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Item Measuring Māori identity and health : the cultural cohort approach : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Public Health at Massey University, Palmerston North, Aotearoa New Zealand(Massey University, 2023) Stevenson, BrendanCurrent statistical methods of disaggregating populations by ethnic or cultural identity wrongly assume cultural invariance within an ethnic population over time and place. Calculating risk factors between ethno-cultural populations also wrongly assumes homogeneity of risk, obscuring what may be distinct sub-populations with very different demographics, risk profiles, and health outcomes. The Cultural Cohort Approach (CCA) proposes a novel method for understanding within-ethnic population difference, whereby cultural identity is framed as the enduring membership of multiple related cultural cohorts, rather than the contextual and unstable measure of ethnic group affiliation currently used. It predicts that multiple cultural cohorts exist inside an ethno-cultural population, that these cultural cohorts are resilient and culturally distinct, exist over generations, and can divide at pre-existing social or economic stratifications in response to powerful external forces. The cultural cohort approach unites history, extant identity theories and research to identify and describe these within-ethnic cultural cohorts. The measurement of a Māori cultural cohort joins existing Māori identity research, historical documents, and personal accounts to enumerate distinct Māori cultural cohorts, describe relationships between cultural cohorts, and exclude unrelated cultural cohorts. Across three distinct components of this thesis the Cultural Cohort Approach (CCA) is first described and a worked example of its use in identifying Māori cultural cohorts given. Second, these hypothesised cultural cohorts were mapped to a cross-sectional data collection wave of Māori participants (n=3287, born between 1941 and 1955) from Massey University’s longitudinal Health, Work and Retirement (HWR) study in a test of the CCA’s predictive accuracy using latent class analysis. Third, longitudinal HWR study data for Māori participants (n=1252, born between 1941 and 1955) was used in a second worked example to test the stability of the predicted cultural cohorts using latent transition analyses and further refine the CCA. The Māori cultural cohorts identified using the CCA had clear narratives, shared cultural characteristics, and identifiable cultural differences that persisted across time as predicted. The CCA will allow researchers to better represent the diverse lived realities of ethno-cultural populations and support more nuanced analytical insights into how health and well-being is patterned between distinct cultural cohorts.Item Mā te whiritahi, ka whakatutuki ai ngā pūmanawa ā tāngata = Together weaving the realisation of potential : exploring the social, cultural and health benefits of whānau-centred initiatives : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Health Science at Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa (Massey University), Manawatū, Aotearoa New Zealand(Massey University, 2022) Reweti, AngeliqueThe persistence of Māori health inequities, exacerbated by deficit narratives, underscores the importance of conducting research on the strengths and capabilities whānau possess and use in their daily lives in order to actively rethink and redesign health promotion practice in Aotearoa New Zealand in a way that will be beneficial for whānau. Focusing on health promotion within an Indigenous context, this thesis synthesises results from three case studies about whānau-centred initiatives where Māori (Indigenous to New Zealand) values and practices are foundational. A kaupapa whānau research framework, developed in collaboration with whānau, draws on mātauranga (Māori epistemologies/ways of knowing) expressed in pūrākau (epistemological narratives), tikanga (cultural principles), te reo (Māori language), and lived experience, which serve as the foundation for the methodology employed in this research. The findings illustrate the diversity and potential capabilities of whānau-centred initiatives in addressing Māori health inequities, emphasising the critical role of whānau in improving Māori health and wellbeing. A conceptual framework, Tū Kahikatea, is developed to present findings demonstrating the connection between the values underpinning the initiatives and their outcomes. Furthermore, the framework emphasises how whānau-centred initiatives can aid whānau in achieving mana motuhake (mana achieved through collective self-determination and control over one’s own destiny). Consistent with an Indigenous approach to health promotion, this research indicates that health promotion activities that take into account Māori worldviews and values, as well as those generated within Māori communities, will have a greater influence on Māori health outcomes than programmes that take a top-down, single issue approach to health promotion. As part of a global movement for more inclusive healthcare that prioritises