Historically, the Māori people have been oppressed by European colonizers in Aotearoa/New Zealand for centuries. The people had their land and rights stripped from them and their children were sent to colonialist classrooms to assimilate them into mainstream New Zealand society. Because of this, Māori language, te reo Māori, became nearly extinct. The colonizers didn’t see the value or sacredness of the language and banned it in many schools and communities (Hornberger, 1998). But the Māori people are resilient. In the 20^th century, they made efforts to reclaim their education and revitalize their language by developing their own schools. Now, children can attend schools where a Māori pedagogy is the foundation of learning. These schools support the empowerment of Māori youth and their human right to an education in their mother tongue and to participate in public life using their language. This leads to greater outcomes of global citizenship in Indigenous students and heavily aligns with the Sustainable Development Goal for Quality Education (SDG4).

Overview of Māori Education

In the 1970s, the Māori (around 16.5 percent of the current population of New Zealand) began making progress towards reclaiming their education and revitalizing their dying language. Education initiatives such as Māori-medium education, kōhanga reo (language nests), were put into place in many communities (Hornberger, 1998). In Māori-medium education, students are taught the curriculum in Māori language for at least 51 percent of the time. Māori-medium not only focuses on language, but on Māori culture, beliefs, and values such as whanau (family), “Te Ao Māori” (I am Māori), tino rangatiratanga (self-determination), and ako (reciprocal learning) (Education Review Office & Ministry of Education, 2021). Though it was originally targeted at early childhood and primary education, Māori-medium expanded to secondary and tertiary education. These pedagogical practices affirm the Māori people’s history, language, and identity, while also empowering young learners to become active agents of community and change.

Global Citizenship Outcomes

The simultaneous teaching of culture and language has led to outcomes of global citizenship for Māori students. A global citizen is someone who is aware of and understands the wider world and their place in it (Oxfam GB, n.d.). Palmieri (2020) says that language immersion and cultural practice is critical to students gaining a global understanding of other cultures and people from cultures other than their own on a deeper level. This education opens the door for Māori students to strengthen their cultural identities while non-Māori students shift towards shared cultural understandings (Brosnan, 2019). Māori-medium education positions students to become global citizens who can effectively communicate cross-culturally and are able to understand others from multiple perspectives. This allows students to address issues of injustice, racial inequalities, poverty, and environmental concerns at their community level and globally (Palmieri, 2020). A report from the Education Review Office and Ministry of Education (2019) also says Māori-medium sites lead towards students becoming more accepting and respectful of gender differences; improvements in overall wellbeing; increased confidence and self-esteem; and increased mutual respect and enthusiasm for learning.

Māori students are also having increased opportunities to explore global citizenship in new settings as achievement levels are on the rise with 80 percent of Indigenous students earning basic qualifications from their education that can help them go on to future educational opportunities and employment (Stats NZ, 2020). The rise in global citizenship can also be linked to the increase in Māori mobility globally. The number of Māori living overseas has been on a steady incline with 18 percent of Māori-identifying people living overseas, most of them between ages 20-40 (Collins, 2021; Stats NZ, 2006).

Because of kohanga reo, the proportion of Māori that speak te reo is on the rise. One in six adult Māori report that they can speak te reo and another third understands it reasonably well (Stats NZ, 2020). Māori people aged 15–24 years and those aged 55 years and over are the most likely to speak te reo fairly well. The high number of young Māori proficiency in the language reflects the growth of Māori immersion teaching and learning environments over the past few decades (Stats NZ, 2020). Forty-four percent of 15–34-year-olds who speak some te reo said they learned it through Māori-medium education. This rose to 69 percent for those who could speak it fairly well or better (Stats NZ, 2020). This pedagogy based on culture and language is not only providing Māori students to the human right to education in their own language and increasing global citizenship, but it’s also giving hope that language revitalization is possible.

Alignment with Sustainable Development

Global citizenship outcomes for Māori students can be linked to Aotearoa/New Zealand’s efforts towards SDG4. A report on New Zealand’s progress aligning with the UN’s Sustainability Goals gives credit to Māori pedagogy for boosting the educational achievements of Indigenous learners and improving the country’s overall progress towards SDG4 (New Zealand Sustainable Development Goals, 2019). Another report says that Māori-medium education has been instrumental in providing uninterrupted quality education that reflects the values and practices of the people (Education Review Office and Ministry of Education, 2019). It also states a strong emphasis on whānau and tino rangatiratanga in Māori-medium, and education in Aotearoa/New Zealand as a whole, is key to providing the nurturing conditions that enable all students to flourish. This includes flourishing academically, in intercultural communities, and globally. Because of this, Māori young people are able to navigate the world as successful global citizens. 

Conclusion

Aotearoa/New Zealand’s model for Māori education and language has become an inspiration for other Indigenous language and culture revitalization efforts worldwide. While there is still a way to go before the sustainable development goals have been fully realized, Māori pedagogy has led to a transformational education system that ensures that Māori children have access to quality teaching, learning, and global citizenship opportunities. This learning reflects and privileges their culture, language, identity, and gives them the tools needed to be successful global citizens. Being grounded through kōhanga reo and being able to continue the cultural educational journey is optimal for the preservation of te reo Māori and increasing global citizenship for Māori youth.

References

Brosnan, J. (2019). New Zealand Is A Model of Cultural Education. . . We’re Not. New America. Retrieved November 22, 2021, from https://www.newamerica.org/weekly/new-zealand-model-cultural-education-were-not/.

Collins, S. (2021, September 2). 18 per cent of Maori now live overseas. NZ Herald. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/kahu/18-per-cent-of-maori-now-live-overseas/TADY6CQ3TZCKCTZ3WCLFZO5I5Y/.

Education Review Office & Ministry of Education. (2021, July). Te Kura Huanui: The treasures of successful pathways. https://ero.govt.nz/our-research/te-kura-huanui-the-treasures-of-successful-pathways.

Harmsworth, G. (2002, November). Indigenous concepts, values and knowledge for sustainable development: New Zealand case studies. In 7th Joint Conference on the Preservation of Ancient Cultures and the Globalization Scenario. India (pp. 22-24).

Hornberger, N. (1998). Language policy, language education, language rights: Indigenous, immigrant, and international perspectives. Language in Society, 27(4), 439-458. doi:10.1017/S0047404500020182.

New Zealand Sustainable Development Goals. (2019). The People’s Report on the 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals. https://www.sdg.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Final_PeopleReport-2019-Dec-2019_for-web.pdf.

Oxfam GB. (n.d.). What is global citizenship. https://www.oxfam.org.uk/education/who-we-are/what-is-global-citizenship/.

Palmieri, A. (2020, December 2). How Language Immersion Programs Prepare Students to Be Global Citizens. Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/opinion-how-language-immersion-programs-prepare-students-to-be-global-citizens/2018/01.

Stats NZ. (2006). Maori Mobility in New Zealand. https://www.stats.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/Retirement-of-archive-website-project-files/Reports/Maori-mobility-in-New-Zealand/maori-mobility-in-nz.pdf.

Stats NZ. (2020). More than 1 in 6 Māori people speak Te reo Māori. https://www.stats.govt.nz/news/more-than-1-in-6-maori-people-speak-te-reo-maori.