Child care – Teaching & Learning Research Initiative

Whakawhanaungatanga: Partnerships in bicultural development in early childhood care and education

1. Aims, objectives, and research questions Introduction This project aimed to build on the theoretical and methodological foundations established in a doctoral research project recently completed by Jenny Ritchie (2002). The intention was to utilise collaborative partnerships between teacher educators, professional development providers, and early childhood educators, in order to identify effective strategies for building and strengthening relationships between early childhood educators and whänau/hapū/iwi Māori within early childhood care and education settings. The research was premised on findings of Ritchie (2002): that strengthening provision of the bicultural aspirations of the early childhood curriculum, Te Whāriki (Ministry of Education, 1996b), within mainstream early childhood education and care settings is a central professional

Te Puawaitanga: Partnerships with tamariki and whānau in bicultural early childhood care and education

Dedication This report is dedicated to the memory of Fred Kana, our dear friend and colleague. Moe mai rā, e hoa. 1. Contexts for the research Whakawhanaungatanga, Tiriti-based partnership, and narrative methodologies This project has extended upon knowledges gained from a previous Teaching and Learning Research Initiative (TLRI) research project, Whakawhanaungatanga—Partnerships in Bicultural Development in Early Childhood Care and Education (the Whakawhanaungatanga project) (Ritchie & Rau, 2006), which focused on identifying strategies used by early childhood educators, professional development providers, teacher educators, and an iwi education initiative. This kaupapa is consistent with the bicultural mandate contained within key regulatory and curriculum statements. These include the Ministry of Education’s Desirable Objectives and