and
a Mäori faculty, which will lead and oversee the provision of tikanga Mäori courses
and Mäori medium courses across the curriculum. It will also seek to enhance second
chance Mäori adult education, and young Mäori at-risk students through the support of
iwi. Increased iwi partnership so that within each rohe, iwi tutoring/mentoring and
study centres will be established to support distance learners.

The school is looking forward to the release of the Government’s discussion document on
adult and community education. The recently released Government Adult Literacy
Strategy will also provide a framework that will allow the school greater opportunity to
enhance and widen its services to adult students.
59
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
4.4 Te Ataarangi Educational Trust
Te Ataarangi was established in 1979 to promote a unique method of teaching the Mäori
language. The Te Ataarangi Incorporated Society was founded in 1981 to support the
community base of Te Ataarangi, which now consists of nine regional bodies: Tai
Tokerau, Tamaki-makaurau, Tainui, Waiariki, Tai Räwhiti, Taranaki, Üpoko-o-te-Ika and
Tauihu-o-te-Waka-a-Mäui.
The Te Ataarangi Educational Trust was set up in 1999 to develop an educational
infrastructure that coordinates the training and teaching activities of Te Ataarangi.
Trustees are: Dr Katerina Mataira, Te Ripowai Higgins, Rahera Shortland, Erana
Brewerton, David Jansen and Lyn Harrison.
Objectives







foster the use of Mäori language;
support other Mäori language educational initiatives including Mäori literacy;
support Te Ataarangi Mäori language community groups;
encourage research in Mäori language learning;
organise training programmes, seminars and conferences for Mäori language learners and
tutors;
provide a base to coordinate Te Ataarangi initiatives; and
provide excellent training for teachers of Mäori language
What Te Ataarangi Does
Te Ataarangi is a community based Mäori language programme helping adults to learn to
speak Mäori. It embraces everyone who desires to learn to speak Mäori regardless of race,
religion or gender. Its programmes are provided free of charge to participants.
Two esteemed Ngäti Porou women, Katerina Mataira and the late Ngoi Pewhairangi, created
the programme. Their special insight was to use a diverse range of activities and techniques
including traditional cultural activities and craft, modern language learning research and
traditional Mäori institutions of learning. They drew on Caleb Gattegno’s “Silent Way
Method” which incorporates humanistic principles similar to the Mäori value system.
The Te Ataarangi programme works by sharing the skills and knowledge of native speakers
with the rest of the community. Founded on principles of community development, Te
Ataarangi leaves planning, decision-making and execution of projects in the hands of local
people, while providing outside resources when required.
In 21 years Te Ataarangi has trained more than 2,500 tutors and trainee tutors, and brought the
language to more than 30,000 learners. Te Ataarangi programmes promote closer relations
between Mäori and Päkehä, and between the old and the young, and create a greater
awareness and pride in the Mäori language as a treasure for all New Zealanders.
While it may not be explicit, Te Ataarangi recognises and is aware to the literacy needs of
Mäori. Te Ataarangi work on the premise that each learner comes in search of te reo and for
Mäori in particular with the supportive non-judgmental environment gain the confidence to
becoming literate and often move on to further learning.
60
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
Vision for the Future
Te Ataarangi has proven its commitment and capability by its achievements over the last
21 years. We are now preparing to meet the challenges of the future. The acceptance of the
Mäori language as a national language has created extra demand for language trainers.
Te Ataarangi Educational Trust has governance over a registered Private Training
Establishment, Te Kura Motuhake o Te Ataarangi. This establishment is providing Mäori
language training programmes within the New Zealand Qualifications Framework.
Te Ataarangi is meeting the increasing demand of New Zealanders for Mäori language
learning by professionalising our support of the regional and community delivery of the
programme.
New Projects
Te Ataarangi has entered into strategic relationships with Mäori tertiary educational
institutions and initiatives to advance its objectives. Te Ataarangi Educational Trust and
Te Whare Wänanga o Awanuiarangi have entered into a joint venture and have developed
a Bachelors Degree in Mäori Immersion Teaching (Adult Education) to be offered next
year.
Hui Whakawhanake Reo Hauora is a programme developed with Mauri Ora Associates
(Mäori medical professionals) to support Mäori health professionals with specific support
in learning Mäori language and customs in a health context.
The Ministry of Education contracted the Te Ataarangi Educational Trust to provide
professional development programmes for köhanga reo educators working in the South
Island in the year 2000.
Te Ataarangi is presently negotiating with Te Taura Whiri to offer Mäori language
programmes to their clientele in the year 2001.
Supporting Te Ataarangi
In order to meet its objectives, Te Ataarangi Educational Trust wishes to develop its capability
and expertise in delivering educational programmes for adults in the community and the wider
tertiary sector
Te Ataarangi wishes to:
 increase the responsiveness to the nation wide needs of Te Ataarangi by establishing a
national base to interface with government agencies and other national bodies working in
this sector;
 coordinate the work being carried out by Te Ataarangi by establishing a national base for
both national regional bodies and extensive community groups of Te Ataarangi;
 increase the numbers of well-trained Te Ataarangi tutors by seeking national recognition
of their teaching qualifications;
 design and develop undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications specific to Te Ataarangi
by establishing relationships with other bodies working in this sector; and
 retain its own autonomy in the delivery of these programmes by achieving financial
autonomy and pursuing wänanga status
61
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
4.5 Te Wänanga o Raukawa 48
Te Wänanga o Raukawa is a tribal initiative that has at its very core the aim of developing
literate Mäori. The Raukawa Marae Trustees, a representative body of the confederation of
iwi and hapü of Te Äti Awa, Ngäti Raukawa and Ngäti Toarangatira associated within the
region between the Rangitïkei River and the top of the South Island, gave formal
recognition to the existence of their centre of higher learning when, in April 1981, they
resolved to establish Te Wänanga-o-Raukawa. This is a reformulation of an ancient
institution, the whare wänanga.
In 1975 the Raukawa Trustees introduced hapü and iwi planning and began a 25-year
tribal development experiment, known as Whakatupuranga Rua Mano – Generation 2000.
Te Wänanga-o-Raukawa was established as a natural and necessary extension of this plan.
Located in Ötaki, Te Wänanga-o-Raukawa aims to contribute to the further development
of the three iwi of the Confederation and of the wider community by producing bicultural
administrators, health promoters, managers, teachers, exponents of tikanga Mäori, artists
and researchers in the expectation that their activities will enhance the quality of decisionmaking on matters which have a bearing on the well-being of the community. A wide
range of degree and postgraduate programmes are taught. All are NZQA accredited. In
response to hapü requests, new programmes are being developed for consideration by
NZQA.
In 2001, Te Wänanga o Raukawa has 1375 students. All students study te reo Mäori, iwi
and hapü studies and computer studies as compulsory components of what ever specialist
programme they choose to pursue. Students must attend three language immersion hui
each year. Te Wänanga-o-Raukawa is a smoke-free, alcohol-free, drug-free campus.
4.6 Te Köhanga Reo
Te Köhanga Reo has been the focus of much global discussion amongst indigenous
populations. The initial contacts made at the first World Indigenous People’s Conference
held in Canada in 1987 led to the hosting of the second WIPE Conference in New Zealand
at Ngaruawahia in 1990. Within a South Pacific context, Te Köhanga Reo has provided a
development model that many Pacific Nations have adopted and transformed into their
own specific forms. Within a national context the philosophical basis of Te Köhanga has
resonance with other movements, such as the playcentre movement. In this regard it is
truly inclusive as the parameters of the model are such that it is able to effectively cross
knowledge codes from different cultural bases. It provides an exemplar that is relevant,
not only in the national context then, but also the South Pacific Context and global
contexts.
48
Na Mereana Selby, Te Wänanga o Raukawa.
62
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
The aims of Te Köhanga Reo are that:






children will learn the Mäori language and culture through immersion;
language and cultural learning will be fostered and supported for all members of the
Te Köhanga Reo whänau;
members of the Te Köhanga Reo whänau will learn a range of other skills e.g.
administration, within the whänau setting;
collective responsibility for the administration and operations of köhanga will be
fostered;
all involved will feel the sense of belonging and being accepted which is crucial for
their empowerment; and
the content, context and control of learning will be Mäori (Tawhiwhirangi et. al.,
1988).
In 1976 a review process was started which was to lead to the creation of this taonga, Te
Köhanga Reo. That review was the review of the Department of Mäori Affairs. Puketapu
(1982) details an account of the outcome of the restructuring that followed the review49.
He describes the journey as a kökiri process, meaning ‘to advance’, which was designed to
successfully achieve the twin goals of efficiency and accountability within a wellorganised government bureaucracy. The kökiri process was premised on “two
fundamental principles … necessary for good public administration” (Puketapu, 1982: 2).
They are:
 the need for any organisation to possess ‘soul’, in this context described as ‘the wairua
way’; and
 the ability of an organisation to shift itself as a supportive component into the very
fabric of its client community.
The kökiri process was also designed to take hold of the “Mäori power” and to facilitate a
new approach in which “culture will be the catalyst” (Puketapu, 1982: 1 – 2). The stance
was informed by a new ideology that came to be known as ‘Tu Tangata’, to stand tall. The
broad objectives of Tü Tangata were to:
 improve educational attainment;
 provide opportunities for self fulfilment within the community;
 raise the socioeconomic status of the Mäori people; and
 kökiri “to advance” (Puketapu, op cit: 3).
