South Pacific Studies Vol.36, No.2, 2016

Tracing Language Use and Policy in Cook Islands’ Schools:
1827-2003

EDWARDS Frances

University of Waikato,Private Bag 3105, Hamilton 3240, New ZealandE-mail: francese@waikato.ac.nz

Abstract
The language of instruction used in schools in the Pacific is an ongoing and contentious issue. The
Cook Islands is a small nation with a rich oral history, in which formal education was initiated soon after
the arrival of the British missionary John Williams in 1821. This paper traces the development of schooling,
and the changes in policy of language use in schools in the Cook Islands from 1827 to the passing of the Te
Reo Maori Act 2003. The predominance of use of either Cook Islands Maori or of English in the education
system has alternated a number of times over this time period. The legacy of the shifting language policies
is still evident in the Cook Islands today.
Key words: Cook Islands, education, English, history, language policy, Maori

Introduction
The language of instruction used in schools in the Pacific is an ongoing andcontentious issue. Decisions regarding language choice are more than simply linguistic
choices. Language is inextricably linked to culture and promotes worldviews thatprivilege certain beliefs and values. There are political, social and personal reasonsfor the choices of the language used by people groups. Proficiency in some languages
gives people power and may open doors that otherwise would remain closed.
Consequently decisions about the languages that are used for instruction in schools areimportant and have long lasting effects.
In this paper the history of the use of languages for formal education in the
Cook Islands is described, and commentary is provided. Language policy and usage
are very important aspects of the Cook Islands schooling system given the cultural,social, economic and political aspects of life that require access through a languageor languages. Pacific nations often utilise a range of their own languages and dialects,

Received: 2 Octorber, 2015
Accepted: 15 January, 2016

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South Pacific Studies Vol.36, No.2, 2016as well languages from influential powers such as colonists and trading partners. The
decisions to prioritise certain languages in a nation’s schooling system have an ongoing
impact on the students who are part of that education system. The language policies
implemented over time in Cook Islands demonstrate the varying commitment ofoutside decision-makers to a range of ideologies, as well as Cook Islanders’ own viewson what should be prioritised.

Background
Cook Islands are a group of 15 small islands in the Pacific Ocean, located in
two groups. The population across all 12 inhabited islands was 14974 in 2011, butmany are sparsely populated (COOK ISLANDS CENSUS 2011). Approximately half of the
population lives in Rarotonga, the largest island by area and the seat of parliament forthe country. There are two main indigenous languages used in Cook Islands. Principally
Cook Islands Maori is used in all but three of the populated islands. No single Cook
Islands Maori language exists, except within dialectical forms but the ’standard’ dialect
used for print materials and central government and churches is Rarotongan, thedialect used on the largest island (TONGIA 2003). The islands of Pukapuka and Nassau
use Pukapukan, a language more closely related to Western Pacific languages such as
Samoan and Tuvaluan (CLARK 1980). Palmerston Island alone uses an archaic version
of English as the first language of the approximately 50 inhabitants. English is now
common and its use is widespread in Rarotonga, but for most of those living in outerislands, their own dialect or language is used in preference to English in day-to-day
life.

Research Purpose and Method
The purpose of this paper is to chronicle the language use and policy within the
education sector in Cook Islands by outlining key events and decisions through thetime period 1827-2003. These dates are chosen as the boundaries of the study: 1827
marks the year the first English speakers moved to live in the islands, and 2003 marks
the introduction of the Te Reo Maori Act, which is the current legislation with respect
to the status of languages in Cook Islands.
The study comprised research of literature review with literature being accessedusing university library databases as well as substantial print materials sourced fromthe Cook Islands Library and Museum Society, and the National Library, Avarua,
Rarotonga. Key events and decisions have been chronicled to provide a record ofpolicy and decisions regarding language use in schools.

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Findings: The Story of Language Use in Cook Islands’ Schools
Most chroniclers of Cook Islands recent history break the history into three
periods of contact: the missionary period, the colonial period and the period since
independence was gained (B EAGLEHOLE , 1957, C ROCOMBE 1979, S COTT 1991).
With the addition of a short section on pre-European history, this structure has been
maintained to provide background for the country’s language use, policy, and its effects
on schooling.
Pre-European period and language
According to tradition Cook Islanders come from the legendary homeland of
Avaiki, although the whereabouts of Avaiki is lost in history. It has been suggested that
Polynesians may have been seafarers who migrated from South-East Asia to the Pacificislands 500BC - 400AD (KIRCH 1997). It is assumed that these people would haveoriginally spoken a common language and moved to gradually populate the islandsin the Pacific. As they dispersed the language they used continued to develop anddifferentiate.
According to oral history chieftains founded lineage groups on the islands they
discovered and a hierarchical social structure was formed. The ariki (paramountchief) ruled the people of a district, being supported by the next in rank - mataiapo(who headed lineage groups and their subdistricts), and rangatira (sub-chief). The
position of ariki was bestowed upon a member of the chiefly families. Ariki exercised
control over the people by the use of their mana (supernatural power) and the controlof tapu (ability to decide what was forbidden for the people). Ariki led people in war,
allocated land for the use of family groups, and represented the people to the gods inexchange for labour and gifts. Ta’unga (priests and knowers of important knowledge)
were important and also held power over the people as they were thought to have thespiritual powers on their side. Each ariki governed an island or district and the peoples
living in that area. Education was the concern of the family and the clan, with children
learning by watching others and listening to their advice, as well as being active
members in their community. The ’Are Vananga (house of learning) was for esotericknowledge, and special knowledge was passed only from the expert to an identified
junior relative (VAI’IMENE 2003). Contact between islands did occasionally occur but
there was enough separation for Cook Islands Maori dialects and Pukapukan language
to develop.
The missionary period and language
This period stretches from the arrival of the British missionary John Williams on
Rarotonga in 1823 to the declaration in 1888 of a British Protectorate over most ofwhat is now Cook Islands. Before missionaries from the London Missionary Society(LMS) settled on the main island Rarotonga, the local people had little contact with

