School science and mātauranga Māori
There is a need for careful reading and thoughtfulness in the discussion over mātauranga Māori and school science, Professor Georgina Tuari Stewart says.
A recently leaked draft science curriculum does not talk about replacing science content with mātauranga (Māori knowledge), the AUT Professor of Māori Philosophy of Education recently told Radio Waatea.
"What this curriculum is doing, and it's quite revolutionary, is teaching complex systems thinking,” she said.
“And it's using mātauranga Māori, quite appropriately, as a knowledge system that is different from science as we teach it in the school curriculum.
"I see this as the opening of a door. Not a prescription to teach mātauranga, but an opportunity for teachers who are motivated to embrace some new thinking and challenge their own understandings.”
Professor Stewart said mātauranga could be seen as a form of ethnoscience, which is the knowledge base that enables each cultural group to survive and thrive.
"The proposals are not suggesting that secondary teachers become specialists in teaching the detail of mātauranga.
"What this proposal is doing is putting up mātauranga as a useful comparison that actually acts like a mirror, that reflects the nature of science back to us and helps us to teach and learn about how science really works as a body of knowledge.
“These proposals seek to improve science. They are not seeking to vandalise or damage science."
The Ministry of Education has said the draft science content is still being completed and it is expected to go out for sector and public feedback from August this year.