The contemporary relevance of the Treaty for education in New Zealand today, through

the Principles: Active Protection, Participation and Partnership.

Te Tiriti o Waitangi, or the Treaty of Waitangi was a signing between the British

Crown and the Māori chiefs, which occurred on the 6th Feburary in 1840 in Waitangi, New

Zealand. The signing of the Treaty represented an agreement between the Crown and the

Māori people to collectively share ownership of New Zealand (Orange, 2017). The Treaty

represents an extremely significant piece of history for New Zealand as its founding

document, and helps define how the country has developed. Despite the relevance the Treaty

maintains, research has found that a large number New Zealanders do not understand much

about the Treaty, and do not believe that it is still important (Metge, 2013, p. 23). This is a

huge issue because a lack of knowledge can create misunderstandings about the relationship

between the Crown and Māori, and the colonisation and development of New Zealand.

According to Metge (2013, p. 23), the Treaty is not only relevant for the country today, but

will remain relevant in the future. Therefore, the Treaty of Waitangi contains contemporary

relevance in New Zealand today, and New Zealanders must find a solution to understand the

Treaty, and to incorporate it into their everyday lives. The Treaty can be understood and

interpreted through the three significant principles: the principle of active protection, the

principle of participation, and the principle of partnership.

The principle of active protection is a significant aspect of the Treaty, where the

Queen offered equal rights and privileges to Māori as British citizens, however, this also

meant that Māori would adhere to the British laws which, at the time, was not made aware

(Orange, 2017). This offer suggests that active protection is a right or a privilege that Māori

were entitled to at an untold cost which impacted the nation. According to the Ministry of
Education (2012), this principle refers to the culture, values, knowledge and language of

Māori. Te Reo Māori is one example which has faced issues in the past. Only twenty years

after the signing of the Treaty, English became the offical language of New Zealand. Not

only this, but Te Reo was forbidden from public areas, such as schools, where punishments

were probable (Metge, 2013, p. 25). The outcome of such exclusion of Te Reo meant that the

number of native speakers had declined so rapidly that extinction was a threat (Metge, 2013,

p. 25). Gradually, Te Reo has become implemented into public areas and is encouraged in

many places, and there are even requirements to speak in Te Reo at cermonies (Metge, 2013,

p. 25-26). It is also now one of the official langauges of New Zealand, along with English

and New Zealand Sign Language. It is clear then, that progress has been made in the last

decades. However, this is only one aspect of Māori culture. To ensure that recovery continues

and to further implement all aspects of Māori, New Zealanders can be more effortful and

inclusive of the language and culture. For example, students can attempt to understand Te

Reo and Te Ao Māori to gain more insight. However, students need to be given the

opportunity in the classroom to be able to gain such knowledge (Ministry of Education,

2012). Therefore, the active protection of Māori needs to be effective immediately in places

like schools, to acknowledge Māori as indigenous people, to recover what they lost, and to

protect the rights of their culture, as promised in the Treaty.

The principle of participation refers to the active involvement for Māori to be

successful in education, through Māori cultural underpinnings. Involvement comes from

opportunities which people must take to help understand and appreciate diverse cultures,

including Māori (Ministry of Education, 2012). These are great intentions, however, there are

obstacles to achieve this. According to Metge (2013, p. 30), statements such as “We are all

New Zealanders” are problematic because it draws so much attention and emphasis to the
variety of cultures that Māori culture is reduced in value. This emphasis on diversity can be

the cause for the lack of Māori culture in education, which causes a lack of opportunity for

Māori to succeed (Tawhai & Gray-Sharp, 2013, p. 53). This relates back to the example of

Te Reo in schools. In the future, the Māori population is expected to expand more than non-

Māori populations. This is problematic due to the low achievement levels of Māori (Tawhai

& Gray-Sharp, 2013, p. 57-58). A cause for this may be because of weak relationship

between schools and iwi, and because most Māori students are in English-medium schools.

Therefore, action from the Ministry needs to approach this issue and aim to assist Māori, and

ensure that they are participating in Māori educational environments, which can better

educate and prepare them (Crossley, Hancock & Sprague, 2015, p. 164-165). To

acknowledge diversity whilst maintaining value for Māori, Metge (2013, p. 21) introduces a

model which can be used as a solution, through the visualisation of ‘He taura whiri’ or ‘a

plaited rope’. The idea is that the two sections of the plait represent Māori and Pākehā, and

other diverse cultures in New Zealand are interwoven in the strands. When it is interwoven

into a plait, it then represents national unity. This is a strong symbol which can consider all

cultures while maintaining value for the parties at the Treaty of Waitangi. It is clear that this

principle has many issues that need to be overcome in order to allow participation to be

effective. This means that we must understand and appreciate the diverse cultures within

New Zealand today whilst maintaining high value for Māori as our indigenous people, and

granting equal opportunities for achievement and success by incorporating Māori culture into

relevant educational contexts.

