Leading the way - Te Wharekura o Rakaumangamanga

As one of the first kura and wharekura to be established in this country, Rakaumangamanga in the heart of Huntly has been quick to embrace new developments that will benefit their students.

Principal Barna Heremia talks about why the school has led the way in incorporating field Māori unit standards into their assessments.

It may seem like a diversion but Barna starts our interview by talking about the documentary 'Māori in Manhattan.' "It should be compulsory viewing", says Barna.

"What it showed is that a person's cultural identity is their bastion. Their Māoritanga is the anchor that gives them the confidence and the peace of mind to do anything. Those Māori in New York are focused on achieving in their chosen careers. But when the September 11th tragedy struck they came together as a whanau and paid tribute to the dead through karakia."

At Rakaumangamanga, students are encouraged to see the world through Māori eyes first. Barna believes that all individuals make better global citizens when they have a strong understanding and knowledge of their own culture.

"We teach our students about the confiscation of Māori land in the Waikato and the rise of the Kingitanga movement. Once the students have grasped those concepts they can then look at the current crisis in the Middle East from their own cultural perspective. It opens another window to their world that mainstream education and media doesn't offer."

For the last decade, Rakaumangamanga students have been assessed against field Māori unit standards in areas like Māori Geography, Putaiao, Tikanga a-iwi, Māori Performing Arts, Reo Māori, Whakairo and Pangarau.

"We have picked up unit standards in field Māori because they validate what we were teaching our students, " says Barna. "They legitimize matauranga Māori across all the curriculum areas. The old secondary school qualification system recognized only Reo Māori as a valid subject."

Take the science unit standards in Putaiao for example that were developed by Māori experts in this field. The standards cover areas like accounting for natural phenomena in a local context using purakau and waiata and demonstrate knowledge of a native mammal and its significance to Māori.

But it has not been an easy road being one of the first providers to assess against field Māori standards.

"We had to rely heavily on kaumatua, the surrounding environment and the creative skills of our staff for both teaching and assessment resources", says Barna. "A lot of matauranga Māori is still held only in people's heads. He says it would help to access all the archives that are available in university libraries."

These days schools can now access a range of assessment resources for unit standards registered in field Māori. These resources cover most of the general education areas and key subjects like Māori Performing Arts and Whakairo. You can either access these via the NZQA website at www.nzqa.govt.nz or order them by emailing mqs@nzqa.govt.nz

Since the introduction of NCEA, Rakaumangamanga has shifted to using a combination of achievement and field Māori unit standards. The school's key concern is to ensure that students are well set up to embark on further tertiary studies. So he's keeping a close watch on which field Māori unit standards will be recognized by universities.

"One of the most valuable lessons we've learnt over the last decade is that using field Māori unit standards for assessments is not an all or nothing affair. You can mix and match field Māori unit standards and you can assess a range of them in one course of study."

Still a stalwart supporter of field Māori, Barna is convinced that it provides Māori students with a strong foundation to exploring the wider world.