TE WHARIKI

              

TE WHARIKI - NEW ZEALAND  

In New Zealand in 1996 was the introduction to the new curriculum called Te Whariki. Although it was ten years of consultation and construction before it was applied to the early years education system. the main principles were.  (Nuttall, 2013)

1. Empowerment
2. Holistic Development
3. Family and Community
4. Relationships

This placed the responsibility to the child, making them feel that what they have to say is important, their opinion was valued. This method develops the child as a whole, the philosophy is that the child finds meaning,identity and its purpose in life. They believe that family and community learning should be an integral part of their education. The relationships they have with each other, peers, and places and important to their learning.

 

In addition to the four main principles were what they called strands, or goals.

1. Well-being - Known as Mana Atua           
2. Belonging - Known as Mana Whenua
3. Contribution - Known as Mana Tangata
4. Communication - Known as Mana Reo
5. Exploration - Known as Mana Aoturoa              

   Incorporating these five stands are the fundamental principles, how are they implemented?              

     

 The system previous to the Te Whariki for childhood services for under 5s were kindergartens, play groups, Montessori centres or home based education. The most important event in the history of education here, was the integration of all services for care and education. The need to incorporate the history of the Maori and Pakeha (white folk) www.nzhistory.net.nz › … › Pre-1840 contact › Go-betweens This was important not to lose the heritage and accustoms of both. It has had some amazing results.

Te Whariki teaching is based on the socio-cultural theory of ( Rogoff 1995, Vygotsky, 1978, Wertsch, 1995) which views that children interactions and  relationships form the basis of their learning. Language, history, and people have a powerful influence on their development. The everyday activities  they encounter are rich in cultural and social  practices. Having the opportunity to participate in constructing their activities gives a sense of empowerment.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLDDFedc0zM

Learning stories is a method used to assess the children, Developed by Carr (2001) this was a formative procedure with the focus of children becoming confident and competent communicators and learners. By learning stories it avoided assessing specifics, Instead it looked at how the child looked at the topic, the involvement, the challenge and taking responsibility and overcoming difficulties, using a variety of tools, such as written, word processing and videos. This approach strives towards learning goals, not performance goals. (May, Carr and Podmore, 2000).

 There has been some criticisms on Te Whariki, mainly that for it to become successful depends on whether there are well qualified teachers with ongoing training.and professional development. Of course Politics and funding will always have an effect on education, and it has been reported that there has been budget cuts, which is not productive to Te Whariki.