Māori Medium Education and Transition to School

Abstract

Little research exists on educational transition experiences of Māori, the Indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand. In line with the primary aim of the Pedagogies of Educational Transitions (POET) project, to expand knowledge and understanding of educational transitions internationally, this chapter focuses on transitions involving children from Māori medium early childhood educational settings to school. Children and families in these programmes may either continue their Māori medium educational journey or transition to English medium schooling. In this chapter we begin with a historical overview of the emergence and development of Māori medium education. Drawing on two Teaching and Learning Research Initiatives (TLRI), we then identify and discuss the opportunities, challenges and implications that different journeys of transition from Māori medium early childhood education offer. We focus particularly on the significance of Māori values, practices and ‘culturally constructed’ lived experiences in those transition journeys for understanding and responding to educational transitions.