Teaching Through Story, Learning Through Life: Aʻo and Ako as Indigenous Pedagogical Approaches

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 1:45 pm - Gold 2
  In Roundtable Session: Empowered Voices: Rethinking and Reclaiming Pedagogy in Indigenous Contexts

Abstract

This paper examines Aʻo (Kanaka Māoli) and Ako (Māori) as Indigenous pedagogical frameworks rooted in story, reciprocity, and relational learning. Grounded in the principle of teaching through story and learning through life, these approaches center community, ancestral knowledge, and land-based education. Using Indigenous storywork and self-study, the author reflects on her experiences as a Kanaka Māoli and Māori educator to demonstrate how Aʻo and Ako challenge colonial models and support culturally sustaining practices. These pedagogies emphasize learning as lifelong, embodied, and collective. This study affirms the importance of Indigenous knowledge in shaping educational justice and transformation. It aligns with AERA’s 2026 theme, "Unforgetting Histories and Imagining Futures," offering a vision and practice rooted in Indigenous resilience.

Author

• Jerusha Nanea Puanani Magalei, Brigham Young University - Hawaii