Kei Tua o te Pae

Views of continuity can go far back in time.

"The child was, and still is, the incarnation of the ancestors: te kanohi ora, “the living face”. The child was, and still is, the living link with yesterday and the bridge to tomorrow: te taura here tangata, “the binding rope that ties people together over time”. The child is the kāwai tangata, the “genealogical link” that strengthens whanaungatanga, “family relationships”, of that time and place."

Reedy, 2003, page 58

The higher up the…

Introduction - He kupu whakataki
"Exemplars are examples of assessments that make visible learning that is valued so that the learning community (children, families, whānau, teachers, and beyond) can foster ongoing and diverse learning pathways [emphasis added]."

Early Childhood Learning and Assessment Exemplar Project
Advisory Committee and Co-ordinators, 2002

This book is about one of the purposes and consequences of documented assessment in early childhood education. We know that…

Black, Paul and Wiliam, Dylan (1998). “Assessment and Classroom Learning”. Assessment in Education, vol. 5 no. 1, pp. 7–75.
Brooker, Liz (2002). Starting School: Young Children Learning Cultures. Buckingham: Open University Press.
Cole, Babette (1986). Princess Smartypants. London: H. Hamilton.
Cullen, Joy (1991). “Young Children’s Learning Strategies: Continuities and Discontinuities”. International Journal of Early Childhood, vol. 23 no. 1, pp. 44–58.
Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly (1996). Creativit…

How do we define “competence”?
How does our assessment documentation help the children to develop their sense of themselves as capable and confident learners and communicators?
Looking at some samples of our assessments in recent weeks, what kinds of learning have we been documenting? Have we recognised and responded to the kinds of learning that we value? Do we want to extend or change this focus? Do these samples reflect the cultural perspectives of the families within our centre?
Taking a sel…

IntroductionThe exemplars in this book should be considered in conjunction with the discussion in Book 16. Opportunities for children to be creative and imaginative through the arts are woven throughout Te Whāriki. The 2007 New Zealand school curriculum identifies four disciplines of the arts. These are: dance, drama, music – sound arts, and visual arts. The curriculum reminds us that:

"The arts are powerful forms of expression that recognise, value, and contribute to the unique bicultural…

Documentation and assessment practices will themselves contribute to opportunities for children to be creative and imaginative. Carlina Rinaldi from Reggio Emilia has explored the topic of documentation and assessment. She writes about the role of documentation:

"In Reggio Emilia, where we have explored this methodology for many years, we place the emphasis on documentation as an integral part of the procedures aimed at fostering learning and for modifying the learning–teaching relationshi…

Learning outcomes in Te Whāriki that are associated with symbol systems and technologies in the arts are distributed throughout the strands. The Wellbeing/Mana Atua strand includes the outcome that children develop:

an ability to identify their own emotional responses and those of others.8 This includes the representation and expression of emotion that is central to the arts.
The Belonging/Mana Whenua strand includes the outcomes that children develop:

an understanding of the links between the…

The following are some aspects of participating in the domain of the arts that might be noticed, recognised, responded to, recorded, revisited, and reflected on. Not all of these aspects are represented in the exemplars, but teachers may be able to locate them in their own settings and write their own exemplars. In particular, when episodes are documented and revisited, children will be able to recognise their own competence and the way it has developed over time along the four dimensions of str…

Pathways to bicultural assessment practice will have the following features:

Acknowledgment of uncertainty: Teachers will be willing to take risks and to acknowledge that the pathways are not clearly marked out. Advice from the community and reciprocal relationships with families will provide signposts and support.
Diversity: There is not one pathway; there are multiple pathways. However, all early childhood settings will be taking steps towards bicultural assessment practice.
Multiple perspect…

Bishop, Russell and Glynn, Ted (2000). “Kaupapa Māori messages for the mainstream”. Set Research Information for Teachers, no. 1, pp. 4–7.
Durie, Mason (2003). “Māori Educational Advancement at the Interface between te Ao Māori and te Ao Whānui”. Paper presented at the Hui Taumata Mātauranga Tuatoru, Tūwharetoa, 7–9 March 2003.
Ministry of Education (1998). Quality in Action/Te Mahi Whai Hua: Implementing the Revised Statement of Desirable Objectives and Practices in New Zealand Early Childhood…

