Kei tua o te pae
Beyond the horizon

This resource is titled Kei Tua o te Pae, a line from an oriori (lullaby) by Hirini Melbourne. There are a number of images in this oriori that can be applied to development, learning, and assessment for learning.

Continuity

The first relevant image is about continuity.

Ka tō te marama e tiaho nei
Ka hī ake ko te rā
Kei tua o te pae

When the translucent rays
of the moon disappear,
a new day dawns with the rising
of the sun beyond the horizon.

In an ever-changing world, we know that young children’s horizons will expand and change in ways that cannot be foreseen. Children will travel beyond the current horizon, and early childhood education is part of that. It continues the shaping of a vision for children – that of their being “competent and confident learners and communicators, healthy in mind, body, and spirit, secure in their sense of belonging and in the knowledge that they make a valued contribution to society” (Te Whāriki, page 9). Learning is a lifelong journey that will go beyond the current horizon. The details of the journey will change as the world changes, but this vision will remain the same.

Engaging the body, mind, and spirit

The second image is about growth, development, and learning through the engagement of body, mind, and spirit.

Tipu kē ake koe
Me he horoeka
Torotika ki te rā
Whāia te māramatanga
O te hinengaro
O te wairua

So too does the cycle of life continue.
Grow up strong and gracious,
just like the proud horoeka tree,
confident and free.
Seek out the secrets of the
hidden well-spring of your mind
and know the sounds and
dreams of your spirit.

This holistic view of growth reminds us that development and learning have affective, social, and motivational dimensions and that assessment does too.

Reciprocal relationships

The third image is about the reciprocal relationship between the child and their world.

Kia puāwai koe ki te ao
Ka kitea ō painga

So you shall blossom into the world,
and the world in turn is transformed.

Children’s learning is embedded in their reciprocal relationships with the world, with people, places, and things. The world shapes their learning, and in turn, their learning shapes and changes the world.