The third principle is the principle of partnership where Māori and Pākehā obtain a

respectful relationship that appreciates each other as Treaty partners (Ministry of Education,

2012). This means that they value each others cultural contributions and must compromise
when necessary. In education, appreciation and compromise is not evident, particularly in

‘mainstream’ English-medium schools where Māori is virtually neglected. Such schools may

have strong Eurocentric perspectives who do not understand the the partnership between

Māori and Pākehā. The problem is that mainstream schools restrict Māori from being in a

suitable environment where they can learn about their culture, values, knowledge, and

language in more depth. It also excludes non-Māori New Zealanders from learning about

Māori, which contributes to misunderstandings. According to Tawhai and Gray-Sharp (2013,

p. 53), the principle also means that Māori must have equal rights for decision-making within

education, so that they have equal opportunities to succeed as Māori, not Pākehā. This

involves the concept of rangatiratanga, which gives more authority and control for Māori

over their education. This could occur in schools where Māori would work alongside non-

Māori to review the education system’s procedures, policies and practices. Schools could

gain valuable lessons from this, such as colloborative decision-making and what it means to

have Māori contributions in education (Ministry of Education, 2012). If a better partnership

with appreciation and compromise was developed, then issues would dissolve and

relationships between the Treaty partners could strengthen. According to the Ministry of

Education (2012), people would benefit from better understanding diverse cultures that assist

students’ learning with different perspectives. Further, students could learn to understand that

as citizens of New Zealand, there are rights and responsibilities, including those of Māori to

have rights in education. This could create a stronger sence of national unity for students as

they understand the diverse cultures underpinned by the bicultural history, and the role Māori

and Pākehā play in history (Ministry of Education, 2012). Therefore, it is clear that the

principle of partnership remains significant today, particularly for Māori people as the Treaty

continues to impact on their everday life. Obstacles towards a respectful compromising

relationship between Māori and Pākeha must be acknowledged and worked towards to create

a better future for New Zealand.

In conclusion, the discussion of the Treaty of Waitangi has demonstrated lots of

relevance for New Zealand in the past, today and in the future. The three principles of active

protection, participation and partnership are aspects of the Treaty which can be used to

understand the relationship between Māori and Pākehā and how New Zealand has become

the multicultural country it is today. The principles have strong meanings and intentions,

however, obstacles to achieve these must be overcome to move forward. These include

recovering and maintaining aspects of Māori culture, such as Te Reo; to increase Māori

participation to create opportunities for success; and to make fair compromises, such as more

relevant and inclusive educational settings with Māori authority. From this, it is clear that the

Treaty maintains value in New Zealand today through the significance of the principles and

New Zealanders must collectively work together to achieve these and create a brighter future

for our country.

References:

Crossley, M., Hancock, G., & Sprague, T. (2015). New Zealand: Maori Education in

Aotearoa. In Education in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific (Vol. Education Around

the World). London, England: Bloomsbury Academic. Retrieved from

https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/auckland/reader.action?ppg=180&docID=2003

126&tm=1513719629586

Metge, J. (2013). Tuamaka: the Challenge of Difference in Aotearoa New Zealand.

New York: Auckland University Press. Retrieved from

http://auckland.eblib.com/patron/FullRecord.aspx?p=1411735

Ministry of Education. (2012). The New Zealand Curriculum Update: Treaty of

Waitangi Principle. Retrieved from https://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/Curriculum-

resources/NZC-Updates/Issue-16-January-2012

Orange, C. (2017). Introduction. In Te Tiriti o Waitangi/The Treaty of Waitangi,

1840. Bridget Williams Books. Retrieved from http://te-tiriti-o-waitangi-

history.bwb.co.nz.ezproxy.auckland.ac.nz/introduction.html#Intro duction1

Tawhai, V., & Gray-Sharp, K. (2013). Always Speaking: The Treaty of Waitangi and

Public Policy. New York: Huia (NZ) Ltd. Retrieved from

http://auckland.eblib.com/patron/FullRecord.aspx?p=1359707