Three features of the new ideology were identified:
 ‘Tü tangata’, to recognize the stance of the people;
 ‘Whaka-whäiti’, to harness the resources and strengths of all the people; and
 ‘Ko töu rourou’, to increase the contribution each of us can make to the advancement
of the Mäori and to New Zealand as a whole (Puketapu, 1982: 10).
49
This review was commissioned by the State Services Commission.
63
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
The approach included creating a forum for kaumätua to determine policy for the
Department of Mäori Affairs, an innovation long ahead of its time. This forum was first
created in 1979, at the Hui Whakatauira, then again in 1980, at the Wänanga Whakatauira.
Envisaging the policy agenda as a blank sheet, kaumätua were invited to literally draw the
parameters of policy in this area and to then hand these over to the Department of Mäori
Affairs to operationalise and implement. It is from this process that Te Köhanga Reo was
born. It is noteworthy that it took a radical restructuring of a government department in
order for this initiative to emerge. By the time of the Hui Taumata, the ground breaking
Mäori Economic Development Conference in 1984, Te Köhanga Reo was already
established as a programme of Mäori Development.
At the Hui Taumata a number of objectives for Mäori Development were identified. They
were to:
 strive to achieve parity between Mäori and Päkehä people of New Zealand in areas of
housing, education, land development, employment, business, health; and
 strengthen Mäoridom’s development of identity through Mäori language and the
heritage of the ancestors, the marae, the Mäori spiritual pathway and Mäori mind, and
tribal identity; and
 achieve these objectives within the Development Decade declared by Mäoridom at the
Hui Taumata (Annex D, Board of Mäori Affairs, 1986).
More than a programme, Te Köhanga Reo contributes to the process of nation building in
terms relevant to Mäori in the third millennium. Perhaps this is the potential Koro Wetere
saw all those years ago when he said:
“The ultimate objective of Te Köhanga Reo is nothing less than the rebirth of the
Mäori nation as an equal but separate element contributing to the common good of
New Zealand society” (cited in Fleras, A., 1983).
64
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
Chapter Five
Programme Effectiveness and Best Practice
The third Term of Reference asked the group to “identify Adult Literacy Programmes that
are effective for Mäori and models of best practice in the area.” This chapter reports the
findings of those discussions. One general observation should precede this material. The
diversity that is the lived reality of Mäori people is such that there is now general
agreement that there is no ‘one Mäori voice’ or ‘one Mäori pathway’, in any field, and that
holds true for the field of literacy. Mäori are everywhere, expressed as many voices and
taking many pathways. This chapter aims to open up some of the possibilities that the
group explored. One notion that the group was keen to dispel was the possibility that
establishing best practice could, if they were not careful, become a new way to create a
‘one size fits all’ approach: a normative new orthodoxy. This was not an outcome that they
wanted to contribute to.
In the early part of the chapter a general discussion on programme effectiveness and the
concept of best practice is outlined. This leads into a set of reflections on ‘ako’, Mäori
learning/teaching styles, entitled Mäori pedagogies. Finally, two case studies of literacy
programmes have been included to enable the issues presented in this chapter to be
considered in context. The programmes are ‘Whäia Te Ara Tika’ and ‘Te Whare Ako’,
each wonderful examples of effective programmes exhibiting best practice in their own
right.
The chapter is organised as follows:
5.1
Programme Effectiveness and Best Practice
5.2
Mäori Pedagogies/Mäori World Views
5.3
‘Whäia Te Ara Tika’
5.4
‘Te Whare Ako: The House of Learning’
5.1 Programme Effectiveness and Best Practice
Decolonisation
One of the main features of best practice in literacy was described as decolonisation, for
both Mäori and non-Mäori. Decolonisation was described as a process of developing
critical awareness, of reading the word and of reading the world in its historical context.
Decolonisation is about developing authentic notions of liberation.
Resourcing to Provide Quality
This analysis starts with the question of resourcing. In a field, such as this, which has
historically been established primarily on voluntary labour this may seem like an odd
place to start. The reality is that equitable resourcing is a critical issue which affects every
part of a literacy programme from organisational capability to tutor recruitment and
retention, to resource availability, and to the creation of safe learning environments.
Equitable resourcing relates to the ability of providers to meet quality standards by having
the resources necessary to do so. In some cases, where resources do not already exist,
tutors are required to create them and these choices need to be resourced.
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Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
This was identified as a field-wide issue but highlighted as being serious for Mäori. The
view was expressed that Mäori people do not need you today, they needed you yesterday.
From the point of view of the student, they do not care if tutors are paid or not, they want
quality. From the tutors’ view, being paid is a reasonable expectation of a highly skilled
job, which being a literacy tutor is.
At the organisational level, having good financial, management and administrative
systems is an increasingly important issue. People may do the greatest job with students,
but if they cannot manage a budget, their programme may well be short lived. Capacity
building at the organisational level will be beneficial to the field so that providers who
were established and run in the lean times are able to upgrade their operations in the new
times that lie ahead.
Tutors
One of the most important assets in the field of literacy is tutors who have a heart for the
work, tutors for whom this work is a passion. The comment was made that some people do
not realise it is a passion: it is a natural development for them, a point of self-discovery
that this is the thing to do. A lot of learners, for example, were described as having
become tutors. Further, they were described as becoming better tutors because they have
been ‘the learners’ and have become passionate about sharing their gains with others.
Good tutors were described as pivotal to the success of things because of their drive, the
way that they work with materials, their ability to adapt materials and to contribute to the
success of the programme.
They are also pivotal because providers routinely do not have the resources needed to do
the job required and the only way that students get a good service in this situation is if the
tutor works longer hours in order to create the success sought. This is not a best case
scenario, however, because the tutors become prone to burn out.
One of the keywords which describes the relationship in good programmes is ‘ako’, where
the notion of learning/teaching is shared, and where the tutor is also learning in the
programme. This view enables strong, close relationships to be established so that the
tutor is in a good position to know when someone can leave the nest and ‘fly’ and be
happy that they have gone. That is how the learning/teaching process was described, one
in which people are liberated to fly. Adapting learning and teaching styles to suit the
learning environment emphasised the need to be aware that there are many different ways
to deliver literacy programmes and the classroom concept is not the only context. The
context of bush literacy was cited as an outdoor learning environment.
Diversity in the curriculum was called for, as was the need for flexibility in opening up a
range of learning pathway models. This includes the idea that we are not only training for
career pathways and that training is not necessarily qualification linked. The importance in
passing on wisdom as defined by students, in the types of courses that they want, is a vital
part of the field of literacy.
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Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
Student-Centred Learning
Student-centred learning is described as being about working where the student is, and
showing what options are available to them. Teaching which is relevant to the knowledge
and past experience of the people one is working with is part of the concept of best
practice. Whilst the focus on the role of good tutors was clear, people also expressed the
view that student success should not be on the basis that the student gets on with the tutor
or has a good tutor whom they come to rely on. The purpose of the journey is about
increasing independence, not dependence. To begin with tutors described themselves as
‘being there totally’ with the students but as student learning and understanding increases,
the expectation is that the learner takes off on their own, that they drive their learning
increasingly, until they take it over completely. The role of tutor was described as one that
included increasing amounts of facilitation.
Value Structure
Critical success factors relate to the values that are found in the learning environment of
literacy programmes: aroha, whakamana, whänau, tuakana – teina nurturing relationships,
manaaki, tautoko, and kai. The kinds of things that experienced as part of a homely
environment make a difference as to whether it is an easy place to be rather than a foreign
place. The field is one in which ‘dysfunctionality’ can be a routine feature of the learning
group, presenting in many forms. Some are as highly personal as can be found in
interpersonal relationships, stemming as they do from profoundly deep experiences of low
self-esteem and whakamä.
Sticking to the Kaupapa
For some programmes ‘sticking to the kaupapa’ is one of the ways in which they achieve
best practice: delivering what they are known for, what students come to expect. This was
commented on as a feature of the Te Ataarangi programme, for example. Carrying through
the same kaupapa, no matter who is running the programme or where, means that they are
holding fast to their organisational philosophy. The model was developed from the ideas
of Ngoi Pewhairangi and Katerina Mataira. Key features include not working alone, but
working as a team, as a group. In part it is to awhi each other, to build support into the role
of tutor.
Literacy Resource Centre
Access to a resource centre was described as a real asset. Tutors are dependant on resource
needs but having a centre, a home, some sort of place where people can meet where
resources are located, provides a focal point to network as tutors as well as to gain
valuable new resources. Not everyone has resources in their home and centres such as this
provide necessary supplies.
Technology
The need to include literacy programmes in technology was stressed. The importance of
the increasing role and use of technology in workplaces made this critical. The group
commented on the need to educate people for the 21st Century not just the 20th Century.
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Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
This issue was described as being closely related to resourcing. One of the keys about
understanding the concept of technology is about understanding the concept of tüturu –
being able to play and experiment. The discussion around this highlighted the way in
which playing like this enables fears and shyness to be broken down. This approach builds
confidence, fosters experimentation, fun and indestructibility – the feeling that children
have that prevents their seeing new learning as fearful.
