Ethical Decision-Making (Tikanga in Action)
🌿 Whakataukī (Māori Proverb)
"Kia tika te kōrero, kia pono te mahi."
Meaning: Let your words be right and your actions be true.
Ethics is not just “what you think”. It is how you act — with integrity, care, and respect for people’s mana.
🎯 Learning Objectives
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
- Explain why ethical decisions involve values, power, and consequences
- Use a tikanga-informed decision pathway (tika, pono, aroha + manaakitanga)
- Identify stakeholders and whose voice must be centred
- Justify a decision using evidence + values (not just feelings)
- Practise respectful discussion as a class “hui”
📋 NZ Curriculum Alignment
Social Studies (L5-6): Understand how people make decisions about access to and use of resources; rights and responsibilities.
Health (L5): Examine how values, beliefs, and norms influence choices and wellbeing.
Key Competencies: Relating to others; Participating and contributing; Thinking.
🧭 Starter: Values Line-Up (10 mins)
Students silently choose where they stand (Strongly agree → Strongly disagree) for a statement. Then discuss why — using evidence and care.
Statement 1
“If it’s legal, it’s ethical.”
Statement 2
“The best decision is the one that helps the most people.”
Statement 3
“Whose voice is missing matters more than what I think.”
Norm: You can change your mind — shifting is a sign of learning, not weakness.
🌿 Explore: A Tikanga Decision Path
Tika • Pono • Aroha
- Whose mana is involved? Who is most affected? Who must lead?
- What relationships are at stake? Whanaungatanga — what do we owe each other?
- What is tika? What is fair and just in this context?
- What is pono? What is true? What evidence do we have? What are we assuming?
- What is aroha? What is the caring response that reduces harm?
- What will we do? Choose an action and an accountability step.
Reminder: Sometimes the “best” option still has harm. Ethics includes honesty about trade-offs and working to reduce harm.
🏛️ Activity: Hui Simulation (25 mins)
Run a mini-hui to practise ethical decision-making with multiple stakeholders.
Scenario: Taonga Design & Consent
A school wants to use Māori designs on a sports uniform and in marketing. Students are excited — but no iwi/hapū have been consulted.
Roles (choose 4–6): tauira leaders, kaiako, principal, iwi/hapū representative (if appropriate), whānau, sponsor/company.
Task: Use the Tikanga Decision Path to reach a decision, then decide what accountability looks like (who to approach, how, what to change).
✅ Success Criteria
- Names who holds authority and why
- Uses evidence (not stereotypes) to justify decisions
- Includes consent and relationship-building steps
- Shows manaakitanga during discussion
🤔 Reflect & Connect (5 mins)
- What did you notice about power and voice in the hui?
- Which step of the Tikanga Decision Path was hardest?
- How can we show integrity when we make mistakes?