Maori participation in higher education: Tainui graduates from the University of Waikato, 1992 to 1997

This thesis is an examination of what factors contribute to the success of Maori who participate in higher education. The thesis is informed by the experiences of nine Tainui tribal members who received scholarships from the Tainui Maori Trust Board and who graduated from the University of Waikato between 1992 and 1997. The thesis addresses two questions: what factors contributed to the success of Tainui graduates at the University of Waikato? What effect did programmes, policies and initiatives offered by the University of Waikato and the Tainui Maori Trust Board have on the academic success of Tainui graduates at the University of Waikato? There are three main components to the thesis: a brief history of the University of Waikato and an examination of three documents (University of Waikato Charter 1991; Paetawhiti, the strategic plan 1993; Academic Audit Unit report 1997) and how they pertain to Maori; a history of the Tainui Maori Trust Board and an examination of the Tainui Education Strategy (1986, 1991), its review (1993) and scholarship programmes; and a study and analysis of the experiences of nine Tainui graduates from the University of Waikato. Argued from an eclectic theoretical and methodological position, drawing from indigenous and western theories and research practices that emphasise a kaupapa Maori and tribal approach, the thesis identifies multiple factors that have contributed to the success of the Tainui graduates. These factors include family and parental support, mentoring, the role of finances, institutional support, and identity. The thesis finds through examination of the documents, that the policies, initiatives and programmes of the Tainui Maori Trust Board and the University of Waikato have ambiguous and at times conflicting aims and objectives in regard to Maori participation and graduation from higher education. The thesis also finds that the experiences of the graduates reveal that neither the Tainui Maori Trust Board nor policies relating to Maori at the University of Waikato played significant roles in the success of the Tainui graduates. Rather, the thesis finds that the success of the graduates is largely borne by their own efforts, which reflect western notions of success, but which also reinforce their identity as Maori, and as Tainui tribal members. The thesis suggests that both the Tainui Maori Trust Board and the University of Waikato review their relationships with their tribal and Maori members (respectively), and recommendations are made to help develop a greater awareness of the contribution that both organisations can make to the success of Maori university students

Reducing disease burden and health inequalities arising from chronic disease among indigenous children: an early childhood caries intervention in Aotearoa/New Zealand

BACKGROUND Maaori are the Indigenous people of New Zealand and do not enjoy the same oral health status as the non-Indigenous majority. To overcome oral health disparities, the life course approach affords a valid foundation on which to develop a process that will contribute to the protection of the oral health of young infants. The key to this process is the support that could be provided to the parents or care givers of Maaori infants during the pregnancy of the mother and the early years of the child. This study seeks to determine whether implementing a kaupapa Maaori (Maaori philosophical viewpoint) in an early childhood caries (ECC) intervention reduces dental disease burden among Maaori children. The intervention consists of four approaches to prevent early childhood caries: dental care provided during pregnancy, fluoride varnish application to the teeth of children, motivational interviewing, and anticipatory guidance. METHODS/DESIGN The participants are Maaori women who are expecting a child and who reside within the Maaori tribal area of Waikato-Tainui. This randomised-control trial will be undertaken utilising the principles of kaupapa Maaori research, which encompasses Maaori leadership, Maaori relationships, Maaori customary practices, etiquette and protocol. Participants will be monitored through clinical and self-reported information collected throughout the ECC intervention. Self-report information will be collected in a baseline questionnaire during pregnancy and when children are aged 24 and 36 months. Clinical oral health data will be collected during standardised examinations at ages 24 and 36 months by calibrated dental professionals. All participants receive the ECC intervention benefits, with the intervention delayed by 24 months for participants who are randomised to the control-delayed arm. Discussion The development and evaluation of oral health interventions may produce evidence that supports the application of the principles of kaupapa Maaori research in the research processes. This study will assess an ECC intervention which could provide a meaningful approach for Maaori for the protection and maintenance of oral health for Maaori children and their family, thus reducing oral health disparities. TRIAL REGISTRATION Australia and New Zealand Clinical Trials Register (ANZCTR): ACTRN12611000111976.John R Broughton, Joyce Te H Maipi, Marie Person, W Murray Thomson, Kate C Morgaine, Sarah-Jane Tiakiwai, Jonathan Kilgour, Kay Berryman, Herenia P Lawrence, Lisa M Jamieso

Bilingual/Immersion education: Indicators of good practice

Based on a review of national and international research on bilingualism and bilingual/immersion education, this report explores effective approaches for bilingual education. While the focus was on Māori-medium education, the indicators of good practice can also be applied to other bilingual contexts in Aotearoa/New Zealand, such as Pasifika bilingual education

