As a Waikato university study noted, having a bicultural curriculum can be one of the most important things within a kindergarten community. Not only does it help expand language skills but it allows children to build confidence and become comfortable in their identities as New Zealanders. Being able to watch the haka and understand what it means or singing waiata in a group, are some of the more visible manifestations of a bicultural approach, but there are more, and deeper, benefits.

Biculturalism brings parents and children together, with a new generation of young Kiwis taking their understanding home and engaging the interest of parents. Importantly, it goes to the heart of New Zealand’s history as a nation.

Whakapapa, or knowing where we have come from, is an important concept in Māori culture

Our services actively look for ways to reflect their local communities – something that is very visible at Paraparaumu Beach Kindergarten, where an intricate mural tells the story of Kahe Te Rau-o-te-rangi. In the mid 1870’s when Kapiti island came under threat, the young mother made a heroic swim to the mainland with her young daughter on her back to raise reinforcements. 

“The mural came from our research around the local community, in a quest to find out more about who we are and where we are,” says teacher, Letitia Ellison. “Even many of us who have lived here for a long time didn’t know the story. It really resonated with us. It is very significant, in that it represents important values. We wanted it to be a part of who we are, too, with its messages of bravery and choices and children and families working together. That’s the most powerful way we can use it.”

Whānau Manaaki Chair, Amy Weightman, says kindergarten has an important role to play in being a champion for biculturalism.

“For all of New Zealand, biculturalism is a bit of a learning journey. I think there’s trust in our kindergarten experience and how to engage with the community in a meaningful and genuine way. There needs to be a level of authenticity and it needs to be something that grows. There’s no point in paying lip service to things if you don’t understand the ideas around them.”

Whānau Manaaki Chief Executive, Amanda
Coulston, agrees.

“It’s about concepts such as Whanaungatanga, relationships that should be reflected in the kindergartens. Manaakitanga - people should feel welcome, be offered a cup of tea or feel as though they can make a contribution. It’s multiple layers of things – not just a set of poi on the wall, and that’s all there is to it. It’s actually about hearing it, seeing it and it’s about feeling it - those things all have to be in place.” Amanda emphasises the importance of biculturalism for all.

“It’s not just about meeting the needs of our Māori children and their families, it’s about enhancing the identity of all of our children.

Our national curriculum, Te Whāriki is one of the only bicultural curricula in the world. It’s there because it recognises Māori as tangata whenua (people of the land), and that all children in Aotearoa, New Zealand will benefit from accessing Te Ao Māori, kaupapa Māori and Māori ideas and thoughts.”

Bringing biculturalism home.

Whānau Manaaki Kaitiaki o Kaupapa Māori (Cultural Advisor), Lou Fruean, sees the inter-generational impact of a focus on biculturalism, and the difference kindergartens are making to whole families.

“Take waiata: the parents will come in and say ‘my children are always singing this while we’re shopping!’ Or I’ve heard lots of instances where parents have said to me that because their children are singing the songs, they want to know them, too. They come back to kindy and ask if they can learn the words. They get the words and now the whole family is singing it!

The kids take it home because they’re using all all the time, and then the parents come back to kindy and ask what it looks like in action.”

Taking te reo out of the classroom and into everyday life is one of the most important ways of making New Zealand truly bicultural. For many young New Zealanders, te reo phrases roll off the tongue as easily as the English language – and unlike some from older generations, they’re not afraid to use it. “I heard one story of a child coming home and saying ‘Mum! You’re manaakiing dad!’.

It’s a phrase we use all the time in our kindergartens, and it means ‘to care for one another’. While the child had it down pat, the parent had to come to us and ask what it meant.”

Lou welcomes every opportunity to answer questions, and in the spirit of Manaaki Manaakitanga, puts those who are curious, at ease.

Not just words, but actions, too

“I work regularly in our kindergartens supporting the implementation of te reo (language) and tikanga (culture), says Lou Fruean.

“I’m seeing all of our kindys incorporating elements of biculturalism.