Indigenous voices and knowledge systems, this research bridges the gap between academia and local flax roots community action. With new opportunities created by recent changes to Aotearoa New Zealand's health system, findings highlight the diversity and potential of whānau-centred initiatives, and advocate for the continuation of current strengths-based whānau ora practices as a strategy to attain mana motuhake within whānau and thus improve whānau health outcomes.Item Ko wai, ko wairua : narratives of wairua and wellbeing : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Clinical Psychology at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand(Massey University, 2022) Brittain, EleanorWairua is a fundamental, boundless, and connective aspect of Māori ways of being and the significance of wairua to wellbeing is reiterated in foundational models of health. The research sought to understand Māori narratives and meaning-making of wairua pertaining to experiences of mental distress, healing, and recovery. This entailed developing a Kaupapa Māori narrative approach, to embed the research within Māori worldviews, to draw from mātauranga, and to amplify the relevance and meaningfulness of the research processes and outcomes. Kaupapa Māori theory was the interpretive framework, determining and shaping the research foundations, narrative inquiry informed the methodology, and the research processes mirrored Māori rituals and ways of engaging. Recruitment occurred through Māori networks and used a snowball approach. Twelve Māori adults, who at some time experienced mental distress or accessed mental health services, took part in one-on-one interviews. Narrative interpretations were undertaken at an individual level and as a collection of narratives. The overarching narrative interpretation is laid out in three components, arranged around salient and meaningful metaphors. Firstly, ‘Te pō, te ao mārama’, darkness and light, emerged from the narratives as a metaphor for experiences and temporal phases. Secondly, ‘Aro atu, aro mai’ figuratively conveys a continuum of distance and closeness; it is used to illustrate and represent the qualities of the relationship with wairua. Thirdly, ‘Ko wai, nā wai’ draws on the recurrent narrative imagery of water, as a metaphor for the contextual nature of identity, focusing on the significance of Māori identity and relationships with others. Narratives of wairua entailed a retelling of experiences as Māori. Distress and despair were inevitably experiences of wairua and characteristic to healing and recovery was enriching wairua. Moreover, healing and recovery were inherently relational and enhanced through connections with whānau and collectives.Item Wairua, affect and national commemoration days : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Public Health at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand(Massey University, 2022) Gunn, Te RainaWairua, a Māori (indigenous peoples of Aotearoa New Zealand) concept, somewhat restrictively translated as spirit or spirituality, resonates with many indigenous peoples globally. While spirit is recognised as an important human dimension, the denigration of non-western spiritual understandings means that indigenous peoples often choose to remain silent. Transferring these concerns to research approaches, we edit our voices, with a view to what we think will count as knowledge and what we choose to share with academic audiences. The aim of my study is to explore wairua and investigate how wairua might provide an analytical approach to understanding emotions and feelings evoked by Waitangi Day and Anzac Day. This project sits within a major research programme “Wairua, Affect and National Days” funded by the Marsden Fund of the Royal Society. The overall objective of the wider project was to explore wairua and the affective politics evoked as people relate, engage and grapple with observance and charged acts of remembrance around national days in Aotearoa New Zealand. Drawing on literature, qualitative in-depth interviews and haerenga kitea, an audio-visual method recording people’s experiences of national days, I arrived at several overlapping domains that provided a starting point for the development of A Wairua Approach (AWA) to research. The literature revealed wairua as a topic that appears in diverse sources but is rarely investigated in its own right; while wairua is acknowledged as central to Māori experience, and ‘in everything’, it is rarely engaged with explicitly in research. People understand and experience wairua in diverse ways, with wairua weaving in and out of everyday life for some people. However, for many Māori, living in a western society that has largely determined what is considered reality, such understandings are often discounted, marginalised and a source of discomfort. A wairua approach, when applied to haerenga kitea data was able to frame participant experiences within wider meanings, relating to diverse concepts such as identity and mana. Addressing wairua explicitly in research, was a challenging exercise, but one that enabled a depth of emotions and feelings to be