Early Childhood Education and Biculturalism: Definitions and Implications

Abstract

My doctoral research concerned implementing bicultural curriculum in mainstream early childhood centres in Aotearoa New Zealand. While I explored these ideas from an appreciative inquiry standpoint, some troubling aspects related to the notion of biculturalism occurred. In this article, definitions of biculturalism are examined, as is the relationship between bilingualism and biculturalism, as well as the growing move to replace power sharing implied by biculturalism, with multiculturalism. In addition to perusing the literature, data were collected through a survey of 76 early childhood respondents, in 2003. Generally, respondents had a positive definition of biculturalism. However, when considering whether bicultural practices were a positive expression or not academic literature was divided. What was interesting in Aotearoa New Zealand was overall those promoting biculturalism were Pākehā and those opposed were Māori. One conclusion I draw is that the term Tiriti-based better captures the intention of partnership than biculturalism.

Conceptualising SEL in the Cross-Cultural Spaces of Primary Schools in Aotearoa New Zealand

“…It is explicitly included within our curriculum documents and required by ERO (2015ERO ( , 2016a and NZCER (Boyd et al, 2017). Te Whāriki, the Early Childhood Curriculum (MOE, 1996) is renowned for its intentional focus on adopting a more holistic, relational, culturally responsive pedagogy (Arndt, 2012;Jenkins, 2016Jenkins, , 2017Ritchie, 2012). It incorporates wellbeing/mana atua as a strand of the woven mat (whāriki), stating the goal that "their emotional wellbeing is nurtured" (MOE, 1996, p. 15).…”

“…While literature indicates the unequivocal integration of wellbeing and bicultural practices in early childhood education (Arndt, 2012;Jenkins, 2016Jenkins, , 2017Ritchie, 2012), these are not as apparent within primary or secondary education research and practices (Soutter et al, 2012). This glaring gap integrating holistic wellbeing practices into primary schools was reinforced in Wellbeing for success: A resource for primary schools (ERO, 2015):…”

Rebooting Biculturalism in Education in Aotearoa-New Zealand

“…Thus I argue that it is not possible to learn much from the international literature about biculturalism in Aotearoa-New Zealand, where the Māori-Pākehā relationship is primary (Hoskins, 2012). Jenkin (2017) starts from an important premise, namely that there is a general level of confusion and lack of understanding about biculturalism amongst teachers (not only in early childhood but also in schools and tertiary). It is therefore surprising that she uses a teacher survey as a source of data for exploring the meaning of biculturalism.…”

“…Relationships ultimately thrive on good communication, and academic discourse is rather like a conversation, punctuated by critique and counter-critique, in collaborative exploration of the edges of knowledge. Therefore I applaud Jenkin (2017) for seeking to explore biculturalism in early childhood education. I believe biculturalism still offers much that can enrich practice and theory of education in Aotearoa-New Zealand, and that this is a worthy topic for discussion in a journal of teachers' work.…”

Biculturalism: What Could it Mean in Education in Aotearoa New Zealand?

“…For example, the New Zealand Curriculum "acknowledges the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi and the bicultural foundations of Aotearoa New Zealand" (Ministry of Education, 2007, p. 9), but provides no further guidance about how the term bicultural is to be understood. Perhaps more surprising, given its claim to be the first bicultural curriculum, is the absence of a definition of biculturalism in New Zealand's ECE curriculum Te Whariki (Ministry of Education, 2017, cited by Jenkin, 2017). To some extent, this reflects the nature of policy itself.…”