Tuia i runga, tuia i raro,
Tuia i roto, tuia i waho,
Tuia te muka herenga tangata,
Kia ita, kia whena,
Kia tūturu, ka whakamaua kia tina,
Hui e, tāiki e.
Kei ngā muka tangata nō tēnā pā harakeke, tēnā pā harakeke whakatipu mātauranga, whakawhanake tangata,
Tēnei te whakamānawa, tēnei te karamihi i a koutou katoa.
Kua horahia te takapou e kuhu ai ko ngā tāura, ko ngā tauira, ki roto ki tō tātou whare whakairo o te Mātauranga Māori.
Nau piki mai, kake mai.
Download this paper as a PDF
Embedding mātauranga Māori within programmes - The SAE story [PDF, 1.4 MB]
Tirohanga whānui | Project overview
Tertiary education organisations (TEOs) are at various stages in their journey to weave mātauranga Māori into non-mātauranga Māori programmes of learning. NZQA has met with some TEOs to talk with them about how they have been able to do this. We have named this project He Muka Herenga Tāngata and it is part of a larger body of work called Insights papers. Insights papers have a particular focus on equity issues, good practice and bringing to life administrative data that will support education system improvement.
This project aims to work with TEOs at different stages of a whakataukī (Rongo, Mōhio, Mātau and Mārama), to share their learning design, programme development and delivery with regard to the inclusion of mātauranga Māori. The project aims to develop a community within which TEOs can safely reflect on where they are in their journey and how they might improve their practice for the sake of their ākonga.
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SAE
This is the story of the School of Audio Engineering (NZ) Ltd, trading as SAE Institute (SAE), a private training establishment (PTE) in the creative media industries. Established in 1976 as a combined practical and theoretical school of audio engineering. It spans the globe with over 40 campuses in more than 25 countries and over 10,000 students worldwide. SAE’s New Zealand campus is in the central Auckland suburb of Parnell and has 190 students. It offers courses at Diploma and Bachelor Degree level study across music production, audio production and screen production and songwriting.
Approximately 22-25% of ākonga are Māori, and around 15-18% identify as Pasifika.
The elements of mātauranga Māori that SAE have started with include reflecting te reo Māori and te ao Māori values on their campus and in their approach to study, and in more fluid relationships between kaiako and ākonga by implementing models such as the Tuakana Teina relationship.¹
We used the following whakataukī to help place where TEOs are on their mātauranga Māori journey to ascertain various levels of inclusion and practice from programme design, development and delivery:
Mā te rongo, ka mōhio
Mā te mōhio, ka mātau
Mā te mātau, ka mārama
Mā te mārama, ka ora.
Through listening comes awareness;
through awareness, knowledge;
through knowledge, enlightenment; and
through enlightenment, wellbeing.
• Rongo – listening is a fundamental skill of learning that leads to knowledge acquisition
• Mōhio – conscious and competent use of mātauranga Māori skills and knowledge
• Mātau – reflective and proficient use of mātauranga Māori skills and knowledge
• Mārama – advanced understanding and dynamic application of mātauranga Māori skills and knowledge.
Mō te hapori | Mātauranga Māori helps global school to bring a local focus
With a global reach that spans over 40 campuses in more than 25 countries you might think that a school of that size has a “one size fits all” model. However, when you speak to Dr Suzette Major, Campus Director, SAE Auckland, she says “it may look and feel like any SAE campus around the globe but we are situated in Aotearoa New Zealand. We need to recognise that and acknowledge that. On the one hand we're connected and we're very proud of our connections to the global network. But on the other hand, we want to reflect on what makes us unique. So, it's been a journey to unpack ourselves from that global network.” Suzette adds, “What does it mean to work within Aotearoa? What does it mean to teach learners within this space, this environment?” This was the base from which SAE started their deliberate and planned journey with mātauranga Māori.
SAE have progressed through the rongo stage of the whakataukī, having listened and observed and have now moved on to the mōhio stage of the journey, where SAE Auckland have been much more deliberate and planned in integrating mātauranga Māori.
Te reo Māori | Māori language
One of the first steps SAE took, was to start with the “simple stuff, important but easy,” as Suzette put it. Two examples of the “simple stuff” were to have Māori and Pasifika artwork on campus as well as having bilingual (te reo Māori and English) signage across the site. These simple actions helped to create a campus that is a culturally safe and welcoming space.
