MA

I Journal A New Zealand Journal MAI of Indigenous Scholarship

Volume 3 • Number 2 2014 Journal VOLUME 9 • ISSUE 1 • 2020

SPECIAL ISSUE He Vaka Moana—Navigating Māori student and Pasifika student success in the tertiary sector

ngā pae o te māramatanga EDITORS Associate Professor Melinda Webber Ngäti Whakaue, Dr Ocean Mercier Ngäti Porou Ngäti Hau, Ngäti Hine, Ngäti Kahu Victoria University of Wellington University of Auckland

EDITORIAL BOARD Associate Professor Peter Adds Te Ätiawa Dr John Pirker Ngäi Tahu, Te Ätiawa, Ngäti Porou Victoria University of Wellington University of Canterbury Associate Professor Tracey McIntosh Tühoe Dr Te Kawehau Hoskins Ngäpuhi University of Auckland University of Auckland Dr Amanda Black Tühoe, Whakatöhea, Te Whänau Dr Te Taka Keegan Waikato-Maniapoto, Ngäti Porou, ä-Apanui Ngäti Whakaaue Lincoln University University of Waikato Dr Anne-Marie Jackson Ngäti Whatua, Te Roroa, Professor Michael Walker Whakatöhea Ngäpuhi, Ngäti Wai, Ngäti Kahu o Whangaroa University of Auckland University of Otago Professor Michelle Thompson-Fawcett Ngäti Whätua, Dr Arama Rata Ngäti Maniapoto, Taranaki, Ngäruahine Ngäti Te Ata University of Waikato University of Otago Dr Carwyn Jones Ngäti Kahungunu Professor Poia Rewi Ngäti Manawa, Te Arawa Victoria University of Welllington University of Otago Dr Farah Palmer Ngäti Maniapoto, Waikato Massey University Dr Jade Le Grice Ngai Tupoto – Te Rarawa; Ngäti Korokoro, Te Pouka, Ngäti Wharara, Te Mahurehure – Ngäpuhi University of Auckland

PUBLICATIONS MANAGER JOURNAL CO-ORDINATOR Marie-Chanel Berghan Te Rarawa, Ngätiwai, Carel Smith Tühoe, Te Aitanga ä-Mähaki, Ngä Ariki Ngäti Maniapoto, Te Arawa Kaiputahi

ISSN (Online): 2230-6862 Published by Ngä Pae o te Märamatanga © New Zealand’s Mäori Centre of Research Excellence The University of Auckland, New Zealand

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Ngä Pae o te Märamatanga holds copyright for this Journal while individual authors hold copyright for their own articles. This publication cannot be reproduced and sold for profit by others.

MAI Journal is a member of the following organisations: CONTENTS

Special Issue: He Vaka Moana—Navigating Mäori student and Pasifika student success in the tertiary sector Guest Editors: Hinekura Smith and ‘Ema Wolfgramm-Foliaki

ARTICLES Introduction 3 He Vaka Moana: Navigating Mäori and Pasifika student success through a collaborative research fellowship 5 ‘Ema Wolfgramm-Foliaki & Hinekura Smith Igniting the Vä: Vä-kä methodology in a Mäori-Pasifika research fellowship 15 Hinekura Smith & ‘Ema Wolfgramm-Foliaki The art of wayfinding Pasifika success 26 Jacoba Matapo & Tim Baice I am who I am: Pacific tertiary students and the centrality of ethnic identity for successful outcomes 38 Melani Anae & Ingrid Peterson Lalanga ha kaha‘u monu‘ia: Helping science educators to embed Indigenous knowledge, values and cultures in their courses for Mäori and Pacific science student success 49 Sonia Fonua Leadership through learning: Normalising Mäori and Pacific leadership and learning success in a tertiary environment 59 Abigail McClutchie Pasifika students and learning to learn at university 70 Marcia Leenen-Young Growing the fleet; views of the Moana: A Mäori re-search-teina’s perspective on Mäori and Pasifika re-search relationality 81 Ashlea Gillon Book review 92

DOI: 10.20507/MAIJournal.2020.9.1.1

FOREWORD

Damon Salesa* Cynthia Kiro†

I ruia mai ngä kakano ö Raiatea We are scattered from the seeds of Raiatea

Exploring the sacred Polynesian va‘a across the The editors’ metaphor of lashed-­together Pacific and encompassing the Mäori and Pacific canoes to share provisions, expertise, information peoples’ of Oceania/Pasifika/Moana provides a and society, and the ability to then unlash and head framework for sharing and protecting spaces of off on differing routes is a powerful symbol for mutual learning. Mäori and Pacific peoples share how we can work together as Mäori and Pasifika in common the importance of the moana, which peoples to refine and contribute our voices to connects us, joins our histories and interwoven academia whilst maintaining our rangatiratanga. stories of migration and development, and pro- This is an apt alignment with both the work vides a cohesive platform for theorising our future published here and the collaborative work from development. We have traversed the largest ocean which it stems. In the Moana—the Pacific—canoes in the world, finding islands across the vastness are not only life support systems and vehicles of of space and time, and developed many practices discovery; they are collaborations of knowledge. and languages in common but also with variations In the masterful ocean-going­ canoes of the Pacific on our shared histories and experiences. Like all we see a coalescing of diverse expertise: design families, we do not always have to get along, but and construction, of course, but also less visible we care and have a stake in what happens to our masteries of weaving, food preservation, navi- members. gational knowledge and leadership. At stake in ‘Ema Wolfgramm-Foliaki­ and Hinekura Smith, the combination of these diverse ontologies is a as kaitiaki for the He Vaka Moana programme at journey of discovery and a testing of the efficacy the University of Auckland and editors of this spe- of practice and knowledge. cial issue of MAI Journal, are our navigators. The The mission here is clear: to promote and articles within provide an invaluable contribution advance the success of Mäori and Pasifika stu- to our understanding of how we can improve our dents and to discover and refine the knowledge teaching and learning in tertiary settings, thereby and techniques to enable this. This work comes as contributing to our kete mätauranga. The authors fruit of the University of Auckland’s commitment argue for a new theorisation and momentum of to improving the success and experience of Mäori a continually emerging collaboration between and Pacific students at the University of Auckland. Mäori as tangata whenua and the many peoples While imperfect, it has led to the learning that of the Pacific and wider Oceania. They refer to this underpins this special edition. As educators we as Moana methodology and theorisation, which must be prepared to critically interrogate this is based upon the intrinsically linked space and commitment, scrutinising it in a way that is both time, material and spiritual worlds, and history in keeping with the work of critical Indigenous and development that link Moana-Nui-­ ­a-­Kiwa. scholarship and capable of further improvement.