5.2 Mäori Pedagogy/Mäori World View
The following are recorded as a series of general themes that emerged from this section of
the discussion. They do not seek to be prescriptive; they are a series of reflections and
insights that were shared by the group, from their lived experiences of this knowledge, as
a contribution to the bodies of knowledge which inform Mäori Development. By far the
greatest focus of the discussion was that which related to the Mäori world view. People
spoke about the Mäori world view, they spoke to it, they reflected on it from their own
personal experiences and upbringing. They spoke about the experiences of people that
they had worked with who had not been raised to know this view of the world but who by
whakapapa, a sacred connection, were connected to it.
The starting point of this discussion is the validation and affirmation of the Mäori world
view, of Mäori knowledge, mätauranga whänau, hapü, iwi, Mäori. Starting from the
notion of the Mäori world view the group explored a range of themes, including how
Mäori pedagogies are framed within that world view. They talked about making a line in
the sand and looking at what is Mäori about Mäori pedagogies. Being located within the
methodology of kaupapa Mäori was critical, as was the expression of rangätiratanga
expressed as ‘by Mäori for Mäori’.
Central within this analysis was the role of te reo Mäori so that the ability to understand
the Mäori world view did not require moving between languages in order to express it.
This echoes a theme from chapter two, ‘How do we define literacy?’, in which it was
argued that the Mäori world view can only be expressed in te reo Mäori. Terms that are
used to describe Mäori knowledge – for example, ako and tauira, and the connotations of
those for our understanding of education – are most powerful when explored within their
own world view.
The development of the kaupapa of Te Ataarangi was shared by Te Ripowai Higgins as
example of ways of ‘knowing’ drawn from the Mäori world view. The story of the
example serves to highlight the methodology it reveals as a ‘given’, ‘the way it is
practised’. Part of the körero was about the connection between Te Kooti and the Mäori
world view. She told us of Te Kooti changing his ways to rangimärie, rongopai, and
ngäwari. When Ngoi Pewhairangi called the first national Te Ataarangi hui Te Ripowai
told us that she advised the hui to take the kaupapa back to Mangatu. From this place, the
türangawaewae and tipuna it represented, the kaupapa of ‘kia ngäkau mahaki’ came into
play. A penny dropped, she said; it validated the work and karakia was used to
whakapümau that. The tikanga and protocols associated with the development of the
kaupapa were a very Mäori way of instilling it and making sure that it does not break up.
This whole process was critical in the development of this kaupapa.
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Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
The observation was made that if knowledge is not coming from a Mäori world view, then
it could be coming from anywhere. This is a position that is often used against Mäori in an
attempt to undermine the legitimacy and validity of the Mäori world. The question was
asked: what is ‘traditional’ knowledge and what can we whakapapa back to as ‘tuturu
Mäori’. The differentiating factor comes from Rangiätea and if does not then it can be
from anywhere in the world.
The connection through whakapapa to Rangiätea is a sacred one, which is within every
Mäori person. Whether ‘known’ at the conscious level or not, this view holds that from
whakapapa comes the connection to the world view. It’s already in you, if you are Mäori,
some people raised outside their own traditional knowledge can’t see that. This is not
offered as a judgment, it is a partial description of the impact of our social contexts upon
our own learning and development. Te Ripowai commented that her kuia taught that
pedagogy was in the way they did things, the explanations. It was survival, the things we
had to do. The survival of hapü and whänau was dependent at times on little kids. The
example shared here related to grading the potatoes as a job that the children did. The
significance of this spoke to the seriousness of the task; rotten potatoes that were missed
could have ruined the whole stack. The most important jobs were the responsibility of the
little kids – who were taught from a very early age to do it properly and do it well.
One of the connections people spoke of making between the Mäori world view and
kaupapa Mäori related to the use of whakataukï: the weaving of ancient wisdoms to
contemporary realities. Others spoke of waiata, haka, karakia, flax making as ways of
enabling knowledge and knowing to be practised and learnt through doing. In another
example waiata were described as being used in intense hui to provide a change, a break
and to maintain focus. This example highlights the observation made that Mäori pedagogy
is growing as we get better at knowing about our own Mäori tools and how we use them.
One such ‘tool’ is whakapapa, in a range of different senses. At one level the significance
is relational, how we relate one person, whänau, hapü, iwi to another. The consequence of
this was spoken to in the staffing of institutions and programmes. People spoke about
being ‘drawn’ to the Mäori department at university because of the people who were there:
Timoti Karetu, John Rangihau, people described as ‘real’ because they walked and talked
and lived and breathed and exemplified the Mäori world view. No apologies, no excuses,
their world was just their way of living. The impact was compelling. People spoke of the
Mäori strand “just calling you”; they spoke of there being a definite difference in the
learning and teaching styles. For some there was a potential dilemma in this: who
maintains the knowledge and at what cost? On the one hand, if you want to validate it, you
have to know it; on the other, if it is out there, being known, it can be abused. The need for
discussion about the maintenance, management and protection of Mäori knowledge was as
vital as the questions of access. Further, these questions need to be asked in the context of
the world view that they belong to: many outside the Mäori world want to have access to it
without necessarily having the same interest in, and respect for, matters beyond access.
69
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
It is about bringing to the fore everything about being Mäori: the land, your maunga, Atua,
ngahere, pekapeka, räkau, connections and relationships, validation, affirmation and
knowledge codes. Every culture has its own means of affirmation and validation. What we
can share with other cultures is our stories as whänau, hapü, iwi Mäori and how we have
journeyed from colonisation to decolonisation. Walking with humility and knowing that
this is a spiritual journey undertaken with our tipuna enables a view to be developed of the
atua of other indigenous people caring for and looking after you in these connecting
experiences.
The journey is nothing less than being in the dynamic, vibrant, challenging journey that is
Mäori development in Aotearoa. The open expression of conflict and of having a very
different view is understood in the context of debate on the marae, bringing things up on
the marae, the history and aspect of debate. Two features of this history were revisited and
illuminated. They were, first, the phrase ‘kia tau te rangimärie’, often used as counsel, was
supposed to be ‘kia tau te rangimärie ki nga mea tika’. Second, the notion of not being
frightened to stand up to others and say that you disagree: that what may be right for you
may not be right for me. In this sense the stories of teina were identified as being
important because of the authority role of tuakana. Kupe to grandson – young leading the
way – goes back to knowing the story of the teina. They do not necessarily act in the ways
that their tuakana have wanted to and these defiances often create brilliance in teina. The
need is to keep our children irrepressible, to nurture them, and that spark was referred to.
A connection was made between the ideas under discussion at this point and the
articulation of learning/teaching styles. Bubs Taipana spoke of a method that is successful
in their programme and that is having someone take the role of being the tutor for the
lesson; that is,‘being rangatira for the day’ – a rangatira for a lesson rather than being the
trainee. It is bringing their own knowledge, planning it and teaching it. It is teaching
responsibility, especially for Maori men because it gives them the chance to speak.
A part of this work that is still needed is the affirmation of Mäori values and the need to
fight for Mäori pedagogy. Being an advocate, making space for Mäori ways was identified
as a necessary part of the process of decolonisation and organisational transformation in
this country. That is what many have done as Mäori in their respective organisations. At
issue in this is how much of their precious creative energy, so necessary for the work of
devising transformative solutions, is being wasted in these ‘fights’ for institutional space.
This is the negative use of valuable energy that burns people out, and that leads to
frustration and bitterness.
What the wider society seems yet to grasp is that within the Mäori world view lie very
empowering ways of being and knowing and doing. People spoke about this in terms of
how they manage their learning environment. Rituals and protocols of inclusiveness, for
example, are practised so that if someone new comes in to a room they always stop and
introduce them, acknowledging and stopping to include people appropriately using core
values such as kawa, mihi and manaaki.
This is a very nurturing thing, when a group stops what they are doing to validate your
entry, to say to you kanohi ki te kanohi ‘Tënä koe, e hoa, nau mai haere mai’. The fast,
cold, impersonal, big world that is ruled by the dollar and the clock seem just a little
smaller, a little kinder, a little slower, for just a moment.
70
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
Staying connected with the Mäori world view keeps relationships open and alive and
possibilities for change are located as much in Mäori knowledge as in any other. How are
connections with tipuna kept open? How do we acknowledge our tipuna? Many are no
longer with us. Keeping their photos in the whare and talking about them – referring to
them to enhance learning process – were referred to as practical ways to do this.
The question about context was identified as central to Mäori literacy. People spoke about
situating themselves in what they were trying to do. An example was shared of a father
teaching a child how to make fences on a farm: the focus was on doing, and mistakes were
part of the process. He would wait for the person to make a mistake and he would laugh –
but not maliciously. It was a part of Mäori pedagogy – you have to learn from your
mistakes and often you do not know what your mistakes are until you make them. Or you
can lean on someone to help – the kind of scaffolding idea. The person sharing the story
described taking shortcuts with the corner post, the fence fell down, he got a kick – and
learnt from that. It is about not talking but about doing it, including the pride in doing it
well. When the fence did fall down, the obvious question was asked: “Where did you learn
that from?”, “You didn’t see me do that!”
Mäori pedagogy enables people to hold on to their own identity as they travel their
journey and to have support mechanisms in place to enable this to happen. A learner
comes wanting to know particular things. There need to be comfort zones to make space
for this to happen – the statement “this is what I want to learn” should open up horizons
and possibilities.
