Te Whāriki – 紐西蘭的幼教課綱
評斷一個國家的教育方式有很多種，包含教育理念、教材、教學環境等。但以上提及的都仍會因著各個學校的理念不同，而產生不同的學習環境及教材。那教育專家口中的「某某國家教育好棒」，又是怎麼判斷來的呢？
其實，政府頒布的課綱就能看出端倪。
”Te Whāriki” 是紐西蘭0至6歲的教育準則，就像台灣教育部頒發的幼兒園教保活動課程大綱，是給幼教老師的教學基準。不同的是紐西蘭的Te Whāriki提供了更廣更包容的概念，讓老師在不同的教學環境都能發揮。
除此之外，紐西蘭有來自世界各國的移民，是一個多元文化(multi-culture)的國家。加上他們十分重視當地原住民 – 毛利人(Māori)的文化，Te Whāriki呈現的是毛利語及英語的雙語版。有趣的是，他們並不是以英文版當基礎，翻譯成毛利文。而是在相同理念下，寫出兩份獨一無二的教育準則。
Te Whāriki – the curriculum of early childhood education in New Zealand
To evaluate the education system of one country, we consider philosophy, teaching material, and educational environment. However, according to the philosophy that each school is inspired, different teaching materials and educational environment will be present. How do we actually know if the education system is “good”?
That is, from the curriculum document that the government published.
“Te Whāriki” is the curriculum document for children from 0 to 6 years old in New Zealand. In Taiwan, the Ministry of Education published” The Framework for the Educational and Caring Activities and Curriculum in Kindergarten 「幼兒園教保活動課程大綱」”. Educators follow the documents when they plan and teach. What makes “Te Whāriki” really special is that there are broad and inclusive concepts for educators to follow under different environments.
Based on the historical background of New Zealand, people highly value Māori cultures and different cultures that immigrants brought to the place. This idea presents in “Te Whāriki” as well. “Te Whāriki” was written in Māori and English. Interestingly, it is not written in English and translated into Māori but two unique curriculum documents sharing same ideas.