uncovered.Item Problematizing Māori achievement in education policy : an exploratory mixed-methods study on teacher enactment of Ka Hikitia : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Education at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand(Massey University, 2022) Niwa, Timu-o-te-rangiThis thesis analyses and describes a range of factors that impact upon mainstream primary school teachers’ enactments of the Māori education policy strategy, Ka Hikitia (Ministry of Education, 2013, 2018, 2020). Where this study differs is that it goes beyond the traditional implementation approach to policy research and seeks to identify and investigate the ‘messier’ aspects of interpretation, subjectivity and context, factors that are often missing in accounts of how policy works in schools. It has utilised an exploratory, two-phase mixed-methods approach to collect the data. The initial phase was a series of one-to-one interviews with a small cohort of primary school teachers from the Manawatū region of New Zealand. The data collated helped to develop a set of initial themes that were used to formulate the second phase survey that was sent out to a wider cohort. The themes from both two phases of the study have been used in a complementary manner to engage with research and literature from the fields of Māori education, culturally responsive pedagogy and critical policy enactment. This study concludes that teachers rely heavily upon school context and personal subjectivities to interpret and enact Ka Hikitia. It contends that teachers respond to Ka Hikitia in three key ways: considered enactment, perfunctory enactment, and/or enactment resistance. While teacher enactment is a focus of this study, it is purported that a broader consideration of how government and institutional factors impact upon teacher enactment of Ka Hikitia needs to be taken into account. Solely focusing on teachers as mere ciphers of policy reinforces institutional invisibility. This study calls for a broader understanding of how Māori student achievement is understood and problematized in Ka Hikitia. While supporting the necessity for Māori language, culture and identity to be an integral part of mainstream primary schools, this research urges policy makers and Māori academics to re-consider and re-calibrate the impact of socio-economic factors upon Māori student achievement and, henceforth, rework policy designed to address this.Item Performing pūrākau : liberating bodies, healing wairua, and reclaiming ancestral wisdom : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand(Massey University, 2021) Pearse-Otene, HelenStudies by government agencies and advocacy groups report that Māori women and children are more vulnerable to experiencing family violence, sexual abuse, and incest than Pākehā. They acknowledge colonisation and historical trauma as contributing factors, and call for a systems-focused response to tackling sexual violence. This includes providing access to contextually responsive and culturally appropriate interventions. This study initially aimed to explore traditional Māori understandings of incest and healing from sexual trauma that are embedded in the pūrākau (ancestral story) of Hinetītama/Hinenui Te Pō, and her parents, Hineahuone and Tānemahuta. As it would apply a unique Māori theatre pedagogy called Theatre Marae, the project was then expanded to investigate the utility and potential of this innovative approach, which draws together Māori and non-Māori performance traditions, therapeutic models, Māori language, and customs in a process for creative inquiry. In pursuing these two activities, the resulting thesis comprises three publications. In the first article (chapter 2), I unpack the conceptual framework of Theatre Marae pedagogy as a suitable approach for kaupapa Māori (by Māori, for Māori) arts-based research against the backdrop of growing scholarship in Indigenous research and psychologies. In the second article (chapter 3), I deepen this exploration into Theatre Marae and its core methods within an historical account of the theatre company most associated with the practice, Te Rākau. The third article (chapter 4) builds on the preceding chapters by returning to the initial focus of this study and describing how Theatre Marae was applied in a performance-based analysis of this ancient pūrākau as a narrative of survival and healing. The analysis revealed new themes that highlight the collectivist customs of traditional Māori society as protective factors against the proliferation of sexual violence and incest. When drawn together in this thesis, these articles and contextualising discussion illustrate how Māori ancestral knowledge can inform the development of more culturally responsive therapies for recovery from historic sexual trauma. Furthermore, in presenting Theatre Marae to the realm of kaupapa Māori research, this thesis contributes to an international agenda to decolonise research in ways that are emancipatory, healing, and transformative for Indigenous communities.Item Rapua te mea ngaro : exploring the access of Māori to veterinary education in Aotearoa