School Beginnings - A 19th Century Colonial Story by Helen May

This is a second-hand copy of the book.

Condition: This is a used book in good condition:

Publisher: NZCER Press
Year: 2005
ISBN: 9781877396069
Format: Softback
Pages: 251
Condition: Used (Good)

Using much never-before-published material, Helen May tells the story of 'beginning school' for both Māori and Pākehā children in New Zealand in the nineteenth century. The story is set against changing backdrops: from early Māori-Pākehā engagement and a mass migration of European settlers from the 'old world' to the 'new world', to consequent colonisation and loss of land in a changing world for Māori and the Pākehā-led construction of a 'new' nation. The focus on the youngest children at school provides a fresh window for considering missionary intentions and the subsequent politics of colonisation, as well as the idea of public schooling and the beginnings of a schooling system in the colony.