Matua rautia : the report on the kōhanga reo claim / Waitangi Tribunal.

"Wai 2336."

Includes bibliographical references.

Introduction -- The history of the kohanga reo movement -- Treaty principles, rights and obligations -- Protecting Te Reo Maori -- Maori articipation in early childhood education -- The relationship between the Crown and the Kohanga Reo movement -- Quality issues for Kohanga Reo -- Financial resourcing -- The early chidhood education regulatory framework -- Performance reviewing and the Education Review Office -- Findings and recommendations -- Appendices.

"This publication is the outcome of an urgent Waitangi Tribunal inquiry into alleged acts and omissions of the Crown in relation to kōhanga reo, in particular concerning the report of the Government's Early Childhood Education Taskforce and the potential development of Government policy which would affect the operation and support of kōhanga reo. Kōhanga reo provide a total immersion Māori language and whānau development programme for children from birth to five years of age and their whānau. The claimants alleged that the Crown had acted in a manner inconsistent with the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi with respect to a range of issues affecting the relationship between the Crown and kōhanga reo and the ability of kōhanga reo to operate effectively in ensuring the transmission of the Maori language and culture. It was also alleged that actions and omissions of the Crown, had led to a decline in the number of kōhanga reo and the number of children enrolled in them. The Tribunal made recommendations aimed at addressing the extremely vulnerable state of the Māori language and the kōhanga reo movement and the serious threat that this posed for the survival of te reo Māori as a living language"--Publisher information.

Chiefly in English with some text in Māori.