Suzette adds that the staff recognise that for almost a quarter or more of their learners, it's very important for us to ensure they feel that their cultural background and identity is being recognised and welcomed and embraced within SAE.
A further step saw SAE re-write its programmes in 2015 to amongst other things explicitly include mātauranga Māori. What did that look like? Tirohanga is an example. It is a compulsory Level 5 paper that requires ākonga to look back over the year and it's an opportunity to reflect on everything that they’ve learned and develop one final project, a kind of showreel. Another example is the Level 7 paper called Kaupapa Māori that focuses on Māori values, tikanga and cosmologies all within the context of working as a creative practioner within Aotearoa New Zealand.²
It’s not only including mātauranga Māori in papers, but also an increase of the use of te reo Māori around the campus. As Dr Robert Pouwhare (Ngai Tuhoe, Ngāti Haka Pateheuheu) a member of the SAE Academic Board and Cultural advisor put it “the reo is heard around this place now - this is crazy, we're in the middle of Parnell and the reo is heard here!” Robert, who is a Māori language revivalist and has been agitating for over 40 years for the retention, maintenance and survival of te reo Māori and tikanga, as well as four decades of experience in television and television production, gave more context around why hearing te reo at SAE was important. He shared that the industry was often fraught with obstacles and that many people including himself really had to fight hard to get te reo Māori on mainstream television and into the industry in general. Robert tells us how the first Māori programme on mainstream television was only created in 1980 and was called Koha and was a 10-minute show on a Sunday, then a short two-three minute news programme called Te Karere was created in 1982 (it has since evolved and still exists today), and then Māori TV was finally established in 2004. “So, to use and hear te reo at SAE is an important continuation of te reo Māori in this industry, as these graduates are the future,” Robert says.
Te Reo Māori and waiata lessons turned out to also be key tools that SAE used initially during COVID-19 lockdowns to help keep kaimahi connected. “We started some te reo Māori and waiata lessons during the lockdowns to help everyone get through it. The sessions proved to be wonderful. We did things like that to help everyone to feel comfortable. I've just loved it and it's been a pleasant surprise just how much the team have jumped in there and they’re really embracing it and, they want to know more. Particularly, some of the staff from overseas for whom this is quite new, the genuine interest is strong, so it's encouraging,” said Suzette.
Robert says that when he joined SAE, initially as a member of the Creative Industries Advisory Committee in 2014, he embraced his role because he thought it was a great opportunity for Māori and Pasifika to come to such a place like SAE to gain skills and experience in the creative media industries. Initially, he says SAE was still finding its feet and there was very little space and place for Māori and Pasifika cultures, but things have changed a great deal. He attributed that to people moving on and new people coming in, people like the current Director, Suzette who had gained experience teaching and working with Māori and Pasifika ākonga and kaiako, and that helped change the dynamic within SAE. She was also well supported by the SAE Board, kaimahi and other SAE stakeholders.
Mā te Tuakana, Mā te Teina | The Tuakana Teina relationship
Daryl Tapsell (Ngāti Whakaue), Audio Kaiako at SAE gives an example of how mātauranga Māori is embodied within his programme when he describes the Tuakana Teina relationship that has been introduced to SAE. “What was really cool about it is, as a bonding exercise with the group of students we start talking about things like manaakitanga, whanaungatanga, kaitiakitanga. Those sorts of concepts and expressing how it's a two-way relationship. It's okay for me as the teacher to learn from my students because they know more about some of the subjects that they're deeply invested in, than I do. So, it's a give and take relationship and sort of expressing that to the students I think was important.” Daryl says that while he has used the Tuakana Teina model throughout his teaching career (including at Te Pūkenga’s SIT campus, MAINZ) it wasn’t really until he started at SAE that he formally had a name for this model of teaching.
The Tuakana Teina model was initially introduced as a full year course but after some feedback and review has now been adjusted to one Trimester. Older students are paired up and work with younger students. So, year 5 students will work with some of the Level 6 and 7 students. The course also goes across discipline and course level. The group of students get to work on a whole series of projects together. So that they can broaden their support network across the school and realise that those connections you can take with other students.
