Abstract/ Whakarāpoto Take The specific aim of this study is to identify critical features of wānanga or the traditional Māori learning institution and how these might inform Māori education today in a University setting. It also examines the responsiveness of the tertiary institution in creating an indigenous infrastructure aimed at Māori educational participation. A number of ‘critical events’ relating to Māori educational development interventions in the 1980’s will be considered with the expectation that they will serve to inform the development of better educational outcomes for access, participation, recruitment, retention and the advancement of Māori in the conventional University setting. For the purpose of this study contemporary Māori academic sites, which include state funded wānanga, as well as other indigenous academic sites will be discussed, including the First Nations House of Learning at the University of British Columbia1. There is thus an international perspective in this study. Whare wānanga were a key institution in traditional Māori society and represented in all regions of Aotearoa/ New Zealand. The ability to travel and share each other’s knowledge attested or benchmarked by others was a key part of the maintenance of the tribal lore. Tōhunga were central to the entire process of controlling the knowledge and selecting to whom it was to be imparted. This raises a question of what a contemporary wānanga, as an intervention and an academic entity would look like at the University of Auckland and would it withstand international scrutiny? As a kaupapa Māori educational intervention, it is a theoretical test in the configurations of conscientization, resistance and transformative praxis. The inclusive approach in using existing material and people resources to maximize the impact of the intervention is to be discussed in this thesis. Specific case studies provide a means for checking the evidence for the processes and the predicted outcomes for kaupapa Māori theory. The recalling of events is central to both case studies. An event such as the rugby match that took place between both countries in 1927, discussed later in this thesis, combined with similar initiatives embarked upon by indigenous leaders from both tertiary communities to create a physical presence for First Nations and Māori, are identities at the core of the case studies. Cultural connection, and a style of operation that is inclusive, enact in part the values raised by Madeleine McIvor: respect, reciprocity, relevance and responsibility. The factors all converge to build this thesis into a series of conversations. The collaboration undertaken over long distances and periods of time has motivated the creation of this record of the stories of both institutions, that can be added to by others in the future. The markers of success for the University of Auckland include the arresting of the decline of Māori student enrolments alongside the growth of Māori participating in post-graduate study and research, therefore providing opportunity to contribute to the bank of knowledge in New Zealand society. While the regeneration of the language in New Zealand has been the driving force behind the wānanga development at the University of Auckland building further on the foundations of kohanga reo, kura kaupapa Māori, whare kura and wānanga, the development of Māori as with First Nations initiatives has been in the area of education. Tertiary institutions offer a context in which kaupapa Māori theory brings together common threads of communication for people. Whether this is through elements of struggle within societies or just survival, the main thing is that people need each other to develop and progress.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/276368 |
| Date | January 2006 |
| Creators | Robust, Te Tuhi |
| Publisher | ResearchSpace@Auckland |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | Items in ResearchSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated., http://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/docs/uoa-docs/rights.htm, Copyright: The author |
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