The Maori Arts in Education: The Importance of Being : How Maori Arts Education Contributes Towards a Holistic Approach of Knowing Based on the Inter-relatedness of Understanding, Doing, and Being

This thesis examines the impact of the Nga Toi professional development and implementation model on resource teachers of Maori and Maori advisors. It explores the inter-relatedness of understanding, doing and being in relation to professional development, and teaching and learning in general. With the intention of acknowledging that 'being' is an equally important component in arts education. This research is a qualitative investigation into the phenomenon of Nga Toi Professional Development and is embedded within a Kaupapa Maori paradigm. Eight participants were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. The interviews were transcribed and analysed using themes that arose out of the data itself. The data was categorised into the three areas of doing, being and understanding to allow for an analysis of what the respondents were saying in relation to the research question, 'How can Maori arts education contribute towards a holistic approach of knowing based on the inter-relatedness of understanding, doing, and being?' It is the interconnectedness of these three concepts that allow for a deeper knowing of things. This could be described as a knowing of the mind, body and soul and equates with terms such as realisation or 'in the zone' and enlightenment. The design of the Nga Toi professional development acknowledged and incorporated the allowance for 'being', as interpreted in this study, into the planning. This created some ambiguity in planning as some things emerged through the process and the learning was retrospective or came out of being reflective. Some of the structures, such as the dramaturgy processes assisted in creating an environment which in equal parts challenged yet supported participants to move into unknown spaces. Integrating 'being' as an integral part of arts education challenges current thought that everything has to be assessed and have an outcome. Being challenges this approach to learning as it is often the immeasurable quotient in a performance or action. Being in the arts evokes an emotional or even spiritual response; you know when it's there but can't predict what it will look like or the impact it will have. From the facilitators perspective success in the Nga Toi professional development was expressed through developing skills, understandings and being through experiential or practical workshops and following it up with the theory. A major intention of this study is to create a space and a dialogue for debate and discussion in regards to the inclusion of 'being' in arts education

The Maori Arts in Education: The Importance of Being : How Maori Arts Education Contributes Towards a Holistic Approach of Knowing Based on the Inter-relatedness of Understanding, Doing, and Being

This thesis examines the impact of the Nga Toi professional development and implementation model on resource teachers of Maori and Maori advisors. It explores the inter-relatedness of understanding, doing and being in relation to professional development, and teaching and learning in general. With the intention of acknowledging that 'being' is an equally important component in arts education. This research is a qualitative investigation into the phenomenon of Nga Toi Professional Development and is embedded within a Kaupapa Maori paradigm. Eight participants were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. The interviews were transcribed and analysed using themes that arose out of the data itself. The data was categorised into the three areas of doing, being and understanding to allow for an analysis of what the respondents were saying in relation to the research question, 'How can Maori arts education contribute towards a holistic approach of knowing based on the inter-relatedness of understanding, doing, and being?' It is the interconnectedness of these three concepts that allow for a deeper knowing of things. This could be described as a knowing of the mind, body and soul and equates with terms such as realisation or 'in the zone' and enlightenment. The design of the Nga Toi professional development acknowledged and incorporated the allowance for 'being', as interpreted in this study, into the planning. This created some ambiguity in planning as some things emerged through the process and the learning was retrospective or came out of being reflective. Some of the structures, such as the dramaturgy processes assisted in creating an environment which in equal parts challenged yet supported participants to move into unknown spaces. Integrating 'being' as an integral part of arts education challenges current thought that everything has to be assessed and have an outcome. Being challenges this approach to learning as it is often the immeasurable quotient in a performance or action. Being in the arts evokes an emotional or even spiritual response; you know when it's there but can't predict what it will look like or the impact it will have. From the facilitators perspective success in the Nga Toi professional development was expressed through developing skills, understandings and being through experiential or practical workshops and following it up with the theory. A major intention of this study is to create a space and a dialogue for debate and discussion in regards to the inclusion of 'being' in arts education

The Maori Arts in Education: The Importance of Being : How Maori Arts Education Contributes Towards a Holistic Approach of Knowing Based on the Inter-relatedness of Understanding, Doing, and Being

This thesis examines the impact of the Nga Toi professional development and implementation model on resource teachers of Maori and Maori advisors. It explores the inter-relatedness of understanding, doing and being in relation to professional development, and teaching and learning in general. With the intention of acknowledging that 'being' is an equally important component in arts education. This research is a qualitative investigation into the phenomenon of Nga Toi Professional Development and is embedded within a Kaupapa Maori paradigm. Eight participants were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. The interviews were transcribed and analysed using themes that arose out of the data itself. The data was categorised into the three areas of doing, being and understanding to allow for an analysis of what the respondents were saying in relation to the research question, 'How can Maori arts education contribute towards a holistic approach of knowing based on the inter-relatedness of understanding, doing, and being?' It is the interconnectedness of these three concepts that allow for a deeper knowing of things. This could be described as a knowing of the mind, body and soul and equates with terms such as realisation or 'in the zone' and enlightenment. The design of the Nga Toi professional development acknowledged and incorporated the allowance for 'being', as interpreted in this study, into the planning. This created some ambiguity in planning as some things emerged through the process and the learning was retrospective or came out of being reflective. Some of the structures, such as the dramaturgy processes assisted in creating an environment which in equal parts challenged yet supported participants to move into unknown spaces. Integrating 'being' as an integral part of arts education challenges current thought that everything has to be assessed and have an outcome. Being challenges this approach to learning as it is often the immeasurable quotient in a performance or action. Being in the arts evokes an emotional or even spiritual response; you know when it's there but can't predict what it will look like or the impact it will have. From the facilitators perspective success in the Nga Toi professional development was expressed through developing skills, understandings and being through experiential or practical workshops and following it up with the theory. A major intention of this study is to create a space and a dialogue for debate and discussion in regards to the inclusion of 'being' in arts education.</p

An Ontological Perspective on the Development of Home–School Partnership Relationships with Indigenous Communities

We propose the use of an ontological perspective to shift current thinking about the phenomenon of home/school partnerships, particularly through an examination of school leaders (leadership team) — community relationships that seek to better serve Indigenous students and their communities. We reanalysed focus group interviews of indigenous Māori students and their whānau/families from a wider New Zealand study that investigated the development of culturally responsive leadership in 84 secondary schools. The aim of the leadership intervention was to improve school practices and enable Indigenous Māori students to achieve and enjoy educational success as Māori. Reanalysis of interview material revealed categories related to relational being that highlight both opportunities and impediments to authentic relationships between schools and communities and the development of culturally responsive leadership. This paper attempts to create a framework in regards to relational ontology within a broader struggle for transformative praxis and to provide direction for further theoretical and practical investigation within schools

Being, Flow and Knowledge in Māori Arts Education: Assessing Indigenous Creativity

This article reflects on issues of Indigenous creativity in Māori arts education, along with what we see as problematic tensions of the assessment of intangible elements. Our writing is motivated by a desire to start a global dialogue on Indigenous/Māori epistemologies, pedagogies and ontologies, and the contradictions and tensions that threaten these through global assessment drives within schools. We argue that current student assessment regimes are being increasingly influenced by international neoliberal agendas, which focus on universal, measurable outcomes. By critically exploring the assessment of creativity in the arts from a Māori perspective, we reflect on several contradictions and tensions in current assessment drives within schools. In particular, the intangible dimensions of being and flow and their connection to creativity are examined, and we conclude with recommendations for further work in this area