* Pro-Vice Chancellor Pacific, University of Auckland † Pro-Vice Chancellor Mäori, University of Auckland 4 FOREWORD

Motivating this work is the intention to contrib- of nine fellows to meet, to korero and talanoa, to ute to the critical work of reclaiming Indigenous exchange and test ideas, and to find sustenance in knowledge systems and values. As with much of each other. It is a reminder that cultural, social, the innovative and seminal work in education intellectual and research work can effectively sup- and transformation, these pieces aim to transform port researchers, and that it can be harnessed to practice and leadership, not only to broaden hori- benefit student achievement. zons. Much recent Indigenous research work has This issue of MAI Journal is released at an emphasised the reciprocal values that are central unprecedented moment when schools and universi- to Indigenous research programmes and projects, ties have turned to online learning and engagement which means the embodied and engaged dimen- during the COVID-19­ pandemic. In doing so sions of research remain critical. The authors here we turn to a new ocean, where so many of our all demonstrate what Smith and Wolfgramm-­ online waters remain largely unknown. In these Foliaki describe as “a conscious and active lashing times both the inequalities with which we wrestle together of theory and practice”. Perhaps this is and the values with which we confront them are an exploration of a new praxis, as postulated by heightened. Innovative work that can offer insight Paolo Friere? at times like this becomes of special value. Within universities Mäori and Pasifika academ- Also required is the kind of intellectual innova- ics have catalysed or led many transformative tion and courage displayed here. At challenging intellectual and research developments, but they times such as these, it is tempting to simply try to remain too few in number and in many cases are weather stormy waters. But one of the lessons of isolated. Collaborative activity serves a double the Tongan proverb “pikipiki hama kae vaevae purpose then: to bring about a revivification of manava” is that these are also times where commu- Indigenous relationships of exchange and connec- nal strengths can form a secure and powerful basis tion, and to support and develop researchers and for ongoing voyaging and discovery. Knowledge teachers by creating communities of Indigenous and courage, anchored in cultural knowledge, can scholarship, fashioning archipelagos that stretch be utilised so that we do more than merely ride across institutional space. In the He Vaka Moana out storms, and use their powerful forces to propel programme this collaborative work was activated voyages further and faster, not merely to survive, by recruiting and bringing together a diverse group but to thrive.

MAI JOURNAL VOLUME 9, ISSUE 1, 2020 DOI: 10.20507/MAIJournal.2020.9.1.2

HE VAKA MOANA

Navigating Mäori and Pasifika student success through a collaborative research fellowship

‘Ema Wolfgramm-Foliaki* Hinekura Smith†

Abstract This article introduces He Vaka Moana, which has been tested and evaluated at international and local levels. He Vaka Moana is a strength-based­ model of academic fellowship that is framed by Oceanic principles and methodologies. The authors base this model on what connects and sustains us as Mäori and Pasifika people—that is, Te Moana-nui-­ a-­ Kiwa.­ We draw from our shared ancestral history of navigating the vast Pacific Ocean on purposefully built vessels using Indigenous methods and ways of being to successfully reach our destinations. Our fellowship draws on the rich knowledge and imagery of a Tongan saying “pikipiki hama kae vave manava”, which refers to lashing canoes together to exchange people and resources when a fleet is out on the ocean battling the swells and weather. This evocative Oceanic metaphor guides how, in He Vaka Moana, champions of teaching and learning across faculties purposefully come together to work collaboratively to examine existing practice and develop innovative ways for addressing issues of strategic priority to the institution: Mäori and Pasifika students’ success. In He Vaka Moana, we look specifically and politically at ways to advance the success of Mäori and Pasifika students in higher education, exploring what works; how success is defined and by whom; how, as a university, we listen (or fail to listen) to Indigenous stories; and the difference Oceanic-­based research makes for our teach- ing and learning. Our agenda is revitalising Indigenous methodologies and knowledges to transform higher educational institutions’ ways of responding to our Indigenous learners. Employing our own Indigenous methodologies has emphasised our cultural ways of being, thinking, speaking and behav- ing. We wish to demonstrate how our ways of being and knowledge allow us to reclaim who we are and, more importantly, to chart our collective and desired future as citizens of Oceania.

Keywords He Vaka Moana, pikipiki hama kae vavevae manava, Oceanic principles, Indigenous values and knowledges, va, seascape epistemology.

