Whakamānawatia te wairua o te reo: Honouring the spirit of language : How Eurythmy Can Honour Te Reo Māori Language Teaching and Learning and Effectively Indigenize the Waldorf Steiner Curriculum for Education in 21st Century

Abstract

In September 2019, over 1200 Waldorf Steiner schools in seventy-five countries worldwide celebrated the 100-year anniversary of the very first Waldorf school in Stuttgart, Germany. Many of these schools are inquiring into the future of Waldorf Steiner education (WSE) in their local cultural and linguistic settings and this study contributes to these developments in the context of Aotearoa New Zealand. The aim of this research project is to develop proposals for the indigenization of Eurythmy, an art of movement in WSE, through the appropriate integration of te reo Māori into its curriculum objectives, guidelines and practice. The project utilizes theoretical and autoethnographic practices and methods in the development of these proposals that aim to maintain the integrity of both Eurythmy and Ngā Mahi-ā-te-Rehia – the Maori performing arts practice from which appropriate te reo Māori concepts and language will be derived. To achieve this, the thesis critically examines similarities and differences between Anthroposophy (the overarching philosophy of WSE) and Eurythmy on one hand, and Kaupapa Māori and Ngā Mahi-ā-te-Rehia on the other. The presentation of autoethnographic reflections and autoethnodrama vignettes by the researcher - a Waldorf Steiner and Māori medium teacher and long-time Ngā Mahi-ā-te-Rehia performer - provide unique, and otherwise unavailable insights into the possibilities for indigenizing Eurythmy through te reo and mātauranga Māori. A set of Kaupapa Māori proposals for the inclusion of te reo and mātauranga Māori into the Eurythmy curriculum are presented which include teacher professional development plans with content ideas. A framework model is proposed to aid in creating an honourable means to integrate te reo Māori into the Eurythmy curriculum that can be delivered throughout Aotearoa New Zealand with the potential to inform similar WSE curriculum projects globally.