What is the vision for wise bicultural assessment practice in our setting? How far are we along the pathway towards it? What evidence do we have that we are moving towards it?
How do our assessment practices reflect the bicultural nature of Te Whāriki? What steps can we take to make this bicultural nature more visible in our assessment practices?
Are our assessment practices accessible to Māori whānau? Do they access them? Do they have a say? If not, why not? How can we encourage dialogue on and…

Which assessments from our setting make ICT learning visible to teachers, children, families, and whānau?
What opportunities do we have for involving ICT expertise from the wider community in the documentation of our children’s learning? Do we access this expertise?
In what way are our assessments grounded in a clear understanding of the purposes, practices, and social context of our early childhood setting and its community? In what way, therefore, can ICT assessments indicate that we are on th…

1 Iram Siraj-Blatchford and John Siraj-Blatchford (2003).
More than Computers - Information and Communication Technology in the Early Years. London: The British Association for Early Childhood Education, p. 4.

2 Ministry of Education (2005). Supporting Learning in Early Childhood Education through Information and Communication Technologies: A Framework for Development. Wellington: Ministry of Education, p. 16. The passage quoted is from Ministry of Education (1996). Te Whāriki: He Whāriki Māta…

At the centre, we have a plum tree. It was laden, and the fruit was sweet. Our kuia came to visit. They do not like to waste food, so we decided to use it all and make jam.

BackgroundThis activity of making jam is not a particularly Māori thing to do, but embedded within the activity are the Māori tikanga – those cultural aspects that are distinctly and uniquely Māori. (We’re sure other cultures do similar activities underpinned by similar cultural values but represented in different ways.)

Ma…

Introduction – He kupu whakatakiThe principles in Te Whāriki reflect a sociocultural approach to learning (see Te Whāriki, page 19). This approach is informed by Urie Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) ecological-contextual model, which provides a framework for understanding the contexts in which humans develop. It is an approach that emphasises the importance of relationships and whanaungatanga.

Quality in Action: Te Mahi Whai Hua (pages 37–40) includes ideas about assessment practice that are consistent…

How do our assessments take account of the context (relationships with people, places, and things) in which learning is occurring? What are some recent examples from our early childhood setting?
How do our assessment practices motivate and empower learners and enhance the children’s sense of themselves as capable people and competent learners? What are some recent examples from our early childhood setting?
How do we use assessment information to draw attention to the integrated nature of the chi…

Ames, Carole (1992). “Classrooms: Goals, Structures, and Student Motivation”. Journal of Educational Psychology, vol. 84, pp. 261–271.

Biddulph, Fred, Biddulph, Jeanne, and Biddulph, Chris (2003). The Complexity of Community and Family Influences on Children’s Achievement in New Zealand: Best Evidence Synthesis. Wellington: Ministry of Education.

Hutchins, Pat (1993). The Wind Blew, New York: Aladdin.

Bronfenbrenner, Urie (1979). The Ecology of Human Development. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Uni…

Teachers can help children to contribute to their assessment in two ways: through encouraging self-assessment (which can be carried out in a variety of ways) and by including the child’s voice in assessments that include multiple perspectives.

Rangimarie Turuki (Rose) Pere (1991) developed a Māori educational framework or model, te Aorangi (the universe), that illustrates the complexity of te ao Māori.

Pere’s model integrates the dimensions of wairuatanga (spirituality), tinana (the body), hinengaro (the mind), and whanaungatanga (the extended family). It also includes mana, the integrity and prestige of the individual; mauri, the life principle, which includes language; and whatumanawa, the expression of feelings.

In March 2003, Ma…

This book asks the question “What is bicultural assessment?” Te Whāriki is a bicultural document, written partly in Māori and woven around the principles of whakamana, kotahitanga, whānau tangata, and ngā hononga. Tilly and Tamati Reedy led a team representing Te Kōhanga Reo National Trust Board to develop the kaupapa Māori content. Tilly Reedy (2003) describes Te Whāriki as encouraging:

"the transmission of my cultural values, my language and tikanga, and your cultural values, your langua…