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Europeans or with European languages. Pukapuka had been sighted by the Spaniard
Alvaro de Menana in 1595 and Spanish explorers landed on various Northern Groupislands at times in 1606 (on Rakahanga) and then in the late eighteenth and nineteenth
centuries. Many of the Southern Group islands were discovered by Europeans in
the 1770s and Maretu records the oral tradition that the Bounty arrived in Rarotonga
after the mutiny (MARETU 1871). In the early 1800s Captain James Cook’s ship,
the Endeavour, and other ships sailed close to the islands. The first known foreign
landing in Rarotonga was in 1814 by the crew of the Cumberland, in their search forsandalwood.
John Williams landed first in the second largest island, Aitutaki, in 1821
bringing with him Tahitian missionaries including the well-known pioneer missionary
Papehia. Williams travelled to Rarotonga in 1823 and introduced Christianity to the
Rarotongans, who accepted this new religion. John Williams and the missionaries
who followed him recognised the importance of using indigenous languages whenworking with Cook Islands people, so they adopted the Cook Islands Maori language.
Williams used Polynesian converts from the Society Islands and Tahiti as missionaries
as part of ’native agency’. The Polynesians had linguistic and cultural advantages over
Europeans. Similarities between the Cook Islands Maori and Tahitian languages meant
the local language was easy to learn for the Polynesian missionaries. Williams observedthat “it is a circumstance of very rare occurrence that a religious impression is produced
upon the minds of a people, except by addressing them in their mother tongue”(BUZACOTT 1866). The first Europeans to reside in the islands were missionaries whocame to live on Rarotonga in 1827. Their arrival heralded the first real introduction of
the English language to Rarotongan people.
Missionary policy in the mid-1800s influenced the language use and choices for
future Cook Islanders. In particular, the following guidelines were used by the London
Missionary Society missionaries and were seen as of utmost importance:(1) The use of indigenous missionaries and the native language,(2) Missionaries’ isolation from other Europeans and restricted relations with all nonMaori residents,(3) Application of schooling to promote literacy and spread Christianity among Cook
Islanders. (GILSON 1991)
In particular the focus on schooling using indigenous languages only andpromoting literacy in those languages.
With the arrival of the missionaries and their success in evangelising in
Rarotonga, huge social change occurred for people of that time. By the late 1880s
the results of social change were clearly apparent in Rarotonga (BEAGLEHOLE 1957).
The establishment of missionary schools was an important change for Cook Islands,
their purpose being to enable students to read the Bible in order to develop Christian
attitudes, values and behaviours. Settlements were established near missionary stations
to allow for ease of attendance at church and school, marae (cleared areas used for
ceremonial and religious purposes) were destroyed, images of gods were destroyed,

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new Western-style laws were written and enforced, warfare with associated cannibalism
ceased, and many people converted to Christianity (GUIART 1970).
Aaron Buzacott, a LMS missionary who arrived in 1828 was trained in Tahitianand this enabled him to talk freely with Rarotongans in just a few weeks and preachhis first sermon in Rarotongan within three months. Buzacott had a major impact on
the Rarotongans. Rarotongan missionaries were subsequently sent to other islands
where they made use of their mother tongue and continued the successful spread ofChristianity across the Pacific.
Missionary families who had moved to Cook Islands maintained contact withthe local people only on a level of formal teaching or informal friendship, butintermarriage between Europeans and Maori was strictly prohibited. This meant that asocial distance existed and that exposure to the English language was limited. During
this part of history English was never promoted among Cook Islanders, although someEnglish loan words were introduced to their language e.g. pepa (paper), kapu (cup),
peni (pen). The missionaries also strongly discouraged Rarotongan contact with ’white
heathens’ (the traders, sailors and whalers who called into port at Avarua, the main
port on Rarotonga). Because of the language policy of the LMS, almost all interactions
between Cook Islanders and Europeans were in Cook Islands Maori, both in church,school and community.
With the arrival of the missionaries came other disruptions and social change. The
introduction of diseases never before encountered in Cook Islands meant large numbersof deaths within their population. The missionaries also brought their own culture
and introduced the local people to western style clothing, tools, and the use of money.
People were strongly encouraged to move out from the hills where they lived and toresettle in small coastal villages, each built around a church. This church also acted asa school setting.
In order to actualise the LMS guidelines relating to the use of the indigenous
languages for the work of missionaries, an important part of their work in these earlydays was the construction of a written form of Cook Islands Maori language. Williams
used a 13-letter alphabet, and Buzacott devised a grammar. Williams worked on a
written vocabulary for Cook Islands Maori and later started to translate the New
Testament. The missionaries prioritised literacy in order to give their new converts
access to the Bible, so classes were introduced soon after their arrival. In the initialstages missionaries offered classes to the chiefs and their children and for some time
chiefs tried to limit this new form of education to themselves. However, soon classes
became available to everyone and hundreds of adults presented themselves for tuition.
BUZACOTT (1866) reported that by 9am each day 2500 adults and children had received
about an hour and a half of tuition. Many of the adults also learnt parts of scripture bymemory (GILL 1894).
..However the Tahitian teachers were not well trained and so were limited in what
they could teach. The lack of equipment was also a constraint. The greatest hindrance
was the lack of books in Cook Islands Maori. In 1832 Buzacott obtained an old printing

