New research highlights the critical role of whānau in kōhanga reo

When whānau have opportunities to learn about Te Whāriki a Te Kōhanga Reo, they make significant contributions to their child’s development and ‘mana ake’ (uniqueness), kaupapa Māori research has indicated.

Mātai mokopuna is a report from the University of Waikato’s Dr Hoana McMillan (Ngāi te Rangi, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kahungunu) that offers a unique perspective on how whānau and kaiako are both involved in mātai mokopuna, or assessment, in a kōhanga reo setting.

It involved whānau, kaiako, kaiāwhina and mokopuna from Te Kōhanga Reo ki Rotokawa, working together to increase their understanding of Te Whāriki a Te Kōhanga Reo – particularly ngā taumata whakahirahira (cultural settings) and te katoa o te mokopuna (the whole child).

Analysis of wānanga shows that as whānau progress on their own learning journey with Te Whāriki a Te Kōhanga Reo, one undertaken with kaiako and mokopuna, expressions of the mana of mokopuna deepen to parallel those of the kaiako.

“In kōhanga reo, there has always been the expectation that whānau are actively involved in the learning and development of mokopuna – where in other settings whānau are often relegated to ‘not knowing’ or ‘untrained’,” McMillan notes.

“This research highlights the way kōhanga reo do things. How everyone works together to give expression to the mana of mokopuna, and where whānau are recognised as ‘experts in their own right’. It’s a Māori way of doing and being that represents the totality of the child’s world, and we hope this report helps reinforce what matters most in kōhanga reo.”

Background

Mātai mokopuna: He tirohanga wairua, hinengaro, tinana, whatumanawa is the first report from the Whatua Tū Aka funding pathway of the Teaching and Learning Research initiative.

Whatua Tū Aka is a funding pathway specifically for kaupapa Māori research, administered by Rangahau Mātauranga o Aotearoa | New Zealand Council for Educational Research.

Kō tā te rangahau hou, he whakanui i te tūnga motuhake o ngā whānau i te kōhanga reo. 

E ai ki ētahi rangahau kaupapa Māori, ka whai wā ana ngā whānau ki te whai māramatanga e pā ana ki Te Whāriki a Te Kōhanga Reo, ka kaha ake tā rātou tākoha atu ki te whanaketanga o ā rātou tamariki me tō rātou ‘mana ake’.

He pūrongo a Mātai mokopuna nā Tākuta Hoana McMillan nō Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato (Ngāi te Rangi, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kahungunu) e whakapuaki ana i tētahi tirohanga motuhake mō te mahi-tahi a te whānau ki te kaiako i te mātai mokopuna i roto i tētahi kōhanga reo. 

I whai wāhi atu ngā whānau, ngā kaiako, ngā kaiāwhina me ngā mokopuna o Te Kōhanga Reo ki Rotokawa, ka mutu, i mahi tahi rātou kia whakawhānui ake i tō rātou māramatanga ki Te Whāriki a Te Kōhanga Reo, otirā ngā taumata whakahirahira me te katoa o te mokopuna. 

Nā te tātaritanga o ngā wānanga i whakapuaki ai mēnā ka whanake haere te māramatanga o ngā whānau ki Te Whāriki a Te Kōhanga Reo ki tō te kaiako me te mokopuna taha, ka hōhonu ake ō rātou titiro ki te mana o te mokopuna, kia rite tonu ki tō te kaiako.

Hei tā McMillan, “Mai rā anō ko tā te kōhanga reo tikanga, me mōhio ngā whānau he haepapa nui ā rātou arā, me whai wā rātou ki te tautoko i te ako me te whanaketanga o ā rātou tamariki. He rerekē tēnei i ētahi atu horopaki e whakapae ana ‘he kuare noa iho’ ngā whānau ‘horekau he tohu’ rānei.”

“Ka whakanuia e tēnei rangahau ngā mahi a te kōhanga reo. Ka whakaatu hoki i ngā hua o te mahi tahi o te katoa kia toitū te mana o te mokopuna, kia whakamanahia hoki te mātauranga o ngā whānau ka kawea mai e rātou, ānō nei he mātanga. He tirohanga Māori tēnei e hāngai ana ki ngā āhuatanga katoa o te tamaiti. Ko te manako nui ka whakataunaki tēnei pūrongo i ngā kaupapa matua a te kōhanga reo.”

Te Horopaki

Ko Mātai mokopuna: He tirohanga wairua, hinengaro, tinana, whatumanawa te pūrongo tuatahi mai i te ara whāngai pūtea o Whatua Tū Aka, nā te kōkiri Teaching and Learning Research. 

He ara whāngai pūtea a Whatua Tū Aka e hāngai ana ki ngā rangahau kaupapa Māori, ā, e whakahaeretia ana e Rangahau Mātauranga o Aotearoa | New Zealand Council for Educational Research.