Eighty years of growing up kāpo (blind) Māori: what can we learn about inclusive education in New Zealand?

Abstract

This paper presents some of the results from a 2-year, qualitative study entitled Growing up kāpo Māori: Identity, whānau, and cultural well being. It explores the educational experiences of 10 Māori (indigenous people of Aotearoa, New Zealand), who are kāpo (blind/vision impaired) of various ages up to the age of 80, and their whānau (family). In this research, four common themes emerged, including (1) visibility and invisibility, (2) cultural location and dislocation, (3) cultural consonance and dissonance, and (4) transformation and change. These themes are discussed in this paper in relation to the participants' educational experiences. Overall, schools had difficulty providing both culturally appropriate education and educational support for the participants' vision impairment. Inclusive education options for kāpo Māori tamariki/rangatahi and their whānau were limited. However, the participants articulated aspirations for education in their own communities, with their whānau that would value them as Māori who happen to also be kāpo. In order to realise these aspirations, the participants and their whānau moved not only between educational settings but also towns.

Keywords:

• inclusive education
• Māori
• indigenous
• blind
• vision impairment
• disability

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the Donald Beasley Institute for hosting this project and the Research Management Committee from Ngāti Kāpo O Aotearoa, Inc for their wise guidance; Dr Benita Wakefield and Kelly Tikao for their assistance in this research; the Health Research Council for their support; and, most importantly, the participants in our project who shared their stories with us.