62South Pacific Studies Vol.36, No.2, 2016press and began publishing books in the local dialect. Copies of the New Testamentin the Rarotongan dialect of Cook Islands Maori were also now available and were inhigh demand. Books that were translated and printed included the Bible, hymn books,
catechisms and children’s books. A Rarotongan Pilgrim’s Progress was printed in 1846
and the Aitutakian Laws (which were a series of strict laws imposed by missionaries)
in 1847, which was apparently the only indigenous literature to be published at thistime. The Bible and religious texts formed the majority of the content for lessons.
Cook Islanders embraced literacy and achieved high literacy levels in Cook
Islands Maori. BEAGLEHOLE (1957) noted that by 1857 almost all of the population
could read and the majority could write and do some ciphering. As noted by BUZACOTT:
Mr Williams observes that from the moment the people received books in theirown dialect, their progress has been so rapid, that at the present time there is agreater number of persons who can read at Rarotonga than at any of our otherstations… By far the greatest majority learned to read, many also to write(BUZACOTT 1866).
Nearly all the educational activity of the mission was directed towards
Christianisation and the literature available was Christian based. A few elementary
texts in arithmetic, geography and history were printed, but education in these subjects
and in special crafts was mostly restricted to the children of chiefs and other prominent
people who were taught separately by the missionaries or their wives. The average
Cook Islander received little more than basic reading knowledge and a drilling incatechisms from Polynesian pastors. As a direct result of missionary policy in the 19th
century Cook Islanders became literate in their own language, but had little knowledgeof English.
However the policy of the early missionaries ensured the continuation of use of
their language rather than its demise. Critics of the early mission schooling system in
Cook Islands condemn the imposition of western education, its method and content,
rather than the language policy implemented and the choice of the language ofeducation.
The colonial period and language
Near the end of the 19th century and as the first generation of LMS missionaries
retired Cook Islanders’ enthusiasm for Christianity waned and laws againstintermarriage were repealed. At the same time as the isolationist policy of missionaries
broke down, Cook Islanders’ interest in English began to emerge. Commentators
observe that colonised peoples demand education in the language of their colonisers inorder to be better able to stand up for themselves in the context in which they are living(CARNOY 1974, CLIGNET 1971). Foreign settlers (mostly English speaking) began tosettle in greater numbers in Cook Islands (75 settlers by 1900). These settlers began
to exercise disproportionate power and it was largely in support of their interests that

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the Cook Islands were annexed to New Zealand in 1901. At this time Cook Islands had
been part of a British Protectorate, which had been declared in 1888.
New Zealander Frederick Moss was appointed as British Resident (who held thisposition from 1891 - 1898), and was said to be one of the more forward looking andeffective leaders. He was keen to maintain the mana of the local people and appointed
very few Europeans to key posts. As he explained to the New Zealand Governor, theEarl of Onslow:
It is important that they should not have more Europeans than possible placed
over them if they are to preserve self-respect. I am told that in Fiji a man may livewith a half-caste girl but if he marries her it is social death. Such a feeling is only
possible when the Natives form an inferior caste altogether and it would be a pity
to see it introduced into Rarotonga. (SCOTT 1991)
Because missionary policy had restricted classes in the schools to using only
Maori language there was only a very small pool of bilingual people available foradministration positions. Frederick Moss agreed with the strong feelings of Cook
Island people that schooling should be available for all people in English. He prompted
parliament to make English education mandatory in the mission schools and planned
to provide free, secular coeducational English-teaching schools in every district. Mossbelieved that democratic self-government and economic development would follow
naturally from such an education. The chiefs shared Moss’s vision and English becamea sign of progress in their eyes. This vision lasted in Maori perception and has been
more recently described as persistent (POLYNESIA WAY 1989).
The London Missionary Society opposed teaching English language to Cook
Islanders. ’Will it change their hearts? It will only lead them to read trashy novels as
French has taught the natives to do in Tahiti’, was a comment made by Rev Hutchin.
However the LMS was persuaded by Makea Ariki, highest chief in Rarotonga, to open
Tereora, the first secondary school in Cook Islands, in 1895.
In 1895 Parliament passed an Act to prohibit the operation of any school in which
English was not the language of instruction. With the introduction of legislation andregulations pertaining to primary and secondary schools it was stipulated that thevernacular (any form of Cook Islands Maori) should not be spoken during school
hours; a move in direct opposition to the earlier policy of the LMS missionaries which
disallowed English to be spoken at school. Regulations required that all teaching be in
English, and that a full range of subjects comparable to the New Zealand curriculum
be introduced. This of course caused huge problems, as there were not enough trainedteachers capable of teaching in English in the islands, so the system turned out to be
unworkable. The students had no knowledge of English and their expatriate teachers
could not speak the vernacular. The attempt to introduce education in English was a
failure. Attendance dropped and the free public school system ended soon after. The
LMS reverted to their original programme although they did add English as a subject

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to their curriculum in Avarua, the main town in Rarotonga. Around this time otherreligious factions such as Seventh Day Adventists and Roman Catholics entered Cook
Islands and offered educational services to schools. The LMS recognised their inability
to teach entirely in English but threatened by other factions, they tried to keep theirschools open.
The policies that Moss had tried to implement in his time as British Resident
meant he neither pleased the ariki, who wanted an English education to be provided
only for Cook Islanders from elite family lines, nor the European residents, who tended
to oppose education in English for Cook Islanders. Moss resigned with ill health in1898.
Under the rule of G UDGEON W. E., the next British Resident and then New
Zealand Resident Commissioner (1898-1909) education was again relegated to themission groups who ran both primary schools and Tereora College. Some English wastaught at these schools but the majority of teaching was conducted primarily in Cook
Islands Maori by the LMS missionaries. Gudgeon felt that education would actuallycause problems and dissatisfaction amongst the local people, so it was not a priority forhim. The traditional leaders were adamant they needed an English education but theirpleas were not heard. In the federal council, one Maori speaker made an appeal for the
introduction of state schools to replace mission schools:
We are children and are living in darkness, and we want to be as wise as thoseunder whose wing we are living. That is one thing that we know will be of great
benefit to the island…that everybody may learn, and also learn to speak theEnglish language, and anything else that may be learned in school. (SCOTT 1991)
Because of rising operating costs, and because they were unable to ignore theirlack of influence or the popular support for English education, LMS schools were
finally offered to be given over to the state in 1914. However Gudgeon opposed
this proposal and made it clear that he felt there was little need or benefit in Cook
Islanders getting an education. Although George Hogben, an educationist of note fromNew Zealand, visited Cook Islands and voiced his opposition to Gudgeon’s policies
proposing reforms, Gudgeon prevailed. He left the schools to the LMS and enrolments
continued to decline.
Tereora, the only secondary school in the country, remained open for a few more
years with the help of a subsidy from the state and did provide an ’English education’for fifty secondary students. The academic standards at Tereora were not as high as
New Zealand schools provided. With the need to charge fees, Tereora became a schoolfor the elite and was finally closed down in 1912 due to a lack of funds, and three years
after Gudgeon left office. This with the closing of this school, no secondary education
was available in Cook Islands for the next 45 years. This has been seen by some as a
type of colonial oppression. According to CROCOMBE (1979):

