School curriculum 'will perpetuate racism and ongoing inequity in our schools'

The government's draft primary school curriculum makes Māori invisible and is not fit for purpose, says the association for Māori principals and education leaders.

Te Akatea president Bruce Jepsen told RNZ the association condemned the curriculum documents published last week. He said it recolonised education and perpetuated racism and inequity.

He said association members were angry the draft documents and the overarching philosophy underpinning the curriculum - Te Mātaiaho - had been rewritten to include fewer Māori words and references to the Treaty of Waitangi.

The Education Ministry rejected the criticism, saying the curriculum was built around equity and excellence and setting high expectations.

It said Māori words and history were woven throughout the proposed curriculums.

Te Akatea's comments followed criticism from several teacher subject associations of draft curriculums for six learning areas for Years 0-10 published last week.

Sources told RNZ over the past year the drafts would contain fewer Māori words and references to the Treaty, but it was not clear why and the government and Education Ministry refused to acknowledge such changes were happening.

They also told RNZ Te Mātaiaho, a Treaty-based framework and philosophy underpinning the entire curriculum, was not being used.

Jepsen said the drafts were not recognisable as being linked to Aotearoa and were not fit for purpose.

"We used to have references to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. That's the founding document of Aotearoa. It's been left out. And when you leave that out, the foundational document of Aotearoa, you're also leaving Māori out," he said.

Jepsen was particularly unhappy with the draft social sciences curriculum, which dropped the Aotearoa New Zealand Histories curriculum that had Māori history at its centre, and added more international topics.

"It's extremely serious. The curriculum is dishonest and it's regressive because it's not an honest reflection of our past," he said.

"This curriculum will perpetuate racism and ongoing inequity in our schools."

He said the inclusion of topics on Ancient Rome and Greece were a "Eurocentric distraction" and the government's claim of "restoring balance" to the history curriculum was false.

Jepsen said Te Akatea was also unhappy with changes to Te Mātaiaho, the framework on which the entire curriculum was based.

The revised version of the document said its "guiding kaupapa" was: "Excellent and equitable outcomes, reflecting the Treaty of Waitangi / Te Tiriti o Waitangi, for every student through inclusive, knowledge-rich teaching and learning informed by the science of learning".

Jepsen said the original Te Mātaiaho was the first real attempt to restore balance to the curriculum, but it had been rewritten to such an extent it was unrecognisable.

"It's been appropriated and it is unrecognisable. It shouldn't have that name. It's been drafted offshore and it's simply disgraceful. "

He said the curriculum made Māori people, knowledge and culture invisible and prioritised European knowledge.

He said they should be paused.

He wanted reinstatement of the original Te Mātaiaho which was based on the treaty and codesigned with Maori.

The Ministry of Education said it rejected claims the refreshed New Zealand Curriculum, Te Mātaiaho, perpetuated racism or made Māori knowledge invisible.

"The curriculum is built around equity and excellence and setting high expectations for all students," it said.

"Te reo Māori and Te Ao Māori are woven throughout the draft curriculum. In Social Sciences, students will be taught about Māori as tangata whenua, the Treaty of Waitangi, the Kīngitanga Movement and Māori concepts such as tūrangawaewae and mana.

"In the early years, children are expected to learn Te Reo Māori vowel sounds, with a clear pathway for developing their language skills as they progress through school."

The ministry said Māori history remained a key focus, including topics like the arrival of Māori to New Zealand, Māori society, the impact of European and other settlers, and the musket wars.

Global history had also been added, responding to student interest, it said.

"We welcome ongoing dialogue and invite critics to provide specific examples of where they

believe the curriculum is inequitable or historically inaccurate," it said.

"The goal is to reflect the diversity of New Zealand and deliver great outcomes for all learners."

Principals worried

At a conference attended by principals opposed to the government's education changes last week, two Māori principals told RNZ they were unhappy with the draft curriculum.

Cloverlea School principal Leiana Lambert said she was deeply concerned about the reduction in Māori terms and concepts in the curriculum and in the over-arching curriculum document Te Mātaiaho.

"The Te Mātaiaho that we were using in the past had Te Tiriti central to that... and it saw that matauranga Māori was something that could be utilised within schools to help with teaching and learning," she said.

Lambert said the move to a knowledge-rich curriculum raised questions about whose knowledge had been prioritised.

She said the curriculum changed every time the government changed, but the manawhenua in every area remained constant.

Lambert said using the treaty as a basis for schooling could improve educational outcomes in the long-term.

"For our Māori students, when we look at the statistics in health, in education there's a big gap and I believe that by using Te Tiriti this could actually make a big difference in their educational outcomes long-term. By teaching like we have through local history, New Zealand history this helps connect and engage our learners."

Lambert said she worried the draft curriculums would endanger that approach.

Te Kura o Wairau principal Teena Johnson said her school had the treaty at the centre of its strategic plan and it ensured children learned through a localised curriculum.

"We're trying to hold on to all of the iwi knowledge we've been gifted over the past 10 years... and doing justice to our mana whenua and we don't want that to stop," she said.

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