Discussing Te Whāriki as a foundation across contexts
From teacher education to leadership, Dr Bradley Hannigan has seen Te Whāriki shape practice in ways that extend far beyond early learning. Currently the manager early learning curriculum at the Ministry of Education, he reflects on its influence across sectors and over time.
I started my early learning professional journey in the late 1990s when Helen May invited me to tutor, and later lecture, in her History of Early Childhood paper at Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington.
Since then, I have taught in early childhood teacher education programmes at both Victoria University and the University of Canterbury, worked as a senior teacher in early childhood and led a Master of Applied Management research programme.
In November 2024, I moved into my current role as manager of the early learning curriculum team at the Ministry of Education.
A philosophy that shaped my practice
My first connection with Te Whāriki came during my postgraduate study, where I focused on peace education and peaceful pedagogies.
From there my engagement deepened; through my PhD years and in my work supporting student teachers, and later practising teachers in kindergartens, to engage with Te Whāriki as the tuapapa of their practice with children.
As an adult educator, I have long advocated that the principles and strands of Te Whāriki are highly relevant beyond early learning. I see them as foundational to adult education, and indeed to management and leadership, as the basis for good quality practice.
Today, I lead the early learning curriculum team developing curriculum and teaching and learning resources to support the sector through self-directed learning.
Te Whāriki underpins all the work that we do.
Dr Bradley Hannigan.
Why Te Whāriki still leads the world
Te Whāriki is often recognised as the world’s first bicultural curriculum statement – something we should be immensely proud of.
But having reviewed curricula from multiple jurisdictions, I see several world-leading components within it.
Our curriculum explicitly recognises three broad age groups – infants, toddlers, and young children – which is not often the case internationally.
It goes further by providing guidance for kaiako on how to support learning and development for each group, connecting the principles, strands, outcomes and goals in meaningful ways. That level of integration is rare.
Another unique aspect is its recognition that curriculum does not sit in isolation. Te Whāriki includes advice and prompts for leaders and managers, acknowledging the essential role of leadership and resourcing in enabling good practice.
At its heart is a clear commitment to the rights of children to be children. Its focus on holistic, play-based pedagogy, balanced with professional intentionality, alongside its emphasis on equity, identity, language and culture, gives it its place as a world-leading curriculum.
More than that, I see it as an exemplar not just for early learning, but across the full education pathway through schooling and into tertiary contexts.
Beyond early learning
In my own career, I have applied Te Whāriki in a variety of settings.
Alongside embedding it in teacher education, I used it as the basis for teaching in a Master of Management programme – informing lecture design, tutorials, andragogy and assessment practice.
There is a real power in focusing on belonging, wellbeing, communication, contribution and exploration for all learners, regardless of age.
I also see significant, largely unexplored potential in using Te Whāriki in business management and leadership contexts. Its principles and strands offer both inspiration and practical guidance for leading people and organisations well.
While Te Whāriki is a world-leading curriculum in early learning, its utility extends well beyond that space. I have often thought it could even be meaningfully applied in contexts such as aged care.
A living taonga for the future
Quite arguably, Te Whāriki is more than just a curriculum statement. It is a taonga – one that lives not only in the minds and practices of early learning kaiako, but also in heartfelt connection.
It guides practice, but it also brings kaiako across diverse services, communities and philosophies together.
Over time, we have shown that it can be updated and improved – a mark of a mature education system. At the same time, it reflects enduring truths about what matters for our mokopuna.
We want children to grow, learn and flourish. We want them to be accepted for their gifts and secure in their identities.
We want children to be connected to their whānau and communities through caring, positive, mana-enhancing relationships. And we want them to see themselves as powerful learners who care for others and for themselves.
There is something perennial in the vision and hope of Te Whāriki. That is what will keep it at the heart of early learning in Aotearoa New Zealand and, I hope, extend its influence into other areas of education and across our wider social systems.
