Classroom Kōrero: An exploration of relationships and the delivery of Māori Arts in the mainstream dance class

Abstract

In Aotearoa, New Zealand, dance as a subject is delivered in mainstream secondary schools as part of The Arts (Nga toi) national curriculum, which states that students will develop an understanding of art forms connected to the tangata whenua, the indigenous Māori people of Aotearoa/New Zealand. In such mainstream secondary schools, students of Māori heritage compose over 25% of enrolments and are also over-represented in high truancy, underachievement, school suspension, and school exclusion statistics (Ministry of Education, 2006). To critically contribute to discourse on a wider issue, this research is an investigation of how specialist secondary school dance teachers in mainstream New Zealand schools respond to curriculum expectations to incorporate Māori arts in their lessons. This study includes the individual histories of four dance teachers responsible for the implementation of dance curriculum in schools. It reveals their diverse perspectives and approaches to Māori arts pedagogy. Within these complexities, this thesis argues that teaching approaches connected to the delivery of Māori arts are informed by individual histories, teaching identity and the expectations of the school institution. It considers relationships in and out of the learning environment and the cultural positioning of the teacher, school and curriculum. This study engages a kaupapa Māori, whakawhanaungatanga inquiry, which is embedded in the narrative of participants and embodies a critical reflexivity through the indigenous perspective and narrative of the researcher. A critical analysis of how participant teachers interpret, construct and represent Māori arts content in their lessons is offered. An investigation that is driven by participant teacher narratives also reveals current representations of Māori knowledge in Aotearoa/New Zealand mainstream secondary school institutions. This study aims to bring about awareness and support sensibility of culture and teaching. In this research, a complexity of challenges arise which reveal the diverse realities of specialist dance teachers engaged in implementation of Māori arts in mainstream secondary schools. It provokes questions about cross cultural dance curriculum for teachers, school management, curriculum writers and policy makers.