From Literacy in Māori to Biliteracy in Māori and English: A Community and School Transition Programme

Abstract

Teachers and community in a small rural Māori-medium school in New Zealand were concerned that their students who were highly literate in Māori experienced difficulties in reading and writing in English on entry to secondary school (where English was the medium of instruction). Consequently, this school and community introduced a 10-week culturally appropriate home and school English reading and writing programme for their Year 6, 7 and 8 students. Specific tutoring procedures were implemented to assist students with their English reading, while a structured written brainstorm procedure, together with a responsive written feedback procedure, was implemented to assist with their English writing. Data demonstrate that students from all three year groups (Years 6 Á 8) made marked gains in both reading and writing in English, and that these gains were not made at the expense of reading and writing in Māori. After 10 weeks in the programme students were able to read English at age-appropriate levels. The programme engaged the school and community in ways that affirmed cultural values and practices, and has since been incorporated into the school's regular pedagogical practice.

Kaiako perspectives on professional learning and development in structured literacy in Māori-medium settings: A case study

“…Te reo Māori is a transparent orthographic language (the alphabetic symbols are consistent with their sounds), whereas English is orthographically opaque (letters have more than one sound association) and has irregular spelling rules (Caravolas et al, 2005;Glynn et al, 2005). Te reo Māori also has a less complex syllable structure and minimal consonant clusters compared to the English language.…”

An exploration of ako-rich teaching practices in an English-medium mathematics classroom drawing from the voices of Year 9 and 10 students, and their parents

“…It was found that teachers of middle-school students can assist students' mathematical competency through incorporating an enjoyment disposition into their programmes by taking a keen interest in the culture of the students. For example, (Glynn, Berryman, Loader, & Cavanagh, 2005) found that Māori students have a need to feel respected and proud of who they are as Māori; a key process in this is teachers learning about tikanga 11 Māori from the students. Another New Zealand study (Macfarlane et al, 2007) revealed a definition of 'safety' from a Māori cultural viewpoint, where safety is perceived to mean students having the freedom to be who they are, as Māori (individually and collectively).…”