Enabling conditions for professional development of te reo Māori teachers

Abstract

The paper outlines a professional development programme for secondary school teachers of te reo Māori (under the auspices of Te Hiringa i te Mahara) conducted by a language teacher educator and an expert in Māori bilingualism and biliteracy. While the principles underpinning the programme reflect a strong task-based orientation, the programme approached development needs for the teachers from the point of view of understanding “enabling conditions” (Franken, Rau, Ngata & Parata, n.d.) for effective language learning and teaching (see also Ellis, 2005), rather than understanding task based learning and teaching per se. The programme drew on the current practices of the teachers and made use of epistemology of Māori language and Māori language learning. The paper presents observations from monitoring data collected during the programme supporting the claim that such an approach to the professional development of language teachers promotes a strong knowledge base and pedagogical reasoning skills (Richards, 1998), and in particular for te reo Māori teachers, fosters a sense of their own professional identity.