Level 2 Maori medium programmes with 51-80% Maori language instruction make an important contribution to developing Maori language skills and lifting Maori student achievement, yet these programmes are largely hidden from discussions about Maori education attainment. Offering lower levels of Maori immersion than kura kaupapa Maori and being…

There are few emergent literacy assessments available for bilingual children. This study investigated the usefulness of a screening battery of oral language and print-related measures as an assessment tool for bilingual Samoan-English speaking children. A total of 18 children were recruited from three Samoan language immersion kindergartens (Aoga…

In this timely volume, international scholars examine how multilingual schooling is handled in schools across the world with a series of case studies from South Africa, Nigeria, Germany, Colombia, Slovakia, New Zealand, and Taiwan. Presenting new contributions arising from the varied contexts of multilingualism today, this collection urges…

This paper summarises the key issues and challenges that have emerged from a recent major report by the authors on Maori-medium education in Aotearoa/New Zealand. The discussion is situated within a wider international analysis of bilingual/immersion programmes, including heritage language programmes for indigenous peoples. Key issues explored…

In recent years, numerous educational programmes have been developed that have been aimed at raising the academic achievement and wider participation of Pasifika students in New Zealand society. One example of this, which has to date only been explored at local school level, is bilingual/immersion education. The arguments underlying this paper are…

This case study examined the effects of a Maori language and culture immersion preschool program on a preschooler's English and Maori language usage at home. School and home observations revealed the importance of the child's role in acquiring bilingual expertise, the presence of complementary activities at home, and shared cultural commitments.…

One of the aims of Maori-medium education is to address Maori language loss. One of the challenges facing Maori-medium educators is to identify configurations that acknowledge the substantive importance of English language instruction without detracting from the priority that must be given to the regeneration of the Maori language. Issues…

This paper examines the bilingual and biliteracy development of a group of children from Samoan and Tongan families over the transition to mainstream English-medium schools in New Zealand. The children attended Pasifika Early Childhood Education Centres in Auckland, New Zealand, which provided full immersion programmes in their L1 (either Samoan…

Over the last 30 years, inquiry-based teaching has become a highly valued component of professional development and practitioner research in Australia and New Zealand. This volume of the Language Teacher Research Series focuses on teaching and learning experiences in those two countries, which encompass a large geographical area with diverse…