KEY POINTS:
Qualification: Bachelor of Education (Teaching), Huarahi Maori Specialisation.
Where: University of Auckland, Faculty of Education.
Contact: (09) 3623 8883, education@auckland.ac.nz, education.auckland.ac.nz.
Entry requirements: Te reo Maori fluency. School leavers need NCEA University Entrance plus ranking on top 80 credits over five approved subjects. Adults have other admission requirements.
Length: Three years full-time with part time options.
Closing dates: December 8 for March start.
Fees: $4,170 approximately. TeachNZ scholarships are available. University of Auckland also offers various scholarships.
Starting salary: $40,000 to $42,000.
There is a huge shortage of fluent Maori teachers for Maori immersion and bilingual classrooms around New Zealand. The Huarahi Maori specialisation at University of Auckland aims to address this.
Students learn through workshops, small group tutorials, lectures and practicum about te reo Maori, tikanga Maori and matauranga Maori.
Te reo Maori must be used in 80 per cent of the papers but with some papers there is a choice of answering in English or Maori. Assessment is by assignments and practical school-based teaching practicum; students do a minimum of 20 weeks practicum over their three-year programme.
Graduates have the ability to teach new entrants through to Year 10 in mainstream or Maori immersion classrooms.
There is a bridging te reo Maori course for potential trainees who lack proficiency in te reo Maori.
GRADUATE
Jason Daniels, age 37
First-year teacher at Te Kura Maori o nga Tapuwae, Mangere
Completed degree November 2007
I am in my third term of teaching Year 5 students (8-10 years) at Southern Cross Campus Te Kura Maori o nga Tapuwae, a total Maori immersion school which means all the learning and conversation in and outside the classroom is in the Maori language.
I was keen to get a job at Te Kura Maori o nga Tapuwae because it has a good reputation, is close to home and my kids go there. I thoroughly enjoy the kids and teaching in Maori.
I started learning the language through Te Ataarangi (kura takiwa) and Te Ara Reo Maori because my children were going to kohanga reo and kura and I wanted to be able to converse with them in te reo Maori.
After being made redundant, then missing out on the police force because of my eyesight, I decided to do the one-year full-time Te Reo Hapai course at Te Kura Akoranga o Tamaki Makaurau (University of Auckland - Epsom Faculty of Education).
That inspired me to go teaching because I wanted a job where I could speak Maori daily, continue learning and pass on knowledge to our young people. I was fortunate enough to get a TeachNZ scholarship of $20,000 to undertake the degree.
I really enjoyed the study. There were 12 of us with like minds and vision and the staff were also passionate and encouraging.
Developing teaching skills through immersion in te reo Maori was a great way to learn because we used our language from when we arrived in class until when we finished each day, which replicated the educational environment of an immersion class.
I loved learning in my language about the curriculum and educational terms and methodology. Some papers were delivered in English and we could do exams in English or Maori.
Over the three years we did six school placements in mainstream, bilingual and immersion classes. This was beneficial and a real eye opener. The degree gave me a lot of essential classroom skills; even so once in your own class it is pretty full-on with 101 things that need doing.
The biggest surprise is the amount of preparation needed. We have to create a lot of resources because there are not enough Maori ones around.
PRINCIPAL
Arihia Stirling
Tumuaki Te Kura Maori o Nga Tapuwae
Our school is a decile 1C school with a roll of 279. I was keen to employ Jason because he was male and Maori. Our school has a strong commitment to boys' education and one of the ways we do that is by ensuring our students have access to male role models.
I wanted someone with a high command of te reo Maori me ona tikanga, a strong understanding of the marautanga and a strong commitment to teaching in the Maori medium.
I wanted a person who loved children, was a committed team player and a conscientious teacher prepared to develop their own professional knowledge and who was willing to try new pedagogy.
I was looking for someone who would work inside the school philosophy and ethos but also outside the square!
It is continually difficult to get teachers with a quality command of the Maori language. Generally immersion teachers have varying degrees of ability to speak our language well and this is reflected in the capacity of children to speak correctly in te reo Maori.
We have a language expert at our school to ensure correct Maori is being taught here. Language wellness is of high importance.