Mō Te Tiriti o Waitangi | Learning about Te Tiriti
SAE student Ash Edwards from Mt Maunganui who is studying Level 7 Music talked about how learning about Te Tiriti had his cohort quite fascinated because for a lot of them Te Tiriti didn’t immediately seem to have an impact on digital media but once they started learning, “we didn't want to leave. You know, we wanted to stay and hear some more.”
He whaitua mō tātou | Importance of a space to try
Daryl talks about the importance of having a culture at SAE where staff and the students really engage with each other and it being okay to try things out. “So, for me, it's part of the journey of mātauranga Māori it’s creating a safe space to try things, to learn, because you learn from everything the good and the bad experiences.” He adds “I think another one of the things that I take in terms of this journey of mātauranga Māori is that idea of bringing it back to people, communicating, talking, sharing ideas and being more inclusive. And I think that can be superimposed on the curriculum in a way so that we all benefit from it.”
Maia Te Tuhi (Ngāpuhi) another student from SAE who is studying Level 5 Audio, says he could feel all the mana and aroha and all the hard work in his classes and pretty much just a good connection with everyone in the group or in the whole class.”
This is supported by Suzette who says that it’s important for everyone to openly participate in mātauranga Māori at every level and acknowledging that sometimes you may get it wrong or you don’t have the knowledge and that’s okay too. You learn and you move on. Suzette adds, “I think it's really important to beat the silence and there's no way I could do this without Robert (Pouwhare). I feel I can genuinely pick up the phone and speak really openly and be very vulnerable. And Robert always holds (figuratively) me. I feel really held and supported.”
Kia hōrapa | Familiarity
Following on from the importance of a space to try, Ash says that familiarity would also make him comfortable and that the Tuakana Teina model helps you to get familiar and recognise faces. “This allows you to go into the studios and the supervisors you know them by name and that's just a lot more comforting. You know your tutors better than you did and it really helps.”
Ngā whakapātaritari | The challenges
From a kaiako point of view, Daryl says that a challenge that he has found, is trying to figure out how to integrate a large group of students into a manaakitanga and whanaungatanga relationship, especially when the ākonga are from very diverse backgrounds. He finishes by adding that he thinks that's something that you can get to through utilising different models of learning and thinking like Tuākana Teina and Te Whare Tapa Whā that help link, whānau, spirituality, physical health and general care for each other.
Suzette says that for SAE, one of the biggest complexities or challenges is with creating meaningful and authentic relationships, and in particular trying to establish, foster and grow their relationship with local iwi Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei. Suzette says it was initially a challenge because the iwi has already got so many other people trying to develop a relationship with them and they've got limited resources. Fortunately though, through connections forged by Robert, SAE now enjoys a close connection with Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei with regular hui to discuss ways to strengthen their relationship. In particular, they are actively involved in establishing a new te reo Māori stream within their new Songwriting qualification and working closely with Ngāti Whātua Ōrakei with that initiative. As Suzette says, “I believe in the adage ‘it takes 100 cups of tea’, and we are fortunate to now be enjoying cups of tea on a regular basis.”
Anga whakamua | Next steps
A key next step for SAE on its mātauranga Māori journey is to finalise the development of its Māori strategy. Key features of the strategy are around Te Tiriti o Waitangi and te reo Māori.
The final words are from Suzette who says “I don't know if there's an end to this mātauranga Māori journey. It's a continuum, surely. We've taken a few steps down the journey. There are many more steps that we need to take. Every time you take a few more steps, you see more steps that need to be taken.” I think we've still got some way to go, but there's definitely been a shift with all these new diplomas and degrees that we've got going. I'm excited to see what happens next. Come back and see us in another three years. Once we've gone through it a couple of times and see what it's like then!
Acknowledgement
NZQA is grateful to SAE, Suzette and the team who have opened their doors to share their aspirations and journeys as they continue to evolve and advance their curricula, teaching and learning to better reflect an authentic Aotearoa context and exemplify the contributions that te ao Māori has to offer music production, audio production, screen production and songwriting tertiary education.
Ka nui te mihi o te ngakau ki a koutou katoa.
Footnotes
¹ The Tuakana Teina relationship, an integral part of traditional Māori society, provides a model for buddy systems.
² SAE is currently exploring changing the course title to Te Ao Māori to better reflect its content and focus.