What they come to understand is that if they don’t articulate it, then it becomes invisible. Say for instance, manaakitanga. Manaakitanga is about caring, respecting. It’s something that you do naturally when new parents come in to the kindergarten. So I get teachers to talk about that. But if they don’t see manaakitanga with the actual practice then it’s not a bicultural curriculum.”

Lou Fruean, 

Whānau Manaaki Māori kaitiaki o kaupapa

“Every part of the curriculum within the centre is bicultural. For instance, when teachers draw attention to the processes that we have: ‘karakia for kai’ means not stepping over people’s lunch. If they’re having lunch, the kids don’t step over each other’s lunches. Also, no sitting on tables, and all the processes around that is bicultural. The stories impart important ways of being - for instance, when kindergartens are talking about Māui, those dispositions are what we look at. We look at leadership – rangatiratanga – from a bicultural perspective. You can say the word ‘leadership’ in Māori, but it won’t be a bicultural cirriculum unless they learn the term with it, that’s really important."

The value of Kapa Haka

Through the Māori performing arts, people come together, create and perform, and make genuine learning and social connections.

Children gain vital life skills too.

“I’ve seen that the merit of kapa haka is not just pronounciation and learning te reo Māori,” says Lou Fruean. “It’s also the music dynamics, pitch, volume and rhythm, children working together, raising their self-esteem because they’re leading, taking cues from others, the social aspect of doing things together as a group and being able to listen to a guitar and pick up the tune. There are so many dynamics that you use that will carry on into later learning.”

The challenge to step outside of comfort zones goes beyond the children. Lou tells of a teacher who ‘climbed her Everest’ as a result of engaging in kapa haka.

“All the way up to the performance she told me ‘Lou, I don’t know if I can do it.’ And I said: ‘I’m going to let you decide that the day before. You can pull out of course, if you can’t do it, you can’t do it, I’m not going to force you.’ But you know what! She made it. She pushed herself to do it and I watched her because I wanted to manaaki her. She was shaking! Visbily shaking and sweating, and after she’d done it she’d climbed Mount Everest. That was pretty big for me.”

He Whānau Manaaki Kindergarten Kapa Haka group, Te Ara Hou, meets monthly in Porirua, Upper Hutt and in the Wairarapa. It performs each year at the Whānau Manaaki July conference.

The group was formed from Te Wairua o Ngā Mār Tamariki, which began as part of the Wellington Kindergarten Association in 2013.

When the two associations came together, many new members joined, and the new name was chosen in 2015.

Getting ready for school the kiwi way

Whānau choose kindergarten for all sorts of reasons. Its learning through play philosophy, the close ties to community and other neighbourhood families, its bicultural focus and more. One of the key roles kindergarten has had over the years, is in preparing children for school. 

Manawai is the grandmother of three current children attending Una Williams kindergarten in Masterton. Manawai has long ties with Una Williams - her now forty year old daughter attended in her pre-school years. 

When Manawai wanted to make sure that her mokopuna were ready for school, it was Una Williams that she turned to.  

“Three of them came here, and I believe kindergarten academically prepared them for school especially around reading, maths and interacting with other children. I still have two enrolled there.”

One of the very special things about kindergarten is that it mixes learning with fun and follows the interests of each individual child. Whether it’s sand play, building blocks, a bush walk, gardening or cooking, there are so many ways to stimulate interest in learning, that can then be extended by trained teachers. 

Takapuwaihia (Manawai’s mokopuna), 3, has been at the kindergarten for a year now.

“He comes home with some really big words, he’ll say ‘this is so delicious’. He can identify food - broccoli, cauliflower. He likes to chop things up when I’m cooking tea - they cook here. There are lot of things that they teach our children.”

Manawai says it’s evident that while the children are having fun, a lot of learning is going on. 

“What I love about here is, I come in in the morning and all the kids play stuff is set out on the table. When I come to pick the children up it’s one great mess. That tells me that the kids have had fun and they’ve learned something. I promote the kindergarten hard if I know anyone who has children that need to come here.”

The number of Māori tamariki attending Early Childhood Education has continued to steadily climb over the past eight years, thanks to a concerted effort in the sector to lift participation rates.

The aim is to encourage Māori tamariki to become confident, competent learners who get to experience success as learners, setting them up for the years that follow.