New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand(Massey University, 2021) Jillings, Eloise Katherine PuiaCurrently there is no research literature regarding the ethnicity of veterinary applicants, veterinary students, or the veterinary workforce in New Zealand. Recent unpublished data indicates only 2% of veterinarians identify as Māori, despite Māori comprising 16.5% of the New Zealand population. This PhD is the first step in addressing this gap and bringing to light the important issues of Māori representation and inclusion in veterinary education and subsequently the veterinary profession in New Zealand. The thesis has two overarching goals. The first is to explore how the access of Māori to veterinary education, and therefore the veterinary workforce, is influenced by sociodemographic factors under three separate admission processes. The second is to explore the impact of sociodemographic factors and academic achievement prior to admission on the academic success of Māori once selected into the program. The studies in this thesis were conducted with Kaupapa Māori research positioning. The thesis presents a quantitative analysis of veterinary applicant and selected student data from 2003 to 2019. Descriptive statistics and linear and logistic regression are utilised to explore the representation of Māori in the veterinary applicant and selected student cohorts, the association of sociodemographic variables and selection assessments, and academic outcomes of Māori and non-Māori once selected. From this thesis it has been shown that Māori were underrepresented in the veterinary applicant pool and experienced more educational barriers than non-Māori. Māori are also underrepresented in the selected student cohort, and had 0.37 times the odds of selection than non-Māori prior to introduction of an equity process for Māori student selection. Scores on five of the six selection assessments were associated with ethnicity, with Māori receiving lower scores. However, once selected into the veterinary programme, there was no difference in the academic outcomes of Māori and non-Māori. Introduction of the equity process for Māori was not associated with a decrease in academic outcomes post-selection, and introduction of non-academic criteria into the selection process was associated with an improvement in academic outcomes. The veterinary profession is not representative of New Zealand. Māori underrepresentation is also seen in the veterinary applicant and selected student cohorts. This needs to be addressed for reasons of Indigenous rights, social justice, social mobility, and to ensure the veterinary profession benefits from Māori worldviews and therefore is relevant to a growing Māori population. Enacting initiatives aimed to widen access to the veterinary programme, with the eventual goal of improving representation of Māori in the veterinary workforce, needs to be a priority for Massey University, the sole provider of veterinary education in Aotearoa, and the wider profession.Item The whānau experience of suicide loss : what contributes to resilience and wellbeing? : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Clinical Psychology at Massey University, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa, Albany, Aotearoa New Zealand(Massey University, 2021) McAllister, AmberThe aim of this research was to explore and understand Māori whānau experiences of suicide loss and factors that increase resilience and wellbeing within this context. Māori have the highest suicide rates in New Zealand, yet there is limited literature that focuses exclusively on Māori whānau bereaved to suicide. Furthermore, there is limited literature that views Māori suicide bereavement through a family/whānau resilience lens. The present study took a Kaupapa Māori approach that validated Māori knowledge and tikanga and was cognisant of social structures and power imbalances that surround whānau. Six whānau bereaved by suicide were interviewed, as well as five Māori key informants who have extensive experience working with whānau in their various roles within community mental health, mental health services, and suicide prevention. Findings pointed to the ripple effect that a suicide has on a whānau and its members over the long term and intergenerationally. This is hindered by the stigma that is still evident in the dominant society and within Māori culture that creates a barrier to resilience and wellbeing. Resilience was enacted within whānau units, through wairuatanga, and connection to Te Ao Māori and mātauranga Māori. The current formal support available did not adequately support whānau resilience and wellbeing. The findings have implications at a societal level and for therapists or services engaged in supporting suicide bereaved whānau.Item The reshaping of political communities in New Zealand : a study of intellectual and imperial texts in context, c. 1814-1863 : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand(Massey University, 2020) Carpenter, SamuelThis thesis explores transformations in British and Māori political thought and mentalities through the period c. 1814 to 1863 – from the arrival in