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The colonial government abolished higher formal education to preclude theemergence of a new leadership… Apart from a very few who were later sent toMaori Colleges in New Zealand and for medical training in Fiji, Cook Islanders
were effectively (and intentionally) denied the training that would have equipped
them for senior posts in the government, commerce and the churches.
Pleas were made for better education opportunities for Cook Islanders by the
traditional leaders of the people. In 1911 a mataiapo from Titkaveka pleaded for agovernment school for his district “so that by learning they may become helpers of
the Government… Do not leave us to become as a lot of fools.” (SCOTT 1991). The
New Zealand Minister for Cook Islands 1916-28, Maui Pomare, reacted to the stateof affairs in Cook Islands education by garnering support and money from the New
Zealand government. Pomare was insistent that Cook Islanders be taught in the English
language. So for the first time, compulsory education was introduced in 1914 by the
Resident Commissioner and several primary schools were opened, using the English
language as the language of instruction.
With the re-opening of schools parents were required to pay tuition fees andschool committees were formed to keep the buildings repaired. European head teachers
instituted an English curriculum in ’the three R’s, crafts and elementary agriculture’and used Cook Islands Maori only to introduce the new language. The impetus for thispolicy came from the belief that Cook Islanders had rejected their own culture, whichwas “no longer useful to them” and wanted to imitate Europeans, with whom they “hadbeen unable to compete commercially or intellectually” (GILSON 1991). It is interesting
to note that the 1915 Cook Islands Act confirmed English as the only official languageof the Cook Islands (GOODWIN 2003). This act also provided school regulations, andcemented to importance of English language instruction in schools. But little was doneby the New Zealand government to support the development of schooling at this time,and observers have suggested that those in power had a conviction that Cook Islanders
only required low levels of education (POLYNESIA WAY 1989).
The Resident Commissioner appointed 1916 - 1921, Frederick Platts, was a handson administrator and he worked to increase enrolments in schools. When he arrived in
Rarotonga, formal education was at a very low ebb, with only three primary schools in
the entire country, with 450 students taught by nine teachers, and no open secondary
schools. He was able to increase this to a total of nine schools open in just three years,
with more than 1000 pupils were being taught. He saw that Cook Islanders obtained
scholarships to New Zealand schools. He became personally involved in finding thebest way to teach English language to Cook Islands students. School readers preparedby the American Bureau of Education for use in the Philippines were finally selected
and a curriculum for teaching English as a foreign language was introduced (SCOTT
1991). A technical school was also opened to help with apprentice training in areas
such as radio operation.
In the early 1920s in New Zealand there was unease voiced over the use of

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English as the sole medium of instruction in Cook Islands schools but this policy was
defended by Ngata and Pomare, the New Zealand Ministers responsible for the Cook
Islands, and officials in the New Zealand Department of Education. It was claimed thatthe islanders had been held back by an inadequate knowledge of English, that a numberof essential concepts including those pertaining to disease could not be expressed in thevernacular, particularly as dialects differed from island to island. It was further argued
that Cook Islands people needed a language that they could use when visiting New
Zealand or other parts of the Pacific (GILSON 1991). Therefore English remained as thelanguage of instruction in all schools.
During the 1920s the first steps were taken to centralise educational
administration. Before this time schools were run independently. A temporary syllabus
was developed by the newly appointed Superintendent of Cook Islands schools (whowas also the headmaster of Avarua school). The perceived lack of self-esteem and pridein culture was addressed by the introduction of native arts and basketry, which were
hoped to inspire ’pride of race’. A programme for teacher training was also developed.
Up until this time teachers were mostly pastors or non-trained graduates of the primaryschools. Teacher training was a three-year course and included the pastor-trainers fromthe LMS. The training college was opened in conjunction with Avarua School in 1927.
Between 1922 and 1935 there was great discussion about cultural contact and therole of education in ’Europeanising’ the people. The use of English as the medium of
instruction was an important feature and much time was spent stressing the importanceof English and teaching the language, although the teachers were themselves poor
speakers of English. Instruction in indigenous arts and crafts, legends and culture
was limited. However Sir Apirana Ngata, the New Zealand Minister of Cook Islands
was a force for educational reform, and he approached his position with a mix ofEuropeanisation philosophy and Polynesian pride and is reported to have said “To denya sufficient education to the Polynesian tribes of these islands would not be humane;it would not be manly or sportsmanlike; it would not be worthy of decent British
traditions.” (GILSON 1991).
In the 1930s a new curriculum was introduced which focused on instruction
in English to support the expression of modern concepts (such as western medicine)and the provision of a lingua franca among the island dialects and throughout the
Pacific. However due to poor teacher training, lack of supervision from Wellington,
New Zealand, irregular inspections and inadequate budgets, Cook Islanders were still
receiving an education far inferior to what was received by New Zealanders. With apaucity of resources, large classes, and poor teacher pay, morale was low in schools.
With all of these constraints, students did not show a high level of proficiency inEnglish.
English did not replace the vernacular outside the schools however, so many
Rarotongans became bilingual. It is reported that literacy in English went from 16% to
50% from 1936 to 1945. The standards of proficiency are not known but it is presumed
that few used English of a standard much higher than that taught at the primary