Taunakitia Te Marae: A Te Arawa perspective of Marae wellbeing: Final Report

In collaboration with Nga Pae o te Maramatanga, Waikato Tainui College for Research and Development and Te Kotahi Research Institute, Te Arawa Tangata conducted a research project named Taunakitia Te Marae, aimed at understanding and enhancing the wellbeing of Te Arawa marae. The research took a marae-centred view of how marae can foster and support Te Arawa hapū and iwi wellbeing and development

A Critical Tiriti Analysis of the Treaty Statement From a University in Aotearoa New Zealand

Universities in Aotearoa New Zealand have been placed under the spotlight for claims of systemic racism. Following the claims made in relation to the University of Waikato in 2020 and University of Otago in 2022, universities have the responsibility to create an inclusive environment where systemic racism is dismantled, to meaningfully partner with Māori to construct a model for decolonisation, and to enhance the academic experience of Māori staff and students by weaving in mātauranga Māori into existing teaching and research practices. The University of Waikato progresses ahead of other universities in its attempt to fulfil Te Tiriti o Waitangi commitment through the introduction of the Treaty Statement. In this paper, the Treaty Statement is used as a case study to identify how universities articulate bicultural commitments. To do so, our team (consisting of Māori and tauiwi scholars) performed a critical Tiriti analysis comprising five phases to investigate the degree of alignment of the statement with Te Tiriti. The desktop analysis showed poor engagement with most Te Tiriti elements. The analysis evaluation of “good” (more than satisfactory) was measured for the consideration of “Māori exercising equitable citizenship”. This article concludes with recommendations of how universities can strengthen their practices to live up to Te Tiriti aspirations

Dialogue as a method for evolving Mātauranga Māori: Perspectives on the use of embryos in research

This paper explores the epistemological divide between mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) and science, and considers which cultural concepts have relevance when considering the use of embryos in research. We argue that empowerment is a necessary precursor for a dialogue process to be effective and to maintain the cultural dignity and confidence of the participants. Negotiating spaces to share ideas, concepts and values between different knowledge systems is an important exercise that creates opportunities for innovative thinking. The identification of cultural cues and indigenous reference points for considering how knowledge relating to embryo research might be located within a traditional knowledge schema is a necessary type of activity to ensure mātauranga Māori maintains its usefulness for Māori in a changing society while retaining its indigenous spirit and cultural tradition

Weaving the mat of Māori and Pacific learner success

The mat we are trying to weave at the University of Waikato to address educational outcomes, disparities and inequities in education for Māori and Pacific learners will weave rich data, stories and experience. Our goal is to use data to be better informed about what works for Māori and Pacific learners and what does not. Data is useful in building a more complete picture of what is happening to students, but student voice and previous research that has already captured the voices of Māori and Pacific experts, educators, students, families and communities can tell us more about why we are getting these outcomes. As we harness data to improve our knowledge, we must not forget the stories already in the mat and the stories being woven in the mat, for the stories are the gold. This report details our work on this data-informed rather than data-driven project. It discusses how improved data and data analytic capability enhanced our understanding of the literature on Māori and Pacific learner success and the experience of Māori and Pacific learners at UoW. Our research and the report, however, also unapologetically privilege case studies through literature and Māori and Pacific student voices. We lay out the various materials – data, literature and voice – that will form our mat with this in mind, weaving them together in order to achieve better outcomes for Māori and Pacific learners at our university. These learners are the why of this mahi. Their success will create a beautiful pattern in the weave

The art of dialogue with indigenous communities in the new biotechnology world

Te Hau Mihi Ata is a research project that aims to negotiate spaces for and develop processes of dialogue that allow for a deeper level of interaction between mtauranga Māori (Māori indigenous knowledge) and science. Over a two-year period a series of facilitated exchanges or wnanga were held focusing on areas of new technology (assisted reproductive technologies, life technologies, and future food technologies) that involved Māori scientists and people with expertise in mtauranga Māori. These dialogue events were designed to explore, through the challenge of considering new biotechnologies, the similarities and differences that emerge from approaching these issues from different knowledge paradigms. This paper will outline the key project findings from this series of exchanges including the barriers and facilitators to the dialogue process and knowledge exchange as well as discuss how participants created connections between scientific discourse and indigenous knowledge frameworks

He Whakaoranga Kia Puta Kia Ora (prepared for Health Research Council of New Zealand)

This research project explored the relationship between cultural connectedness and wellbeing (as a social determinant of health). In particular, the research explored the diverse ways in which tribal members connected with and expressed their Waikatotanga

Report on the New Zealand National Curriculum, 2002 - Australian Council of Educational Research

As part of the New Zealand Curriculum Stocktake, the New Zealand Ministry of Education commissioned the Australian Council of Educational Research to prepare a commentary on the New Zealand National Curriculum. Sue Ferguson conducted the project as a commissioned consultant to ACER