Native schools
Encyclopedia
In New Zealand
, Native Schools were established to provide education
for the Māori.
Until the 1860s, the government subsidised
church school
s for the Maori. Early missionary
schools were often conducted in the Māori language
, which was the predominant language throughout the early part of the 19th century. By the 1860s, three-quarters of the Māori population could read in Māori and two-thirds could write in Maori. The Education Ordinance of 1847 provided funding for mission schools and required them to conduct classes in English
in order to receive subsidies.
The New Zealand Wars forced the closing of the mission schools.
The Native Schools Act of 1867 was a major shift in policy. Rather than helping churches to rebuild mission schools after the wars, the government offered secular state-controlled primary schools to Māori communities who petitioned for them. In return for providing a suitable site, the government provided a school, teacher, books, and materials.
The act required that English be the only language used in the education of Māori children, and Māori were generally strongly supportive of their children learning English as they saw benefits in being able to work with Pākehā.
James Henry Pope (1837–1913) was appointed the organising inspector of Native Schools in January 1880 and he issued a Native Schools Code later in 1880 that prescribed a curriculum a, established qualifications for teachers, and standardised operation for the native schools. The primary mission was to assimilate the Māori into European culture. Māori could attend board of education schools and non-Māori could attend Native Schools, although the primary purpose of the Native Schools was providing European education for the Maori. Throughout the 20th century the number of Native Schools decreased and Māori increasingly attended board of education schools.
The Native Schools remained distinct from other New Zealand schools until 1969, when the last 108 Native Schools were transferred to the control of education boards.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, Native Schools were established to provide education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
for the Māori.
Until the 1860s, the government subsidised
Subsidy
A subsidy is an assistance paid to a business or economic sector. Most subsidies are made by the government to producers or distributors in an industry to prevent the decline of that industry or an increase in the prices of its products or simply to encourage it to hire more labor A subsidy (also...
church school
Church school
A church school is a place of education, the precise nature of which varies from one national jurisdiction to another.The State of Alabama defines a church school as follows:...
s for the Maori. Early missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
schools were often conducted in the Māori language
Maori language
Māori or te reo Māori , commonly te reo , is the language of the indigenous population of New Zealand, the Māori. It has the status of an official language in New Zealand...
, which was the predominant language throughout the early part of the 19th century. By the 1860s, three-quarters of the Māori population could read in Māori and two-thirds could write in Maori. The Education Ordinance of 1847 provided funding for mission schools and required them to conduct classes in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
in order to receive subsidies.
The New Zealand Wars forced the closing of the mission schools.
The Native Schools Act of 1867 was a major shift in policy. Rather than helping churches to rebuild mission schools after the wars, the government offered secular state-controlled primary schools to Māori communities who petitioned for them. In return for providing a suitable site, the government provided a school, teacher, books, and materials.
The act required that English be the only language used in the education of Māori children, and Māori were generally strongly supportive of their children learning English as they saw benefits in being able to work with Pākehā.
James Henry Pope (1837–1913) was appointed the organising inspector of Native Schools in January 1880 and he issued a Native Schools Code later in 1880 that prescribed a curriculum a, established qualifications for teachers, and standardised operation for the native schools. The primary mission was to assimilate the Māori into European culture. Māori could attend board of education schools and non-Māori could attend Native Schools, although the primary purpose of the Native Schools was providing European education for the Maori. Throughout the 20th century the number of Native Schools decreased and Māori increasingly attended board of education schools.
The Native Schools remained distinct from other New Zealand schools until 1969, when the last 108 Native Schools were transferred to the control of education boards.
See also
- Residential schools in CanadaCanadian residential school system-History:Founded in the 19th century, the Canadian Indian residential school system was intended to assimilate the children of the Aboriginal peoples in Canada into European-Canadian society...
- Indian boarding schools in the United States
- Cultural genocideCultural genocideCultural genocide is a term that lawyer Raphael Lemkin proposed in 1933 as a component to genocide. The term was considered in the 1948 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples juxtaposed next to the term ethnocide, but it was removed in the final document, replaced with...
External links
- Māori Language in State Education from the Archives New Zealand
- Māori Education in New Zealand: A Historical Overview Chapter 2 of a Waitangi Tribunal Report