5.3 Whäia Te Ara Tika 50
Näu te rourou
Näku te rourou
Ka ora te iwi
From your basket and my basket comes the well-being of the people
Whäia Te Ara Tika began as a pilot project designed to provide adult literacy services for
Mäori trainees to trial. It was a literacy course that would empower Mäori trainees in a
realistic way to understand the cultural skills and knowledge necessary to live as tangata
whenua in Aotearoa, and thereby, improve their opportunities to access training and
employment.
The pilot consisted of three courses covering the period 30 September 1996 to 19
December 1997, funded under the then Education and Training Support Agency (ETSA)
Training Opportunities (TOP) Programme. The programme was located in the Tairäwhiti
Region and involved Te Whiri Kaupapa Ako, the Mäori Development Committee of
Literacy Aotearoa, Te Rünanga o Türanganui-a-Kiwa (Türanga Ararau), the local ETSA
(Skill NZ Pükenga Aotearoa) office and its Wellington based National Office.
50
Na Bubs Taipana, Whäia Te Ara Tika.
71
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
Course Objectives
Course objectives will provide an innovative approach to learning by:
 using a variety of tutoring techniques in recognition of the different learning styles of
trainees;
 ensuring the environment is culturally-safe for all participants;
 using culturally appropriate learning methodology and material;
 relating learning to everyday life situations;
 literacy provision will be effective in meeting learners needs;
 literacy will refer to literacy in Mäori, English and mother tongue;
 Te Tiriti o Waitangi will be reflected throughout all aspects of practice;
 literacy for Mäori by Mäori is a movement towards tino rangätiratanga as affirmed by
Te Tiriti o Waitangi;
 provision will value the adult status of the learners, as well as that of the whänau, and
the wealth of experience they bring to the learning situation;
 provision will focus on empowering people to formulate their own goals and fulfil
their potential;
 tuition will be trainee centred and learners will be encouraged to direct their own
learning and share responsibility for it;
 trainee achievement and the effectiveness of literacy provision will be jointly
evaluated by both trainees and tutor;
 literacy research will be undertaken which will aid the development of literacy
provision throughout the community and all skills NZ Pükenga Aotearoa regions;
 provision will involve trainees becoming more aware of the world and creating an
understanding of power relations and influences which operate within it;
 literacy provision will build on the trainees knowledge and experiences and enhance
their confidence and capabilities to initiate and to respond to widely different
situations;
 literacy provision will affirm and promote Mäori knowledge and cultural values;
 provision will ensure high quality training leading to nationally recognised
certification; and
 Human Rights Act 1993 – The aim of the programme is to deliver literacy services
that empower Mäori trainees in a realistic way to understand cultural knowledge and
skills necessary to live as tangata whenua and thereby improve their opportunities to
access training and employment. However the programme is not delivered to the
exclusion of any person with similarly identified literacy needs.
Whäia Te Ara Tika tutors create a climate of trust in which the trainees feel able to express
themselves freely and openly and are keen to learn. Some of the components of our
learning environment relate to the whole person, the hinengaro, tinana and wairua.
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Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
Positive Action Strategies
We empower the trainees by placing importance on all things Mäori. We do this by
karakia, waiata and whakapapa every morning before any other mahi begins. Whakapapa
tells us who the person is and their background – for example, who their mother, father
and grandparents are. We represent generations of our tipuna. Ideas, options, aiming high
regardless of background, age and religion are important. Students wanting the goal of
literacy hard enough should be given the skills and ideas to achieve in the education
system. Including students in sharing problems that may arise within the group is also
important. We teach them how to learn – ä kona rätou, ka tukituki ki te ao. Aroha and
support in this learning environment will create positive students
A
R
O
H
A
-
Attitude – Creating the right attitude to learn;
Role play – Learning by positive role play – e.g. peer tutoring;
Order – Placing work and learning in some sort of order;
Hard work – The hard work gives the end result;
Action – Place all the above into action and you will receive the results.
Recruitment comes from WINZ, newspaper and radio advertising. But the most successful
way of recruiting is by word of mouth. Past students recommend the course to family and
friends, community organisations and support groups also send students to us.
Course Outcomes in Respect of Trainee Needs
The primary trainee outcome objective of this programme is to provide trainees with an
awareness of further training options and assist them into further training. Trainees will
also be assisted in developing personal career pathways. Trainees who may prefer to
progress directly into employment will be enhanced by their participation in this
programme. The programme requires applicants to:







demonstrate a commitment to foster a love of learning;
promote learning as a lifelong activity;
provide a holistic, learner-centred, supportive approach to learning which recognises
there are other factors in a person’s life which influence the success of their training
experiences;
focus on providing tailored learning experiences;
be culturally appropriate and sensitive;
offer a variety of approaches; and
encourage trainees to accept challenges.
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Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.

Expected Student Outcomes
People who gain credits at level 2 or above in the sub-fields of English and/or
Communication Skills will be exempted that same number of credits at level 1 from the
Core English/Communication Skills requirement.
Example:
10 credits at Level 2 from sub-field English
5 credits at Level 3 from sub-field Communication Skills
Exemption = 15 credits at Level 1
Total requirements for Core English/Communication Skills have been met.
Core Mathematics requirement of 10 credits
People who gain credits at level 2 or above in the sub-fields of Mathematics and/or
Statistics and Probability will be able to use these credits together with an equal number of
exemptions to meet the core Mathematics requirement.
This course involves our kaumätua who gave us our name ‘Whäia Te Ara Tika’. At times
we attend korikori tinana which involves line dancing and kaumätua exercises. Whäia Te
Ara Tika networks with WINZ caseworkers, Iwi Social Services and other providers and
tutors within our own rünanga and district. We have an excellent manager of the TOP’s
training provider in Te Rünanga o Turanganui A Kiwa. We regard our premises as a
whänau house. Past and present like coming because it has a friendly and safe
environment. Other former trainees still drop in to the course to say ‘kia ora’. They said
that the tutors were always willing to help even though they had left the course. Family
call in, children call in, like the mood of our river through the windows of our venue,
always busy with activity.
The rünanga manager observed on visits that the course had a good feel and a strong
trainee focus, which gave the trainees a sense of identity and pride, being part of the
course.
This course shows how the boundaries blur in literacy training. Literacy is just
one aspect of these people’s identity and self esteem. Where you’re from, your
personal genealogy, is also very important. An effective course must deal with
this range of issues. You just can’t deal with literacy in isolation. There are
multiple challenges facing the tutors and multiple barriers for the people
learning. Kaupapa Mäori is the key to it. It’s woven into it and that’s why it
works.
John Dickson, Skills Advisor, Skills New Zealand.
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Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
5.4 A Case Study of Te Whare Ako
The House of Learning
The Beginning
In 1993 Workbase, the National Centre of Workplace Literacy and Language based in
Auckland, did a research project with Fletcher Challenge companies. The results are
entitled “Literacy at Work”. Workbase used five Fletcher Challenge Mäori scholarship
holders to interview managers, supervisors and production employees in various Fletcher
Challenge companies to ascertain the range of literacy skills within these companies. One
of the places they visited was the then Tasman Pulp and Paper Company Ltd and the
Wood Processing shift they interviewed acknowledged that it had major issues with
literacy. In 1994, when Tasman embarked upon major structural changes, it realised that it
could not achieve what it wanted without dealing with the literacy issue. Tasman
contacted Workbase because of the link it had already established through the research
project.
The Staff
Because the Wood Preparation department staff were almost all Mäori, a decision was
made at the outset that all staff would be Mäori to reflect best practice – the delivery of
services for Mäori by Mäori.
All the current tutors at Te Whare Ako are women. There is a male-dominated warrior
mentality at Tasman; men against the machine and the men against management. These
women can cut across these issues and the fact they are women does not detract from the
skills these particular people have. They are perceived as caring about people and as being
impartial and outside the system. This means that historical baggage and shoulder-chips
are removed quickly so learning is not impeded by resentment.
Te Whare Ako is seen as being neutral because Workbase is contracted by Tasman.
Neutrality is vital given the history of management and employee disharmony and distrust.
Te Whare Ako is a pleasant, spacious place. In contrast to much of the mill, it is not hot,
noisy or dirty. It is well resourced and supported by Tasman and has plenty of computers
and other training tools.
“Te Whare Ako treads safely and never tries to push itself and its services. The women
gained the respect of the men through the soft approach. Its mill-wide popularity happened
slowly and logically. Word gets around. People have been assisted with their learning
problems and the staff are extremely good at relating to people. Recently the cynics who
previously scoffed at the place as being a kindergarten have realised that it has a lot to
offer.”
Training Administrator
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Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
The Learners
The employees shared the following common characteristics. The employees:
 were all male;
 left school at 15 or earlier;
 had poor schooling experiences;
 had no formal qualifications;
 had experienced learning because operators were not required to do any reading or
writing on the job;
 were mostly over 35 years of age; and
 were long service employees – 20 years service was not unusual
“The style and flavour of our work in Wood Processing acknowledged the Mäori world
view. We acknowledged the skills that most of the learners come to the Whare with, te
reo and tikanga Mäori. Some were very sure of themselves in te reo but not so sure of
themselves with English. We took care in how we approached learning situations using
Mäori pedagogy where appropriate, and non Mäori when that was preferred by
individual learner.”
