During the 1960’s Maori concerned about the state of te reo Maori lobbied the government to have te reo Maori included as a teaching subject in the New Zealand curriculum. In the early 1970’s they reaped the rewards of their hard fought efforts when te reo Maori became a taught subject in the New Zealand curriculum. However, even with te reo being taught in English medium schools, its use was still in decline creating even more anxiety about its survival. In the 1980’s Maori took the matter into their own hands and the birth of Maori medium early childhood education centres named Kohanga Reo (Language Nests) was the result. Shortly afterwards Maori medium primary schools (Kura Kaupapa Maori) emerged followed by Maori medium secondary schools (Wharekura). There was a ground swell of support for these community driven initiatives and it seemed te reo Maori would be returned from the brink of extinction. Even given the emergence of Maori medium educational facilities including Wananga (Tertiary Institutes), the majority of Maori students have remained in English medium education. After a respite of about twenty years it would seem that te reo Maori is once again on the decline. For many years kaiako reo Maori (Maori language teachers) in English medium secondary schools have grappled with the issue of high attrition rates from their senior te reo Maori programmes. This is a significant issue as 85 percent of akonga Maori (Maori students) still participate in the English medium education system. However this problem plagues not only akonga Maori but also those who are non Maori. Te reo Maori programmes in mainstream New Zealand schools are offered to akonga as optional subjects. While retention is relatively unproblematic for akonga in the junior levels of secondary schools (ages 13 to 14), it becomes a significant issue in the senior levels (ages 15 to 18) where attrition rates are considerably high. This research attempts to identify the factors that contribute to the high rates of attrition and offers some possible solutions to decreasing attrition rates amongst akonga reo Maori.

This thesis researches Kāpō Māori (Māori who are blind or sight impaired) and their pursuit of Te Reo Māori. Te Reo Māori is a very significant cultural marker for Kāpō Māori to identify themselves as Māori. Kāpō Māori face many challenges, challenges that are unknown to the mainstream. The thesis surveys the fortunes of Te Reo Māori as it struggles to survive and find acceptance in Aotearoa/New Zealand, outlines attitudes towards disabled persons, who suffer discrimination and marginalisation, and summarises the story of the Blind in Aotearoa/New Zealand, especially through the history of The Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind, to provide context for the challenges faced by Kāpō Māori. For Kāpō Māori, discrimination and marginalisation is increased because all Māori suffer the disabilities that are a result of colonisation. The thesis sets out a methodology for field research, and draws from interviews with research participants to present the experiences of Kāpō Māori. This thesis provides an insight into the issues Kāpō Māori encounter when trying to engage Kāpō Māori , and draws those issues forward from darkness, where they are unknown, into the world of light by providing Kāpō Māori with a forum for discussion of these issues.

Māori education has grown out of a long and varied history of Māori engagement with Western forms of schooling. Full immersion Māori learning environments such as kura kaupapa Māori emerged from a background of colonial Mission schools, Native Schools, and evolving assimilation and integration educational policies. It is the subsequent loss of language, continual Māori school underachievement and Māori struggles for indigenous self-determination that have provided the conditions in which the development of Kaupapa Māori otherwise known as Māori medium education has taken place. Māori medium education has emerged in varying forms and differing levels of Māori language immersion, although the principles and philosophies of these environments remain particularly Māori orientated. Kaupapa Māori education is largely built upon whānau aspirations and is set within a Māori framework of learning and Māori language teaching. In addition to full immersion Māori schools there are other classroom settings that offer varied levels of Māori language instruction. Some of these classrooms have been established in English medium schools, creating a bilingual context. While full immersion schools focus on the breadth of all things Māori, bilingual schools may have a slightly different focus. May, Hill and Tiakiwai (2006 p.1) in their review of Bilingual Education in Aotearoa explain it as an area of instruction where school subjects are taught in two languages (Māori and English) and students become fluent orators and writers in both. Little is understood about the dynamics of partial immersion programmes and the contribution these settings make to Māori language and cultural knowledge acquisition and to wider self-determination aspirations of Māori. Drawing from the contributed insights of teaching staff, whānau and other stakeholders linked to partial immersion education, this research considers these settings to better understand the relationship between language acquisition and cultural knowledge attainment. A synergy of Kaupapa Māori theory with a qualitative interpretivist approach has guided the research process. The rationale for the research was to strengthen cultural knowledge and cultural aspirations which made it appropriate to use Kaupapa Māori principles as a foundation of which to develop the research. As research is currently limited in this respect a more extensive understanding of the teaching and learning programmes within a partial immersion classroom may be paramount to their continuation and success. Key findings emerged from the participant interviews and clear characteristics of these environments developed: Whānau (family), te reo Māori me ōna tikanga (Māori language and cultural customs) Māori values, and Māori pedagogies. The participants talked about many features particular to partial immersion education that linked to these four themes. The themes were further analysed to find key positive outcomes of these settings. A strong sense of pride in identity, particularly Māori identity and Māori succeeding as Māori were the two key positive outcomes that emerged from the participant data.