* Falevai Vava‘u, Tongaleleka Ha‘apai, ‘Atata, Tonga. Lecturer, CLeaR, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand. Email: [email protected] † Te Rarawa, Ngä Puhi. Lecturer, CLeaR, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand. 6 ‘E. WOLFGRAMM-FOLIAKI & H. SMITH

Introduction academic and professional staff to come together In Aotearoa New Zealand, the educational out- in purposeful and deliberate ways to research comes for our Mäori students and Pasifika students teaching, and thus share practices that promote have continued to make positive gains over recent Mäori students’ and Pasifika students’ success in years (Tertiary Education Commission, 2017). higher education. Importantly, He Vaka Moana is However, Mäori and Pasifika remain “priority inspired by Oceanic principles defined by the work learning groups” across the education sectors, of Epeli Hau‘ofa. In his seminal work, Hau‘ofa including tertiary institutions, which often meas- (2008) lays down the foundation for Indigenous ure success in quantifiable factors such as grade scholars and researchers in Oceania to reclaim point averages and timely course completion. Indigenous knowledge systems and viewpoints While strategic policy documents at national and as the basis of alternative views to institutions institutional levels express an aspiration to make a grounded in Western paradigms. Here we seek to difference for Mäori and Pasifika learners, what is occupy a discourse we have come to understand required to gain parity and bring these policy direc- as historically dominated by Western voices. He tions into action to create transforming change Vaka Moana as a model interrogates Western remains elusive. knowledge systems and engages in continuous Prioritising both groups of learners is critical decolonisation, seeking to enact and engage in given the prediction that by 2038, 30% of the what Swadener and Mutua (2008) describe as a Aotearoa population will be of Mäori and/or constant state of being alert and attentive to how Pasifika descent (Stats NZ, 2013). Despite repeated research can centre Indigenous voice. As a research calls to increase participation, engagement and model, He Vaka Moana offers an alternative way completion rates, research on Mäori student and of working together to articulate our story in this Pasifika student success remain ad hoc and often Western context. Meanwhile, the research here disconnected. At a national level, the Ministry of focuses on realising Mäori and Pasifika success. Education, Tertiary Education Commission, Te Our revitalising metaphor signals our collective Puni Kökiri (the Ministry of Mäori Development) action in order to disrupt current approaches that and the Ministry of Pacific Peoples have articu- have not worked for us (Battiste, 2013). Further, lated in high-level­ strategic documents such as we reiterate, embody and enact the words of the Pasifika Operational Strategy 2017–2020 Kovach (2009): “for cultural knowledge to thrive, (Tertiary Education Commission, 2017) and it must live in many sites including Western educa- Tertiary Education Strategy 2020–2025 (Tertiary tion and research” (p. 12). Education Commission, 2019) their aspirations He Vaka Moana as a research fellowship and recommendations for what is required to raise comprises nine research fellows understood as the success of both groups. Within our institution, wayfinders. In 2017, expressions of interest were The University of Auckland Strategic Plan 2013– received from potential fellows in each faculty 2020 articulates the institution’s commitment to with the endorsement of their dean to commit both Mäori and Pasifika communities in Objectives to a one-year­ fellowship. Each fellow received a 11 and 12 respectively (University of Auckland, .2 time release and some also applied for a small 2012). However, we suggest that our education support grant of $5,000 to support their project, system continues to underserve both groups. for example, to fund hosting of events, research In this article we introduce He Vaka Moana, a assistance (RA), resource development and data strength-­based collaborative research fellowship gathering. Both the time release and SEED funding framed by Oceanic principles and methodologies. were one-­year commitments hosted at the Centre It is conceptualised by drawing on the Tongan for Learning and Research in Higher Education metaphor “pikipiki hama kae vaevae manava”. (CLeaR). Alongside the support of the institu- Literally, the saying refers to how canoes on tion, Ako Aotearoa also provided funding for the ocean voyages lash together in order to share fellows to continue their projects and to be able food and resources and perhaps even to swap crew to evaluate their work over two years. The initial members if required. Metaphorically, He Vaka intention of the project was to work across two Moana within a higher education context provides institutions over two years. However, because a model for how we, as Mäori and Pasifika, can of a number of challenges, involving the second work together to share resources and draw on institution was not possible. what connects us in order to address the educa- All He Vaka Moana projects centre around tional achievement of our students. Mäori student and Pasifika student success, with He Vaka Moana provides the opportunity for each project emerging from a specific faculty focus