Staff Member
Very few of the learners had had positive learning experiences as adults in the workplace.
It was really important that tutors recognised learners’ strong technical skills (operating
equipment worth millions of dollars). Training values what learners did in the workplace
and followed best practice adult learning principles – it had a purpose and linked directly
and was contextualised to their workplace. It was also important that staff did not create
dependence amongst learners but instead gave the right amount of assistance at the right
time and then encouraged learners to have a go on their own. Learners were aware that
tutors were always there to provide information and additional resources.
The key was to ensure that all documents and resources were authentic so that learners
could return to the workplace and practice what they had learned.
“The key benefit of Te Whare Ako has been targeted learning customised to the needs of
teams and individuals. It’s given us an ability to build people’s work processes into the
learning. The way the tutors have used real work situations and needs has been terrific.
It’s also turned people back onto learning. They’ve gone back into the workplace and
enrolled in other training and taken on new roles. Having Te Whare Ako on site has
made it part of our culture and really helped us in our change processes.”
Human Resources Advisor
76
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
“Initially curiosity was the draw-card and some people came three or four times to just
check it out before they asked for help with anything. First we saw it as a friendly
environment and then we moved into seeing it as a learning environment. We weren’t
told by management to go there but it was a clean and quiet place among the noise and
machinery of the mill, and it was inside our territory, inside our comfort zone.
“Now all the people in the Wood Processing have had some training in the Whare and
are progressing with their Unit Standards. We have learned to run our own meetings. We
can sit in on production meetings and give them insight because we have the basic
knowledge and understanding.
“People from all over the mill come to the Whare now but we in Wood Processing still
regard it as our place.”
Wood Processing Training Facilitator
When the initial learning programme was being developed a critical decision was made by
the then superintendent of Wood Processing who insisted that te reo and tikanga Mäori
formed a key part of the curriculum. This ensured that they were taught explicitly rather
than covertly.
The initial focus of Te Whare Ako was on developing basic literacy, numeracy, computer
and te reo Mäori skills. Päkehä managers as well as Mäori operators attended te reo Mäori
classes.
Most training was delivered one-to-one or in very small groups. There were no set times
for tuition – operators dropped in and if there was a production breakdown then staff could
expect a real influx of learners. Computers were a particular drawcard. Some operators
were wary at first so staff visited operators at their work stations. They also did this if
operators were busy.
The curriculum now covers a wide range of areas including supporting learning for a
range of National Certificates. All learning is aligned to and assessed against National
Qualifications Framework Unit Standards. A major growth area has been computer
training. Initially computer training was used to attract learners who would not otherwise
admit to or address difficulties with literacy and numeracy. The computer provides a
practical focus for this to happen in a way that maintains pride and self-esteem.
Now computer training is synonymous with Te Whare Ako. Te Whare Ako contains a full
computer training suite. The Whare Ako staff either provide all computer training on site
or arrange for its delivery.
“Often learners come in who have had a tutu on the computer but then get stuck.
Their lack of theoretical knowledge often means they are doing things the long way or
else they are held back in accessing the full capabilities of the programme. Often all
that is needed is a bit of explanation about how things work and then they are off
again. The other group of learners we get are technophobic. They are really whakamä
about using the computer because they think they will break it. Our role with this
group is constant reinforcement and showing them that they can achieve.” Tutor
77
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
There are very few people employed at Tasman who do not have to use a computer as a
daily part of their work. Te Whare Ako staff are asked on a regular basis to provide
training for new programmes which are being introduced into operational and other areas.
Incremental learning does not fit in with these situations; instead, tutors have to provide
planned learning interventions which will lift learners’ skills to meet the new demands.
“It’s a drop-in place for computer help. It’s non-threatening. The computer
department is more high-powered and people talk computer jargon so if people are
not confident and find the terminology confusing they head for help from the staff at
Te Whare Ako. The staff are very learner-centred and find it easy to be on the same
wave-length as them.
“We will need much more computer training here. There will be an increasing
number of PCs in production areas and the operators will need to know how to use
computers. Te Whare Ako plays an important role in helping people feel confident
with them. People in production will be using PCs on a daily, hourly, basis. Those
who are threatened by this will want to brush-up on their skills in private, not under
the noses of Management, and they will go to Te Whare Ako to get confidence.”
IT Support Administrator
Computer-based learning is also delivered by Te Whare Ako, in the workplace, at the
machine.
“The two areas that were the last to take an interest in Te Whare Ako were
Maintenance and Paper. A major recent move is that Fiona is going to the paper
machines to help the operators with their computer skills. She goes to their
workstations because they can’t leave their machines. When they met her they were
impressed with what she could teach, in their environment, about their job. Now
they come to Te Whare Ako in their own time to learn more.”
Training Administrator
78
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
Benefits for the Whänau and Community
Learners take their learning from Te Whare Ako back to their whänau and their
communities. Tutors ensure that skills learned in the workplace can be transformed into
other environments.
“The world is changing fast for Tasman people at home too. Their kids come home
from Köhanga speaking te reo and from school talking about computers. Their
parents want to keep up. Then there is peer pressure and when mates achieve others
are pulled along to make an effort. The strands all connect and weave together to
make a strong fabric.”
HR Advisor
“This is an opportunity too good to be true. I would like to make the most of this Te
Whare Ako.”
Learner
“Te Whare Ako has been a very fulfilling and beneficial experienceLearner
for me – for
work, home, family and for myself personally.”
Learner
“But
it’ll
be aAko
shame
seeforit
closed
if still
ever
that
“I feel that
Te Whare
should to
operate
sometime
yet.down
There are
people
out
was in
inthethe
pipeline
the in
boys
usemaths,
it memory
as it skills
is and
to other
our
there
Mill who
still need–training
reading,
advantage”.
topics. I get the feeling they are too shy or embarrassed to learn. Only time will tell I
Learner
suppose.”
Learner
“Te Whare Ako tutors have given me confidence. I have become more able to speak
out, and to apply ideas, and input into the team concepts.”
Learner
“I have liked the many options open to the boys especially if you’re studying for
exams or play a significant part in a committee – for myself those options were there
for me – as a player in the Wood Prep team it has given me a wider understanding of
the happenings here, e.g. silo reading, tallying, communications etc.”
Learner
“The tutors are excellent – there’s no pressure put on you – you are taught at your
own pace and help is always there when needed.”
Learner
“There’s nothing more to say about the Te Whare Ako team – everything is kapai.”
Learner
79
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
“It is going to be slow and take a long time but I am going to get there.”
Learner
“Since beginning these lessons I feel more confident in what I have learned. There is
still room for improvement and many more things to learn. But learning and
understanding the basics such as this lesson and with a Kaiako who I feel really
comfortable with has helped me tremendously. Kia ora.”
Te Reo Learner
“Funnily enough Te Reo students seem to have taken the new found pride and
confidence from Te Whare Ako and are having it show through in other aspects of
their job.”
Team Leader
“I knew nothing about typing a letter on the computer. I suppose I still would have
known nothing if it wasn’t for Te Whare Ako. Everybody should be LEARNING on
the computers.”
Learner
80
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
Chapter Six
Other Matters
The fifth Term of Reference provided the group with a chance to:“Identify and explore
issues specific to the brief of improving the literacy outcomes of adult Mäori, not covered
by the Terms of Reference listed above, which warrant consideration.”
A number of issues were identified which the group felt warranted discussion. The first
three have been discussed in earlier chapters in this report. This chapter sets out responses
to the remaining two issues; namely:
6.1 a compilation and an analysis of government spending in the field of literacy which
reported actual spending by any government department working in the area,
including a profile of the budget allocation; and
6.2 statistics on Mäori Literacy/Achievement.
Initial responses to 6.1 and 6.2 have been made. It was beyond the resources of this report
to provide comprehensive responses; we have recommended that they be followed up in
policy work projects at a later date.
81
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
6.1 Government Spending on Adult Literacy
Table One
Summary of Current Provision for Adult Literacy Across the State Sector, Vote:
Education
Source: Ministry of Education, 2001
Year
2001
Organisation
Literacy Aotearoa
Funding
$2.113 million
2001
Workbase
$1.410 million
2001
National Association of
$2.038 million
ESOL Home Tutor Schemes
2001
Multicultural Centre for
Learning and Support
Services
Skill NZ
$240, 000
Youth Training
$1.0 million
2001
1999
$0.5 million
Schools
2000, as Tertiary Institutions
at 31 July
1999
Training Opportunities (TO) c.$2.0 million
nd
Dept Work and Income
c.$1.0 million
nd
Dept Corrections
nd
Workplace Learning
Enrolments
10,000 students av. 50 hrs per
student per year; 2,500 volunteer
tutors, 91 mostly part-time paid
coordinators
Workplace literacy programmes; PD
Training for literacy providers;
development work on quality
assurance; promotion on need for and
benefits of workplace literacy
programmes
6,000 New Zealanders; non-English
speaking
backgrounds;
English
language support service
350
refugees
and
other
disadvantaged migrants; literacy and
English language learning
Workplace literacy through industry
training
Skill NZ contracts with providers to
deliver specific literacy programmes
to YT learners
1367 Literacy
184 Basic Numeracy
3,549 Communication Skills and
Community Education
2,093 Literacy and Numeracy
Literacy Programmes
Contracted Services funding used to
purchase
specific
literacy
programmes for job seekers
Part of $3.7m spent on enrolments
for National Certificate Employment
Skills was spent on specific literacy
programmes.
