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.

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