Te toi huarewa tipuna : Kaupapa Maori, an educational intervention system

Abstract

A case study is outlined which argues for the significance of a Kaupapa Maori educational intervention system. A Kaupapa Maori intervention system this thesis argues has several interlinking components, and permeating each component is Kaupapa Maori - the conceptualisation of Maori knowledge. The conceptualisation process is that which activates the Maori mind to receive, internalise, differentiate, and formulate, ideas and knowledge exclusively through 'te reo Maori'. Kaupapa Maori it is argued has its origins in a metaphysical base that is distinctively Maori. This influences the way Maori people think, understand, interpret, and interact within 'their' world. The 'relative validity' of what is knowledge and what counts as knowledge within Maori society is accordingly shaped and reshaped epistemologically. Significantly too it is argued that this Kaupapa Maori education system is highly applicable today as a means of intervening and redressing the Maori educational crisis, and ensuring the survival of the Maori language. Te Kohanga Reo, Kura Kaupapa Maori, and Kura Kaupapa Maori teacher training are argued to be the reproductive forums to achieve this.