Workbase estimates that c.1500
people are currently receiving
literacy education and training
through their workplaces
82
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
6.2 Selected Literacy Statistics on Mäori 51
The Ministry of Education uses a range of administrative data and survey data to monitor
literacy levels in New Zealand. The administrative data usually relates to the funding of
programmes and provides some information about participation. The survey data are part
of a programme of monitoring educational achievement or an ad hoc survey, often
focusing on international comparisons. As such the data are limited and does not present
the complete picture on literacy.
The literacy statistics on Mäori presented below have been chosen on the basis that they
were readily available, usually in other publications, often already identified as literacy
statistics, and useful as indicators of an overall picture of Mäori literacy. These statistics
are not a complete picture of Mäori literacy.
Assessment at Entry to School
The data on student literacy at school entry is based on the School Entry Assessment
(SEA) results52, introduced in 1997. SEA is a nationally standardised set of assessment
procedures available for teachers to use to collect information on the skills, knowledge and
understandings of children when they begin school.
SEA consists of three resources that assess emergent literacy, use of oral language, and
numeracy. Only the reading literacy and oral language scores are presented here. SEA is
not mandatory, but schools that decide to use it are asked to provide information for a
national database.
For this report the national mean score for this assessment is set at 50 with a standard
deviation of 15, so that a score greater than 50 is above average while a score below 50 is
below average. Table1 shows the mean scores for Mäori girls and boys.
Table 1. Reading Literacy School Entry Assessment average scores, 1998-2000
Oral Language
Early Literacy
Source:
National Population
Mean
Standard
Deviation
50
15
50
15
Mäori Boys Mean
Mäori Girls Mean
47
42
49
45
Ministry of Education.
Table1 shows that in the area of reading literacy on entrance to school there is a disparity
in the mean scores of Mäori boys and girls when compared to the national mean score.
Mäori girls and boys had lower mean scores than the national mean. It is interesting to
note that the mean scores of Mäori boys and girls were much closer to the national mean
for oral language.
51
52
Thanks to Maurice Walker and Steve May of the Ministry of Education for assistence with the preparation of this material.
Data on Aro matawai: Urunga-a-Kura (AKA) results, the Mäori language school entry assessment procedures, are not
presented here because the sample of responses is too small.
83
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
Averages do not provide information on the spread of scores within each group, and they
can be unduly influenced by a small number of very low or very high scores. Furthermore,
while the mean scores for Mäori may be lower than the national mean, individual Mäori
students may and do score very highly. As a result of Mäori scores being included in the
national mean, the gap between Mäori and the national mean is not as great as between
Mäori and non-Mäori.
Reading Literacy
In 1990 the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement
conducted a study of reading literacy in New Zealand and a number of other countries.
Samples were drawn from two grade levels, to pick up 9-year-olds and 14-year-olds. In
New Zealand the grade levels were Year 5 (Standard 3) and Year 10 (Form 4).
Information on the scores from Year 5 is presented here.
The average level of achievement for Mäori boys at age 9-10 in reading literacy, as
measured by the 1990 IEA study, was 42. For Mäori girls it was 46. The national mean
was set at 50. Table 2, below, presents aggregated data from the three literacy domains
tested. These were: narrative (basically stories), expository (basically continuous
informational text) and document (discontinuous text involving charts, maps, timetables
etc.).
Table 2. Average Mäori IEA scores for reading literacy, age 9-10, 1990
Year 5
Year 10
Source:
National Population
Mean
Standard
Deviation
50
15
50
15
Mäori Boys
Mean
42
42
Mäori Girls
Mean
46
44
Ministry of Education.
Table 2 compares the achievement levels of 9 and 10-year-old Mäori with the national
mean scores for reading literacy in 1990. Further, it compares those scores at Year 10 or
the ages of 13 and 14 years. For this age group, the mean score for Mäori boys was 42 and
Mäori girls 44 compared with a national mean of 50.
Consistent with the pattern identified in the school entry assessment data (Table 1), Mäori
girls and boys both scored below the national mean. It is very important to note that the
data from the IEA survey and SEA are not comparable and do not indicate an
improvement or worsening over time. The two assessments are very different and included
different cohorts or groups.
National Education Monitoring Project Literacy Results
Since 1995, the National Education Monitoring Project (NEMP) has been conducting
annual surveys of the achievement of year 4 and year 8 students in the New Zealand
education system. A light sampling approach is used, involving about 3% of the students
(1440 students) at each year level. Over a four-year cycle, very broad coverage of the
school curriculum is achieved, with 15 different learning areas covered during the cycle.53
53
For further information on the methodology or results of the National Education Monitoring Project
see: Flockton, L., Crooks, T. Assessment results for Mäori students 1999, National Education
Monitoring Report 16. Dunedin. Education Assessment and Research Unit, University of Otago.
84
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
Table 3
Percentages of literacy related tasks showing statistically significant differences
between Mäori and non-Mäori year 4 students in the total sample54
Subject and year of
Assessment
Mäori Lower
No Significant Difference
Mäori Higher
Writing 1998
46
54
0
Reading 1996
100
0
0
Reading 2000
79
11*
11**
Notes: The last row adds to 101 due to rounding. * Half of these tasks involved reading in te reo Mäori. ** All of these tasks involved
reading in te reo Mäori. National Education Monitoring Project, 2000.
Table 3 shows that Year 4 Mäori students performed less well than non-Mäori students on
all reading tasks in 1996. Mäori students also performed less well than non-Mäori students
on just under half of all writing tasks (46%) and as well as non-Mäori students on the rest
of the writing tasks in that same year. There were no reading or writing tasks on which
Mäori performed higher than non-Mäori in 1998.
Table 3 also shows that in 2000 Mäori performed higher than non-Mäori on 11% of
reading tasks, all of which involved reading in te reo Mäori. There was no significant
difference between Mäori and non-Mäori in Year 4 for 11% of reading tasks, with around
half of these tasks involving reading in te reo Mäori.
Table 4
Percentages of literacy related tasks showing statistically significant differences
between Mäori and non-Mäori year 8 students in the total sample
Subject and year of
Assessment
Mäori Lower
No Significant Difference
Mäori Higher
Writing 1998
39
61
0
Reading 1996
60
40
0
Reading 2000
47
42
11**
Note: ** All of these tasks involved reading in te reo Mäori. National Education Monitoring Project, 2000.
Table 4 shows that Year 8 Mäori students performed less well than non-Mäori students on
50% of the tasks in reading in 1996. Mäori students performed as well as non-Mäori
students in 61% of the writing tasks in 1998. In 2000, Mäori performed higher than nonMäori in Year 8 on 11% of reading tasks, all of which were in te reo Mäori. There was no
significance between Mäori and non-Mäori performance on 42% of reading tasks in 2000.
54
Of the 1,440 students involved in the sample the percentage of tasks in which Mäori students performed higher or lower or
for which there was no significant difference in tasks is shown in the table.
85
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
Mäori Medium Enrolments
The Ministry of Education collects information on enrolments in Mäori medium
programmes at school for funding purposes. This information can be used to identify the
numbers of enrolments of Mäori in programmes where a large part of the teaching is in the
Mäori language. In the absence of other Mäori language literacy data this may be an
indication of the extent to which literacy in the Mäori language is developing.
Around 14.7% of Mäori students and 0.2% of non-Mäori students are enrolled in
programmes with at least 31% Mäori medium. Between 1997 and 1999, the number of
students enrolled in Mäori immersion levels55 1 – 3 rose slightly from 21,662 to 22,222. In
the same time period the number of Mäori students enrolled in Mäori medium rose slightly
from 20,647 to 21,344 (see Table 5).
Table 5
Mäori students learning through Mäori medium, 1996 – 1999
Level 1: 81-100%
Level 2: 51-80%
Number % of Mäori Number
students
1996
1997
1998
1999
8,565
9,548
10,161
10,747
6.2
6.8
7.0
7.4
5,432
5,367
5,242
5,063
% of
Mäori
students
3.9
3.8
3.6
3.5
Level 3: 31-50%
Number
6,559
5,732
5,634
5,534
Total (31% and higher)
% of
Number % of Mäori
Mäori
students
students
4.8
20,556
14.9
4.1
20,647
14.7
3.9
21,037
14.5
3.8
21,344
14.7
Source: Ministry of Education, 2000.
Table 5 shows the number and percentage of Mäori and non-Mäori students with at least
31% of their education through Mäori medium in 1999. Overall, 3.1% of all students
received this level of Mäori medium education in 1999.
The number of students enrolled in levels 1 and 2 Mäori medium is still small, at 15,810 in
1999. Furthermore they are concentrated in certain areas, mainly the Bay of Plenty, with
23% of all students. They are also concentrated in primary education; after year eight far
fewer students are in levels 1 and 2 classes. In part this reflects the limited availability of
Mäori medium education at higher levels. In addition to the 3.1% of all students who
studied in Mäori medium in 1999, 4% of all students studied te reo Mäori as a separate
subject for at least three hours a week in a conventional classroom setting. Among Mäori
students, 11% studied te reo Mäori as a separate subject. This was in addition to 14.7% of
Mäori students participating in Mäori medium for at least 31% of their education.