MAI JOURNAL VOLUME 9, ISSUE 1, 2020 He Vaka Moana 7 or need. Each project is independent. However, Citizens of Oceania they share a common aim, that is, to purposefully Oceania is vast, Oceania is expanding. Oceania examine, improve and evaluate multiple interven- is hospitable and generous, Oceania is humanity tions that develop and advance Mäori and Pasifika rising from the depths of brine and regions of fire learners’ success across the institution. The two still, Oceania is us. We are the sea, we are the navigators (authors) who provided leadership for ocean, we must wake up to this ancient truth and the fellowship are both of Indigenous descent and together use it to overturn all hegemonic views that are academics and researchers within CLeaR. aim ultimately to confine us again, physically and At an institutional level, high workload remains psychologically, in the tiny spaces which we have an issue for all staff but more so for both Mäori resisted accepting as a sole appointed place, and and Pasifika academics and professional staff, from which we have recently liberated ourselves. who perform multiple roles that include pastoral We must not allow anyone to belittle us again, and care for our students. Hence, they often struggle take away our freedom. (Hau‘ofa, 2008, p. 39) to find time to meet, discuss and share knowledge about their work. Similarly, those academics who We argue that it is timely for Mäori and Pasifika are interested in Mäori students’ and Pasifika stu- peoples to come together in this space, to har- dents’ success do not talk to one another enough; ness the strength of being citizens of Oceania, they too often struggle to find the space and time and to acknowledge that the vast Pacific Ocean to come together, to share knowledge and engage that encompasses all Pacific nations, including in meaningful conversations that promote trans- Aotearoa and Australia. Because we are of Mäori formational change. descent and of Pasifika descent, we are both citi- While there is not one prescribed model or zens of Oceania. Mäori is used to describe those answer to address Mäori and Pasifika success, the who are tangata whenua (Drewery & Bird, 2004). current landscape gives us the impetus to engage in The term Pasifika is used widely in Aotearoa to what Archibald and colleagues (2019) refer to as a refer to people who are descendants from the process of going in deeper into our own knowledge Pacific Islands (Mafile‘o & Walsh-­Tapiata, 2007). systems to look for our own solutions. In doing We use the term Pasifika because it aligns with so, we are also engaging in a self-­determining our collective and inclusive agenda, a view shared exercise in which we take control of our own by Naepi (2019), who explains that her use of destinations and guide our journeys, navigating the term Pasifika is “not about homogeneity but with Indigenous knowledges and values. about bringing our people together to better serve This is timely. While we want to avoid a deficit-­ our own interests in a globalised world” (p. 221). based approach, we are in a crisis. The current We position ourselves within our shared history system has continually marginalised and failed and culture, a space noted by Teaiwa and Mallon our students (Airini et al., 2009; Bishop & Glynn, (2005) as “an anchoring point or productive site” 2003; Curtis et al., 2012; Curtis et al., 2015; (p. 225) that we can use for advancing Mäori Kalavite, 2010, 2012; Samu, 2006; Wolfgramm-­ student and Pasifika student success. Foliaki & Santamaria, 2018). At many levels, In his selected works of essays, “Our Sea of research on Mäori and Pasifika student success Islands”, Hau‘ofa (2008) describes the peoples of is still limited. This necessitates a quest for inno- Oceania as “kakai mei tahi” or people from the vative and culturally relevant ways of working sea (p. 153) as opposed to people from the outer together to transform higher educational sys- islands, emphasising that although Pacific nations tems to be more accountable and responsive to differ, they are united by the ocean that makes our Mäori and Pasifika learners. The growing home to all peoples in the region. More impor- amount of work in this area (Archibald et al., tantly, Oceania is vast, and is not confined to what 2019; Ingersoll, 2016, Kapä‘anaokälaokeola et has previously been used to describe people of the al., 2016), together with inequitable achievement Pacific as based on small scattered islands, but of our students, tells us there is a need to develop rather seeing them as belonging to a much larger our own research methodologies and processes. Oceania. The land-­based view confines us to “tiny He Vaka Moana offers an alternative way of cen- spaces” and fails to recognise the significance and tring Indigenous knowledges and methodologies relevance of our history, myths and legends, as well in our approach on Mäori and Pasifika student as our cosmic history, in which the people of the success. As an Indigenous approach, it could be Pacific see themselves as not confined only to land, taken up and used in other contexts and not just but rather as rightful inhabitants and navigators of in higher education. both the land and the vast ocean (Hau‘ofa, 1994,

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2008). People of Oceania have for generations Conceptualising He Vaka Moana traversed the vast ocean with confidence using the Based on an internationally proven model constellation and calling on their Gods to guide (University College Dublin, n.d.), He Vaka Moana their journeys. In a nutshell, the ocean was a place seeks to develop a sustainable fellowship of inter- to explore, conquer and populate. disciplinary academic and professional staff in As both Mäori and Pasifika, we (authors) are teaching, learning, assessment and research in descendants of strong and successful navigators a research-­intensive institution. Through using who did not hold such a narrow view of their robust processes that test, evaluate and reflect existence. We are embarking on what Archibald et on Mäori and Pasifika students’ success, our fel- al. (2019) describes as a meaning-making­ journey lows construct innovative pedagogical projects that involves “using the heart (emotions), body to advance students’ success, while the pikipiki (physical actions), and spirit (spirituality), while hama kae vaevae manava methodology ensures recognising the importance of how we relate and that significant, positive and enduring changes interact with family, community including the occur institutionally. environment” (p. 4). Alfred Taiake (1999, as cited The term He Vaka has been utilised in a number in Archibald et al., 2019) asserts that Indigenous of useful ways in education. Here we conceptualise research is about reaching the community and He Vaka Moana as a collaborative research fel- that one cannot understand the researcher as a lowship by drawing on the shared success of our single entity without their community. In this tüpuna who for hundreds of years navigated the space, we endeavour to bring together our history, vast Pacific Ocean in deliberate and purposeful Indigenous knowledges and ways of being and ways. Successful Oceanic journeys were enabled political positioning in ways that promote self-­ through the development of large ocean-­going governance, and transform how higher education vaka moana, waka moana or va‘a, drawing on responds to Indigenous learners. It is important to deeply methodological Indigenous knowledge note that endorsing Indigenous approaches does of the ocean, its tides, celestial navigation and not mean totally rejecting Western paradigms weather conditions. These epic voyages could not but rather drawing on existing work while at be undertaken in isolation. While on the ocean and the same time upholding our own values (L. T. often far from land, vaka moana would routinely Smith, 1999). L. T. Smith (1999, 2012) asserts that come alongside each other and lash together to decolonising does not mean and has not meant a share resources and provisions, learn from each total rejection of all theory or research of Western other’s experiences, share stories of their journey knowledge. Rather, it is about centring our own and sometimes even swap crew members. At other concerns and world views and then coming to times, vaka moana lashed together to ride out a know and understand theory and research from storm, because one larger unified vessel is stronger our own purposes (L. T. Smith, 2012, p. 39). and more resistant to the conditions than many The work of Ingersoll (2016) asserts the impor- smaller ones, before unlashing and heading off on tance of Oceanic knowledge and how it privileges their journeys. an “alternative political and ethical relationship Many hundreds of years later, the descendants with the surrounding physical and spiritual world” of these methodological and strategic naviga- (p. 5). As citizens of Oceania we draw on what tors continue to navigate and come together in Ingersoll has coined as seascape epistemology or deliberate and purposeful ways—now, instead an approach to knowledge of the sea. Together of criss-­crossing the Pacific Ocean, our voyages with Hau‘ofa (1994, 2008), Ingersoll (2016) in this context are navigations of Mäori students points to the ocean as a space that connects rather and Pasifika students in the tertiary sector seeking than separates us; it is an “approach [to] life and ways to purposefully journey towards success. knowing through the movements of the world. Here seascape (Ingersoll, 2016) holds a powerful It is an approach to knowing through a visual, imagery of a place of adaptation, of change and spiritual, intellectual, and embodied literacy of challenge, allowing for a flow of ideas and inno- the ‘äina (land) and kai (sea)” (p. 6). As citizens of vation. For our purpose, it encapsulates what the Oceania, we draw on this strength-based­ Oceanic ocean holds; that is, it can be powerful yet has the knowledge and history to re-create­ (and de-create)­ ability to be fluid and be a space to bring people how we approach Mäori students’ and Pasifika together (Ingersoll, 2016). students’ success in higher education.

