Tere Gilbert

{{Short description|New Zealand early childhood and Māori language educator}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024}}

{{Use New Zealand English|date=November 2024}}

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Tere Ngawai Gilbert {{post-nominals|country=NZL|ONZM}} is a New Zealand early childhood educator and advocate for the te reo Māori language. In 2024 Gilbert was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to early childhood and Māori language education.

Early life and education

Gilbert is Māori, and affiliates to Te Āti Awa, Ngāti Hauiti, Ngāti Raukawa and Ngāti Kahungunu iwi.{{Cite web |title=University of Waikato celebrates alumni in King's Birthday Honours :: University of Waikato |url=https://www.waikato.ac.nz/news-events/news/university-of-waikato-celebrates-alumni-in-kings-birthday-honours/ |access-date=2024-11-05 |website=www.waikato.ac.nz |language=en-nz}} Gilbert attended the University of Waikato where she earned a Bachelor and a higher diploma of teaching, a postgraduate diploma in education, and a Master of Business Administration.

Career

Gilbert has been a part of the Māori language revival movement, Kōhanga Reo, for more than thirty years. Gilbert was the kaiako (teacher) and tumuaki (manager) of the University of Waikato on-campus early childhood education centre from 1994 until 2015. In 2015 she established the first puna reo for Te Kōhao Health in Hamilton, providing kaupapa Māori immersion education for children up to the age of six, that is, education both in the te reo Māori language and within a Māori cultural framework.{{Cite web |title=Puna Reo establish national body for kaupapa Māori early years education |url=https://www.teaonews.co.nz/2022/04/04/puna-reo-establish-national-body-for-kaupapa-maori-early-years-education/ |access-date=2024-11-05 |website=Te Ao Māori News |language=en}} That puna reo, Te Kōhao Health, was so popular that a second, Te Puna Reo o Te Kōhao, was established two years later.

Gilbert founded the collective for puna reo in New Zealand, Ngā Puna Reo o Aotearoa, and chaired it since its inception in 2021. The organisation represents 54 puna reo around the country, and advocates for better resourcing for puna reo and pay parity with kindergarten teachers.{{Cite web |title=Shortage of reo speaking ECE teachers will hamper access to new funding - Te Kōhao Health |url=https://www.teaonews.co.nz/2020/05/19/shortage-of-reo-speaking-ece-teachers-will-hamper-access-to-new-funding-te-kohao-health/ |access-date=2024-11-05 |website=Te Ao Māori News |language=en}} Gilbert represents Ngā Puna Reo o Aotearoa on the Ministry of Education's Early Childhood Advisory Committee.{{Cite web |title=Honours recognise those serving Māori |url=https://www.tpk.govt.nz/en/mo-te-puni-kokiri/our-stories-and-media/honours-recognise-those-serving-maori |access-date=2024-11-05 |website=www.tpk.govt.nz |language=en}}

Honours and awards

In the 2024 Queen's Birthday Honours Gilbert was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to early childhood and Māori language education.{{Cite web |date=2024-06-03 |title=King's Birthday Honours 2024 - Citations for Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit {{!}} Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC) |url=https://www.dpmc.govt.nz/honours/lists/kb2024-onzm |access-date=2024-11-04 |website=www.dpmc.govt.nz |language=en}}

References

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