Whatu was the starting point for a metaphor that emerged as a representation of three Maori women educators’ pedagogy. The Whatu metaphor was developed as a way of understanding the complexities of the Maori women’s pedagogy and to show that the strength of that pedagogy is in the interweaving of the strands. Concepts of Maori pedagogy are becoming more accessible in Aotearoa/ New Zealand: for example, the notion of ako as a means of explaining the connectedness of learning and teaching; and tuakana-teina as a form of peer support and learning. However, the pedagogy that umbrellas those two concepts is less accessible and was the subject of a small kaupapa Maori research project involving three Maori women educators. In response to a research question: ‘What is Maori women educators’ pedagogy?’ this article describes the Whatu metaphor; a metaphor that represents the research participants’ pedagogical ways of being, knowing and doing, and advances a new way of viewing Maori women educators’ pedagogy.
Kaupapa Māori is thoroughly theorised in academia in Aotearoa and those wishing to use it as their research methodology can find support through the writing of a number of Māori academics. What is not so well articulated, is the experiential voice of those who have used Kaupapa Māori as research methodology. My identity as a Māori woman researching with Māori women became integral to my methodology and approach to the research. The highs and lows of my research experiences with Kaupapa Māori methodology are examined in this article. The discussion contends that Kaupapa Māori research methodology can be a framework, guide and support for research within a Māori context and adds an experiential aspect to understanding the wider field of Indigenous research methodology. My hope is that through my experience with Kaupapa Māori methodology other Māori and Indigenous researchers will be eager to embrace their own research methodologies.
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