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Pikipiki hama kae vaevae manava communication between all relevant parties. If the Conceptually, we draw on the rich knowledge and lashing is weak, the entire structure is likely to be imagery contained in the Tongan saying “pikipiki weak also. As articulated earlier, we are embark- hama kae vaevae manava”. Pikipiki hama means ing on a process of looking inwards for strength to stick, bind or link strongly to the outrigger of from our own cultural values and ways of being. a vaka moana. Vaevae means to give or share In doing so, we conceptualise and envision how and manava—similar to the word manawa in each vaka lash together by drawing on what politi- Mäori—is a deeply complex, core term in Pasifika cal scholar and poet Haunani-Kay­ Trask (2002, expression meaning the heart, centre, womb or as cited in Good-year-­ ­Ka‘öpua, 2016) coined breath (Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Taisi Efi, 2003). as the “rope of resistance”. Goodyear-Ka‘öpua­ It is important to note that in the Tongan language (2016) argues that the rope of resistance makes up the word manava differs from the word mänava. what she asserts are methodological ropes that are Mänava is breathe while manava can mean two critical for research and resurgence. She draws on things. First, it refers to the heart, centre or womb four central principles from her Hawaiian culture, of a woman—the source of nutrition and life for namely, lahui, ea, kuleana and pono, as the threads an unborn baby. The second means food prepared woven together to make a rope that will hold and carried for travellers during ocean excur- (Goodyear-Ka‘öpua,­ 2016, p. 2). Further, these sions. This meaning is used in relation to pikipiki four principles are single cords woven together to hama kae vaevae manava. The two meanings slide make a strong rope that holds things together and into each other, as Tamasese Taifi Efi (2003) has provides a way for connecting people. Goodyear-­ articulated above, providing a very positive image Ka‘öpua (2016) maintains that the concept of the of life-giving­ sustenance. Pikipiki hama is used to intellectual rope is the work of early generations, capture the ancient practice of lashing together of who weaved and stored them for later generations vaka moana as they traversed the Pacific Ocean to use. In the context of He Vaka Moana, the two to sustain and support each other. Important to navigators guide and provide the knowledge for note here is that “coming together” resists further when and how the lashing is carried out. homogenising the already problematic simplified When Filipe Tohi talks of lalava or lashing, notions of Mäori and Pasifika identities in the it is about how it can bind and hold materials tertiary sector. Instead, we understand each of the together. More recently, he has argued that the research projects, researchers, their topics and how patterns made on his artistic work of lalava also they have worked with students as self-determined­ hold metaphorical and physical ties to cultural but interrelated sets of ideas. As an Indigenous knowledge. To return to our young Tongan teach- framework. As an Indigenous framework, it is er’s comment, the four principles underpin how informed by a relational ontology that centres each vaka or fellow lash to one another. A shared relationship building and connections. understanding of the aim and purpose of their Lashing is a traditional ancient practice of journey enables the fellows to navigate their way the Pacific used and seen in their architecture in the vast space of academia. More importantly, to bind beams and also hold their navigational the four principles provide both the rope and the canoes together (Teaiwa, 2010). The lashings knowledge of when and how to lash together. are made from kafa (Fotu & Tafa, 2009). Filipe This is the sustainable aspect of the pikipiki hama Tohi, a renowned Tongan artist and sculptor, kae vaevae manava. The fellows come together articulates lalava as a form of lashing used to bind in purposeful ways guided by the two naviga- and connect, and more recently has developed tors, thereby ensuring that the act of binding is three-dimensional­ sculptures in which he dem- meaningful. onstrates the traditional practice of binding also Coming together this year has entailed monthly with aesthetic properties (Hamilton, 2014). Here hui hosted at CLeaR with guest speakers, regu- we recall the words of a young Tongan teacher lar professional development events, workshops, who attended our He Vaka Moana presenta- talanoa groups and writing retreats. As well as the tion at the Vaka Pasifiki Education Conference fellows enacting pikipiki hama with one another, at the University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji, the fellows also pikipiki hama with colleagues in in July 2018. He drew attention to the lashing their faculty and across the wider university com- of the vaka together as key to maintaining con- munity, thereby growing the fleet. nections and sustaining relationships with one In our use of this seafaring metaphor, we also another. In the popao model developed by Fotu acknowledge a similar metaphor: pikipiki katea kae and Tafa (2009), the lashings are perceived as vaevae melenga. Both metaphors are often referred

