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Te huarahi rangahau mō Te Ahu o te Reo / The research methodology for Te Ahu o te Reo

Te huarahi rangahau mō Te Ahu o te Reo

He rangahau kaupapa Māori Te Ahu o te Reo. Ko te aronga ake o te kaupapa Māori ko te whakamana.

Nō te ao Māori anō Te Ahu o Te Reo ina hoki he kaupapa Māori. He mea mahi nā te Māori, mō te Māori, ā, nā te Māori anō ngā whakatau huarahi rangahau puta noa.

E āta whakamāramahia ana te huarahi rangahau ki ngā whārangi 4 ki te 9 o te rīpoata. Ka whakautu hoki ēnei whārangi i ngā pātai māmā mō te mahinga o te rangahau.

He aha te pānga o Te Ahu o te Reo ki ētahi atu rangahau
reo Māori?

He āhua ōrite ētahi wāhi o te huarahi rangahau nei o Te Ahu o te Reo ki tērā nā te rōpū rangahau o Richard Benton mā i whai mō te NZCER i te tau 1978. Rite anō ki tērā rangahau nā ngā kairangahau o Te Ahu o te Reo i uiui ngā kāinga o roto i ngā hapori. O ngā hapori e iwa i rangahaua e mātou e waru rawa i uru hoki ki taua rangahau o mua. Ko te rerekē mō Te Ahu o te Reo i uru mai hoki he hapori nō te Waipounamu ka uiui hoki mātou i ngā tamariki me ngā pakeke.

Ko ngā pātai o Te Ahu o te Reo i ahu mai i ētahi wāhi katoa:

  • te rangahau a Benton i te tau 1978
  • Te Kupenga a Tatauranga Aotearoa (2013)
  • ngā rangahau a Te Puni Kōkiri mō te Hauora o te Reo Māori (2001) me Ngā Waiaro ki te Reo Māori (2000, 2003, 2006, 2009)
  • he rangahau nā Te Whare Wānanga o Te Ūpoko o te Ika a Māui

Ka whakamahia e mātou ngā ine ōrite tonu ki ō Te Kupenga (i mahi tuatahitia i te Rangahau mō te Hauora o te Reo Māori 2001) mō te whakawā a te tangata i tōna anō matatau ki te reo.

Nā wai ngā rangahau i mahi?

Ko te rōpū rangahau mō Te Ahu o te Reo i ahu mai i Te Wāhanga – NZCER, i Te Kawa a Māui ki Te Whare Wānanga o Te Ūpoko o te Ika a Māui, he kaiārahi rangahau hapori, he kairangahau hapori, he kaitohutohu kaupapa, he hoa anō hoki nō te NZCER.

He mea tuitui te kaupapa e Te Wāhanga i mahi tahi ai ki te rōpū o Te Whare Wānanga o Te Ūpoko o te Ika a Māui.

Ka riro nā ngā kaiārahi rangahau hapori i ārahi ngā rangahautanga ki roto i ō rātou ake hapori, tae atu ki te tohu atu me te mahi tahi atu ki ngā kairangahau hapori.

Pēwhea ai te whiriwhiri i ngā hapori?

Nā te hui tahi ki Te Taura Whiri i whiriwhirihia ai ngā hapori mō Te Ahu o te Reo. Ka mahi tahi mātou ki ō mātou kaitohutohu kaupapa me ētahi o ngā kaiārahi rangahau hapori ki te āta whiriwhiri i te whakatau whakamutunga.

Ka whai mātou kia uru mai ētahi hapori katoa ki raro i ēnei whiriwhiringa:

1. Ngā hapori i tohua e Richard Benton me tana rōpū rangahau o te ngahuru tau 1970 he kaha te reo

2. Ngā hapori i ruarua noa iho te hunga matatau ki te reo Māori i te ngahuru tau 1970, engari nō muri ake kua whai rautaki whakarauora i te reo

3. Ngā hapori e tokomaha ana te hunga kōrero Māori

4. Ngā hapori kāore i te tokomaha te hunga kōrero Māori

5. Ngā hapori e tokomaha ana te Māori noho taone

6. Ngā hapori e tokomaha ana te Māori noho tuawhenua

7. Ngā hapori i tono kia uru mai ka mutu e kōkiri ake ana i te whakarauoratanga o te reo Māori.

Tokohia ngā tāngata i uiuia?

Ka whai ngā kairangahau kia uiui atu i te 70 ki te 80 tāngata ki ia hapori e iwa.

Ka oti i ngā kairangahau ngā tāngata e 606 te uiui: e 448 ngā pakeke, 158 ngā tamariki (18 ngā tau iti ake rānei).

Pēwhea ai ngā uiuitanga?

