No. 4 - September 2012 - Communications and Development ...

Iwi–based study to focuson Māori achieversThe qualities which makehigh–achieving Te Arawastudents successful learnerswill come under scrutiny in aUniversity of Canterbury–ledresearch project.UC’s Professor of Māori ResearchAngus Hikairo Macfarlane will work withhis Te Arawa tribal (iwi) colleagues HiriaMcRae (Victoria University of Wellington),Dr Melinda Webber (University ofAuckland) and Rotorua–based health/education consultant Dr Candy Cookson–Cox on the two–year iwi–based project,called Ka Awatea. Rotorua–based clinicalpsychologist Dr Averil Herbert is the projectmanager.The study will be based in Rotorua andwill focus on high school students of the TeArawa iwi.It is a partnership project between UCand Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga, the NewZealand Centre of Research Excellence inAuckland.Professor Macfarlane said Ka Awateawas commissioned by Ngā Pae o TeMāramatanga because of its collaborativeand multidisciplinary aspects.He said at the launch of the successfulprojects in Auckland, Ka Awatea wasdescribed by the Director of Ngā Pae,Professor Charles Royal, as being in tandemwith the themes of Ngā Pae in terms ofseeking to yield the distinctivecontribution that Māori people make andmay yet make to New Zealand society,culture and economy. The Ka Awateaproject was awarded $500,000.Professor Macfarlane said the aim of theproject was to find out what motivatedsuccessful Māori learners then develop a“mana model” that could be used to helpadvance Māori achievement.Ka Awatea, which means “theemergence of light”, stems from a pilotstudy carried out in Rotorua in 2009–2010UC’s Professor of Māori Research Angus Hikairo Macfarlane.10