NZCER Press are delighted that former Board member Dr Arapera Royal Tangaere has been made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit as part of the New Year Honours 2022. Dr Arapera Royal Tangaere has been championing Māori education and early childhood education for more than 40 years.
Dr Tangaere has been the voice of Te Kōhanga Reo National Trust since 1982. As a National Advisor and Manager with Te Kōhanga Reo National Trust for 26 years, she has enhanced learning for children, providing quality oversight of both the curriculum and teaching qualifications. With the Trust she has been instrumental in the growth of the Te Kōhanga Reo movement, the total immersion in Māori language and values for preschool children, from fewer than ten early childhood centres in 1982 to more than 463 across New Zealand and Australia today. She has helped the Trust work with the Ministry of Education, without compromising the kaupapa of Te Kōhanga Reo. She has been a key contributor to the Te Kōhanga Reo curriculum, with some South Pacific nations adopting the curriculum model and other international representatives visiting to learn more. As a Representative of the Trust, Dr Royal Tangaere has been appointed to various government early childhood education working groups to encourage all families to utilise Te Kōhanga Reo. You can read her full citation here.
