Assessment
Aromatawai
Bicultural assessment
In its introduction on page 2, Book 3 states:
Te Whāriki is a bicultural curriculum that incorporates Māori concepts. The principles of whakamana (empowerment), kotahitanga (holistic development), whānau tangata (family and community), ngā hononga (relationships), and the different areas of mana that shape the five strands provide a bicultural framework to underpin bicultural assessment.
That book sets out a number of principles for authentic bicultural assessment, and books 11–15 provide some examples of these principles in action. For example:
Some assessments are in te reo Māori. The exemplar “Tapahia me ngā kutikuti – Cutting with scissors” (Book 13) is an example from a centre where documented achievements are frequently written in three “languages” – Māori, English, and the visual language of digital photography. They are accessible to a range of audiences.
Some assessments are represented in ways that are consistent with tikanga Māori. The holistic nature of the context may be reflected via narrative. Some of the documentation in the exemplar “Te Tuhi a Manawatere” (Book 11) might be described as of this kind. The documentation forms a learning narrative that begins with a story: “On today’s beach trip to Cockle Bay, I told the children the story of Te Tuhi a Manawatere, underneath the actual pōhutukawa tree.”
Māori whānau and community participate in the assessment process. In Book 15, the exemplar “A grandfather’s letter” begins with the grandfather making an introduction in Māori: “Tēnā koutou e ngā kai-whakaako ki te kura. Kei konei waku whakaaro e pā ana ki te ripoata mō Taylor. He mokopuna nōku.” The grandfather then continues with his interpretation of the learning, in English.
Contributions from the home and the community are in the children’s and the centre’s assessment documentation. A contribution about “Tāwhirimatea” (in Book 11) was sent to Tia’s early childhood centre by her grandmother. The What next? section included the grandmother’s comment, “I would like the centre to be aware of this so staff can reinforce her knowledge base of Tāwhirimatea, the wind.” An early childhood centre community’s distress at, and response to, a fire at the local marae is described in “Fire at the marae” (in Book 13), together with a parent’s voice, comments from Whaea Taini at the marae, and reflections from one of the teachers.
Assessments include the collaborative and the collective. The exemplar “Drawing and chanting together” (Book 14) describes Mūmū Te Āwha and Mira drawing at the whiteboard and chanting together in tune with their drawing.
Assessments show respect in seeking advice and interpretation from whānau. The story of one early childhood centre’s preparation for a marae visit, “Te marae” (in Book 14), outlines the role of Whaea Pip, their “pouaka mātauranga”. In a multicultural context, the exemplar “Rahmat and the snakes”, also in Book 14, is eloquent about the value of interpretation from speakers of the home language.
Children’s voices are heard in the assessments. In “Whakapai kai” (Book 15), Anthony and Remy recite the whakapai kai karakia that Anthony had been taught at home; his father had written the words out for the teachers, and Anthony had taught it to Remy. Sometime earlier, the teacher had consulted the family about the tikanga of their iwi.
Book 3 sets out a continuum towards bicultural practice that is dynamic (in that it is about moving forward) and allows for multiple points of entry as centres build bicultural understandings and practices. Book 3 provides a reference for all assessment practices that support Te Whāriki.