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The treaty of Waitangi was a voluntary agreement signed by representatives of the British Crown

and by representatives of Māori tribal groups (hapū) in 1840 but is considered a living document

that is used and referred to for many aspects of life in contemporary Aotearoa New Zealand. The

Treaty of Waitangi forms part of the New Zealand constitution and is one of eight principles that

provides a foundation for decision making within the New Zealand curriculum (Ministry of

Education, 2012). It has also been acknowledged that an overall Treaty of Waitangi principle

within the curriculum can be difficult to implement within schools, so three principles were

introduced in a Ministry of Education (2012) curriculum update to help educators with the

overall vision of the New Zealand curriculum in line with the Treaty of Waitangi. These three

principles are: ‘Partnership’, ‘Protection’, and ‘Participation’ – the descriptions of each of these

principles will be discussed further on within this essay. The Treaty of Waitangi is still

incredibly relevant in contemporary Aotearoa New Zealand, and steps need to be taken to ensure

that it is utilized fully within our schools and education system.

The first principle that is introduced is that of ‘Partnership’. The central idea behind partnership

is “young people will work to create an Aotearoa in which Māori and Pākehā recognise each

other as full Treaty partners, and in which all cultures are valued for the contributions they

bring” (Ministry of Education, 2007). The intended idea for partnership is that both Māori and

Pākehā students consider each other as equals rather than one being better, or worse, than the

other. Metge (2013) has described the model of partnership as being ‘he taura whiri’ or ‘a plaited

rope’; traditionally, flax (muka) was twisted into longer strands (aho) and then plaited into ropes.

A rope made in this fashion was stronger than a strand of flax by itself – and how Metge (2013)

intended for this model to be interpreted is that Māori and Pākehā were the two strands (the two

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parties in the Treaty of Waitangi) with then a final strand being other ethnic groups. These three

strands plaited together then create a strong feeling of national identity, helping to create a sense

of belonging. This model helps to reinforce the diversity that Aotearoa New Zealand is made up

of, but also acknowledges that Māori and Pākehā are strands that need each other to become

strong by helping each other as per the Treaty of Waitangi – this is what creates the foundation

of the ‘Partnership’ principle. It also helps us to understand why this is so relevant in

contemporary Aotearoa New Zealand; we are made stronger by each other, and this is something

that our students need to take full advantage of – to ensure that their lives and the lives of the

people around them are bettered. As Tomlins-Jahnke & Warren (2013) succinctly describe it,

“the principle of partnership extends to Māori being an equal party in all decisions in education

that affect the life chances of Māori children and their whānau”.

The second principle is ‘Protection’ and this principle is more to do with protection of the Māori

knowledge and culture, from their language to their interests and their values (Ministry of

Education, 2012). This principle is focused on the learning of the Māori culture itself for “as part

of their developing identities, all New Zealand students need to understand New Zealand’s

unique bicultural heritage” (Ministry of Education, 2012). What this principle is working on is

ensuring that the Māori culture is not taken for granted or misused, but instead used to help

provide students with a further understand of the culture and the appropriate and respectful way

of participating in it. Metge (2013) explains that although New Zealand English is enriched by

the inclusion of te reo Māori words, a common issue found is that these words being inducted

into everyday New Zealand English were often mispronounced, and this can quite dramatically

shift the understanding of the words and therefore meanings of sentences altogether. Metge

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(2013) believes that there are a few steps that we can take to resolve this issue; firstly we need to

recognize that this is a problem within our society, secondly for the people that use Māori words

within their life and work (such as teachers, journalists, politicians etc.) to make a real effort to

understand the cultural contexts of these words that they are using to ensure that they are using

them appropriately, and thirdly to introduce as many people to learning the language as is

possible. The survival of the Māori language is one of the key drives behind the ‘Protection’

principle, as within a 62-year period (1913-1975) the number of children that were fluent Māori

speakers went from 90% to fewer than 5% which sparked a massive effort in the regeneration of

the language. Therefore the ‘Protection’ principle is still relevant to contemporary Aotearoa New

Zealand; te reo Māori is an official language and its survival (and the survival of all Māori

interests) for future generations is so dependent on it being used and valued within our schools

(Tomlins-Jahnke & Warren, 2013).

The third principle is ‘Participation’. This principle is described with the curriculum update as

being focused on “…equality of opportunity and outcomes. Students need to learn how to

participate and contribute as active citizens through opportunities to explore and appreciate the

rich and diverse cultures, languages, and heritages that shape their identities as New Zealanders”

(Ministry of Education, 2012). This key message of this principle is that Māori students are

given the same opportunities and possible outcomes as other students, but overall working to

make our students active and contributing citizens to Aotearoa New Zealand society. On the

other hand, it is also about making sure that Pākehā students have the same opportunities to

access Māori cultural events and activities. Participation also can extend not just to the students

themselves, but also to student’s parents, whānau and communities (Ministry of Education,

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2012). This principle aligns well to both the first and second principles of ‘Partnership’ and

‘Protection’ by ensuring that the ideas from both of these principles are actually being placed

into practice; one of the example questions offered within the 2012 curriculum update helps to

guide schools to truly understand at what level the ‘Participation’ principle is being enacted,

“What does “genuine participation” look like for Māori members of your school community?”

(Ministry of Education, 2012). Questions like these can help schools to evaluate whether the

participation that they are offering their students is not only active but meaningful. This is what

makes this principle so valuable to contemporary Aotearoa New Zealand, to ensure that the

students are fully reaping the benefits of all the principles that are being worked on so tirelessly

by education providers.

Although the principles may have had to be broken down further to help schools with the

implementation, the heart of the Treaty still exists and runs through the core of them. The treaty

principles have shown that they help to support a lot within the educational sphere ranging from

the relationships between students and their local communities and whānau, to playing an active

role in key government educational policies. The principles provide a framework for the

bicultural education for all New Zealanders and helps support Māori to maintain and develop

their societal culture both as the indigenous peoples of New Zealand and as treaty partners.

Tomlins-Jahnke & Warren (2013) state that “there is no doubt that the Treaty of Waitangi as the

founding document for this nation remains a framework for positive futures for all New

Zealanders”. This quote accurately surmises the points made within this essay, that the Treaty of

Waitangi still is undeniably valuable to contemporary Aotearoa New Zealand, and that any

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influences it has on the education that we provide to our students will only be beneficial for their

future.

Bibliography
Metge, J. (2013). Tuamaka: The challenge of difference in Aotearoa New Zealand. Retrieved
from http://ebookcentral.proquest.com

Ministry of Education. (2007). The New Zealand curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand.
Learning media limited.

Ministry of Education. (2012). The New Zealand Curriculum Treaty of Waitangi principle.
Retrieved from https://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/Curriculum-resources/NZC-Updates/Issue-16-
January-2012

Tomlins-Jahnke, H., & Warren, K. (2013). In Tawhai, V., & Gray-Sharp, K., Always speaking:
The treaty of waitangi and public policy (pp. 43 – 62). Retrieved from
https://ebookcentral.proquest.com