Bucking the Trends: Increasing retention rates of Māori students enrolled in Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences courses at the University of Waikato

Reports on the success of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Waikato’s monitoring and support for Maori students initiative. The aim of the initative was to implement a support system in the FASS that would enhance retention rates for Māori students in the Faculty

Keynote Address: Barriers and incentives to Māori participation in the profession of psychology

It is well known that Māori are overrepresented within the client group of psychologists. Despite ongoing attempts to recruit and retain more Māori within the discipline of psychology, the numbers of Māori psychologists continues to remain low, raising serious concerns about the ability of the profession to effectively meet the needs of its clientele. The objectives of this study were to identify the, barriers to, and incentives for improving the recruitment and retention of Māori in the profession of psychology and Māori to gain and maintain registration as psychologists. This paper is based on the full report provided to the New Zealand Psychologists’ Board. The findings in this study clearly demonstrate that in order to attract Māori to participate in psychology, the majority of environments need to change substantially. It is simply not enough for organisations, whether they are educational, professional, or service delivery agencies, to identify the need for more Māori psychologists, yet still fail to commit to, and actively engage in, altering long identified environmental factors that are barriers to Māori participation

Policy for Maori: values, assumptions and closing the gap

This paper looks at the issue of what it is about the way in which policy is developed which influences whether or not policy meets the needs of Maori. To do this I will focus on one component of policy making; the role of the values and assumptions of policy makers. Assumptions about the nature of policy making and the way in which policy can be used to maintain and modify norms and standards, determine values and define problems are briefly investigated. These issues are highlighted using the Code of Family and Social Responsibility as an example of the way in which dominant cultural value bases and assumptions have influenced the way in which policy issues are framed and presented. The paper concludes by asking why the consideration of the values of policy makers is important for Maori and how can I, as a Maori policy analyst working within the Government policy making sector, contribute to the development of policy which is based on Maori assumptions, realities, values and world views

Monitoring first year Maori students enrolled in selected Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences courses: A report prepared for the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Monitoring first year Maori Students Enrolled in Selected Faculty of Arts andSocial Sciences Courses. The total number of Maori students targeted by this project was 182, representing 93% of the total number of Maori students enrolled in Semester B level one courses. The majority of students participating in this initiative were first year students, although a small number of students taking 100 level courses were second, third or graduate year students. 11 Student views on the monitoring and support initiative Students were provided with the opportunity to comment on the monitoring and support initiative. All students contacted (49) recommended that this intervention continue for future first year Maori students enrolled in FASS

Barriers and incentives to Māori participation in the profession of psychology: A report for the New Zealand Psychologists' Board

It is well known that Māori are over-represented within the client group of psychologists. Despite ongoing attempts to recruit and retain more Māori within the discipline of psychology, the numbers of Māori psychologists continues to remain low, raising serious concerns about the ability of the profession to effectively meet the needs of its clientele. The salient barrier to increasing Māori participation in psychology is the environments in which Māori students of psychology and Māori psychologists are required to participate. Areas covered include current Māori participation in psychology, barriers to Māori participation such as psychology's reliance on western paradigms, lack of Māori participation in psychology training programmes, lack of support for Māori psychology students, and a lack of commitment to Māori development in psychology