Level 1: 81 – 100% Mäori medium immersion; level 2: 51 – 80% Mäori medium immersion; level 3: 31 –
50% Mäori medium immersion.
55
86
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
Adult Literacy Information
Between 1994 and 1996 the International Adult Literacy Survey was conducted in New
Zealand and across 11 other countries. The IALS survey was the most comprehensive and
detailed survey of adult literacy that had been conducted internationally.
In New Zealand, the survey was undertaken by the National Research Bureau under
contract to the Ministry of Education. A random sample of 4,223 adults from age 15 years
to 65 years in New Zealand took part in the IALS survey. Mäori were included in that
sample and in the results. The IALS examined literacy across three domains and a person
can be at different levels of different domains: 56
 Prose literacy – the ability to understand and use information from texts such as
fiction and newspapers
 Document literacy – the ability to locate and use information from timetables, graphs,
charts and forms
 Quantitative literacy – the ability to use numbers in context, such as balancing a
chequebook or calculating a tip
Table 6
International Adult Literacy data on prose literacy for Mäori, 1996
Mäori male
Mäori female
Non-Mäori male
Non-Mäori female
Level 1
38.0
26.6
17.7
14.9
Prose literacy levels
Level 2
Level 3
32.8
23.5
36.0
28.0
28.4
36.0
22.6
38.8
Levels 4& 5
5.7
9.4
17.9
23.7
Total
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
Source: Ministry of Education, 2001.
The IALS scaled literacy tasks by difficulty from 0-500 points. Rather than arbitrarily
setting a point on the scale to divide the “literate” from “illiterate,” the scale was divided
into five broad literacy levels for each domain, with Level 1 being the lowest and Level 5
being the highest. Adults at Level 1 generally have significant difficulty handling even the
most basic printed materials.
As shown in Table 6 around 70% of Mäori males were in the lowest levels of prose
literacy and around 63% of Mäori females were in those same levels. At the highest levels
of 4 and 5, 5.7% of Mäori males and 9.4% of Mäori females were represented. Non-Mäori
males and females tended to be found in the highest three levels of the prose literacy
survey. 53.9% of non-Mäori males and 62.5% of non-Mäori females were at level three or
above in the prose literacy levels.
56
For more information on the International Adult Literacy Survey methodology please see: OECD, Literacy Skills for the
Knowledge Society: Further Results from the International Adult Literacy Survey. (1997). Paris. OECD.
87
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
Table 7
International Adult Literacy data on document literacy for Mäori, 1996
Mäori male
Mäori female
Non-Mäori male
Non-Mäori female
Level 1
41.0
36.5
17.2
19.9
Document literacy levels
Level 2
Level 3
28.6
23.8
37.7
20.0
29.0
33.5
27.8
34.6
Levels 4& 5
6.6
5.8
20.3
17.7
Total
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
Source: Ministry of Education, 2001.
As shown in Table 7 there was a similar picture for Mäori in the area of document literacy.
Around 70% of Mäori males and 74% of Mäori females were in the lowest two levels of
document literacy. This was compared to 36.2% of non-Mäori males and 47.7% of nonMäori females in the same two levels. Of interest is the difference between genders in the
two literacy areas of document literacy and prose literacy for both ethnic groups.
Community Education
The Ministry of Education collects information on the funding of community education
programmes for administrative purposes. This information includes ethnic information 57
and can be a source of data on the number of Mäori enrolled in literacy related
programmes in communities.
Table 8
Enrolments in selected Community Education programmes
by course and ethnicity, 2000.
Course Title
Literacy- Basic
Communication Skills
Mäori Language
Mäori
Non-Mäori
Total
179
14%
1,084
86%
1,263
100%
252
1,758
6%
47%
3,420
1,987
94%
53%
3,672
3,745
100%
100%
Source: Ministry of Education, 2001.
Table 8 shows that there are generally low levels of enrolments by Mäori in community
education programmes, with the exception of the Mäori language.
In addition to this information there will be enrolment numbers in literacy related
qualifications, programmes and courses in a range of tertiary and private training
providers within and outside of the workplace.
57
Although there is no clarity on the quality of that ethnic information and to what extent it conforms with Statistics New
Zealand ethnic classification standards.
88
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
Chapter Seven
Conclusion
“The leaders, experts, and ancestors of days gone by … signposted the pathways to
progress, our task was but to follow their signs. If we, as a distinct people are to enter the
21st Century as Mäori, it will be on this path signposted by our ancestors and founded on
their standards and values.”
Source:
Manuka Henare (1988: 6) ‘Nga Tikanga Me Nga Ritenga o Te Ao Mäori. Standards and
Foundations of Mäori Society’,
Future Directions, Volume III.
The April Report. Report of the Royal Commission on Social Policy.
The idea of ‘looking back to the future’, is an ancient wisdom that introduces this
conclusion. The future is known through the past, literally, in the Mäori world view, by
facing the past. The relationship is not linear but cyclic: past, present, future, each known
in relation to each other, and each adding to the wisdoms of the other. Michael J. Fox may
well have unwittingly made a significant contribution to the field of Mäori development
through the success of the film ‘Looking back to the future’! It was so good that the idea
of ‘looking back to the future’ is now understood by young and old alike, in mainstream
modern culture.
The reference group wanted reference to the early experiences Mäori had of literacy in
Aotearoa included in this report. A series of facts and observations about this experience
were included as quotations from published texts to set the scene in the early chapters.
They show that the early experience of literacy for Mäori, in Mäori, was illuminating. The
lessons are many.
One of the major themes from this time was that it was initially a ‘success’ story for Mäori
and for the major stakeholder in the field at the time, the missionaries and the churches
that they represented. The quotations were chosen carefully to show the rapid, positive
response Mäori had to early print literacy and their success with it. They also give an
indication of the volume of texts that were procured by Mäori at this time.
The initial ‘success’ story was tempered by time, for reasons, which are worth revisiting
here. History records that Mäori saw in literacy a key to a new future, a grand, inclusive
and prosperous new future in which they could be partners in national development,
walking tall alongside their newly arrived fellow citizens. The vision was bold, brave and
exciting – and Mäori took to it with passion! What they learned was that they did not, in
fact, share the same vision as other stakeholders in the field. The vision of those working
with Mäori was not of equality or partnership. It was far more limited.
89
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
C.J.Parr offers some insights:
“It is only fair to add that the major task of the Missions of all denominations, as
envisaged in the 1830’s and 1840’s, was the Mäoris’ spiritual conversion. Though
recognised as important, the Mäoris’ material welfare was secondary to this primary
task …”58
The title of this report speaks to the fullness of the vision of what literacy, properly
defined, could be, and in the view of this group, should be in Aotearoa.
Te Käwai Ora:
Reading the world
Reading the word
Being the world
It is a vision in which literacy is the lifelong journey of building the capacity to ‘read’ and
shape Mäori and other worlds. It is an inclusive vision. It is a vision that connects the
history of this nation with its future. It is a vision, which speaks to the urgent task of
nation building in Aotearoa and the possibilities of globalisation.
58
Parr, C.J. (1961: 448) ‘A Missionary Library. Printed attempts to instruct the Mäori, 1815 – 1845’,
Journal of the Polynesian Society, 70, pp 429 - 450.
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Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
Appendix One
Methodology
The methodology for the conduct of this reference group and the preparation of the final
report was based on two key concepts:
1. Hui as a research tool59; and
2. The method of gathering the collective voice of the group.
Hui as a Research Tool
The discussions of the group were recorded in full using a methodology designed to
capture the collective voice of Mäori in a hui situation. This is based on the twin concepts
of using the hui as the research tool and the gathering of the collective voice. The use of
the hui as a research tool is a concept taken from the Mäori world view which enabled the
group to meet under the protocols and tikanga of that world view.
Gathering the Collective Voice of the Group
The key features involved in the method of gathering the collective voice were that two
people took full notes of all discussions, one in full view of the group on large flip charts
and one at the back of the room directly onto a lap top. The set of notes taken at the front
enabled the group to see what was being recorded as they spoke so that any obvious
mistakes could be corrected immediately.
Following the meeting the two sets of notes were put together and a main set was created.
These final sets of notes were passed to the reference group members for sign off. When
agreement was reached that they represented an accurate record of the flow of
conversation they were accepted formally and then used as the data sets for the writing of
the report. The necessary sign off of the data sets from meetings one and two occurred in
Auckland at the third meeting on June 13.
Irwin, Davies and Harre Hindmarsh (1995) ‘Mäori Literacy and Numeracy: exploring the impact of
literacy and numeracy programmes: a developmental approach’.
59
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Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
Appendix Two
Reference Group Members
Biographical Sketches
Bronwyn Ruth Naumai Yates, Literacy Aotearoa
Born of Te Arawa, Ngäti Maniapoto, Te Aitanga a Mahaki and Rongowhakaata, she is the
youngest child of Monehu Maraea and Ngarua William Yates, and Mämä of Upokoina
Ngarua Ebenza.
Bronwyn has worked in the field of adult and community education, primarily in the area
of adult literacy, for the past 14 years. She has worked as a tutor for local literacy
programmes, and as coordinator of an Auckland-based itinerant tutor programme. She is a
trainer of literacy tutors and facilitates Strategic Planning, Business Planning, Te Tiriti o
Waitangi, Governance, Management, and Policy Development training sessions. She has
been involved in various research projects, and maintains an involvement in programme
development.
