The educational success of Māori students is of high national interest and priority in New Zealand. A plethora of educational research exists on how to lift student achievement and the need for indigenous views in transforming outcomes for Māori (Macfarlane, 2015). This presentation shines a spotlight on Māori whānau (families’) perspectives of the challenges and barriers to academic success they encountered on their educational journey in mainstream schooling. Insights yielded from this doctoral research by Māori whānau offer an opportunity to rethink the overall role and purpose of educational success for future generations of Māori whānau. The research draws upon Western theories merged with Indigenous methodologies, such as Kaupapa Māori Theory (Smith, 2012) and Pūrakau (story telling) (Lee, 2009), to unravel the narratives of the past and present. Two case studies of whānau from Ngāti Awa and Ngāti Tūwharetoa provided insight into the interconnected relationship between cultural trauma and educational success. Interviews with these whānau uncover themes that informed the creation of a model called ‘He rere pepepe ki te anuhe Framework’ – Transforming pathways for whānau through educational success. This model offers restorative solutions that offer optimism for a new future. It is a critical response to the issues facing Māori in New Zealand’s education system within the Eastern Bay of Plenty. The research findings affirm that systemic bias exists in New Zealand’s education system and has had a detrimental impact on the educational success of tamariki Māori (Māori children) and whānau across many successive generations. A major finding identified from the two case studies is that Māori have not recovered from colonisation, particularly the impact of 204 years of historical and cultural trauma experienced across successive generations of whānau that has resulted in the loss of language, culture and identity.
For many Māori students, staying in the main flow of the awa (river) is not easy in New Zealand’s mainstream education system. But with the right support mechanisms and structures in place, it is possible, for a Māori doctoral student to achieve educational success as Māori in higher education. This paper discusses what is entailed in the dual journey of a first in family, Māori doctoral student when completing a doctoral qualification alongside a Māori journey in strengthening connections within te Ao Māori (the Māori world). The narrative shares insights of the researcher’s experiences which led to the development of an Indigenous methodology model called ‘He Pūtauaki Model’. A number of key factors for ensuring her success as a Māori doctoral candidate was the continual support and guidance provided from kaumātua (elders), whānau (family), hapū (sub-tribe) and iwi (tribe), over a four-year period of completing the doctoral journey, and when a Mahitahi approach was adopted by her supervisors and reinforced by other Te Ipukarea Research Institute postgraduate students made a difference for her in overcoming the challenges that an Indigenous Māori doctoral student can face when navigating the awa (structural mechanisms and psychosocial challenges) at Auckland University of Technology (AUT).
Supporting new Māori doctoral students on their academic journey as they begin requires them to adapt quickly and steadily to the universities structures and systems. Contemplating and thinking to take on doctoral studies entails a huge mind shift from worker to student, and also has to be taking onboard with your whānau (extended family) and the greater hapori (community). To successfully navigate the awa (river) involves meeting minimum entry requirements of a doctoral programme and then submitting a PGR2 proposal on a topic which you will be acquainted with. This paper aims to explore the awa, a metaphorical analogy of navigating and engaging in higher education as a mature student[1] based on their lived experiences as a Māori doctoral student when entering into a doctoral programme at Auckland University of Technology (AUT) and the details of their keys to success, and preparation needed to successfully complete the PGR2 pathway. [1] Mature students can be considered to have careers, family commitments, significant life experiences, and are likely to hold down long-term debt like a mortgage (Howard & Davies, 2013). They tend to be over the age of 25 years old (Boston, 2017).
Welcome to AUT's Graduate Review Rangahau Aranga Editorial TeamIt is with profound pride and genuine excitement that we welcome you to the inaugural issue of Rangahau Aranga, Auckland University of Technology's first postgraduate student-run, peerreviewed open access journal. This initiative has come about through a combination of inspiration, perseverance, and an overwhelming desire to create a safe, dynamic and open platform for academic expression at Te Wānanga Aronui o Tāmaki Makaurau.Rangahau Aranga will run a rolling publication schedule, which means this first volume will incorporate all submissions accepted for publication by the editors until submissions close towards the end of 2022. Being multi-disciplinary, each volume will be made up of a diverse range of subjects presented in a variety of formats; we invite you to submit something of your own, be it commentary or review, creative work, short -or long -form research article. Help to shape the publication in a way which is reflective of, and which celebrates, the richness and diversity of postgraduate scholarship alive and growing within our institution.We are launching this issue with the publication of a set of abstracts from AUT's 2021 Postgraduate Research Symposium. Each of these abstract authors gave an oral or poster presentation at the Symposium, which was held online for the first time ever due to COVID-19.These authors capably communicated their research in a time of great challenges. Their abstracts as collected here represent not only the incredible breadth of postgraduate research at AUT, but also the resilience of our postgraduate students, who have persevered despite immense disruptions to their research plans. Some have not been able to collect data; others have had to change topics completely. Some are not even in the same country as their supervisors. And yet, this cohort of authors has continued the urgent work of performing and communicating their research at a time when research has never been more sorely needed. We are proud to launch Rangahau Aranga by celebrating the work (and perseverance) of these authors, and the stunning variety of research they conduct here at AUT.
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