Māori, Catholic, education in Aotearoa New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
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Date
2021
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Massey University
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Abstract
This thesis investigates Māori participation in Catholic education in Aotearoa New Zealand. The purpose of this study is to provide a specific understanding on the Māori perspective of Catholic education, that involves the identification of cultural values and beliefs in relation to Māori practices of tikanga. The intention of this thesis is not to suggest how Catholic educational institutions of Aotearoa New Zealand should govern, manage, or operate themselves. Rather, it provides a snapshot of the Māori Catholic perspective of ‘tika’ or rightness.
With the vast majority of Catholic primary and secondary schools legislated as State-integrated schools under the Private School Conditional Integration Act, 1975, the Roman Catholic Church has an obligation to monitor the reasonable steps that school boards, proprietors and diocese education offices are taking to ascertain and consider the views and concerns of Māori communities (Education Act, 1989).
Both historical and contemporary trends and patterns are analysed in this thesis, including legislation and State policy, in order to identify the reasons why there is a disconnection between Catholic educational policies and the educational aims of and for Māori. Major educational policies are reviewed alongside the wider political ideologies in order to illustrate the connections between the position of Māori in Aotearoa New Zealand and the likelihood that the educational aspirations of Māori will be met.
A life history approach using oral narratives was used to examine the reality of the participants’ lives growing up, being educated, and navigating through the dual worlds of Te Ao Māori (Māori world) and Te Ao Katorika (Catholic world). This approach adds a personal element that brings life to the findings.
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Catholic Church, Education, Catholic schools, New Zealand, Children, Maori, Education, Hāhi Karaitiana, Mātauranga, Tāngata whenua, Tikanga, Māori Doctoral Thesis