Tikanga Decision-Making Scenarios
He Whakaaro Tikanga · Applying Māori values to real-world decisions · Years 7–9
Ngā Whāinga Akoranga · Learning Intentions
- Understand tikanga Māori as a living system of values, protocols, and decision-making frameworks.
- Apply tikanga principles to analyse realistic scenarios.
- Explain how tikanga guides behaviour in specific contexts.
- Recognise that tikanga is dynamic and requires judgement, not just rule-following.
Paearu Angitu · Success Criteria
- At least 3 scenarios are analysed with specific tikanga principles named and applied.
- Analysis goes beyond naming the rule to explaining the underlying value.
- At least one scenario produces a genuine dilemma where students must weigh competing tikanga principles.
- Students can explain why tikanga is better understood as a framework than a rulebook.
He Whakamārama · What is Tikanga?
Tikanga Māori is often translated as "customs" or "protocols" — but this translation misses something important. Tikanga is a dynamic, relational, and contextual system. The root word is tika — meaning correct, right, just.
Tikanga is not a fixed list of rules. It is a framework of values that guides how to act in relationship — with people, with ancestors, with the environment. What is tika in one context may not be tika in another. Tikanga requires judgement, wisdom, and knowledge of relationships.
Kaumātua who hold tikanga knowledge are not rule-enforcers: they are wisdom-holders who understand how principles apply to specific contexts and how obligations are weighed.
Ngā Āhuatanga · Scenario Cards
For each scenario, answer: What tikanga applies? What would you do? What is the underlying value? What if two values seem to conflict?
Scenario 1 — Marae Visit Protocol
Your class is visiting a marae for the first time. Before entering the wharenui, you notice a student eating kai in the entrance. You know this is not tika — food is not usually brought into a wharenui. But the student doesn't know this, and they are from a different cultural background. What do you do?
What tikanga applies here?
What would you do? Why?
What is the underlying value?
Is there a values tension here?
Scenario 2 — Sharing Kai
After a school event, there is leftover kai. Some students start packing it up to take home. An elderly kuia who helped cook the food is still sitting at the table. Manaakitanga suggests that elders and guests should be served first. But the students are hungry and think the food is being cleared away. What should happen?
What tikanga applies here?
What would you do? Why?
What is the underlying value?
Is there a values tension here?
Scenario 3 — Environmental Decision
A local developer wants to build a carpark over a wetland that the iwi considers a site of mahinga kai — a place where food has been gathered for generations. The development will create jobs. Some whānau members are unemployed and support it. But kaumātua say the wetland has wairua (spiritual presence) and must be protected. What framework guides this decision?
What tikanga applies here?
What competing values are at stake?
What is the underlying value?
How would tikanga guide this?
Scenario 4 — School Context
A kaiako (teacher) wants to share a karakia (prayer) to open class each morning to honour Māori culture. Some students and parents feel uncomfortable because they have different religious beliefs. Others say it is important to recognise tikanga in the school. How can tikanga guide a solution that is respectful to everyone?
What tikanga applies here?
What would a tikanga-based solution look like?
Scenario 5 — Conflict Resolution
Two rangatahi from the same whānau have had a serious disagreement. One has been spreading negative stories about the other online. The family wants to resolve it but the hurt person refuses to engage. Whanaungatanga says the relationship must be maintained. But the hurt person says their mana has been damaged. Whose needs come first?
What values are in tension?
How might tikanga guide a resolution?
Whakaaro ā-Ake · Personal Reflection
Describe a decision you are facing or have faced recently. How would tikanga — as a framework rather than a rulebook — guide that decision? Which values would be most relevant?
Hononga Marautanga · Curriculum Alignment
Understand how cultural practices and values shape community decision-making. Recognise the role of tikanga in maintaining relationships and identity across contexts.
Ethical decision-making using a cultural framework. Understanding how values — including those from non-Western traditions — can guide complex interpersonal and community decisions.
Tuhia ōu whakaaro · Write Your Thoughts
Why is tikanga better understood as "the right way to do things in relationship" rather than "a set of cultural rules"? What difference does that framing make to how you approach these scenarios?
Aronga Mātauranga Māori
Tikanga Māori is sometimes misunderstood as a fixed set of rules — a list of dos and don'ts that Māori follow. In reality, tikanga is a sophisticated decision-making system grounded in relationships, whakapapa, and values. Kaumātua who hold tikanga knowledge are not rule-enforcers: they are wisdom-holders who understand how principles apply to specific contexts, how competing obligations are weighed, and how the living tradition must adapt to new situations while staying true to its core values. Learning tikanga through scenarios asks students to think like a kaumātua — not "what is the rule?" but "what matters here, and what does that require of me?"
Ngā Rauemi Tautoko · Resources already provided
- te-ao-maori-values-matching-game-unit1.html — foundational vocabulary of te ao Māori values applied in these scenarios
- te-ao-maori-cultural-concepts-word-search-unit1.html — reinforces key concepts vocabulary used across all Unit 1 work
- pepeha-builder-template-unit1.html — puts tikanga in practice through personal identity expression
- unit-1-guided-inquiry-project.html — deeper inquiry that may explore tikanga in a specific community context
📋 Teacher Planning Snapshot
Ngā Whāinga Ako — Learning Intentions
Students will engage with this resource to deepen understanding of Te Ao Māori — exploring whakapapa, tikanga, and cultural identity as living systems that shape who we are in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Ngā Paearu Angitū — Success Criteria
- ✅ Students can explain key concepts from this resource using their own words.
- ✅ Students can connect tikanga Māori and whakapapa to real-world examples in Aotearoa.
Differentiation & Inclusion
Scaffold support: Provide sentence starters, visual glossaries, or graphic organisers to give entry-level access for students who need additional support. Offer extension tasks that deepen cultural inquiry — for example, exploring local hapū histories or interviewing a kaumātua.
ELL / ESOL: Pre-teach key kupu Māori (whakapapa, tikanga, mana, mauri) with bilingual glossaries where available. Allow students to respond in their home language as a bridge to English expression.
Inclusion: Use accessible formats — clear headings, adequate whitespace, chunked tasks. Neurodiverse learners benefit from structured choice in how they demonstrate understanding (oral, visual, written). Acknowledge that students may hold personal connections to the cultural content.
Mātauranga Māori lens: This unit centres Te Ao Māori as a living knowledge system. Whakapapa is not merely genealogy but a relational framework linking people, place, and time. Tikanga grounds behaviour in kaupapa Māori principles. Approach content with aroha and manaakitanga.
Prior knowledge: No specialist prior knowledge required for entry-level engagement. Best used after relevant lesson sequences, or as a standalone introduction to cultural identity.
Curriculum alignment
- Identity, Culture, and Organisation: Understand how cultural identity shapes participation in society — whakapapa, tikanga, and mana as foundations of Māori identity in Aotearoa New Zealand.