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to interchangeably. The difference between them outcome”. Along the same vein, Anae (2010) lies in where and when the ocean canoes join with points out the significance of va not only in our one another to share rations and resources. While sociocultural contexts but in the way it is also pikipiki hama kae vaevae manava refers to the relevant and central to Pacific research relation- joining of the outriggers in order to provide bal- ships and educational contexts. She expands on ance and to enable the voyagers to share, pikipiki the Samoan practice of teu le va or taking good katea kae vaevae melenga is when the canoes join care of the relationship at all times. The value of at the hull (Fotu & Tafa, 2009). Both metaphors teu le va lies in its “prescribed ethical behaviour” speak to seafarers’ awareness and knowledge of that underpins it. “By its very nature teu le va has the sea conditions as well as of the relationship multi-­relational, situational and spiritual infer- between voyagers of each canoe. Hence, if the sea ences” (Anae, 2010, p. 13). Any actions to take is rough, then lashing at the hull will be very dan- care of the va are underpinned by cultural values, gerous. Both metaphors imply good practice and obligations and responsibilities to sustain good appropriate ways of sharing with one another. We and long-­lasting relations (Anae, 2010; Ka‘ili, posit this paper within the first metaphor because 2005; Reynolds, 2016; Thaman, 2008). A signifi- it points to a way of coming together intentionally cant contribution of Anae’s work in this space is to share what is most precious to us. Manava or her argument for the need for Pasifika researchers manawa points to the human inner core; as Tama to teu le va first with Mäori as tangata whenua Ataua Tupua Tamasese Efi (2003) asserts, it is “the and with relevant parties, including the institution, heart, centre, womb or breath” where the sharing funding agencies and our communities. originates from. In this research space, there is a need to con- stantly tend to the va in order to maintain good Pikipiki hama: Working together relations and, more importantly, work with one He Vaka Moana is grounded in good and mean- another to counter a colonial relationship that ingful relations. In reflecting on both Mäori and has continually minimised the importance of Pasifika peoples’ relationality, He Vaka Moana Indigenous knowledge and values in comparison creates a space for the fellows to come together with Western knowledge systems and paradigms and engage with one another. Indigenous peoples (Mila-­Schaaf & Hudson, 2009). Reynolds (2016) articulate a relational ontology that is grounded in argues that va has a place in both the classroom their relationship with one another and with their and the New Zealand educational system. environment, including the land, the cosmos and He Vaka Moana as a fellowship model creates a their thoughts and ideas. Relationality is core to space that Mila-­Schaaf and Hudson (2009) define the Pasifika word va. as negotiated space. In a context where Pasifika Va, as we understand it, is our connection with people come together with fellow colleagues and one another as citizens of Oceania and all “things” staff who are of diverse ethnic and cultural identi- (both living and non-­living) in our environment ties, a negotiated space enables research activities (Anae, 2010; Ka‘ili, 2005; Thaman, 2008). The across cultures. Sanga (2005) points to the need word va exists in many Oceania/Moana languages, for a better understanding of relationships between including Aotearoa, where it is referred to as wä Pasifika and non-­Pacific, a combination he sees as (Ka‘ili, 2005). The notion of va or relational space a new kind of “scrutinisers” (p. 16). Although his refers to a space between two or more points, peo- call aims at encouraging overseas aid in the region, ple or things. Here we argue that the va is active it is relevant to our current context. Sanga (2005) rather than in the Western notion of space, where argues that what he calls “new scrutineers” (p. 16) it is empty or null. From a Tongan perspective, will consist of Pasifika peoples who are committed Ka‘ili (2005) draws attention to va as the space to forming good relationships with others, includ- in between. When one understands and acknowl- ing non-Pacific­ Islanders. “These two categories of edges va, it brings a sense of obligation alongside people will form the new scrutineers. As a group with the need to take care, tend and maintain they understand both worlds; the metropolitan and existing relationships (Ka‘ili, 2005; Mila-Schaaf,­ the Pacific; the city and the village. They appreci- 2006; Thaman, 2008). Similarly, Wendt (1999, ate the tensions and dilemmas of both worlds. As as cited in Reynolds, 2016) articulates the impor- leaders, they see the need for change and aspire to tance of va from a Samoan perspective, where develop a vision for change” (Sanga, 2005, p. 16). the emphasis is on maintaining and nurturing the He Vaka Moana brings together Pasifika and non-­ relationship. Mila-­Schaaf and Hudson (2009) Pacific peoples who are Oceanic and who share a link a well-balanced­ va to “wellbeing and good focus on teaching and learning. Oceania is vast,

