Projects

A cultural and genetic study of the translocation of karaka in Aotearoa

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This research uses new sequencing technology to develop molecular markers for use in tracing the translocation history of Corynocarpus laevigatus (karaka in Aotearoa or kōpi on Rekohu/Chatham Islands). The research also involves collecting historic information of karaka/kōpi in the form of korero (oral histories) and rongo/waiata (songs). The regional ethnobotany of the tree in Aotearoa will also be studied.

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Project team

A future for Māori education Part I: the dissociation of culture and education

Education is of vital importance to the future of the Māori people; however, Māori education is in a state of flux often described as confused, and problematic. Neither mainstream secondary nor mainstream tertiary education seems to provide ideal education for Māori because of the relatively low success rates for Māori people coming from a Māori background. In this first part of two papers on Māori education in Aotearoa, a number of factors important to Māori education are identified and examined with regard to their significance in the achievement of educational success.

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A Future for Māori Education Part II: The Reintegration of Culture and Education

Education of the individual is of fundamental importance to the future of the Māori people in their determination to secure for themselves an economic future that removes them from the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder. In two papers dedicated to the advancement of Māori education, poor educational performance and marginal economic success by Māori is attributed, in large part, to the imposition of culturally inappropriate Eurocentric expectations on the minority, resulting in identity loss and disengagement within the schools and universities.

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A National Māori University

A National Māori University has been proposed for the furtherance of indigenous education in New Zealand. Justification for the establishment of such an institution resides with the articles of the Treaty of Waitangi, the history of Māori education in New Zealand, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, current international trends, as well as the needs of Māori.

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A Red Dawn: Citizenship education and Indigeneity

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