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PartnersMay 25, 2022

Aotearoa has a literacy problem. How can we fix it?

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Conversations That Count – Ngā Kōrero Whai Take is back for a third season, beginning with a kōrero about the state of literacy in Aotearoa. We asked Massey University academic (and featured guest) Dr Christine Braid to set the scene.

New Zealand’s literacy rates have seen a concerning drop over the last 20 years. Where previously we’d scored highly against comparable countries like Australia and the UK, a widening gap between students who achieve literacy success and those who don’t is seeing us fall behind. The way we teach literacy seems to suit some learners, but too many are missing out.

It is easy to be defensive about this. Those working in this area know that we work hard, and so we’re often tempted to look for reasons outside of our teaching which could be responsible for the poor results. But while we can point to changes in the population or to the differing home situations of different learning cohorts as being somewhat responsible – and while of course these have an impact – those are things that we as teachers can’t easily change. The way that we teach is something that we can.


Follow Conversations that Count – Ngā Kōrero Whai Take on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favourite podcast provider. 


What our educators do well

In any conversation like this, it’s important to note that by and large teachers do an amazing job of considering their learners and connecting with them and their whānau.

We have been good at focussing on the meaning of stories in our reading education. We place a high priority on making sure children understand the material. And we’ve always done a lot of reading aloud of stories, poems and other texts – these remain extremely useful and meaningful methods for familiarising and making natural the process of reading.

We’re also generally very good at providing our learners opportunities to read and write text and other ways to engage in tasks of application. Many schools are making a change in how they teach literacy. While this is important, it’s also crucial that we ensure we keep the things we do well.

What needs to change?

There’s a real need to increase our teachers’ robustness of knowledge – we need to know more about literacy than just being able to read and write ourselves. Effective and efficient teaching involves knowing about language, and about how the small components of learning together contribute to a child being able to read and write. Teachers deserve this knowledge, and in our work we find that they’re desperate for opportunities to develop this knowledge. 

I tell teachers that we should be marching in the streets in protest that we didn’t get trained with this knowledge. We expect other professionals – doctors, engineers, lawyers – to have been given access to the education and resources to build a deep background knowledge in their area of expertise. Knowledge of how language works is part of the background that we need.

What can we do?

To read and write in an alphabetic language (such as English or te reo Māori), the first step is learning to associate letters with specific sounds. Languages like te reo Māori are built with what’s known as a transparent orthography, ie one where each vowel and consonant has a single fixed voicing. Because of this relative simplicity, a native speaker can learn these languages in around six months. English, on the other hand, is the most complex orthography of any widely used modern language – it takes two to three years just to lay down the foundations to read and spell. 

Helena Baker (Te Kura o Takaro), Dr Christine Braid (Massey University) and Josie Woon (Te Kura o Takaro) are the guests on this episode of Conversations that Count – Ngā Kōrero Whai Take.

There is a well-accepted pathway of learning for English. If we learn the dependable patterns (and shorter words) first, this lays the foundation for the more complex patterns after. The brain loves a pattern, so having a curriculum that follows this model offers the best option for success for all. 

We haven’t had this pathway for teaching literacy in Aotearoa. The idea with our current approach – the “whole language” model – was that children would learn to read by reading. In particular, we’ve been told to focus on teaching some key, “high frequency” words around which children would use sentence context and problem-solving techniques to work out the other words on a page, but English is too complex for that to be a completely reliable approach. Self-teaching can play a part but explicit teaching is essential, especially for children with any sort of learning difficulty.

The alternative approach, and the one I’d like to see adopted, is a structured approach which uses decodable texts. Structured literacy focuses on word patterns, with lessons used to teach the knowledge and skills needed for each step of the learning pathway. The texts that are used for children to read and write are only those that use the pattern (and a few high frequency words). Rather than the piecemeal approach used at the moment, this pathway gives clear steps and allows for explicit teaching at each step, then progression to the next.

Structured literacy is sometimes criticised as being phonics-only or decoding-only, but when we read these books as part of lessons, we treat them in the same way as other texts. We check in at the end of each page about what we’ve just read; at the end of the book we discuss the whole story. These books engage our learners in the same way that their non-structured counterparts do, the only difference is that they’re written in a way designed explicitly to build and grow literacy.

The biggest change

It is hard to shift a mindset as a teacher. But I know first-hand that there’s a better way to do literacy. I was trained in the multiple cues, implicit teaching approach, which is the very same one that I’ve criticised here. I have trained others in this for years. There was always a group of children whose literacy was below their expected level and I could not assist, no matter how hard I worked. That is just not fair, either for the child or for the teacher.

The change in my practice has been massive but once you know, you can’t unknow. I understand the discomfort. I talk about having to unstitch my teaching DNA. But it is for the outcomes for learners. Learners can’t wait for us to decide if this new method fits with our ‘philosophy’. Literacy is on the precipice of crisis in Aotearoa, and our learners need us to do what works. The research evidence is clear about that.


Follow Conversations that Count – Ngā Kōrero Whai Take on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favourite podcast provider. 

Keep going!
Tokomaru Bay (Photo: Oliver Strewe / Getty Images; additional treatment: The Spinoff)
Tokomaru Bay (Photo: Oliver Strewe / Getty Images; additional treatment: The Spinoff)

PartnersMay 20, 2022

On the coast, climate change touches everything

Tokomaru Bay (Photo: Oliver Strewe / Getty Images; additional treatment: The Spinoff)
Tokomaru Bay (Photo: Oliver Strewe / Getty Images; additional treatment: The Spinoff)

In this story from the Electric Highway, Don Rowe learns how residents and organisations in Tāirawhiti are dealing with the first-hand effects of a changing climate.

