Head of School - School of Indigenous Graduate Studies
School of Indigenous Graduate Studies
Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi
I have developed a research and teaching career centred on kaupapa Māori approaches in education. I began my academic career as a kindergarten teacher in the late 1980’s, and graduated from Taranaki Polytechnic with Te Tohu Mōhiotanga (reo Māori) in the early 90’s. I completed my masters in educational psychology at the University of Auckland. My doctoral research centred on Maori women’s health and traditional healing practices, in particular moko, traditional Māori skin carving. I was the recipient of a NZ Health Research Council post-doctoral fellowship, this research explored Māori views of sexual and reproductive health in the context of ‘mouri whakapapa’. My current research and teaching interests include Māori and Indigenous women’s identities and wellbeing, Indigenous research meth
more...I have developed a research and teaching career centred on kaupapa Māori approaches in education. I began my academic career as a kindergarten teacher in the late 1980’s, and graduated from Taranaki Polytechnic with Te Tohu Mōhiotanga (reo Māori) in the early 90’s. I completed my masters in educational psychology at the University of Auckland. My doctoral research centred on Maori women’s health and traditional healing practices, in particular moko, traditional Māori skin carving. I was the recipient of a NZ Health Research Council post-doctoral fellowship, this research explored Māori views of sexual and reproductive health in the context of ‘mouri whakapapa’. My current research and teaching interests include Māori and Indigenous women’s identities and wellbeing, Indigenous research methodologies and the reclamation and revitalisation of Native and Indigenous cultural practices. I am the Head of the School Indigenous Graduate Studies at Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi and lead the International Indigenous Doctoral Programme. I supervise Indigenous and Native doctoral candidates in Aotearoa (Waikato- Tainui College for Research and Development), the Big Island of Hawai’I, and Washington State (University of Washington Tacoma). I have a 19 year old daughter who recently graduated from Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Hoani Waititi Marae in West Auckland and where I was a board member for 12 years. I am a founding member of Te Wharepora Hou, a Māori and Pacific women’s organisation committed to political actions that support Māori and Indigenous women, children and whānau to achieve and maintain rangatiratanga. I am also a member of Te Runanga o Te Pou Tiringa, Ohomairangi Early Intervention Trust, and a founding member of Te Kōpae Piripono in Ngāmotu, Taranaki.