Projects

Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga is a Centre of Research Excellence, which undertakes and invests in research concerning the needs and opportunities arising in Māori communities. Our research is organised along the following themes:

Choices and Connections for Māori Youth on the Margins

Mauri Ora - Human Flourishing
Education

The human capital theory holds that education is a form of investment in that the individuals who are consumers of education acquire skills and knowledge that can be converted into work and income in the post-school years. but it is not a level playing field, many would argue. Some of the so-called 'toughest kids' come from very difficult home situations. Inconsistent housing, absentee parent(s), lack of resources, and violence are only a few examples of what some of these students have to face every day.

He Ara Toiora: Suicide Prevention for Ngātiwai Youth through the Arts

Mauri Ora - Human Flourishing
Health

In 2012, a wave of youth suicides in Northland featured far too many of Ngātiwai descent. 19 people under 25 years took their own lives, a huge increase from 5 the year before (Penney & Dobbs, 2014). Suicide rates for Māori youth in Te Tai Tokerau, including the Ngātiwai rohe, is therefore a major public health issue.

PDF icon Summer Intern Final Report - He ara toiora; Wellington 2016

Te Pū o te Rākau: The pedagogy of pūrākau

Mauri Ora - Human Flourishing
Education
Dr Jenny Lee-Morgan
University of Waikato

What is the pedagogy of pūrākau, and how does it operate as an Indigenous story work approach to advance kaupapa Māori research and innovative contributions to broader research and pedagogical processes within Aotearoa?

Given this is a scoping proposal, the following questions are pertinent to the investigation of the above research question:

What is the theory, methodology, and pedagogy of pūrākau? How was it used in traditional Māori society, and how is it utilised today?

Indigenous Data Sovereignty: Enduring Aspirations in a Digital Age

Mauri Ora - Human Flourishing
Economic Development
Professor Tahu Kukutai
University of Waikato

We have identified a set of questions relating to indigenous data governance, ownership and access, along with potential solutions for benefit sharing and value generation.

What are the key challenges to realising indigenous data sovereignty and how might they be addressed?

What are the key mechanisms needed to realise indigenous data sovereignty at global, national and local scales?

What is the transformative potential of indigenous data sovereignty for Māori?

What can we learn from ‘best practice’ examples of indigenous data sovereignty that already exist? 

Te ruru a Te Ihonga: Threshold concepts in Māori studies

Mauri Ora - Human Flourishing
Education
Dr Meegan Hall
Victoria University of Wellington

What are the threshold concepts for undergraduate study in the field of Māori studies?

How can the identification of Māori studies’ threshold concepts be used to support teaching and student achievement in Māori studies programmes?

According to Māori oral tradition, Te Ihonga was a demi-god who could tie intricate knots. The resulting entanglements became known as ‘te ruru a Te Ihonga’ (the ties of Te Ihonga) (Mead and Grove 2001:206). They were regarded as so complicated and secure that only people who knew Te Ihonga’s secret were thought to be able to untie them.

Hospital transfers: Whānau involvement in the healing equation

Mauri Ora - Human Flourishing
Health
Dr Bridgette Masters-Awatere
Donna Cormack
University of Waikato

While all hospitalisations can be stressful for patients and their whānau, hospitalisations involving transfers away from home can be even more so and can present unique issues in terms of how whānau negotiate distance, unfamiliarity, active engagement and help-seeking. In this study, we are interested in better understanding how whānau facilitate support and remain actively engaged in the ‘care equation’ when a whānau member is transferred or hospitalised away from their home location.    

Connections and Flows: Precarious Māori households in austere times

Mauri Ora - Human Flourishing
Dr Mohi Rua
Professor Darrin Hodgetts
University of Waikato
Massey University
Related Links: 
Te Arotahi - Expert Think Piece; Precariat Māori Households Today

In addition to public and scholarly deliberations regarding increased inequalities in society, this project responds to the continued socio-economic exclusion of many Māori households.

We draw on recent scholarship on the precariat as an emerging social class comprised of people experiencing unstable employment, unliveable incomes, inadequate state supports, marginalisation and stigma. Our focus is on the Māori precariat, whose rights are being eroded through punitive labour and welfare reforms.

While we document issues of employment, food, housing and cultural insecurities shaping precarious lives, we also develop a focus on household connections, practices and strengths. This focus is important because connections, practices and strengths can buffer whānau against adversity for a time, render aspects of their lives more liveable, and enable human flourishing.

Ngā Moemoea ō Ᾱpōpō: Empowering Taiohi Māori Leaders for the Future

Mauri Ora - Human Flourishing
Dr Joanna Kidman
Professor Huia Tomlins-Jahnke
Victoria University of Wellington
Massey University
Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi

E kore e ngaro nga tapuwae i nga wa o mua,
He arahina ke tatou ki te huarahi nei,
Me hangaia e tatou e tatou ano

We can never erase the footprints of our past,
They lead us to the paths of the future
We carve for ourselves.

In the 21st century, indigenous youth face an uncertain and challenging future. In the years ahead they will need to deal with a daunting range of issues, some of potentially unprecedented scale and scope.

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