MAI JOURNAL VOLUME 9, ISSUE 1, 2020 He Vaka Moana 11 and in Hau‘ofa’s (2008) vision it is big enough to He Vaka Moana: Strengths and challenges bring all peoples together, to work towards a com- In academia we do not talk enough to one another mon goal. He Vaka Moana is an open space that nor are there sufficient safe spaces for purposeful allows a group of researchers to work alongside conversations to take place. Similarly, we do not one another despite their cultural differences. share enough of our successes and challenges in According to Johansson-­Fua (2016), a cul- ways that advance success for our students. He tural hybridity space emerges in a context where Vaka Moana as a research fellowship centres researchers come together to engage in knowledge Mäori students and Pasifika student success and re-creation­ and production. Bhabha (1994, as advances how we can employ our own ways of cited in Johansson-Fua,­ 2016) refers to this as inquiry to further develop our research processes the “third space”, where negotiation can take in a context that is grounded in Western para- place to explore new considerations and mean- digms. This project sees research fellows each ings. Further, in the third space it is possible for navigating their vaka moana projects in purpose- different positions to emerge, and even possible ful and deliberate ways within the institution, to disrupt historical establishments, while at the regularly coming together to pikipiki hama—to same time, work in the third space can also “set- share ideas and resources and gain knowledge tle” the “unsettled” (Johansson-Fua,­ 2016, p. 36). from the navigators and other wayfinders. More While Bhabha’s third space provides a vision for importantly, it centres the responsibility on edu- co-­existing with others, it can also evoke a place of cators, thereby shifting the focus away from tension because of the multitude of cross-cultural­ the deficit view that has been dominant in how interactions that take place within it. Sharma-­ we think about and work with our Mäori and Brymer (2007, as cited in Johansson-Fua,­ 2016) Pasifika students. concedes the third space as a place of tension Statistics about school decile, rank score, and at the same time an actionable space where secondary school to tertiary transition and pre- researchers can consider the value and effective- paredness, and low completion rates are regularly ness of their work. forwarded as determinants of success. While this Importantly, the work of the He Vaka Moana statistical information is part of the story, we argue fellowship aims to benefit the wider community that it emerges from a deficit position that has not, of Mäori and Pasifika whänau and communities and continues to not, serve Mäori and Pasifika (Taufe‘ulungaki, 2001) by improving the tertiary aspirations for success in the tertiary sector. success rate for their students. Johansson-­Fua We acknowledge that there is no one pre- (2016) in support points out that an Oceanic scribed model or answer to address Mäori and researcher “works to change mind-sets­ and expand Pasifika success. Based on our experience of He the power and control for the benefit of the Pacific Vaka Moana, we offer some of the key enablers communities” (p. 37). Similarly, Mäori scholars for a model as we look towards the horizon for (Pihama, 2001; G. H. Smith, 1997; L. T. Smith, strength-based­ ways to work collaboratively, both 1999) have argued for Kaupapa Mäori theory and intra-institutionally­ and inter-institutionally,­ for research that places at its centre Mäori language, better access, outcomes and opportunities for ways of being and community aspirations for Mäori students and Pasifika students. positive transforming change. Such an approach Our model is also based on an internation- requires a conscious and active lashing together of ally proven model from the University College theory and practice—what Graham Smith coined Dublin, where they identified and developed key as Kaupapa Mäori praxis. Therefore, a trans- academic staff “with both the pedagogic expertise forming praxis is not “complete” once change is and the leadership capacity to effect transforma- realised; instead, the states of conscientisation, tional change in teaching, learning and assessment resistance and transforming action need to be practices both in discipline-­specific areas and the- continually re-­engaged. matically, across the institution” (UCD Teaching When canoes come together to lash up for & Learning, 2020, para. 2). Fellows focus on mutual support on Oceanic voyages, they are “areas of strategic importance to the university . . . guided by navigators, whose role is to provide informed by a scholarly approach to the enhance- the knowledge and processes for lashing of their ment of teaching and learning and . . . curricular vaka. As navigators/leaders of the fellowship, we structures” (UCD Teaching & Learning, 2020, feel privileged to undertake this traditional role. para. 3). He Vaka Moana develops a sustainable tua- kana–teina network of interdisciplinary fellows

MAI JOURNAL VOLUME 9, ISSUE 1, 2020 12 ‘E. WOLFGRAMM-FOLIAKI & H. SMITH

who are academic and professional leaders in It is useful and important to note here the num- teaching, learning, assessment and research across ber of challenges that He Vaka Moana experienced. the institution. Through using robust processes The .2 time release for each fellow is vital to sustain that test, evaluate and reflect on Mäori and Pasifika the momentum of the fellowship. However, it can students’ success, our fellows construct innovative also be a point of tension for the fellows as they try pedagogical projects to advance students’ success, to carve out their time for the fellowship. In our while ensuring significant, positive and enduring experiences, if left unchecked the .2 time release changes occur institutionally. can easily be absorbed and become an added He Vaka Moana also encompasses what Alkema responsibility in an already overloaded full-time­ (2014) documents as the three pillars for Pasifika workload. The low and overworked number of learners’ success: people, place, and practices and Mäori and Pasifika staff within the institution pedagogies. Our model weaves these three key makes it difficult for the fellows to prioritise their elements: by drawing on what we conceive as an fellowship work. Hence, their .2 time release is Oceanic metaphor and methodology, we bring often shelved in favour of other work demands. together a group of academics and professional The support and understanding of managers, staff (people) to work purposefully across facul- deans and the senior leadership team is critical to ties in a higher education institution (place) using the progress and further development of He Vaka culturally sustainable methodologies to (a) exam- Moana. While we held on to our aspiration that ine current practices, and (b) develop pedagogies He Vaka Moana would be taken up, we failed to that will help Mäori and Pasifika students succeed obtain traction at the key decision-­making tables. (practices and pedagogies). Similarly, the work of Sciascia (2017) provides Conclusion an example of an inter-institutional­ project for In this paper we demonstrate how we as Indigenous improving participation, retention and progres- academics and researchers can draw on the strength sion of Mäori tertiary learners in the Whanganui of our shared ancestral history for our benefit. We Region; two private training establishments (PTEs) are decolonising research while at the same time collaborated on a common kaupapa and set of seeking to advance the success of Mäori students relationships that brought together distinct but and Pasifika students in higher education. The complementary strengths to develop collabora- He Vaka Moana fellowship creates a space for tive and complementary programming (p. 25). champions in teaching and learning to purpose- Importantly, the outcomes of this collaboration fully come together to pikipiki hama and engage were not limited to the two PTEs but involved a in deliberate conversations to exchange knowledge local iwi authority and wider community groups and share stories. We recognise the critical role with similar goals to improve Mäori student reten- of Indigenous knowledge and values in our post- tion and successful outcomes. colonial context. As Mäori and Pasifika peoples, Sciascia’s (2017) work highlights key consider- we must look to our own systems of knowledge ations that have informed the planning and design to develop methodologies to investigate our own of He Vaka Moana, especially the important role problems and make visible the way we see our that Mäori pedagogies, alongside people and world. practices, play in contributing to Mäori learner success. Of relevance is the role that tuakana–teina Glossary approaches and culturally embedded methods or Mäori methodologies play in improving Mäori student Aotearoa New Zealand outcomes. Here we reiterate our agenda and role hui meetings in decolonising research: we aim to legitimise our iwi tribal kin group own values and Indigenous ways of being in a space that has continually rendered our voices and Kaupapa Mäori Mäori approach, methodology perspectives silent. He Vaka Moana as an initiative proactively manawa heart (of a person) and positively engages with several national and Mäori Indigenous peoples of institutional strategic priorities. Those involved Aotearoa New Zealand care deeply that Mäori and Pasifika students feel tangata whenua people of the land; people welcomed, feel empowered, feel a sense of belong- Indigenous to Aotearoa ing, feel pride, and experience success in their Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa the Pacific Ocean studies and, more widely, in their lives.

