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Partnership with Whānau Māori in Early Childhood Services
Date: 08/05/2012
8 May 2012
ERO report: Partnership with Whānau Māori in Early Childhood Services
“Partnership with whānau Māori is more than establishing a good relationship; it involves early childhood educators and whānau working closely together to create a learning environment that is responsive and relevant to Māori children” said Ani Rolleston from the Education Review Office (ERO).
ERO recently evaluated the quality of partnerships with whānau Māori in 374 early childhood services as part of each service’s regular education review.
The findings of this evaluation are available in the report: Partnership with Whānau Māori in Early Childhood Services, released today.
The report shows that while 78 percent of early childhood services had built positive relationships with whānau, only 10 percent had built effective and culturally responsive partnerships. These findings reflect a lack of understanding in early childhood education about the nature and importance of culturally responsive partnerships.
“Māori children develop their understanding of the world through their whānau. To engage Māori children, learning environments must be relevant and allow these children to see, hear and feel their culture around them. They must also enable whānau to clearly express their aspirations and goals for their children.” said Ani Rolleston.
The evaluation focused on the extent to which the services understood and valued the identity, language and culture of Māori children and their whānau, the relationships between service managers, educators and whānau of Māori children, and how each service worked in partnership with whānau.
The report follows on from ERO’s previous evaluations of early childhood education particularly Success for Māori Children in Early Childhood Services 2010.
Partnership with Whānau Māori in Early Childhood Services will be sent to all early childhood services and is available on ERO’s website:
For more information please contact Sally Aitken, Senior Communications Adviser, Education Review Office: sally.aitken@ero.govt.nz; phone: 04 474 1223; mobile: 0275 437 465
