Mere Skerrett

Dr Mere Skerrett's is a Senior Lecturer at Victoria University. Her research focuses on reversing language shift (RLS) efforts via the revernacularisation of te reo Māori (the Māori language) in Te Amokura Kōhanga Reo (Māori language nest). J. Fishman’s (2001a) graded intergenerational disruption scale (GIDS), and M. Durie’s (2001, 2003) discussions on Māori educational advancement provide conceptual frameworks for the meaning-making, cultural and symbolic relationships of language to culture and identity (Fishman, 1996). This qualitative case study involves three young children and their families who are committed to the intergenerational transmission of te reo Māori, the threatened indigenous heritage language of Aotearoa/New Zealand. Observational data was analysed illustrating these bilingual, biliterate, bicultural, bicognitive and bilateral children and their use of sophisticated language for increasingly complex purposes. This study identifies how children’s learning dispositions for shared reference with adults (who are active listeners and thoughtful speakers in meaningful activities [Carr, M., 2000, 2001]) are part of the deep structure of a unique cultural context successfully supporting language revernacularisation. In addition the study develops critical insights into how RLS can be viewed as the linguistic arm for furthering Māori aspirations of tino rangatiratanga (Bishop, R., 1997a; Bishop R., & Glynn, T., 1999) and has further implications for language planning, pedagogy and praxis in Kōhanga Reo.

Biographical sources

  • http://www.victoria.ac.nz/education/about/staff/te-kura-maori/mere-skerrett 4 November 2016

    Non-fiction

  • "Govt must support Maori language." Waikato Times (1998): 1.
  • "Maori language is at risk of being inhibited and lost." Tumai, (Jun 1999): 40-41.
  • I te timatanga ko te kupu: Qualitative research pilot. Hamilton, N.Z.: University of Waikato, 1999.
  • Noku Ano Tenei Takapau Wharanui: The development of metalinguistic and metacognitive awareness of young children attending kohanga reo. Hamilton, N.Z.: University of Waikato,1999.
  • Search of the Rainbow's End: Characterising research perspective as an indigenous Maori researcher. Hamilton, N.Z.: University of Waikato, 1999.
  • The rise and decline of te kohanga reo: The impact of policy. Hamilton, N.Z.: University of Waikato, 1999.
  • Review of the contract for delivery of a professional development programme. Wellington, N.Z.: Te Kohanga Reo National Trust Board, 1999.
  • "Kohanga Reo charged with big call." Tumai, (Apr 1999): 16.
  • "The rise and decline of te koohanga reo: The impact of government policy." Journal of the Waikato University College 1 (2001): 11-22.
  • "Language Advancement at the Tribal Level and at the Centre, with Children in Ōtautahi/Christchurch New Zealand." LED2011: Refereed conference proceedings of the 3nd International Conference on Language, Education and Diversity. Auckland, N.Z.: University of Auckland, 2013.
  • Co-author R. Martin.
  • "Quality for Learners in Early Childhood Settings, Aotearoa/New Zealand: Māori Perspectives." International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry (ICQI) journal, 2014.
  • "Countercolonial Unveiling of Neoliberal Discourses in Aotearoa New Zealand." International Review of Qualitative Research 7.1 (2014): 111-129.
  • Co-authors J. Ritchie and C. Rau.
  • Early childhood education in Aotearoa New Zealand: History, pedagogy, and liberation. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014.
  • Co-author J. Ritchie.
  • Liberatory Praxis: Conclusions. Early childhood education in Aotearoa New Zealand: History, pedagogy, and liberation. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014.
  • Co-author J. Ritchie.
  • Introduction and overview. Early childhood education in Aotearoa New Zealand: History, pedagogy, and liberation. New York:Palgrave Macmillan, 2014.
  • Co-author J. Ritchie.
  • "Crown breaches, neoliberal reforms, and radical pedagogy." Early childhood education in Aotearoa New Zealand: History, pedagogy, and liberation. New York: Palgrave Macmillan (2014): 56-69.
  • "Policy and Inhibiters of bicultural/bilingual advancement." Early childhood education in Aotearoa New Zealand: History, pedagogy, and liberation. New York: Palgrave Macmillan (2014): 35-55.
  • "Dismantling colonial myths: Centralising Māori language in education." Early childhood education in Aotearoa New Zealand: History, pedagogy, and liberation. New York: Palgrave Macmillan (2014): 10-34.
  • "The Determinants of 'Quality' in Aotearoa/New Zealand: Māori Perspectives." Critical Examinations of Quality in Childhood Education and Care: Regulation, Disqualification, and Erasure. New York: Peter Lang (2016): 59-82.

  • Papers/Presentations

  • "Te rere a te amokura." New Zealand Educational Administration Society Vol. Conference Proceedings (2000): 218-236.