Abstract
Early years education is one of the best investments a society can make to provide an optimal start to life for its children, with multiple benefits accruing across the lifecourse. Given the social inequities long endured by Indigenous communities, research on early years programmes with the potential to improve the prospects of Indigenous children and their families is critical. There is, however, a dearth of such research focused on Indigenous models of provision. This thesis responds to this gap for Māori in Aotearoa and reports on the Tangi te Kawekaweā study, which examined whānau engagement in Kaupapa Māori early years provision (KM-EYP): the barriers, facilitators, and benefits of engagement.
There is broad recognition of the contribution that KM-EYP can make to the revitalisation of Māori language and culture. KM-EYP is the primary entry point to the Māori medium education pathway, which has markedly improved the educational success of enrolled tamariki. Tangi te Kawekaweā aimed to add to what was known about the facilitators of, and barriers to, whānau engagement in KM-EYP and the wellbeing of whānau who have engaged in this service. The study collated the perspectives of past and current caregiving members of whānau who had participated in one Taranaki-based centre for KM-EYP, Te Kōpae Piripono, since it opened in 1994. Theoretically and methodologically, the research was undertaken at the interface of mātauranga Māori and Western science paradigms.
The exploratory phase of the research involved interviews with 34 whānau members (interviews with 19 individuals and focused discussions with five whānau groups) and ten external experts. Six broad factors influencing whānau engagement in KM-EYP were identified: colonisation impacts, emotional responses, whānau connection, institutional features, cultural identity, and socio-economic circumstances. The subsequent survey phase was informed by the qualitative findings and involved the development of an online questionnaire administered to a sample of whānau members (N=121). Analyses provided further insight into the facilitators and barriers to whānau engagement in KM-EYP. In the survey phase, a novel set of questions also measured twenty aspects of whānau lives that align with an ao Māori view of wellbeing. A subsample of whānau participants (N=91) who had engaged in the Centre prior to 2018 was included in these analyses to enable comparison over time. Most participants (>80%) agreed that their children’s learning, Māori identity, and cultural capacity had been strengthened. They also indicated that their own capabilities and the closeness of their whānau were enhanced. Comparisons between the year after exiting the Centre and the time of the survey (2019/2020) demonstrated sustained or increasing benefits across most aspects of whānau lives.
This thesis gives voice to whānau who have experienced KM-EYP and provides a Māori lens on the influence that KM-EYP can have on whānau lives. The findings may help KM-EYP leaders meet the diverse needs of whānau and motivate government policymakers to resource increased access to the model. The findings support the effectiveness of culturally enriching KM-EYP for tamariki Māori and their whānau with potential health and wellbeing outcomes across the lifecourse.