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schools. Knowledge of English did little for the prospects of local people. There wereno regular library services or newspapers in English. English was useful when dealing
with officials but not essential. Some jobs required special training in New Zealandand three Cook Islanders per year were involved in this training. Having a working
knowledge did enable local islanders to seek unskilled work in New Zealand andmigration to Auckland and other parts of the country became an option for many Cook
Islanders.
The educational programme developed in New Zealand for Cook Islanders while
Pomare and Ngata were responsible for the Cook Islands remained in place until
1945. During this time enrolment numbers increased and many more Cook Islanders
became teachers. There was little supervision from New Zealand and New Zealand’s
expenditure on education in Cook Islands was very limited. The Teachers College
was not open fulltime and teachers with a good knowledge of English and ‘first hand’knowledge of the outside world were in very short supply. The school regulations
prohibiting the use of the vernacular in schools meant that subjects such as geography,
traditional culture and technical subjects were neglected while teachers and students
struggled to learn English. In only a few schools was New Zealand Standard VI level
reached (the standard achieved by New Zealand 12 year olds).
Veterans returning from both World War 1 and World War 2 greatly added impetus
to the calls for quality education in English. These soldiers returned with stories from
Europe, but also had experienced prejudice because of their lack of English. A numberof returning veterans found it difficult finding work and became interested in migration.
In 1945 a visit from a committee of three experts from the New ZealandDepartment of Education confirmed that schools were using English as the medium
of instruction. However they found, reportedly, that children were not acquiring a firm
grasp of the language, nor were they learning to express themselves adequately in thevernacular.
The lack of control of English as a medium of thought and expression would not
be so serious if there were a compensating facility in the vernacular…But … thevernacular languages are rapidly breaking down and are ceasing to be accurate andsensitive instruments of thought and communication… There is cause for serious
concern that a generation should grow up with no language clear-cut and delicate
enough to enable them to think out the problems facing them, and to understandand discuss anything beyond the simple concrete situations of daily life. No
people can have thought that is clearer and more disciplined than the language inwhich it is conveyed. The problems of health, education, trade, religion, morals
and politics with which the Cook Islander must grapple if he is to take a real partin the government of his country, cannot be handled by men and women whose
control of some language, either English or the vernacular, is not accurate, sureand free from confusion. (BEEBY et al.1945)

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This committee recommended a return to the vernacular, Cook Islands Maori, as
the sole medium of instruction for the first two to three years of primary school, withthe gradual introduction of English as a second medium of instruction. The hope wasthat English would be learned more quickly by this method and that most students
would be able to use both languages on completion of their primary education. The
committee proposed that the Rarotongan dialect should be the standard vernacular for
textbooks and that more time be spent learning local social sciences and traditional
crafts, dances and legends.
There was widespread resistance to the reintroduction of Maori language by Cook
Islanders, the large majority of whom still regarded the teaching of English as the mostimportant function of the schools. As a compromise with the community some useof the vernacular was introduced to all classes and some English was taught to infantclasses: oral English was taught in the first year and reading added in the second yearwith writing added in the third year. Some textbooks were written in the Rarotongan
dialect to help with the extreme shortage and a journal was published bimonthly. By
1950, 19 children had been sent to New Zealand secondary schools, several teachers
had been sent to New Zealand for short courses at training colleges, and just two Cook
Islanders had taken degrees.
Tereora College was reopened as a secondary school for students from all islands
in 1954. The problem of recruitment and retention of well-educated and qualified
teachers continued (and still continues up to the present day), especially at thesecondary level. New Zealand expatriate teachers were used as organising teacherswith overall responsibility for policy, training and development in schools. However
local teachers still struggled with basic teaching skills.
In the early 1960s New Zealand funded a major study to improve the curriculum
for teaching English (TATE 1963). As a result the Tate Method was adopted and usedin schools for many years. This was a comprehensive structured oral English coursethat teachers with little linguistic knowledge or expertise could use. Tate’s English
programme was used for students in Grade 1 - 6. Vestiges of the use of the Tate method
could be observed in some schools up to the end of the twentieth century especially in
the Northern Group islands (personal observation). In the mid-sixties major educational
developments took place on the outer southern group islands with the establishment ofJunior High Schools catering for students up to 15 years old. New Zealand standards
were used to measure the effectiveness of education in local schools but because of the
low level of education of many teachers, the syllabi were not followed well.
By the end of the colonial period a level of bilingualism had become widespreadamongst Cook Islanders, despite inadequately funded and implemented educational
programmes. It was the Cook Islanders themselves that had made their wants known
by being more likely to attend schools when English was offered as the language of
instruction.