The locals in Tairāwhiti are getting used to extreme weather events. During the flooding in March, Zak Horomia, chairman of the Hinemaurea Marae, told me 100 year storms are turning into annual events. In one six-hour period, Te Puia had almost 240mm of rainfall. The broader region experienced more than three times the expected monthly rainfall in a single day. 

Diluted sewage flowed through the awa as the Gisborne District Council was forced to open emergency valves to release the intense pressure. Urupā narrowly avoided being inundated by the torrential rain. Bridges were washed out and roads shut, with the only access to some areas by inflatable rubber boats. And the most heavily affected were those living rurally, who often have unique health needs and are vulnerable to being cut off from medication and treatment.  

The flooding in March came just four months after the previous storm in November when residents were evacuated from settlements like Mangatuna. Academics and locals agree – the increasing severity of storms is being driven by climate change. In places like Ruatoria, droughts and northwesterly winds drive dust from the Waiapu awa through town, soiling washing and vehicles. 

But June and July are also the rainy season on the coast. When my roadtrip in the BMW iX took me to Tairāwhiti, I found a region still working to repair the damage from the last big weather event. And with winter approaching, I wanted to know what was being done to prepare for what might come next.

This story from the Electric Highway is brought to you by BMW i, pioneering the new era of electric vehicles. Keep an eye out for new chapters in Don’s journey each week, and to learn more about the style, power and sustainability of the all-electric BMW i model range, visit bmw.co.nz or click here.

With the March clean-up expected to take anywhere from 18 to 24 months, up to $500,000 was made available from Work and Income’s Enhanced Taskforce Green scheme, helping local jobseekers find mahi restoring their communities. Another $175,000 came from the Mayoral Relief Fund as well as an additional $150,000 earmarked specifically for the region’s farmers and growers, but the total cost is expected to reach into the millions. 

Tairāwhiti Civil Defence Manager Ben Green says that the effects of weather events on critical infrastructure mean TCD response operations can be hamstrung by closed roads and damaged bridges. 

“The impact on roading networks means patients can’t access medications or specialist care. Power outages impact those who are reliant on medical equipment, for example dialysis machines which mean they either have to relocate or back up power options like generators are provided.”

The Tairāwhiti Emergency Management group has identified the region’s ageing, declining population and increasing income inequality as risk factors in the event of natural disasters. Land clearance from pastoral farming since the 1880s has accelerated soil erosion and large increases in coastal flooding is expected as a result of climate change-induced sea level rise, affecting surface and stormwater drainage. 

Zak Horomia in 2018 standing on the slash washed down from the hills into Tolaga Bay
Zak Horomia in 2018 standing on the slash washed down from the hills into Uawa (Tolaga Bay) (Photo: Josie McClutchie)

Around 90% of landslides in New Zealand are caused by rainfall which is expected to increase alongside greater frequency of droughts as the climate worsens, posing threats to the few roads in and out of settlements in the area. Up to 85% of people in the region say they can survive on their own for three days, says Tairāwhiti Civil Defence, but mental distress following emergencies remains a concern.

“There are [mental health concerns] on a number of levels – livelihoods are at risk, for example forest operations can’t operate due to roads out,” says Tairāwhiti Civil Defence Manager Ben Green. “There have been back-to-back events and resilience is tested with many having suffered extensive damage or impact on their lives. Then there is dealing with the process post-event; people deal with the stress of navigating insurance – or no insurance – upheaval, and recovery.”

Some marae like Hinemaurea have installed their own floodgates, averting the worst of the latest weather events. Others are still vulnerable, particularly those situated around awa or near sea level. Community outreach remains a challenge, with some whānau unwilling or unable to evacuate at a moment’s notice. Last year, following a 7.1 earthquake off the east coast, kaumātua like Horomia coaxed residents out of their homes to safer ground.

The stunning isolation of Tairāwhiti – the air of timelessness, of an Aotearoa gone by, where homekill isn’t just a marketing term – is what draws countless tourists into the rohe. It remains one of the last hubs of New Zealand Gothic, where the main street is silent but for the clop-clop of horse hooves and the shaky treble of a radio playing through an open window. But that same distance, that same insulation from outside forces, can become a logistical nightmare when the storms roll in.  

In the past, critical supplies have been flown by helicopter into isolated settlements in the area. But locals living rurally historically suffer worse outcomes broadly, and face unique challenges in times of natural disaster. While the rubber boats seen in March’s storms were a volunteer effort from a local surf lifesaving club, extreme measures like air support are only possible, says Green, if the weather is conducive.

“Beyond that there are no other options, so the community messaging is to have supplies in preparation of being cut off.”

Major steps are being taken to try and improve the region’s preparedness. Green mentions a new emergency coordination centre and bespoke new flood modelling systems – the latter being created using a combination of Niwa and regional council data – which should allow for more effective proactive and responsive care. Civil Defence are also undertaking an extensive community education and training programme, as well as the provisioning of 20 emergency pods containing communication equipment, shelter and kai for isolated marae and communities around the region.

Green, like many from the region, knows that these events will keep coming – at the time of publishing, another severe weather warning had just been issued for Tairāwhiti. But the whenua, and the people, are resilient. And when the waters recede, as they always do, Tairāwhiti will retain its warmth, its mana and its beauty. The hope for those who call the region home is that they’re given the support to ensure those qualities can be retained not for decades, but for generations to come.