Māori history curriculum already available

The New Zealand School Trustees Association supports the teaching of New Zealand history in schools but is bewildered by calls for a curriculum.

Te Takanga o te Wā launched in 2016 presents a Māori history perspective, based on the understanding that Māori history is the complete human history of Aotearoa New Zealand – from the earliest Polynesian navigators to our present-day parliamentary system. The resource provides practical suggestions for working with students, parents, whanau, hapū, iwi, to develop the ways that learning is offered (pedagogy) as well as the richness of content that comes from developing relationships with those who remember past events, or who have had the stories from their own parents or grandparents who were present.

Te Takanga o te Wā was developed by a group of educators led by Te Maru o Ngā Kura a Iwi o Aotearoa in 2016 to guide primary schools through the process of creating an authentic connection to their local landscape (whenua) and people (tāngata) within their school history or social studies curriculum. The group involved in its development includes Sir Pita Sharples, Dame June Mariu, Sir Toby Curtis, Te Ariki Sir Dr Tumu te Heuheu and Professor Paul Moon.

“This really comes down to everyone taking responsibility for making it happen,” says NZSTA President Lorraine Kerr. “We need to stop waiting for someone else.

“You don’t have to be the history teacher or on the board of trustees to start the ball rolling. It’s there, it’s ready to go, and it’s great. You don’t have to be an expert to get it under way, you just have to be prepared to learn alongside your students.”

Te Takanga o te Wā is presented in both English (te reo Pākeha) and te reo Māori using five main themes, each of which incorporates a range of concepts such as Belonging, Community, Continuity, Consequences, Identity, Knowledge, Kotahitanga, Mana, Tūpuna, Perspective, and Unity.

Te Takanga o te Wā has the active support of NZSTA, the New Zealand Principals Federation (NZPF), New Zealand Educational Institute Te Riu Roa (NZEI) and the Post-Primary Teachers Association (PPTA).