The Integration of Kaupapa Māori in Rudolf Steiner Waldorf Schools 

 

Integrating kaupapa Māori into teaching and learning programmes is about making kaupapa Māori a normal, routine and everyday part of the Steiner/Waldorf school learning environment.  

 

Integrating kaupapa Māori into your classroom will assist to validate the cultural roots and identity of Māori learners, while contributing to building esteem and thus greater preparedness for, and receptivity to, learning. It will help foster understanding of cultural and environmental identity for all learners and teachers, and help to promote positive and constructive teaching and learning relationships: teacher – learner and peer relationships. Most importantly, it will confirm for Maori learners that they and their culture are important. There are also Ministry of Education directives and policies encouraging schools to take account of kaupapa Māori in their daily operations. The National Education Goals 1, 2, 6 and 10 implicitly encourage the use of kaupapa Māori. 

 

A significant addition to the Curriculum is the affirmation of the Treaty of Waitangi, and the importance of te reo Māori in shaping young New Zealanders.  While the New Zealand Curriculum sets the national curriculum for learning for all students, each Waldorf/Steiner school designs and implements its own curriculum in ways that reflect the special character and community they serve. Schools have considerable flexibility in deciding how to do this.  

 

These guidelines will support the implementation of culturally responsive curricula in our schools that seek to contribute the building of Steiner/Waldorf School environments that reflect the land and culture in which they stand. 

 

 

What is Kaupapa Māori?  

 

A working definition 

A working definition of kaupapa Māori:  

 

A way of thinking, viewing, knowing, understanding and behaving that 

is specific to Māori culture, context and circumstance. 

 

Before You Start… 

Integrating kaupapa Māori into teaching and learning programmes is a process where different cultural values and practices will operate alongside one another. 

  

Culturally Respectful Approaches 

If in doubt, seek guidance about how to develop a culturally respectful approach from others in your networks, school and community, who are knowledgeable about kaupapa Māori and tikanga Māori. 

 

Some things to be aware of: 

 

• Know who the tangata whenua (original people of the land) are in your area and what their kawa (ceremony or etiquette) is. This will guide you. 

 

• The appropriate welcome and greetings for a visitor may be quite different, depending on who the visitors are, who is attending, and where the event is held. 

 

• There are certain Māori cultural protocols that should be observed if learning 

activities are to involve: 

 

• visiting a marae; 

• gathering and serving of food; 

• going to places defined as wāhi tapu – places with a sacred or spiritual dimension; 

• gathering of materials for carving or weaving; 

• death, and institutions or places associated with death, such as cemeteries or morgues. 

 

 In some circumstances, a koha (contribution) may be appropriate: 

 

• Thanking a person who has made a presentation to the class; 

• When going on to a marae, another school, or place that is giving you something; 

• To acknowledge a person who has been directly responsible for the benefits enjoyed by others and who has done so unselfishly without claim, personal agenda, and at some degree of personal cost; 

• To address specific student needs that will allow them access to critical learning opportunities or experiences important to their future; and 

• Remember that a koha need not be monetary. 

 

Here are some scenarios to further illustrate some of the points made above, that you may need to think about when planning the integration of kaupapa Māori: 

 

• What sort of kawa is appropriate to use in your school or classroom when welcoming visitors? 

• A nearby hill is deemed wāhi tapu by local iwi. How would you go about checking out whether it is appropriate to conduct a social studies field trip on the hill? 

• A tour of a funeral home is planned for a Year 12 biology class. What would you need to do to prepare your class for this visit to ensure Māori students are culturally safe? 

 

From the heart 

• Be sincere in your attempts. 

• Explore and experiment on a small scale initially. 

• Accept that some mistakes will be made, but learn from them. It’s what we expect 

• students to do. 

• Attitude is everything.  It is important to have good intent, be sincere about what you are doing, and have made all reasonable attempts to be culturally aware. 

• One culture always has the ability to enrich another! 

 

Informing Your Approach 

It is expected that these guidelines will be used by teachers who are interested and motivated, but have varying knowledge of, and access to, kaupapa Māori resources.  This document is not designed to be a comprehensive or exclusive source of information on kaupapa Māori. However, it endeavours to assist teachers identify where they can go to for more information. 

 

Kaupapa Māori resources 

Personal experiences – teachers and students may be able to draw on their own personal experiences of family gatherings, reunions, birthdays, funerals, and other Māori functions (hui, hura pohatu, and wānanga) to inform themselves about kaupapa Māori. 

 

Collective knowledge – a lot of knowledge is held by people who have expertise and experience of kaupapa Māori. You or your school may have networks you can use to source information on kaupapa Māori. These networks may include former and current students, friends, family, work colleagues, groups, local organizations and acquaintances. 

 

Tangata whenua – tangata whenua are people in your area who have information about whakapapa, kōrero, tikanga, kawa and te reo Māori relevant to a specific iwi or area.  

 

Places – some places in the community may support kaupapa Māori in learning programmes. These may include marae, schools, libraries, museums, art galleries, historic land and sea sites, homes, streets and buildings. 

 

Events – teachers may be able to access and participate in Māori events in their local community, in the region, nationally or internationally. Examples include Māori Language Week, the National (or local) Kapa Haka Festival (Te Matatini), the Māori Sports Awards.  

 

Websites – there are many websites with kaupapa Māori resources.  

 

Arts – Māori arts provide a rich source of information. These include paintings, carvings, rāranga (weaving), tukutuku (lattice work), and kōwhaiwhai (painted scroll ornamentation). 

 

Music - traditional and contemporary Māori music contains kaupapa Māori. Moteatea are traditional chants and songs. In an oral culture, moteatea were one of the main forms of recording and expressing comments about life’s occurrences. 