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Independence period and language
When Cook Islands became a self-governing Associated State in 1965 English was
granted the status of statutory national language, and Cook Islands Maori was granted
the status of statutory language of national identity (COOK ISLANDS CONSTITUTION
1965). Therefore at this time English retained its role as the only official language of
the Cook Islands.
New Zealand continued to supply a number of well-trained teachers to assist
with education, especially at the secondary level in the Southern Cook Islands group,and this continued through until the 1990s (CROCOMBE 1992). These teachers were
English speaking. An Education Act was passed which prescribed the administrative
components of a free, equal and universal system of education. In mid- 1975 thefirst Education Policy Statement was issued. This policy included directions to raise
standards in schools and in teacher training programmes. A strong Cook Islands Maori
identity was recognised as important and was to be fostered in all schools. This policy
was well received throughout the country and one of its lasting effects was to lay a
powerful ideological base for Cook Islands education (POLYNESIAN WAY 1989). Oneof the key components of this was bilingualism. Students were to be taught in Cook
Islands Maori for the first three years of their schooling, after which English was to
be introduced. However it was observed over the next decade that the political will toprovide acceptable levels of funding for the resulting initiatives did not materialise.
Very few teachers had any training in language teaching, making the bilingualism
goal difficult, especially when coupled with a lack of virtually any texts or resources.
Most teachers were not well qualified and there was little incentive for teachers to
pursue professional development. Rates of pay for teachers remained very low, the job
seemed to be onerous and boring under the conditions and there were few opportunities
for promotion. This meant that well-qualified teachers defected to other government
departments or to the private sector (POLYNESIAN WAY 1989).
Although Cook Islands Maori had been reintroduced into the curriculum inthe 1940s, and the policy shifted so that Cook Islands Maori was to be used in earlyschooling, teachers continued to punish students for speaking Cook Islands Maori
at school into the 1980s in attempts to address problems with English proficiency(EDWARDS 2003). By 1980, a survey of language use and preference in Southern
Cook Islands primary schools found that some schools were able to impart English
and maintain Cook Islands Maori successfully (TIXIER and EARLY 1990). The authors
cautioned that Rarotongan youths’ preference for English signalled a language shift
in progress. This was been noted by a number of concerned people and there was arenewed call for the protection and promotion of the Cook Islands Maori Language by
way of the development of a language policy (HERMANN 1990).
One way of ascribing value to a language is its place in the school qualifications
offered to students. A number of other Pacific Islands nations that depended on New
Zealand for qualifications, in particular New Zealand School Certificate, were assisted
by New Zealand in phasing out this qualification in the 1980s because of the neo-70South Pacific Studies Vol.36, No.2, 2016colonial implications of its retention. However the Cook Islands decided to keep the
New Zealand system for qualifications, as they were seen as the goal in high schools
because of their international recognition, allowing Cook Islands students better accessto higher education and employment overseas (CROCOMBE 1992). As a result of theongoing dependence on New Zealand qualifications the Cook Islands curriculum
was designed so that students could achieve proficiency in Standard New ZealandEnglish. Cook Islands continued to be influenced by New Zealand through the use of
New Zealand qualifications for secondary students (New Zealand School Certificate,
University Entrance, Sixth form Certificate and University Bursaries examinations) andthe provision of secondary teachers especially to work at the senior secondary level.
A number of other Pacific nations had elected to use the New Zealand qualifications
system at mid-century but most phased this out later. In 2000, the New Zealandqualification system changed and Cook Islands Ministry of Education again changed
the local aspects of qualifications to be in line with the new standards based assessment
called the National Certificate in Educational Achievement (NCEA) as implemented
by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA). However, one benefit in thissystem is that Cook Islands Maori is one of the languages assessed in this qualification,so many Cook Islands students can gain credit for proficiency in their own language.
The education system continued to operate through the late twentieth century withminimal funding sufficient to maintain teachers’ salaries but little else. Community
fund-raising efforts from time to time paid for other basic school requirements but
there was little input of resources and the government budget for education gradually
declined (CROCOMBE 1990). A financial crisis causing the loss of approximately one
third of government jobs in the mid-1990s meant mass migration of Cook Islanders to
New Zealand and Australia, including teachers. Many of the teachers who emigrated
were the better qualified teachers who were able to get work overseas. Because of thelarge number of Cook Islanders who had emigrated in the 1970-80s and then in the
mid-1990s, there was a substantial support base in these receiving countries for others
planning to move overseas. This meant the idea of moving to New Zealand or Australia
for work was a real option for young Cook Islanders, which in turn meant that thelearning of English was a logical goal. Additionally the returning of retiring Cook
Islanders with papa’a spouses often to raise grandchildren also had a net effect on
language shift towards English. This shift meant that in Rarotonga in particular, Cook
Islands Maori was not known by a number of students entering schools.
By the mid-1990s, schools’ resources such as books were very limited and outof-date and teacher morale was low. In a bid to improve schools and education an
Education Development Project funded by an Asia Development Bank Loan in the late
1990s meant an injection of much needed money to do basic building maintenance,
fund some curriculum development and policy writing, and provide resources forschools. The schools received resource materials, library books and teacher resource
books for all curriculum areas, and almost all were written in English. The resources
provided in the language area were mostly junior readers and books that were found toEDWARDS: Tracing Language Use and Policy in Cook Islands’ Schools