Ko te nuinga o ngā uiuitanga i kanohi ki te kanohi ka mutu e 60 ki te 90 meneti te roa. Kāore i taea te uiui ngā tāngata katoa i pīrangi ki te āwhina mai i Te Ahu o te Reo nā reira ka hangā e mātou he uiuitanga ā-ipurangi kia whai reo ai hoki rātou.

He aha ngā whakataunga?

Ko ngā tino whakataunga kua whakarāpopotohia ki ngā whārangi xvii-xx o te rīpoata, me ngā whārangi 11-25. He mea wehewehe ki raro i ngā pātai rangahau, arā:

Ko wai kei te kōrero i te reo ka mutu e kōrero ana ki a wai?

Kei hea te reo Māori e kōrerohia ana ka mutu hei kōrero i te aha?

He aha te take ka kōrerohia te reo Māori ki ētahi wāhi kaua ki ētahi?

Pēwhea ai te nui o te reo Māori kei te kōrerohia?

He aha atu anō hei tautoko i ngā hapori me ngā whānau kia kōrerotia ai te reo hei reo mō ia rā ki roto i ngā kāinga me ngā hapori?

Te Ahu o te Reo project page

The research methodology for Te Ahu o te Reo

Te Ahu o te Reo is a kaupapa Māori research project. Kaupapa Māori has a particular focus on research as a process of transformation.

As a kaupapa Māori project, Te Ahu o Te Reo is grounded in te ao Māori. It was undertaken by Māori, for the benefit of Māori, with Māori decision making throughout.

The methodology is fully explained on pages 4 to 9 of the report. These pages answer basic questions about how the research was done.

How is Te Ahu o te Reo related to other research about
te reo Māori?

Te Ahu o te Reo uses a methodological approach with some similarities to that used by Richard Benton’s team for the sociolinguistic survey of Māori language use published by NZCER in 1978.  Like that survey, the researchers for Te Ahu o te Reo interviewed households within communities.  Eight of the nine communities we researched had been included in the earlier survey. Te Ahu o te Reo differs in that it included a community from the South Island and we interviewed tamariki as well as adults.

Te Ahu o te Reo questionnaires drew on several sources:

  • the Benton survey from 1978
  • Statistics New Zealand’s Te Kupenga (2013)
  • Te Puni Kōkiri’s Health of the Māori Language (2001) and Attitudes to the Māori Language (2000 2003, 2006, 2009) surveys
  • research done by Victoria University of Wellington

We used the same measures for self-assessment of language proficiency used in Te Kupenga (originally used in the 2001 Survey of the Health of the Māori language).

Who did the research?

The research team for Te Ahu o te Reo was made up of members of NZCER–Te Wāhanga, Te Kawa a Māui at Victoria University of Wellington (VUW), lead community researchers, community researchers, project advisors, and NZCER colleagues.

The project was coordinated by Te Wāhanga, in close partnership with the VUW team members.

The lead community researchers were responsible for leading and managing fieldwork in their own communities, including identifying and working closely with community researchers.

How were the communities selected?

The communities included in Te Ahu o te Reo were chosen in consultation with Te Taura Whiri i te reo Māori. We worked with our project advisors and some of the lead community researchers to make the final selection.

We aimed to include a cross-section of communities in terms of these criteria:

1. Communities identified in the 1970s survey by Richard Benton and his team as being strong in te reo Māori

2. Communities that had small numbers of proficient reo Māori speakers in the 1970s, but have since used targeted reo revitalisation strategies to strengthen their use of te reo Māori

3. Communities with high populations of Māori speakers

4. Communities with low populations of Māori speakers

5. Communities that represent diverse urban Māori realities

6. Communities that represent diverse rural Māori realities

7. Communities that volunteer to participate and are actively working on Māori language revitalisation.

How many people were interviewed?

The researchers aimed to interview between 70 and 80 participants in each of the nine communities.

The researchers interviewed 606 participants: 448 adults and 158 tamariki (18 and under).

How were the interviews done?

Most of the interviews were done kanohi-ki-te-kanohi (face-to-face) and took from 60 to 90 minutes.  We were not able to interview everyone who wanted to contribute to Te Ahu o te Reo so we created an online survey so they could have a voice. 

What were the findings?

The key findings are summarised on pages xvii-xx of the report, and on pages 11-25. They are organised under the research questions, which were:

Who is using te reo Māori and who are they using it with?

Where is te reo Māori being used and what is te reo Māori being used for?

Why is te reo Māori being used in particular situations or not?

How much te reo Māori is being used?

What is need to further support communities and whānau to normalise the use of te reo Māori in homes and communities?

Te Ahu o te Reo project page