Abstract
We live in a rapidly changing society that is fuelled by the continuing advancement of digital technologies. For Māori, the indigenous people of Aotearoa (New Zealand), the struggle to retain and develop their reo (language) and tikanga (culture) has been greatly enhanced with technology, providing opportunities for iwi (tribe), hapū (sub-tribe), and whānau (family) to thrive.
However, with such technological advancements, the educational statistics for our rangatahi (Māori youth) in a mainstream context is not thriving. Although government departments and educationlists are working towards bridging the gap of educational disparity between Māori and non-Māori – to date, there is no external digital learning framework designed by Māori for rangatahi.
An external conceptual framework designed by Māori for Māori would provide a simple guidance of implementing digital technologies within a te ao Māori (Māori worldview) learning environment. An ‘external’ conceptual framework can be defined as ‘open-source’ – which is available to interested Māori who would collaborate on such a kōrero (discussion).
The purpose of this thesis is to provide a reference point in which to consider an external digital learning framework specific to rangatahi needs studying in the tertiary sector.
The idea of developing a conceptual framework based on te ao Māori is to equip rangatahi (Māori youth) with their cultural knowledge to grasp an understanding of tino rangatiratanga (self-determination) that will support rangatahi in making informed decisions and contribute to their whānau, hapū and/or iwi.
Māori identify who they are by acknowledging the waka (canoe) their tūpuna (ancestors) used to find and settle in Aotearoa. Waka is perceived as the strength and vitality of an iwi. Therefore, it makes sense that a proposed digital learning framework is formulated by using various attributes of Māori waka culture.
‘Māori waka culture’ is the term being used in this thesis because there is a clear distinction between waka used by Māori in Aotearoa and waka used by other parts of the world.