71

be useful in New Zealand settings. Few resources were specifically written as English
as a Second Language teaching resources. Instead most have been used successfully
with native speakers of English in teaching to the New Zealand English in the New
Zealand Curriculum (ENGLISH IN THE NEW ZEALAND CURRICULUM 1994).
A further development in education was the growth of private schools on
Rarotonga, in particular schools that promoted an English curriculum, such as Te Uki
Ou School and Immanuela Akatemia. Te Uki Ou was used by expatriates in particular,
but also by affluent Cook Islands families who were unhappy with the education
available in other schools. The only other school teaching wholly in English at thattime (Avatea School) had long waiting lists, which would indicate that many parents
preferred their children to be educated in English medium, and by first language
English speakers if possible.
A language policy report completed in 1997 commented on the status of languages
in the Cook Islands (LANGUAGE POLICY REPORT: EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT PROJECT
1997). In outer islands the status of Cook Islands Maori was found to be higher thanon Rarotonga with Maori being widely spoken in the community and in schools. In
Pukapuka the Pukapukan language was almost exclusively used in the community,
and was used at school, with Rarotongan and English introduced later in the school’s
programme. The standard of Rarotongan Maori was noted to be declining in
Rarotonga, having been eroded by English through wholesale use of English structures
within oral and written Maori texts, and the overwhelming use of English in the media
and entertainment. Rarotongan Maori was subject to intergenerational loss over theprevious 25 years.
According to the Language Policy Report, Rarotongan schools taught English in
an unprincipled and unsystematic way, arbitrarily mixing Maori and English. It wasnoted that students had inadequate English language necessary for school learning
despite being fluent in conversational English. Reading comprehension, writing andvocabulary continued to be areas of weakness, and teachers were not using active andinteractive pedagogy. Data from the 1999 national Grade 6 examination showed that
English language achievement was generally higher in Rarotonga than in the outerisland schools but that Cook Islands Maori language achievement was proportionallyhigher in Southern Group schools than in Rarotonga (ETCHES 1999).
A language syllabus was prepared in 1992, and then in 1997 and 1998 draft
primary and secondary English Curricula, based in part on the Samoan curriculum(primary) and the NZ Curriculum Statement (secondary), were written. These were
officially adopted but many teachers had little awareness of the current curriculum(BROADBENT and ROGERS 2000). The area of reading teaching was causing serious
concern as many teachers who were self-taught in their methods of teaching reading
appeared to have little understanding of the process. Even after the injection of readingmaterials into schools in the late 1990s there were still not enough resources available.
The lack of resources in Cook Islands Maori meant that even in outer islands schools
readers of Cook Islands Maori could not move into the area of independent reading72

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before they moved to English text. The 2000 UNESCO Education for All report statedthat achievement in Grade 5 English had declined since 1994 while achievement in
Grade 6 Maori had also decreased since 1994, probably reflecting the state of affairs inschools at that time.
A Cook Islands Language Policy was written in 1997 as part of the language
report but was not adopted. However a language commission was reconvened to
discuss important issues and be responsible for ongoing planning. The need to have
Cook Islands Maori declared an official language of the Cook Islands was seen asa priority. In 1998 Cabinet approved the enactment of an Official Language Act toestablish the Cook Islands Language Commission, and declare Cook Islands Maori
as an official language of the Cook Islands. The Te Reo Maori Act 2003 changed thestatus of languages in the country so that Cook Islands Maori was made co-official
with English. The Act tasked the Ministry of Cultural Development:(a) To give effect to the declaration that Maori is an official language of the Cook
Islands(b) To bring out a status for Maori that is equal to English in the Cook Islands. (TE REO
MAORI ACT 2003)
Given that this change in status had been planned for quite some time, some of theeducation policy developed before the Act was passed reflected this shift. The Cook
Islands Curriculum Framework placed considerable emphasis on Cook Islands Maoriand stated:
Cook Islands Maori is the language of the indigenous people of the Cook Islands
and is the essence of Maori identity. Without language, culture will cease to exist,
for the loss of a language spells the loss of a culture.
(COOK ISLANDS CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK 2002).
The principles underlying the framework referred to the need for a commitment tobilingualism for Cook Islands students.
The Cook Islands Curriculum recognises the primary importance of language in thedelivery of the curriculum. It promotes the use of an effective bilingual approach. The
Cook Islands Curriculum supports bilingualism where high levels of proficiency in
Cook Islands Maori and English are aspired to as a goal of language development andlearning in schools.
The education policy mandating the use of Cook Islands Maori as the language of
instruction the first three years of schooling, and then gradually shifting instruction to
English was followed in the outer islands, but was no longer the practice in all schoolsin Rarotonga in 2000, where much teaching even at Grade 1 level was done in English
or an English /Maori mix sometimes called ’Maroro’ (EDWARDS 2003). Maroro is the
local name of the flying fish that lives in the ocean - the term Maroro Maori refers to
the way communication consists of two languages - flying backwards and forwards
between Maori and English. Teachers were known to code-switch between English

EDWARDS: Tracing Language Use and Policy in Cook Islands’ Schools73

and Maori on Rarotonga, and between Rarotongan and the local island dialect in outerislands (BALAWA 1996). Cook Islands Maori was still a compulsory subject up to Year
11 level at this time. The teaching of this subject however faced several problems
including a lack of resources, lack of specific language teaching training for teachers
and the attitudes of the general public who felt that Maori was an inferior language. It
is in this context then, with increasing importance placed on English, declining use of
Cook Islands Maori and a history of erratic and piecemeal colonial intervention that
the Cook Islands Ministry of Education had to develop strategies for Maori language
development and maintenance irrespective of the preference of some Cook Islanders
to prioritise English for their children. The Cook Islands educational guidelines haveas one of two goals: Develop all students as bilingual and bicultural members of Cook
Islands society by developing their ability and confidence to communicate in a rangeof purposes in Cook Islands Maori and English (COOK ISLANDS EDUCATION GUIDELINES
2002).
With the introduction of the Curriculum Framework in 2002 the Cook Islands
Ministry of Education recognised that language profiles and language acquisition
vary depending on the island involved, with the implication being that a universal
policy would be ineffective in achieving the national aim. With this is mind individual
schools have been given the mandate to develop their own language policy based ona set of general guidelines, taking into account their own community. Schools arethen tasked to choose strategies and approaches best suited to achieve high levels ofbilingualism, and to monitor the achievement of their students in this domain (HERMANN
2005). Given the constraints of population mobility, attitudinal mind sets, and limited
resources, this was a visionary but challenging mandate.
With the passing of the Te Reo Maori Act 2003 Cook Islands Maori and English
were given equal status for the first time in history. The informal and formal language
policies that have directed the language/s of instruction in schooling have been, andwill continue to be, very influential for the students passing through the education
system. The Act provides a foundation on which to continue the demanding work for
Cook Islanders working within the education sector.

