Weaving together: Decolonising global citizenship education in Aotearoa New Zealand

Abstract

AbstractIn 2017, as part of a restructuring of the Bachelor of Arts degree, Massey University introduced the compulsory second‐year citizenship course Tū Rangaranga: Global Encounters. Tū Rangaranga is a Māori word meaning to weave together or establish connections. The course explores citizenship from a global perspective with a focus on rights and responsibilities. In the course, students are encouraged both to reflect on the multiple factors shaping their identities, including Aotearoa New Zealand's colonial past, and to locate themselves in relation to complex global problems. This decolonial approach to curricula and pedagogy enables a greater commitment to Māori perspectives related to citizenship. This commitment is reflected in the weaving together of Māori and Western epistemologies in the course design and content. The course was developed in the context of a university that subsequently expressed a commitment to becoming a Tiriti‐led university and to abide by its obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi, recognising the indigeneity and rights of Māori people. The decolonial imperative underscoring the teaching of this course was to enhance forms of collective reflection and action to address issues of cultural exclusion and disadvantage associated with colonial legacies that privilege Western epistemologies within curricula and pedagogy.