This kaupapa Māori study aims to support whānau reo Māori language development in their transitions to and between kōhanga reo, kura kaupapa primary, wharekura, secondary and tertiary education. We are especially interested in how Māori learners and whānau are supported during these times of change.
This research builds on the work Te Wāhanga undertook in 2011/12, Kia Puāwaitia Ngā Tūmanako, which looked at the critical issues for whānau in education. Whānau in that study identified Ngā Moemoeā (whānau aspirations), Rangatiratanga (whānau authority/autonomy), and Te Reo Rangatira (learning and maintenance of reo Māori) as critical issues for whānau in education. These interrelated kaupapa guided our approach to this study which is grounded in whanaungatanga. In the course of this study we spoke with whānau at kōhanga reo, kura kaupapa Māori, wharekura, Pākehā primary and secondary schools, and tertiary education organisations.