Tahia te Marae, Tahia te Wānanga – Adult learning on the marae and in the community

Last updated by: ako_admin (Ako Administrator) on 27 September 2011 - 1:56pm

We are pleased to announce that the summary and full reports are now available for the Exploring Community and Whanau- Based Learning Strategies for Taranaki Reo and Tikanga project funded through our National Project Fund. Our congratulations go to members of the project team – Te Kupenga Mātauranga o Taranaki – who have done excellent work in exploring the effectiveness of the various marae and community-based adult education programmes in the Taranaki region that support the revitalisation of Taranakitanga (practices specific to Taranaki Māori). The summary report Tahia te Marae, Tahia te Wānanga – Adult learning on the marae and in the community – affirms the important role that marae and community-based tertiary education has in Aotearoa New Zealand. There is also potential for the project to be of great interest to indigenous and community-based education groups internationally.

The purpose of the project was to examine how regional education programmes meet community aspirations. The team members applied key Taranaki Māori principles in their approach to the research (described below). Report findings indicate there is significant value in informal adult teaching and learning on marae or in Māori community settings for the Māori of Taranaki.

The research identified five ways through which marae-based learning environments contribute to Taranaki Māori aspirations through the:

  • revitalisation and strengthening of a Māori identity
  • broad development of Māori that improves their position in society
  • acquisition, application and transmission of Taranaki Māori knowledge for community
    purposes
  • strengthening of connections between individuals and collectives to enhance regional cohesion
  • sustainability of Taranaki Māori practices and communities.

The project team members discuss the important implications these localised environments have for teaching and learning, because of their “inherent authenticity” and ability to engender a
“feeling of belonging to a ‘homeplace’”. Team members also believe these environments “encourage participation as collectives” and recommend that tauira (students) should be “encouraged to work collaboratively and gain inspiration and insight from one another”.

The report emphasises how adult education in marae and Māori community settings contributes to the broader aspirations of Taranaki Māori. Furthermore, it recommends that, to maximise the potential of these environments, local Māori communities need to be actively engaged and take a
lead role in adult education in the region.

Taranaki Māori communities place high value on the distinctiveness of Taranaki Māori knowledge, and the team utilised an approach that applied five principles specific to Taranaki Māori throughout the research:

  • self-determination in the Taranaki context
  • validity of Taranaki Māori worldviews and importance of Taranaki Māori cultural heritage
  • holism and interconnectedness
  • benefits that will be achieved for Taranaki Māori
  • supporting Taranaki Māori collectives, including both customary (for example, hapù) and new structures (for example, Te Kupenga).

Go to the project space to download the summary document and/or full report.

Hard copies of the summary report are available by emailing the Ako Aotearoa communications coordinator at: J.Tanner-Lloyd@massey.ac.nz

Parent group: 
Our work with Māori educators and learners