This thesis sets out to provide the background to the development of Atuatanga and to clarify its meaning and its whakapapa in Te Māoritanga and Te Karaitianatanga. Although it has been taught as Māori theology in Tikanga Māori of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, this thesis argues that is includes theology and more: it is a way of living that critically analyses all the attributes of te Atua and endeavours to live those reflections in the world in order

While self-­determination is often considered to mean political and sometimes territorial independence, for indigenous peoples that have been colonised self-­determination often manifests in a different way. For Māori, the concept of tino rangatiratanga encapsulates many of the issues associated with the desire for political equality and self-­determination. It includes the right for Māori to decide how they want to be governed, including having the ability to make decisions about their own futures, and it is contingent upon having a sense of political agency. To date there is little research that explores Māori political agency. The aim of this thesis is to address this research gap by examining what Māori aspire to as political agents, what some of the barriers to those aspirations might be, and whether Māori believe that they can make a difference in the political realm if they choose to do so. The thesis draws together several strands of literature, from empirical to theoretical, and examines Māori political agency in the context of self-­determination. Primary data is also gathered and analysed using Q-­methodology to better understand these questions. A further goal of this thesis is to analyse the effectiveness of traditional efficacy measures for studying political agency in indigenous groups. The results support the self-­determination literature that argues that Māori want to have the ability to make decisions about their own futures. It also finds, as is to be expected of a diverse peoples, that there is no single view or aspiration in regard to political agency, and that attitudes to politics are as diverse as the participants themselves. Accessibility to political networks was identified as being important, but such networks were also identified as a potential barrier to agency. Thus, the findings suggest that there must be a degree of individual effort in order to achieve a sense of agency. The research also found several limitations with traditional efficacy measures for studying agency within indigenous groups. This is primarily due to the focus of such methods on institutional forms of political participation such as voting, which is assumed to have similar outcomes for everyone – for minorities this is not the case. Moreover, the data reveals that it is difficult to draw a linear relationship between efficacy, and participation, and that there may be other reasons individuals choose to participate in politics or not.

This research project was based on the complexities and conceptualising forms of wairuatanga and their implications for teaching and learning in New Zealand mainstream schools. As a relatively new study for research the project explored wairuatanga through the life and work experiences of three Māori teachers from education centres around New Zealand. Wairuatanga permeated through the life and teaching of the participants who all expressed their own sense of wairuatanga in different ways. The cognisance of mātauranga Māori, tikanga Māori and insights into te ao Māori were identified and explored thus taking into account the various ways in which the three participants extended the parameters of existing knowledge of wairuatanga and how they promoted and created a climate within their own teaching context that fostered the natural inclusion of wairuatanga. The findings will assist current teachers and others to develop an understanding and appreciation of the different forms of wairuatanga that may assist them to apply this value to their own classroom practice. It is hoped that the findings will also help to inform teaching practices with respect to teaching and learning not only for Māori children but for all children in New Zealand mainstream schools.

Māori education has grown out of a long and varied history of Māori engagement with Western forms of schooling. Full immersion Māori learning environments such as kura kaupapa Māori emerged from a background of colonial Mission schools, Native Schools, and evolving assimilation and integration educational policies. It is the subsequent loss of language, continual Māori school underachievement and Māori struggles for indigenous self-determination that have provided the conditions in which the development of Kaupapa Māori otherwise known as Māori medium education has taken place. Māori medium education has emerged in varying forms and differing levels of Māori language immersion, although the principles and philosophies of these environments remain particularly Māori orientated. Kaupapa Māori education is largely built upon whānau aspirations and is set within a Māori framework of learning and Māori language teaching. In addition to full immersion Māori schools there are other classroom settings that offer varied levels of Māori language instruction. Some of these classrooms have been established in English medium schools, creating a bilingual context. While full immersion schools focus on the breadth of all things Māori, bilingual schools may have a slightly different focus. May, Hill and Tiakiwai (2006 p.1) in their review of Bilingual Education in Aotearoa explain it as an area of instruction where school subjects are taught in two languages (Māori and English) and students become fluent orators and writers in both. Little is understood about the dynamics of partial immersion programmes and the contribution these settings make to Māori language and cultural knowledge acquisition and to wider self-determination aspirations of Māori. Drawing from the contributed insights of teaching staff, whānau and other stakeholders linked to partial immersion education, this research considers these settings to better understand the relationship between language acquisition and cultural knowledge attainment. A synergy of Kaupapa Māori theory with a qualitative interpretivist approach has guided the research process. The rationale for the research was to strengthen cultural knowledge and cultural aspirations which made it appropriate to use Kaupapa Māori principles as a foundation of which to develop the research. As research is currently limited in this respect a more extensive understanding of the teaching and learning programmes within a partial immersion classroom may be paramount to their continuation and success. Key findings emerged from the participant interviews and clear characteristics of these environments developed: Whānau (family), te reo Māori me ōna tikanga (Māori language and cultural customs) Māori values, and Māori pedagogies. The participants talked about many features particular to partial immersion education that linked to these four themes. The themes were further analysed to find key positive outcomes of these settings. A strong sense of pride in identity, particularly Māori identity and Māori succeeding as Māori were the two key positive outcomes that emerged from the participant data.

Le théâtre māori est abordé en tant que forme artistique qui permet d’affirmer des identités dans un contexte de revendications culturelles et politiques ainsi que d’établir un dialogue entre les créateurs, les acteurs et le public. Ce dialogue est vu comme ayant une incidence sur les relations sociales au quotidien. Cette thèse présente les résultats tirés de recherches ethnographiques auprès d’une troupe de théâtre māori basée à Wellington, Aotearoa Nouvelle-Zélande. Après un aperçu du contexte du théâtre et des arts performatifs māori, elle s’attarde à décrire les particularités du processus créatif préconisé par cette troupe pour la production d’une œuvre théâtrale en langue māori. Sont également explorées les modalités selon lesquelles les mises en scène de certains traits identitaires et culturels entraînent des processus de réflexion collective et individuelle, l’acte performatif étant considéré ici comme vecteur de changement social.