New Zealand of Samuel Marsden and the Anglican Church Mission through to the outset of the Waikato wars. It analyses evolving and contested political languages in British metropole and empire, particularly concerning the nature and bounds of British national and imperial community and government. It considers the attempts by Britons, from Marsden, through Busby, then the Church Mission presses to encourage the formation of a native (Christian) political community, and then to maintain it against the threats posed by British colonization ventures. Political thought about nations or supra-tribal political communities contained in the Māori translations of scripture, prayer book and texts of history, law and geography are the focus of several chapters, as are the uses of these new political languages made by Māori protagonists Hone Heke, Tāmihana Te Rauparaha and Wiremu Tāmehana. Drawing on literatures of nationalism, the thesis finds that the emergence of Māori national thought or consciousness – an imagined political community of ‘native New Zealand’ – resembled the early-modern emergence of English and other European nationalisms. This study reveals an historical process in which Christian scripture and liturgies in vernacular languages helped to form a wider collective consciousness in England/Europe, and then argues that a similar process occurred throughout indigenous Niu Tireni (New Zealand). Critically, it was the daily and weekly practice of the Anglican Prayer Book – Te Rāwiri – rather than simply its texts or the Bible translations per se, that engendered a new language of politics and a new global knowledge concerning pan-tribal nations, their kingly polities, and their God-ordained relationship with whenua (land). The thesis therefore re-frames the early political history of New Zealand as a history – or histories – formed by texts variously translated and interpreted, printed and discursively reproduced, read and recited, prayed and sung, and institutionally embodied in native assemblies, legal systems and kingships. It argues that this new textual and discursive world was enabled by the immense diffusion of printed texts, constituted a new indigenous or ‘maori’ public sphere, and generated the imagining of new forms of native or supra-tribal political community. Texts also provoked prominent indigenous actors to ‘write back’ against both colony and empire. The thesis suggests a much larger project to recover and map the diverse political languages and deeper mentalité that shaped the contested terrain of colonialism in New Zealand.Item Te Ara Whānau Ora (A pathway to whānau wellbeing) : exploring the practice of Kaiwhakaaraara/Whānau Ora navigators : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Social Work at Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa (Massey University, Manawatū), Aotearoa (New Zealand)(Massey University, 2020) Cherrington, James MartinThis thesis is about Whānau Ora, whānau-centred practice and an aspirational strengths-based whānau-centred practice framework called Te Ara Whānau Ora (a pathway to whānau wellbeing), it explores the practice of Kaiwhakaaraara/Whānau Ora Navigators who work in the Te Tihi O Ruahine Whānau Ora Alliance.This insider research explores and illustrates the unique combination of knowledge from Te Ao Māori and Te Ao Pākehā that Kaiwhakaaraara/Whānau Ora Navigators at Te Tihi O Ruahine Whānau Ora Alliance use in their practice. It explores how this skilled workforce is able to go beyond crisis intervention and empower whānau to dream and achieve their moemoeā (dreams and aspirations).Six Kaiwhakaaraara/Whānau Ora Navigators were interviewed to find out how they define whānau-centred practice and how they use it to generate social and transformative change for the whānau they walk alongside. A qualitative research method that utilises a Māori-centred approach and is underpinned by the principles of Kaupapa Māori research was used to explore the practice of Kaiwhakaaraara/Whānau Ora Navigators.Kanohi ki te kanohi (face to face) interviews were used to explore the knowledge, wisdom and experience of Kaiwhakaaraara/Whānau Ora Navigators.Thematic analysis was used to analyse the rich data generated from the interviews. A Te Ara Whānau Ora framework was then used to confirm the applicability of the themes generated by this analysis. The findings of this research indicate that Kaiwhakaaraara/Whānau Ora Navigators define whānau-centred practice as: whānau led, whānau determined, whānau controlled, promoting whānau leadership and building whānau capabilities. Kaiwhakaaraara/Whānau Ora Navigators entered their profession with the cultural capital necessary to operationalise ‘Te Korowai O Te Ao Māori’ (the protective cloak of the world of Māori). Te Ara Whānau Ora is a transformational process that focusses on the moemoeā (dreams and aspirations) of whānau, what whānau want. It is the focus on whānau moemoeā that enables Kaiwhakaaraara/Whānau Ora Navigators to work in a way that is not deficit, challenge or issue focussed. When you focus on the moemoeā of whānau the crises solve themselves and whānau achieve sustainable change.