Indigenous Psychology in Aotearoa: Realising Māori Aspirations

Indigenous psychology in Aotearoa positions the aspirations of Māori as central. The aim of this thesis is to describe and contribute to the development of a psychological discipline which is relevant and of benefit for Māori communities. Part One sets the scene in Aotearoa, examining the relationship between Māori development and psychology. Part Two explores the indigenous psychology literature base, identifying strategies which may be relevant to Aotearoa. The key themes of context, critical mass, and mechanisms to support indigenous psychology development are identified as being relevant to Aotearoa. Part Three explores indigenous psychology development in Aotearoa. Data from a range of sources is qualitatively analysed to develop five themes which describe the current status of Māori development in psychology, the importance of the critical mass and the notion of collective responsibility. Part Four, drawing from the analysis in Parts One, Two and Three, identifies 'reaching the point of irreversible change' as the next phase of indigenous psychology development in Aotearoa. This is the point at which indigenous psychology development becomes self-sustaining. The point at which irreversible change occurs is when: Māori knowledge bases are a legitimate part of psychology in Aotearoa; resistance to the legitimacy of Māori knowledge bases in psychology is not a characteristic of our landscape; environments supportive of indigenous psychology development are commonplace; and responsibility for contributing to indigenous psychology development is shared among and sustained by the collective capacity of the Leaders and Producers. Consolidation, the process by which multiple and interrelated pathways are connected to form a unified whole, is fundamental to reaching the point of irreversible change. An original interactional framework for consolidation is proposed. This framework is based on two key consolidating mechanisms: a working description of Kaupapa Māori Psychologies; and a Kaupapa Māori Psychologies Research and Training Centre. Psychologies relevant and of benefit to Māori communities which contribute to the realisation of Māori aspirations are the cornerstones, with all elements of the framework leading back into this fundamental foundation

Claiming collective space: Kaupapa Maori in psychology

From its inception, the Psychology Department at the University of Waikato has had a focus on issues of culture, particularly those of relevance for Maori, with these early foundations laid by Emeritus Professor James Ritchie, who in 1965 took up the founding chair of the Department. These foundations have continued to be built on, utilising a variety of different strategies. Drawing on a research base which has emerged primarily from within the Maori and Psychology Research Unit at Waikato University, this paper explores strategies which have served to carve out and claim space for Maori, both within the department, and within the wider discipline of psychology

An evaluation of Te Rau Puawai workforce 100: Evaluation overview

In July 2001, the Maori & Psychology Research Unit of the University of Waikato was asked to conduct an evaluation of the Te Rau Puawai programme, a joint venture between the former Health Funding Authority and Massey University. The overall goal of the programme is to contribute at least 100 Maori graduates to the Maori mental health workforce within a five year period. The overall aim of the evaluation was to provide the Ministry of Health with a clearer understanding of the programme including: the perceived critical success factors, the barriers if any regarding Te Rau Puawai, the impact of the programme, the extent to which the programme may be transferable, gaps in the programme, and suggested improvements. Through archival search, questionnaire surveys and interviews, evaluative data was collected from major stakeholders in the Te Rau Puawai programme

An evaluation of Te Rau Puawai workforce 100: Addressing the recruitment and retention of Maori students in tertiary education institutions: A literature review

To evaluate the Te Rau Puawai programme, the Ministry of Health commissioned the Maori and Psychology Research Unit of the University of Waikato in July 2001. The overall aim of the evaluation was to provide the Ministry with a clearer understanding of the programme including: the perceived critical success factors, the barriers if any regarding Te Rau Puawai, the impact of the programme, the extent to which the programme may be transferable, gaps in the programme, and suggested improvements. To achieve this end, a review of relevant literature was undertaken to provide a framework to understand the patterns that arose from the information that we collected as part of this evaluation. The review of literature is presented in this technical report

An evaluation of Te Rau Puawai workforce 100: Academic mentor's perspectives

To evaluate the Te Rau Puawai programme, the Ministry of Health commissioned the Maori and Psychology Research Unit of the University of Waikato in July 2001. The overall aim of the evaluation was to provide the Ministry with a clearer understanding of the programme including: the perceived critical success factors, the barriers if any regarding Te Rau Puawai, the impact of the programme, the extent to which the programme may be transferable, gaps in the programme, and suggested improvements. As an integral component of the Te Rau Puawai programme and as a specialised source of support, academic mentors were identified as an important group to receive comment from. This report documents the evaluative exchange that occurred by way of email questionnaire, that we had with 18 out of 46 academic mentors of Te Rau Puawai bursars in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences responded to our questionnaire