Discussion
The chronicles of language use and language of instruction in Cook Islands’
schools is interesting and raises a number of issues that have impacted past and current
education provision in the country. The story is also comparable to accounts from othercolonised nations in the Pacific. Nations such as Samoa, New Zealand, Niue, Tokelau,
and French Polynesia have similar stories to tell, so in some ways this chronology from
Cook Islands is not unique.
Many Pacific Nations have a history affected by missionary endeavour, and withthe missionaries came the establishment of formal schooling. Missionary organisations

74

South Pacific Studies Vol.36, No.2, 2016preferred using the vernacular and were responsible for the first writing of vernacularlanguages and the production of the first printed materials in these languages. However
the colonial powers that arrived alongside the missionaries meant that the locus of
power changed, and language was seen as an essential element in being able to engage
in the new colonial system. As observed by WIGLESWORTH (1996),
It has been suggested that the use of Maori-only was part of an isolationist policy
depriving Cook Islanders of knowledge crucial to future self-government, notthat self-government required English, but that participation in a system with an
English speaking overlord did. (WIGLESWORTH 1996).
And so it was initially through requests from Cook Islanders, who saw English
as the way of progress, that English was taught and was later used as the medium
for instruction in schools (although the history of Cook Islands shows that this wassteadfastly opposed by the LMS missionaries).
The change to English-only schools, and the turmoil that resulted because of
the lack of teachers who could teach in English, as well as a lack of funding, meantthat education was provided only for a very few students, and it was of low quality.
This is again a pattern that was common throughout countries that were colonised by
the English and the French in the Pacific. Low calibre educational experiences led to
low outcomes for Cook Islands students, and although the poor grasp of both English
and Cook Islands Maori was acknowledged by New Zealand educational experts,
Cook Islanders still chose to send their children to schools offering English becauseof the benefits of learning this language. After Cook Islands gained independence,
New Zealand continued to support its development and has supplied a number ofteachers and educational experts over the years. These teachers usually had little or noknowledge of Cook Islands Maori. A shift to using Cook islands Maori as the languageof instruction the first three years of schooling has met with mixed success, and iscertainly more prevalent in the outer islands. However as students progress the lack ofreading texts in Maori continues to be a hindrance to students’ literacy development.
With the realisation that Cook Islands Maori was at risk of dying as a language,a language commission was formed and the legislation of Te Reo Maori Act (2003)
was passed. Since this time there has been more political commitment is made to truebilingual education in Cook Islands. We see a parallel journey in many countries. In
recent years Tahiti and French Polynesia have engaged in the expansion of language
teaching to ensure students are both confident and literate in their mother tongues
as well as in French. Calls for a change in language policy in French Polynesia were
heard from both local and international writers. For example LEVY (1970) argued forthe use of Tahitian language in schools because of the links between language and theculture. From the early 2000s there has been a commitment made to multilingualism
in French Polynesia (GABRILLON and AILINCAI 2015). In Samoa there has been a focus
on language policy development since late 1990s and the Western Samoa Education

EDWARDS: Tracing Language Use and Policy in Cook Islands’ Schools

75

Policies 1995-2005 (Government of Samoa 1995:19) set bilingualism as a principal
aim of the education system there (LAMETA 2005). In Pacific countries the developmentof language policies and a commitment to vernacular languages is a widespread patternin the late 1990s and early 2000s.
One aspect of the education systems from these countries that has not changed
with the shift in language policy is the qualifications on offer. In Cook Islands,
New Zealand’s NCEA is the assessment used in senior secondary schools. Cook
Islands Maori is a subject that can be studied within this system, but all subjects
except for languages are examined in English or New Zealand Maori. Similarly inmany other Pacific countries that have a history of colonial influence from English,
the qualifications are offered in English only, rather than vernacular languages. As
observed in Samoa by LAMETA (2005):
Though motivated by different reasons, language policy choices for teaching andlearning inevitably control accessibility of knowledge and successful achievement.
Whenever a person has to learn a new language to have access to education,
language becomes a factor in structuring and ordering social relations. (LAMETA
2005).
The fact that English is required to access qualifications and open doors for
employment motivates many people to prioritise the learning of this language, andmany regard literacy in Cook Islands Maori as unimportant for the younger generation.
For Cook Islands and many other Pacific countries there is considerable fluidity
in living arrangements, with many Pacific Islanders moving to and from New Zealandand Australia. It is estimated that 90% of ethnic Cook Islanders live abroad. Because
Cook Islanders have New Zealand citizenship they do have the right to reside, study,
and work there should they wish. This certainly motivates some Cook Islanders toprioritise English medium teaching and learning.
The legislation of the Te Reo Maori Act (2003) means that Cook Islands Maoriand English are both recognised as official languages in Cook Islands. In education,bilingualism for all children across all learning areas in the curriculum is a stated goal
(COOK ISLANDS CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK 2002). However there are still reservations
about how effective the implementation of this policy is. Many teachers do not seem tohave training in teaching Maori, and it is unclear what provision is made for Maori as a
Second Language (SALLABANK 2013). Older teachers are still affected by the “no Maori
at school” policy they or their parents endured. As a result some are not implementing
the current policy in their classrooms, as they believe this reflects their communities’
wishes (EDWARDS, 2013). At the end of the day it is down to the people of the Cook
Islands to decide which languages they will use and which they prioritise. As observed
by LYNCH (1998):
If people want to shift to another language that they think is more useful, it is their

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right to do so. Very often this debate is held in the rarefied circles of academe,
without much input from the speakers of the language themselves. Those speakers
will of course have the final say (and perhaps the last laugh) by choosing thecourse of action that seems most sensible and practical; from their perspective.
The current situation is not a simple one. It is the result of the chequered historyof education in Cook Islands and will be determined by the Cook Islands communities
themselves.

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