Open AccessEmpowering Language: Lenses of Knowing, Being and Doing
Author(s) -
Joanna Williamson,
Helen Hedges
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
language and literacy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1496-0974
DOI - 10.20360/g2hm23
Subject(s) - aotearoa , storytelling , indigenous , pedagogy , empowerment , context (archaeology) , biculturalism , sociology , pacific islanders , curriculum , literacy , early childhood education , indigenous language , early childhood , psychology , gender studies , narrative , developmental psychology , linguistics , political science , anthropology , ethnic group , neuroscience of multilingualism , history , philosophy , law , ecology , archaeology , biology , neuroscience
Mana, a notion reflecting empowerment, is a central concept in te ao Māori, the world views of the indigenous culture in Aotearoa New Zealand. Mana forms a key component within Aotearoa New Zealand’s bicultural early childhood curriculum Te Whāriki and Māori early childhood assessment framework Te Whatu Pōkeka. Lenses of these culturally responsive frameworks are applied to verbal interactions amongst Indigenous Canadian children playing in school. Play was utilized to empower the children’s ideas and oral language towards richer storytelling. We argue that it is important for all teachers to consider and work with local and culturally responsive frameworks relevant to their context to empower children’s voices.