Upgrade Programme for the Diploma of Teaching Kura Kaupapa Māori Graduates

Introduction

The Bachelor of Teaching Kura Kaupapa Maori degree was approved in 2008.

All students of previous years who were enrolled with Te Wananga Takiura and had completed studies for the Diploma of Teaching Kura Kaupapa Māori, from the time of approval of our current bachelor’s degree, can now be upgraded into this degree programme through a semester study undertaken on Saturdays.

Te Wananga Takiura is aware of considerable interest from Diploma graduates of those earlier years wishing to undertake the necessary upgrading to their knowledge and skills in order to obtain the degree. Te Wānanga Takiura has developed an upgrade programme to enable graduates to do the required study to achieve this goal.

Principles

The programme is designed to follow two key principles:

• Te Wānanga Takiura will make the degree available to Te Wānanga Takiura Diploma graduates who are able to meet the outcomes of the degree as specified in the degree outline and course descriptors.
• The degree outcomes imply that the required knowledge and skills of interested Diploma Graduates are still current, so awarding of the degree will require some evidence that the graduate has current knowledge and skills that relate closely to our degree outcomes.

Programme

Analysis by Te Wānanga Takiura has identified that its former diploma graduates who are currently engaged in the teaching profession in a Kura Kaupapa Māori or Māori-Medium teaching environment will be able to meet our degree requirements by completing the following study schedule:

• An update and one assessment in each of the 6 theoretical professional courses that are offered in the current 3rd  year of the degree, that is, at the Ahurewa 300 level;
• 15-credit research project;
• An attestation of the currency of your current practical competencies by the Head Teacher, Principal or Chairman of the Board of Trustees of a Kura Kaupapa Māori School or a Māori-medium unit.

The course will be delivered through a blended learning programme, combining a series of weekend seminars with on-line delivery and support through Te Wānanga Takiura’s on-line learning support services. Active participation in both the attendance at the weekend seminars and on-line activities will be compulsory.

A robust on-going assessment programme, aligned to the full requirements of our current assessments in the Ahurewa 300, final year of the degree, will ensure that the awarding of the bachelor’s degree to successful Upgrade Programme students, will maintains the standards required for the degree.

The programme will be monitored and assessments will be moderated by external moderators reporting to the Te Wānanga Takiura Academic Board and the Kahui Tautoko.

Entry requirements

Students will be expected to meet the following requirements:

• Hold a Wānanga Takiura Diploma in Teaching (Kura Kaupapa Māori).
• Have taught for at least 5 years in a Kura Kaupapa Māori school or a Māori medium unit.
• Provide a current Attestation of Practical Competence in Teaching from a Head Teacher, Principal or Chairman of the Board of Trustees of a Kura Kaupapa Māori School or a Māori-medium unit.

Fees

The fee for the Upgrade Programme will be $3,400.00. This has been set at close to same level as the student fee cost of one semester of the degree programme. No government subsidies will apply to this programme and no student loans will be available.
Students/Graduates will have to find or generate their own funding, through Māori Trust Boards, through a Teach NZ Scholarship, through a school’s professional development programme or through your own resources.

Components

The programme will include nine 3-hour seminars on five Saturdays over a semester.

Each seminar will include theory and knowledge covered in the final year of the current Ahurewa 300 degree; the Bachelor of Teaching Kura Kaupapa Māori, te Tohu Paetahi Ako Kura Kaupapa Māori.

Currency of Practical Skills
The programme will require past graduates to provide an Attestation of Practical Competence by the Head Teacher, the Principal or the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of a Kura Kaupapa Māori school or a Māori medium unit. If no Attestations is provided, there will be no qualification.

Graduates must make an earnest effort to acquire this attestation.

The Research Project will consist of an introductory 3 hour research skills seminar followed by supervision over a semester with two x 3 hour mid-semester progress seminars.

EFTS: 0.378

Appendix 1

Upgrade Programme Cross-credit and RPL arrangements

The following arrangements will apply for students having achieved the Diploma in Teaching (Kura Kaupapa Maori) prior to 2008.

Assessment and re-sit policies from the Quality Management System Sections 6.5 and 6.9 apply to this programme.

Timetable