An investigation into the preparedness for and experiences in working with Māori nursing students among New Zealand tertiary institutes, schools and nurse educators : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment for the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education, Massey University, Manawatū, Aotearoa New Zealand

Abstract

Nursing education in Aotearoa New Zealand is situated in a unique bicultural context. Māori, the Indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand have overall, poorer outcomes in health and education compared to non-Māori, which relate to the colonial legacy of the nation. One strategy to address Māori health outcomes is to increase the Māori nursing workforce. Despite a range of strategies in tertiary education and in nursing, the number of Māori nurses remains relatively static, and overall Māori nursing students do not have equity of educational outcomes in nursing. With a critical lens informed by Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed, this explanatory sequential mixed method study uses a questionnaire followed by interviews to understand the experiences and preparedness of nurse educators in working with Māori nursing students. The findings of the questionnaire demonstrate that throughout New Zealand, nursing schools and the educational institutes in which they are situated are informed by a range of strategies aimed at supporting Māori learners. Overall, nurse educators felt prepared to work with Māori, but the questionnaire also revealed resistance to Māori as priority learners. This finding was followed up in the interviews. Interview findings demonstrated that environments encompassing te ao Māori (the Māori world) and staff practises that aligned with this were enabling for Māori nursing students. Despite this, a counter-narrative described many barriers to this becoming fully realised in nursing education practice. Ongoing colonising practices in education, racism, varied understandings and practices of Cultural Safety and dissatisfaction with current Cultural Safety regulatory guidelines were found to be hindering a nursing culture that is responsive to Māori. The research posits that the nursing profession needs to develop a shared critical consciousness and refocus efforts to position Cultural Safety as a critical concept in nursing education and practice. One method proposed to achieve this is in returning to the original intent of Kawa Whakaruruhau/ Cultural Safety and begin to apply it as a decolonising model for nursing education and practice.