Developed from the Building Kaupapa Mäori into early childhood education project by Ngaroma Williams with Mary-Elizabeth Broadley. Download the full report and resources via the Ako Aotearoa website at: www.akoaotearoa.ac.nz/projects/building-kaupapa-m%C4%81ori-early-childhood-education or purchase print copies from: www.akoaotearoa.ac.nz/shop

Ngä Taonga Whakaako – Underlying Theoretical Principles of Tikanga

How do we express manaakitanga, or mana enhancing behaviour towards each other:

mana whenua; tangata whenua; teaching teams; management; our tamariki; our parents and whänau; our community; our country; our world; our universe - taking care not to trample another’s mana.

The concept of manaakitanga includes understanding tapu and mana. In pöwhiri/pöhiri rituals the objective is to deal with the tapu and mana of tangata whenua and manuhiri in an enhancing, positive way. In our relationships with others we are aware of mana, our own and theirs. We act in a mana enhancing way, by expressing manaakitanga.

Manaakitanga

Tikanga

• ensuring to provide the best teaching and learning internal and external environments that incorporate the aspirations and histories of mana whenua and tangata whenua

• annual reviews focussing on how we can be supportive of teaching staff aspirations

• being generous to staff in terms of professional development, work spaces and leave

• having policies that foster manaakitanga by management of staff, children, whänau, mana whenua, tangata whenua and the community

• staff are provided with continual support to enhance their capacity of teaching and learning within te ao Mäori contexts

• tamariki, parents, whänau are cared for from enrolment to completion through a ‘tamariki manaaki, whänau manaaki’ system(s)

• tamariki assessments and creations are treated as taonga and are cared for properly