Abstract
The recent architecture of Indigenous-focused early learning centres across Australia, Canada and Aotearoa New Zealand appears to share design goals. These centres strive to produce an inclusive design that considers the diversity of languages, cultures, age and other points of human difference. The early learning centres attempt to create a place that meets the needs and desires of Indigenous families and their children. The architecture goes beyond the mere housing of specific services to promoting better health and education through the design of shared learning and play spaces. Three comparative case studies examine the parallels and differences in the design process in these three distinct countries.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
‘Deadly’ is an Aboriginal English term which translates to ‘really good’ or ‘impressive’ in standard English (Malcolm et al. 1999).
- 2.
These teachings share traditional values on human conduct and encourage mutual respect for one another.
- 3.
The term ‘Whānau’ in Māori is often understood as the genealogical and multi-layered ways in which values and traditions are connected both through the immediate and extended family. Importantly, Joan Metge notes this extended family, in her words, a ‘large family group’—comprises of multiple generations and families related by descent from an ancestor (Metge 1995).
- 4.
The term ‘tapu’ is generally translated as ‘holy’ or implying a ‘state of sanctity’ but according to Metge, the word is also used to describe the ‘degree of hapu-ness’, that is, the degree of religious or ceremonial restrictions on objects, places, people and actions (Metge 2004).
- 5.
Deidre Brown, in her work Māori Architecture: from fale to wharenui and beyond, describes the Māori meeting house as synonymous to Māori architecture . Brown writes of the importance of siting/situating the house to face the east—to the sunrise. This feature, among others considered by Brown, can be seen reflected in Mana Tamariki’s architectural design (Brown 2009).
References
Aboriginal Child and Family Centre. (2016). Bubup Wilam for early learning. http://www.bubupwilam.org.au/. Accessed 24 June 2016.
Armitage, A. (1995). Comparing the policy of aboriginal assimilation: Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. Vancouver: UBC Press.
Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS]. (2012). 2012 Census. http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2011/quickstat/209041225?opendocument&navpos=220. Accessed 24 June 2016.
Basso, K. (1996). Wisdom sits in places. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.
Borg, T., & Paul, A. (2004). Indigenous parenting project. Melbourne: Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care.
Brown, D. (2009). Maori architecture: From fale to wharenui and beyond. Auckland: Raupo.
Bubup Wilam Centre for Early Learning. (2016). Interview with Angela Kreutz. April 12, 2016.
Bubup Wilam for Early Learning. (2013). Vimeo, City of Whittlesea. https://vimeo.com/57992091. Accessed 24 June 2016.
Castellano, M. (2000). Updating aboriginal traditions of knowledge. In B. Hall, G. Dei, & D. Rosenberg (Eds.), Indigenous knowledges in global contexts: Multiple readings of our world (pp. 21–36). Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Chawla, L. (2007). Childhood experiences associated with care for the natural world. Children, Youth and Environments, 17(4), 144–170.
Chippewas of Rama First Nation. (n.d.). About us. http://www.mnjikaning.ca/about.asp. Accessed 24 June 2016.
City of Whittlesea. (2016a). Whittlesea’s suburbs and residents. https://www.whittlesea.vic.gov.au/about-whittlesea/whittleseas-suburbs-and-residents. Accessed 24 June 2016.
City of Whittlesea. (2016b). Interview with Angela Kreutz. May 11, 2016.
Council of Australian Governments [COAG]. (2012). Closing the gap in indigenous disadvantage. https://www.coag.gov.au/closing_the_gap_in_indigenous_disadvantage. Accessed 24 June 2016.
Department of Education and Training. (2016). Early years learning framework. https://www.education.gov.au/early-years-learning-framework. Accessed 24 June 2016.
Government of New Zealand. (2016). Māori Language Act 1987. http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1987/0176/latest/whole.html. Accessed 22 June 2016.
Grant, E., Green, I., & Colbung, M. (2015). Architecture for aboriginal children and families: A post occupancy evaluation of the Taikurrendi, Gabmididi Manoo and Ngura Yadurirn Children and Family Centres. Adelaide: The University of Adelaide.
Hayball. (2010). Bubup Wilam Aboriginal child and family centre. http://www.hayball.com.au/projects/bubup-wilam-aboriginal-child-and-family-centre/. Accessed 24 June 2016.
Heckman, J. (2006). Skill formation and the economics of investing in disadvantaged children. Science, 312(5782), 1900–1902.
Hemmeter, M., Ostrosky, M., & Fox, L. (2006). Social and emotional foundations for early learning: A conceptual model for intervention. School Psychology Review, 35(4), 583–601.
Herczog, M. (2012). Rights of the child and early childhood education and care in Europe. European Journal of Education, 47(4), 542–555.
Indian Claims Commission. (2003). Chippewa Tri-council inquiry: Coldwater-narrows reservation surrender claim. Ottawa: Indian Claims Commission.
Indian & Northern Affairs Canada. (2011). A history of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. Gatineau Indian an: d Northern Affairs Canada.
Kidssafe. (2012). Kidsafe 2012 National playspace design awards. http://www.kidsafensw.org/playground-safety/2012-awards/. Accessed 24 June 2016.
Kreutz, A. (2015). Children and the environment in an Australian indigenous community: A psychological approach. New York: Routledge.
Lai, C., Landon, R., Maracle, T., Mattson, S., & Wallace, A. (2012). Full circle: First Nations, Métis and Inuit ways of knowing. Toronto: Ontario Secondary Schools Teachers’ Federation.
