He Ara Poutama mō te reo Māori: Using HAP to Understand The Future of Aotearoa’s reo Māori Education Workforce

Ko te manu e kai ana i te miro nōna te ngahere,

Ko te manu e kai ana i te mātauranga nōna te ao

The bird that consumes the miro berry owns the forest, the bird that consumes knowledge owns the world

In this article we take a high-level look at our work with the Ministry of Education to understand the future of the te reo Māori education workforce in Aotearoa. To do this, we used the He Ara Poutama (HAP) microsimulation model to highlight the demands, challenges, and growth opportunities within the reo Māori education workforce. These insights will help our teachers as they support the growing number of te reo Māori speakers in Aotearoa into the future. Keep reading to learn more!

He kōrero tuarongo mō He Ara Poutama | Background

He Ara Poutama mō te reo Māori (HAP) is a tool to help forge a path towards the future by forecasting the number of conversational and fluent speakers of te reo Māori from now until 2040. HAP is a valuable tool for organisations working in the reo Māori revitalisation space. HAP can help us understand who is speaking te reo Māori and where, as well as how changes to certain revitalisation initiatives may affect future numbers of te reo Māori speakers.

Some examples of how we have used HAP in recent mahi include:

• Partnering with Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori to:

  1)      Monitor progress towards the Maihi Karauna te reo Māori revitalisation goals &

  2)      Produce insights around te reo Māori in the public service

  (Read more about this work here)

• Partnering with the Ministry of Education to understand the value of Māori medium education in reducing school dropout rates for tamariki

• Providing Te Mātāwai with community insights about te reo Māori use to inform decision-making, strategy, and investment towards te reo Māori revitalization. (Read more about this work here)

Ko te tono mai i Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga | The request from MOE

In this latest piece of mahi, Nicholson Consulting partnered with the Ministry of Education (MOE) to understand more about the characteristics of Aotearoa’s te reo Māori teacher workforce. These insights will help MOE’s education workforce team and others across the Ministry to plan for future demand/supply for te reo Māori teaching.  

Ngā kitenga mō Te Pou Ohumahi Mātauranga nō He Ara Poutama | HAP insights on the reo Māori education workforce

We used HAP to forecast regional supply and demand dynamics for each Te Tira Hou region, forecasting te reo Māori proficiency, and additional kaiako through Kaumātua support. 

An overall increasing trend in potential teacher supply was observed in both Māori and non-Māori populations, as well as an increase in the demand for highly proficient teachers.

One challenge identified was the uneven supply of potential teachers across the regions; with some areas having fewer potential teachers, whilst some of the city centres had more potential teachers relative to ākonga. Schools are also facing increased competition from other industries requiring te reo Māori skills. Kaumātua support is one approach to overcome this challenge and help increase the supply of te reo Māori teachers.

He aha kei mua i te aroaro? | Where to next?

We hope this mahi can help the reo Māori education workforce navigate future challenges, and ensure that reo Māori education in Aotearoa continues to thrive. We reached out to MOE to understand how these insights will impact their mahi going forward:

"We recognise that our current supply of te reo Māori teachers isn't keeping up with demand (let alone demand projections), but it's reassuring to know that the older population holds the majority of reo speakers, representing an untapped and growing resource. Our challenge is to understand their needs and desires (especially the semi-retired workforce) and explore what future training pathways could look like for them, so they can step into teaching if they want to."

Raukura Maxwell - Kaiwhakahaere, Te Reo Māori Workforce Supply –Te Pou Ohumahi Mātauranga

If you’d like to learn more about this meaningful mahi, get in touch by emailing hello@nicholsonconsulting.co.nz.

A huge shout-out to team from Nicholson Consulting who worked on this project: Ernestynne Walsh, Conrad MacCormack, Linda Martis and Aperahama Simcock

And also our partners at Kōtātā Insight - Conal Smith, Luisa Beltran-Castillon