Growing Māori Language in Schools: Critical Conversations About Identity, Positioning, and Racism

• In Event: Indigenous Languages, Identities, and the Justice in Construction of Educational Opportunities

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify how English-medium schools in Aotearoa New Zealand can strengthen their provision of Māori, the language of the country’s indigenous people.
The research explored how 20 Māori and 20 non-Māori champions of the Māori language were growing the language in their primary (elementary) schools. It examined the influence that identity had on these language champions’ attitudes toward, motivations for, and experiences of providing learners with instruction in the Māori language.
We propose that by supporting language champions to have critical conversations about identity, positioning, and the impacts of colonization and racism, space can be created for imagining new educational possibilities for Māori language revitalization founded on supportive partnerships between Māori and non-Māori.

Authors

• Nicola Dawn Bright, New Zealand Council for Educational Research

• Esther Mary Smaill, New Zealand Council for Educational Research