Reorienting Aotearoa New Zealand Secondary School Geography Towards Decolonisation and Indigenisation

Secondary school geography in Aotearoa New Zealand has a Western-centric curriculum due to the British colonial influence. Despite being the knowledge system of the Indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand, mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) has been sidelined from geography curricula. A recent system-wide review and overhaul of the national curriculum and assessment system aimed for equal status for mātauranga Māori, respecting it and addressing its exclusion and denigration, and added aspects of decolonising geography, such as critiquing power, to the secondary school geography curriculum. This study investigated how Aotearoa New Zealand secondary school geography teachers understand decolonising and indigenising geography. Qualitative data were gathered through an online survey of 47 geography teachers and analysed using content analysis and reflexive thematic analysis. The study findings are presented as three orientations that teachers take when decolonising geography: decolonising and indigenising geography in the classroom, engaging with Indigenous people to decolonise geography and reflexivity for decolonising geography. In doing so, the research outlines practical implications for geography teachers, initial teacher education and policy.