Le théâtre māori est abordé en tant que forme artistique qui permet d’affirmer des identités dans un contexte de revendications culturelles et politiques ainsi que d’établir un dialogue entre les créateurs, les acteurs et le public. Ce dialogue est vu comme ayant une incidence sur les relations sociales au quotidien. Cette thèse présente les résultats tirés de recherches ethnographiques auprès d’une troupe de théâtre māori basée à Wellington, Aotearoa Nouvelle-Zélande. Après un aperçu du contexte du théâtre et des arts performatifs māori, elle s’attarde à décrire les particularités du processus créatif préconisé par cette troupe pour la production d’une œuvre théâtrale en langue māori. Sont également explorées les modalités selon lesquelles les mises en scène de certains traits identitaires et culturels entraînent des processus de réflexion collective et individuelle, l’acte performatif étant considéré ici comme vecteur de changement social.

Le théâtre māori est abordé en tant que forme artistique qui permet d’affirmer des identités dans un contexte de revendications culturelles et politiques ainsi que d’établir un dialogue entre les créateurs, les acteurs et le public. Ce dialogue est vu comme ayant une incidence sur les relations sociales au quotidien. Cette thèse présente les résultats tirés de recherches ethnographiques auprès d’une troupe de théâtre māori basée à Wellington, Aotearoa Nouvelle-Zélande. Après un aperçu du contexte du théâtre et des arts performatifs māori, elle s’attarde à décrire les particularités du processus créatif préconisé par cette troupe pour la production d’une œuvre théâtrale en langue māori. Sont également explorées les modalités selon lesquelles les mises en scène de certains traits identitaires et culturels entraînent des processus de réflexion collective et individuelle, l’acte performatif étant considéré ici comme vecteur de changement social.

This thesis explores the experiences of European New Zealanders who have learnt te reo Māori and how through their learning they have gained a better understanding of what it means to be Pākehā in New Zealand. This thesis looks at the reasons why European New Zealanders want to learn te reo Māori (chapter 5); experiences from learning te reo Māori and being involved with Māori culture within both te ao Māori and te ao Pākehā are also discussed (chapter 6). The concept of a Pākehā identity, one that involves a relationship with te ao Māori is also examined (chapter 7). The use of the term Pākehā by European New Zealanders is a rather recent phenomenon. The thesis endeavours to discover differences between those European New Zealanders who do and do not identify with the term 'Pākehā'. Which New Zealanders identify with the term 'Pākehā', and the examination of who finds the term derogatory is also discussed (chapter 4). Since European contact with Māori, fluency in te reo Māori in New Zealand has dramatically declined. As a background to the research undertaken here, this study also reviews the history of te reo Māori since European contact and the revitalisation efforts made by Māori to maintain the language. The exploration of the idea that te reo Māori can be the basis of a new national identity that all New Zealanders can share is also discussed (Chapter 2). This chapter also explores the origin and meaning of the term Pākehā, and the creation of popular usage of the term among European New Zealanders.

The purpose of this case study is to gain the perspectives of four non-Maori beginning teacher on meeting the needs of Maori children in the mainstream classroom. The participants all graduated from the Christchurch College of Education Rotorua regional primary programme that I work within. Specific practices, strategies and professional development opportunities found effective in meeting the needs of their Maori learners by these beginning teachers are sought and discussed. The findings of this study confirm the importance of building relationships and getting to know each Maori child as an individual. Establishing and maintaining routines appropriate for Maori children and their learning became evident as did the power of the arts curriculum to engage Maori in their learning. The quality of teacher training in New Zealand to prepare beginning teachers to teach Maori has been questioned over the past decade. Within this case study the impact of pre-service wananga on these non-Maori beginning teachers to empower themselves to teach Maori children in the mainstream classroom was clearly expressed. It is hoped that the findings of this study could contribute, even in a very small way, to New Zealand's goal to improve the quality of teaching for Maori in the mainstream classroom.

In New Zealand, Māori currently experience the "poorest health status of any ethnic group" characterised by high rates of physical and mental illness, educational underachievement, unemployment, criminal incarceration, and low socioeconomic status (Durie, 1998; Ministry of Health, 1999, 2002a, p. 2). Despite attempts to reduce the disparities between Māori and other New Zealanders, Māori continue to have a lower life expectancy than non-Māori (Durie, 1998; Reid, 1999). Māori children show similar levels of disadvantage experiencing high rates of illness and preventable death (Ministry of Health, 1998). Māori children also achieve poorly in educational settings, with literacy levels and overall involvement in education found to be below that of non-Māori (Ministry of Education, 2003a). Research findings have identified that health and educational disparities may be explained in part, by a mismatch between current approaches to practice and service delivery, and the values, beliefs, and experiences of Māori (Phillips, McNaughton, & MacDonald, 2004). In line with such findings, a number of standardised psychometric tests developed outside of New Zealand, have also been found to produce culturally biased results when used with Māori (Ogden, 2003; Ogden & McFarlane-Nathan, 1997). The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT-III) is one such test which is currently used in New Zealand to measure receptive vocabulary skills (Stockman, 2000). This research investigated the suitability of the PPVT-III with 46 Māori children from three different age groups. Results revealed that the PPVT-III appeared to be suitable for use with Māori, although a number of suggestions were made as to ways in which the administration and interpretation of PPVT-III test scores could be adjusted when working with Māori. Additional research is required to establish whether changes to culturally biased items may improve the validity of the PPVT-III for use with Māori.