254710 Ruia taitea: Transforming Education

Ka Mua Ka Muri   Ka mua, ka muri: walking into the future by looking back. To truly transform education in a neo-colonial settler society, there must be a clear understanding that the “past, present and future co-exist and are inherently tethered through ancestry and action” (Gray, 2024, para. 2). It requires the ability to look to the past to inform the future. Transformation requires the conscientisation of the entire population, not just the indigenous population, with a critical reflection of how identity shapes and steers individuals and society. A comprehensive understanding of the indigenous culture of Aotearoa and recognising the similarities and differences between euro-centric and indigenous knowledge systems. An honourable engagement with Te Tiriti and what promises that provided for Māori. There is a need to recognise the power that policy and legislation hold and how education can be seen as a possible change agent. I will discuss the themes and key concepts of t...

Building on from last week's mahi, I was particularly struck by the explanations around Mātauranga Māori existing in the past, present and future. This to me was a key way to highlight the ongoing relevance and importance of this knowledge system and how to effectively incorporate it into teaching and learning. Science Hub (2023) explained this as the knowledge from the past being used today and into the future. The knowledge system is continually being adapted to new contexts, scenarios and problems to allow for new discoveries and innovative ideas and practices (Varghese & Crawford, 2021, as cited in Science Hub, 2023). Knowledge passed down through generations and interpreted in different ways according to how you want to apply it (Science Hub, 2019), changing over time.  Incorporating Mātauranga Māori into teaching and learning requires the understanding that it is a completely separate system to others and that while differing knowledge systems may compliment each other, t...