September 11, 2018
Reo policies fall short
The Council for Education Research Te Wahanga has thrown a reality check on Maori Language Week with a critical report on resourcing the reo revival.
It says government policy to support te reo Maori in kura and schools has lacked cohesion and has yet to address the shortage of reo Maori teachers, including those able to teach in the language as well as those able to teach it.
Lead author Maraea Hunia says whanau told researchers wellbeing included te reo Maori being valued, normal, and used across generations by an increasing number of highly proficient speakers in a wide range of contexts.
They felt reo Maori education remains hard to access because of lack of government support, so what is available is the result of whanau efforts.
Meanwhile policies not directly related to te reo Maori, including the now discontinued National Standards and the Maori medium curriculum Nga Whanaketanga had unintended impacts on the language.
Dr Hunia says the Tautokona te Reo report includes tools for whanau, teachers, boards of trustees, and policy makers to share the good things that are happening in kura and schools.
See the report on the NZCER website: https://www.nzcer.org.nz/research/tautokona_te_reo_wellbeing
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