 

A certain level of knowledge will enable teachers to take words, phrases and themes from moteatea that can provide the scope for a more select study in a number of curriculum areas. Moteatea not only provide the scope of content, but can also be used as a mode of transfer. 

 

Whakatauki and pepeha – these are proverbial sayings. They lend themselves to providing concise statements on all aspects of social behaviour, environmental features and human characteristics. “Ko Hikurangi te maunga, Ko Waiapu te awa, Ko Ngati Porou te iwi” is an example of a pepeha. They locate, identify, and shape the cultural lens with which people view the world. 

 

Other information sources 

Key sources of information on kaupapa Māori are published and unpublished documents. The bibliography in the Helpful Extras section of this guide provides details on a number of kaupapa Māori resources. Most of these can be sourced 

from libraries.   

 

We also recommend that you read the Creation Narrative in the Helpful Extras section. The Creation Narrative is one version of the traditional Māori story of how the universe was created. Without any prior knowledge of Māori or the creation tradition, the Creation Narrative provides the basis for everything in Māori society. Reading this work will help set up the context from which you should base yourself and your learning, and will provide a rich background for integrating kaupapa Māori into your teaching and learning programmes. 

 

The Integration Process – Step by Step 

You have these guidelines; you’ve read the Before You Start section. You are now ready to start the process of integrating kaupapa Māori into your teaching and learning environment. This section describes, step by step, the process of how you might go about doing this in your particular Waldorf/Steiner classroom or school.   

 

At first, each step may seem daunting and you may like to put it in the “too hard” basket. But persevere – and you will find that it is entirely in your power to accomplish.  At the end of the process, you will find that you have undertaken an enriching journey. 

 

The following diagram visually represents the steps you might take as an individual teacher or as a whole school.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Step 1: Determine what you are doing well 

Get together to brain-storm and consult to find out what your class or school are doing well. This will give the staff, students and community an opportunity to take a moment to celebrate what you or your school has achieved already in the implementation of Kaupapa Maori.  

 

Step 2: Determine what you would like to develop further 

Come together as a class or school community to determine what you would like to develop further with regard to the integration of: Te reo, Tikanga and Kaupapa Maori into your teaching programmes, and cultural and physical environments of the school. 

 

Step 3: Prioritize what your first achievement targets might be 

 

Step 4: Assess your knowledge and environment 

 

To determine the best integration model and teaching and learning programme, 

you need to assess your knowledge of: 

 

• te reo and kaupapa Māori 

• curriculum and achievement objectives 

• student needs and abilities 

• resources 

• learning context – Steiner/Waldorf School 

 

 

You can use the Teacher Knowledge Self-Assessment Table tool in the Helpful Extras section to help you with this exercise. The table helps teachers and schools decide on the type of model to choose and the type of programme to implement based on their relative knowledge of; te reo and kaupapa Māori, curriculum and achievement objectives, students’ needs and abilities, resources and learning contexts. 

 

The tool asks you to rate your knowledge on a scale of ‘none’ to ‘advanced’ in key knowledge areas. The ratings are then totaled for a score, which is a guideline to the integration model and teaching programme you might like to use. The knowledge areas that teachers need to assess are described below. 

 

Knowledge of te reo and kaupapa Māori: 

 

Knowledge in this area will determine to what extent, and in what context and role, the teacher, or school will be involved in the search for, production and transfer of knowledge. Where the teacher or school possesses little or no knowledge, they may choose to encourage a more student directed learning approach. A teacher or school, with more knowledge may take more of a lead role in providing learning content and developing their learning environment. 

 

Knowledge of curriculum and achievement objectives: 

 

The teacher’s level of knowledge of the Waldorf Curriculum and state curriculum area and achievement objectives will determine the extent to which kaupapa Māori can be applied in curriculum areas and into the school environment:  

 

Accepting this, where teachers and schools have extensive curriculum knowledge, it can be expected that their learning and teaching programmes will have greater scope for accessing, using and reproducing kaupapa Māori to a high standard. 

 

Knowledge of student needs, developmental stage and abilities: 

 

Knowledge of student needs and abilities, both in the curriculum area and in kaupapa Māori, will determine to what extent a programme may be individualized in design to meet learning needs. 

​

Knowledge of resources and learning contexts: 

 

It is likely that teachers and schools will differ in their knowledge of, and access to, kaupapa Māori resources. The availability of, and access to, kaupapa Māori resources will impact on the quality of the learning experience for students, and will influence the scope and development of any learning programme or development of the learning environment. 

 

Mode of delivery: 

 

Consideration will also need to be given to the mode of programme delivery and change to the learning environment according to the Waldorf approaches to education. 

 

Step 5: Determine how you are going to achieve these goals. 

Once you or your school community have prioritized what you want to achieve, you then need to work out the steps you need to undertake to achieve these goals. 

 

This is the step where you get those creative juices pumping and design your teaching and learning programme and learning environment using kaupapa Māori.   

 

Step 6: Apply the strategies 

This is the enjoyable part. Apply the strategies you have designed in the classroom or in your school environment. 

 

You may like to record your experiences and the students’ thoughts about what you have put in place. This will help you in evaluating the process in step 7. 

 

Step 7: Evaluate 

You have applied you strategies to your learning environment. Before you move on to a bigger project, take some time to evaluate this process.  The kaupapa Māori outcomes you determined in step 1. Did you achieve what you wanted?  

 

When evaluating, you may also like to use the following questions as guides: 

 

• What three things really worked? 

• What three things would I change the next time around? 

• Do I need to make changes? If so, why? 

• How do I feel about the process? What did I learn? 

• Did we achieve our objectives? 

 

Step 8: Implement your findings into your next kaupapa Māori project 

You have experience in implementing kaupapa Māori into your teaching and learning environment. You can now implement your findings from step 7 into your next project.