Lee, V., & Burkham, D. (2002). Inequality at the starting gate: Social background differences in achievement as children begin school. Washington DC: Economic Policy Institute.
Malcolm, I., Haig, Y., Konigsberg, P., Rochecouste, J., Collard, G., Hill, A., et al. (1999). Two-way English: Towards more user-friendly education for speakers of aboriginal English. Perth: Edith Cowan University.
Mana Tamariki. (2016). Interview with Akai Kidd. June 29, 2016.
Manawatu Standard. (2007). 18 years in the marking. www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/news/15748/18-years-in-the-making. Accessed 24 May 2016.
Manawatu Standard. (2010). School wins design award: Māori concepts at heart of open structure, http://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/news/3579990/School-wins-design-award. Accessed 24 May 2016.
McKay, B., & Walmsley, A. (2003). Māori Time: Notions of space, time and building form in the South Pacific. IDEA Journal. http://idea-edu.com/journal/2003-idea-journal/. Accessed 26 May 2016.
Mehisto, P., & Genesee, F. (Eds.). (2015). Building bilingual education systems. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Memmott, P. (2007). Gunyah, Goondie + Wurley: The Aboriginal Architecture of Australia. St Lucia: University of Queensland Press.
Metge, J. (1995). New growth from old: The whanau in the modern world. Wellington: Victoria University Press.
Metge, J. (2004). Rautahi: The Maori of New Zealand (Revised). London: Routledge.
National Partnership Agreement. (2009). National partnership agreement for indigenous early childhood development. http://www.federalfinancialrelations.gov.au/content/npa/education/ctg-early-childhood/national_partnership_superseded.pdf. Accessed 25 June 2016.
New, R., & Cochran, M. (2007). Early childhood education: An international encyclopaedia (Vol. 2). London: Praeger Publishers.
New Zealand Institute of Architecture. (2010). Mana Tamariki 2010 New Zealand Architecture Awards. https://www.nzia.co.nz/awards/national/award-detail/979. Accessed 20 June 2016.
Rama Early Childhood Services. (2016). Parent & Guardian Handbook: Policies and procedures. Chippewas of Rama First Nation: Centre Operation Standard. Orillia.
Rinaldi, C. (2006). The space of childhood. In C. Rinaldi (Ed.), In dialogue with Reggio Emilia: Listening, researching and learning (pp. 77–88). London: Routledge.
Rogers, E., & Smith, D. (Eds.), (1994). Aboriginal Ontario: Historical perspectives on the first nations. Toronto: Oxford.
Rouse, C., Brooks-Gunn, J., & McLanahan, S. (2005). School readiness: Closing racial and ethnic gaps. Introducing the Issue: The Future of Children, 15(1), 5–13.
Shonkoff, J., & Phillips, D. (2000). From neurons to neighborhoods: The science of early childhood development (pp. 39–56). Washington DC: National Academies Press.
Sims, M., Saggers, S., Hutchins, T., Guilfoyle, A., Targowska, A., & Jachiewicz, S. (2008). Indigenous child care: Leading the way. Australian Journal of Early Childhood, 33(1), 56–60.
Snache, S. (2016). Interview with Janet Loebach. July 8, 2016.
Statistics New Zealand. (2013). 2013 Census. www.stats.govt.nz/Census/2013-census/profile-and-summary-reports/quickstats-about-Māori-english.aspx. Accessed 25 June 2016.
Statistics New Zealand. (n.d.). Iwi: Definition. http://www.stats.govt.nz/methods/classifications-and-standards/classification-related-stats-standards/iwi/definition.aspx. Accessed 25 June 2016.
Sylva, K., & Wiltshire, J. (1993). The impact of early learning on children’s later development: A review prepared for the RSA inquiry ‘start right’. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 1(1), 17–40.
Teeple, S. (2016). Interview with Janet Loebach. August 9, 2016.
Tennent Brown. (2006). Mana Tamariki. http://tennentbrown.co.nz/projects/education/mana-tamariki. Accessed 10 June 2016.
Thomas, J. (2014). Evaluation of the National partnership agreement on Indigenous early childhood development. NCS International. https://www.coag.gov.au/sites/default/files/Report%20%20Evaluation%20of%20the%20National%20Partnership%20Agreement%20on%20Indigenous%20Early%20Childhood%20Development.pdf. Accessed 10 June 2016.
Tuan, Y. (1977). Space and place: The perspective of experience. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
UNICEF. (2016). Too few children are attending pre-school programs, especially among the poor. http://data.unicef.org/ecd/early-childhood-education.html. Accessed 26 Sep 2016.
Waho, T. (2015). Voices from the field: Aotearoa New Zealand. In P. Mehisto & F. Genesee (Eds.), Building bilingual education systems (pp. 181–190). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Acknowledgements
Acknowledgement: The authors would like to thank the staff at Bubup Wilam, Hayball Architects, Urban Initiatives, Chippewas of Rama First Nation Early Childhood Education Centre, Teeple Architects, Tennent Brown Architects and Mana Tamariki School, for their time in sharing valuable information about each Early Learning Centre’s background and design process.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Kreutz, A., Loebach, J., Kidd, A.N. (2018). Indigenous Architecture of Early Learning Centres: International Comparative Case Studies from Australia, Canada and Aotearoa New Zealand. In: Grant, E., Greenop, K., Refiti, A., Glenn, D. (eds) The Handbook of Contemporary Indigenous Architecture. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-6904-8_33
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-6904-8_33
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-10-6903-1
Online ISBN: 978-981-10-6904-8
eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)