Bronwyn is employed as one of Ngä Tumuaki (joint CEOs) for Literacy Aotearoa inc. She
is also a Board member of the Mäori Education Trust.
Susan Reid, Workbase, The National Centre for Workplace Literacy and Language
Susan’s tribal links are Te Rarawa and Te Aupouri through her father who was born in
Mitimiti. Her father’s education ended at Primary School because of the Depression and as
a result he was passionate about his children gaining a good education. As a result Susan
and her five brothers and sisters all completed tertiary education.
Susan graduated with an LLB and spent 17 years working as a lawyer in mainly large law
firms in Auckland. In the early 90s a career change after the birth of her daughter saw
Susan start working in adult literacy initially as a roving literacy tutor in TOP and Youth
Training programmes.
In 1992 she started work as a workplace literacy tutor with Workbase the National Centre
for Workplace Literacy and Language. In 1994 she established Te Whare Ako at Norske
Skog Tasman (then Tasman Pulp and Paper Company) Limited in Kawerau, Bay of
Plenty. Te Whare Ako still operates on site today with four Mäori staff and is accessed by
all 1,100 of the mill’s employees.
Her role at Workbase has expanded over the years to encompass tutor, project
management with business and other national organisations, developmental research
projects and providing training and development for practitioners working the
workplace/vocational literacy field.
92
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
Te Ripowai Higgins, Te Ataarangi
QSM, JP, Dip. Mäori, Tuhoe
Te Ripowai holds the position of Senior Lecturer at Victoria University. She is currently
serving in the position of Head of School, Te Kawa a Mäui. This position includes the
management of the academic teaching units, research centre and liaison with the
University Marae and Mäori Student Housing. She has over twenty years experience in the
field of Adult Education, with a particular focus on te reo Mäori initiatives. She was part
of the inception Te Ataarangi, from her involvement in the pilot programme that was
launched in 1979. From 1982–1987 she was National Secretary/National Coordinator of
Tutor Training/National Executive Officer - Public Relations of the Te Ataarangi
Incorporated Society. She went on to be the National President from 1987–1997.
This work has lead to invitations to international workshops and working parties on Adult
Literacy. Other related activities in this field include membership of numerous
international, national and iwi based governing bodies. The following is but a selection:
Associate, Inclusion Press International, Toronto, Canada; Trustee, Te Üpoko o Te Ika
Radio; Trustee, Te Ataarangi Educational Trust; Member, Tühoe Education Rünanga;
Member, Editorial Advisory Board, Convergence Journal of the International Council of
Adult Education, Toronto, Canada; Trustee Tühoe ki Poneke; Member, Te Whakaruruhau
Mö Ngä Tikanga Mäori (NZQA); Member, Te Whakaruruhau Mö Te Reo Mäori (NZQA);
and Member, Te Kawau Märö o Tühoe, Te Papa-Tuhoe Iwi Project.
Mereana Selby, (Dip Tchg, BA, Dip Bil Tchg, Dip DA, MMM)
Kaihautü: Whakaakoranga: Te Wänanga o Raukawa
Ko Tainui te waka
Ko Tararua te pae maunga
Ko Hökio te awa
Ko Ngäti Raukawa te iwi
ko Ngäti Pareraukawa te hapü
Ko Ngätokowaru te marae
Mereana was born and raised in Taihape and Whanganui. In Christchurch she trained as a
secondary teacher, majoring in Physical Education, and while studying concurrently at
Canterbury University, where she completed a BA majoring in Mäori. She taught in Christchurch
and London. After the birth of her first child, she and her family returned to the Ngäti Raukawa
rohe, where the Whakatupuranga Rua Mano – Generation 2000 tribal development plan was
under way. She was HOD of Mäori and Bilingual studies at Otaki College. From there Mereana
lectured at Wellington College of Education and was a coordinator of a one-year postgraduate
programme for Mäori medium teachers.
She then was transferred with this programme to where she is currently employed. At Te
Wänanga o Raukawa, Mereana teaches a Mäori medium teacher training degree programme, and
has been involved in developing a proposal for a Masters of Whakaakoranga which has recently
been presented to NZQA for accreditation. Mereana has five children ranging in ages from 5 to 13
years. Her family has been heavily involved in Köhanga Reo, Kura Kaupapa Mäori and
Wharekura education, from inception to implementation, and thus are all involved in tikanga
Mäori education from köhanga to wänanga. Her family enjoys active involvement with their
marae, Ngätokowaru.
93
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
Bubs Taipana, Whäia Te Ara Tika Literacy Programme
Ko Pukehapopo te maunga,
Ko Waiamoko te awa,
Ko Ngätikonohi te hapü,
Ko Paikea te tangata
Ko Whitireia te whare,
Ko Ngäti Porou te iwi.
Bubs became interested in helping people to read and write so, in 1989 she trained as a
voluntary Tutor with the ARLA South Canterbury Scheme, which worked out of Aoraki
Polytechnic. In 1990 – 1991 she became the Mäori Literacy Worker for ARLA South
Canterbury. She was based at the Arowhenua Marae in Temuka, where her husband was
the marae administrator Her office was next to the health clinic, an ideal location as
literacy is also a health issue. Many of the families she saw had reading problems because
whole families moved to the Muttonbird Islands for four months of the year, seeking work
and therefore the children were away from school for this time. For three days she was
marae based, the other two days she worked out of Timaru Polytechnic, and went to the
PTEs with Mäori students who wanted a Mäori tutor. The most interesting six months of
her time in the South Island was tutoring a group of skinheads in Geraldine. The most
difficult time was finding grants to keep the position going. She had a committee of seven
people who worked hard to secure funding, but in the South, Mäori had difficulty with
funds having been disinherited of their lands and had to rely heavily on the Ngäi Tahu
Trust Board or Government Agencies. In 1995 her group joined Te Whiri Kaupapa Ako,
the Mäori arm of the ARLA Federation. In March 1996 she returned home to Gisborne,
and worked at the Tairäwhiti Polytechnic as a relieving literacy tutor for a few months. In
September 1996 Bubs became the principal tutor for Whäia Te Aratika literacy course, a
position she currently holds. Bubs is a keen advocate for Literacy Aotearoa and attends
many literacy hui. She is passionate about her work in the filed of literacy.
Rachel Wikaira, The Correspondence School
Rachel was raised in the Waikato area. She completed a BA majoring in Mäori and
English at Waikato University, then trained at Auckland Teachers Training College as a
secondary teacher. She has taught at secondary schools in Auckland, Hamilton, Turangi
and Whakatane, where she has always had a strong interest and involvement with Mäori
students. In Turangi she was actively involved with her children’s Köhanga Reo and the
local marae and community. She was also an off-campus tutor/lecturer for a Waikato
University Outpost Early Childhood Diploma course, where she tutored 15 Mäori women
to the completion of their Diploma, most of whom had left school with no formal
education qualifications. Rachel is now a senior teacher in the English Department at the
Correspondence School in Wellington. Her husband and three children are Ngäti
Tuwharetoa and Ngapuhi. With her family she is actively involved in kapa haka and
things Mäori.
94
Te Käkano i ruia mai i Rangïatea,
Kua kore e ngaro.
Wally Penetito, He Parekereke, School of Education,
Victoria University
Wally is of Tainui descent and was raised in the Waikato and trained at Ardmore
Teachers’ College. He taught in Mangakino, Otara, Waioeka and in England. He worked
with the Mäori Advisory Service in the Wanganui-Taranaki Regions and then was an
education officer with the Department of Education in Auckland.
From there Wally was appointed as a Manager in the Education Review Office and later
became Group Manager. In 1994 he was appointed as Dean of Mäori Education in a joint
position with Wellington College of Education and Victoria University.
Prior to becoming a Senior Lecturer of Mäori Education in the School of Education at
Victoria University, Wally worked on contract for the Ministry of Education as project
manager for an Education Strategy for Mäori. Wally has a Bachelor of Arts degree in
education and sociology and has also held a Commonwealth Relations Trust Fellowship.
Wally has been a member of the Teacher Registration Board and has served on the ERO
National Quality Advisory Council. He is a member of the Academic Board, the
Academic Committee and in the School of Education, and is on the Human Ethics
Committee at Victoria University. He is the Kaihautü of Mäori Education for He
Pärekereke, the Institute for Research and Development. He is also the chairman of the
Pukemoremore C Block trustees in Ngäti Haua. He is currently writing, teaching and
researching at Victoria University. Wally and Sheena have three children and three
mokopuna.
Kathie Irwin, Educational Horizons Limited
Dip Teacher Training (1976), Dip Tchg (1978), BEd (1977), BEd (Hons) (1st Class)
(1978), MEd (1988), PhD (Submitted, November 2000). Ngäti Porou and Ngäti
Kahungunu are her main tribal affiliations. She also celebrates descent links to the Orkney
Islands, Scotland and Ireland. She is the mother of two children, a daughter who is 15 and
a son who is 13. Her main paid work has been in Mäori education, at the tertiary level,
from 1981 – 2001, first at Massey University, then at Victoria University. This work has
been designed to enable people to explore the role of education and schooling in Mäori
Development in Aotearoa. As well as considering the role of colonisation in transforming
traditional Mäori society, this work has focussed on generating new ideas, which help
create new pathways to better futures. She is currently self employed.
95