Māori knowledge research
Māori knowledge research
Ko Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa te kaupapa e tū ngātahi ai tātou hei waihanga i ngā momo mātauranga ki te pae o angitu. He ara putanga tauira, he ara e hua ai ngā tini kaupapa ki Aotearoa puta noa i te ao whānui.
Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa is the foundation upon which we stand together in partnership enabling the creation of knowledge that reaches the highest possible levels of advancement and attainment. It provides a pathway for students to embark upon journeys of knowledge acquisition and embraces knowledge relevant to our country and to our wider world.
Study
Massey's Māori knowledge research degrees introduce students to Kaupapa Māori as a theoretical and methodological approach.
Research degrees
- Bachelor of AgriCommerce (Māori Agribusiness)
- Bachelor of Arts with Honours (Māori Knowledge)
- Master of Arts (Māori Knowledge)
- Master of Education (Māori Education)
- Master of Health Science (Māori Health)
- Master of Māori Visual Arts
- Postgraduate Diploma in Māori Visual Arts
Doctorates
Research projects
Crop germplasm activities
In recent years Massey University has applied funding to support the broad development of plant germplasm collections (living plant collections) which can contribute to Māori interests in horticulture. These collections are mostly being established at Massey but with some satellite activity in the regions and Pacific countries. The primary crops where germplasm is being managed are: Taewa or Māori potatoes, Kumara, kaanga or Indian corn, Taro (NZ and Pacific), kamokamo (a naturalised cucurbit) and kokihi (NZ spinach).
Cultural factors key to health of older Māori
Findings from a study by Massey University and the University of Auckland suggests more focus in the health sector is needed to foster culturally appropriate food practices for older Māori that may lead to fewer hospitalisations and lower mortality rates.
Cultural identity influences motivation and style of play
The cultural identity of individual rugby players in a team changes the way the team plays, according to a Massey University study co-authored by Dr Yusuke Kuroda and Dr Farah Palmer. The research shows the Māori All Blacks, a team of players who share the same cultural heritage, are more playful and spontaneous and take more risks than the Japanese National Team, which has a mix of nationalities. The difference is down to the players’ cultural identity and norms. This has an application for management practice and the understanding of the motivational characteristics and cultural profile of any team.
Cultural response could improve Māori financial literacy
A report on the spending habits of Māori women has identified that a culturally-responsive community model could help improve financial literacy among Māori.
The research project, conducted by the Westpac Massey Fin-Ed Centre and funded by the SkyCity Auckland Community Trust, aimed to provide useful insights for creating targeted financial literacy programmes for Māori women. The results included showing a higher likelihood to borrow from family at short notice and a low engagement with bank loans.
Developing a traffic light system for river health
Professor Russell Death was awarded $100,000 from the MBIE Vision Mātauranga fund to develop with Ngāti Whatua o Karipara a traffic light coloured (Figure ; red = poor, green = good) internet map of Kaipara river health. This will allow marae, interest groups or individuals to easily explore the health of their local sites and potential reasons for its current condition upstream. In turn this will hopefully identify management actions for improvement.
Exploring Māori Social Justice Concepts
‘Exploring Māori Social Justice Concepts. What if Plato had been Māori?’ This question is posed by a project that explores a Māori approach to social justice and compares it with other Indigenous and Western approaches.
Growing up healthy in families across the globe – Te ao whanau
This research brings together five of the most influential child development studies with relevance to Aotearoa: The Pacific Islands Family Study, Te Hoe Nuku Roa (Māori Families Longitudinal Study) and the triad of Growing Up studies (New Zealand, Ireland and Scotland). A new analysis aims to determine how and why child development environments change and which environments are supportive and which are not.
This is a research collaboration with Auckland University of Technology (New Zealand), University of Auckland (New Zealand), ScotCen Social Research (United Kingdom), and ESRI (Geographic information systems company).
He Tātai Whenua: A Te Ao Māori landscape classification
This project, col-led by Jonathan Procter and Hone Morris, has received nearly $3 million in funding from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment's Endeavour Fund. It will create new ways of translating Māori environmental expertise so it can be added to existing geographic information systems.
He kororā, he tohu oranga. The little penguin is the sign of life
In mātauranga Māori the success of kororā (little penguin) populations indicates the health of the coastal environment. Our vision is to develop novel methods for the establishment of new breeding populations of kororā and hence to reverse the current decline of the species. Our studies on kororā biology aim to provide information on the foraging ranges and breeding success of kororā populations, and to support iwi to exercise kaitiakitanga over their local marine environment.
Horo Whenua: Measuring the moving land through precision geomorphic analysis of the Punahau/Lake Horowhenua lakebed and surrounding areas
In this project, funded by Vision Mātauranga, Jon Procter and Kat Holt worked to collect lakebed cores totalling over 45m in length. The deepest cores from the lake preserve evidence for a major flood or marine inundation event, in the form of a thick sand layer, which may have played a role in the formation of the lake.
Student research
He miharo ngā kaupapa ako hei tuituinga mō ngā tauira te taiao o tēnei mea Te Kura Kaupapa Māori mai tōna orokohanganga.
Aroha Rauhihi
Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ngāti Ruanui
Te Aho Paerewa Postgraduate Diploma Teaching and Learning in Māori Medium
My lecturers’ flexibility and recognition of my interests and commitments outside of academia has been great and this has enabled my personal, professional, and academic growth throughout my time at Massey. The intellectual and conceptual tools, work ethic, independence and discipline that geography in particular has helped me develop have already proven to be of value every day.
Harry Lilley
BA (Geography and Māori Studies)
As part of my planning degree I undertook research on how planners can support Māori in re-establishing and sustaining Māori mara kai as part of New Zealand’s cultural heritage.
Hinetákoha Hayley May Millar Viriaere
Policy planner, Wairoa District Council
Master of Resource and Environmental Planning
Dr Hinurewa Poutū’s research explored the role of youth in Māori language revival, and the factors that influence the use of te reo Māori among those who've been educated in whare kura (Māori-medium secondary schools).
Hinurewa Poutū
Doctor of Philosophy
Lindsay Baxter is the inaugural recipient of the Innovation Partnership Fellow, Digital Education. Her research for her Master of Education investigates approaches in wānanga on the role and uptake of digital resources in teaching and learning.
Lindsay Baxter
Master of Education
Resources
He Pukenga Kōrero: A Journal of Māori Studies
He Pūkenga Kōrero is a refereed journal covering a wide range of articles in Māori or English, encompassing historical and contemporary issues relevant to Māori studies.
Tāhuri Whenua - National Māori Vegetable Growers Collective
Massey staff are on the Tāhuri Whenua National Committee. This group represents Māori interests in the horticulture sector. Their website features information for growers, books, projects and contacts for regional activity.
Working with whānau
Maori social work in schools covers the work of a group of kaimahi working as social workers in largely rural Maori communities. The focus of this text is on kaimahi who work for iwi Maori organisations. Five of these organisations supported the research for this book by enabling their social workers to tell the stories their work within their communities. They present the programmes that are offered in their communities; examples of the outcomes for whanau; and the role of the social worker.