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MAI JOURNAL VOLUME 9, ISSUE 1, 2020 DOI: 10.20507/MAIJournal.2020.9.1.3

IGNITING THE VÄ

Vä-kä methodology in a Mäori-Pasifika research fellowship

Hinekura Smith* ‘Ema Wolfgramm-Foliaki†

Abstract Drawing on nautical notions of traversing the Pacific Ocean, we seek to encourage Mäori and Pasifika researchers to come together in purposeful and transforming ways, not to further homogenise Oceanic identities but, as many sang in active resistance in Aotearoa New Zealand during the 1990s, Kia kotahi ra Te Moana-­nui-­a-­­Kiwa (“Unite as one like the Pacific Ocean”). We present Vä-­kä as a methodology that emerged from a research fellowship focused on Mäori and Pasifika student success at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. Conceptually, we lash together the Pasifika term vä—relational time and space—with the Mäori term kä—to ignite, to consider, to be in action. Bound together we forward Vä-­kä methodology as a way to ignite Mäori and Pasifika researcher relationships, and to share ideas, resources and “crew members” in allegiances that work to positively support our different and similar educational agenda, and seek transforming change for our diverse and complex communities.

Keywords Indigenous methodology, Mäori and Pasifika research, decolonising methodologies, higher education

Introduction groupings) and Pasifika (who identify as family Mäori and Pasifika peoples are people of Te and village collectives within larger island regions) Moana-­nui-­a-Kiwa,­ the Pacific Ocean. They are are used as simplistic descriptors to gloss over connected through whakapapa, language, ances- complex and multilayered identities. tral ties and shared (and differing) traditional While continuing to interrogate and complexify stories, while simultaneously maintaining and identities and how they are used in education is asserting identities that are complex, heterogene- important (Anae, 1997; Thaman, 1997; Webber, ous and directly connect us to the Moana. Our 2008), this article sets a different course, for- more recent histories of colonisation, capitalism warding a research approach that lashes Mäori and changing connections to land, language and and Pasifika researchers together in a way that identity mean that we are regularly and problem- seeks to maintain sovereignty as we support atically homogenised and defined by the “other”. our multiple and diverse educational agenda. In tertiary education, the terms Mäori (who iden- Theorising Vä-kä­ as methodology is a re-voyaging­ tify themselves in tribal, sub-tribal­ and whänau of ancient Moana relationships. It is an attempt

* Te Rarawa, Ngä Puhi. Lecturer, Centre for Learning and Research in Higher Education, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand. Email: [email protected] † Falevai Vava‘u, Tongaleleka Ha‘apai, ‘Atataa, Tonga. Lecturer, Centre for Learning and Research in Higher Education, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand. 16 H. SMITH & ‘E. WOLFGRAMM-FOLIAKI

to re-­navigate, re-­connect and re-­ignite in and language is theorised and lashed together in through the space(s) that bind us as Mäori and “new” ways. Choosing terms such as Moana over Pasifika peoples in the context of transformative Oceanic, and Pasifika over Pacific is deliberate, Moana research. and we simultaneously acknowledge that Pasifika Moana concepts of voyaging deliberately ebb scholars in particular choose to use these terms in and flow throughout this article. Te Moana-nui-­ ­ different ways. Hau‘ofa (2008), for example, pre- a-­Kiwa is the largest body of water on the planet fers the term Oceania “above all others” (p. 52) to and has for millennia sustained and nurtured describe the Moana, while Suaalii-Sauni’s­ (2017) our ancestors who learned to live in harmony preference for the term Pasifika lies in the way with its rhythms. From food source to highway, in which the word “brings alive to the senses” from cleanser of the land through to the holder the familiar sounds that Moana languages share of stories, the Moana has shaped and formed (p. 163). Our views align with Naepi (2019), who the identities of its people with each lap of its explains that her use of the term Pasifika is “not waves upon islands from the sovereign kingdom of about homogeneity but about bringing our peo- Hawai‘i in the north to Rapanui in the east; from ple together to better serve our own interests in a the eastern seaboard of Australia in the west and globalized world” (p. 221). Furthermore, Mähina Aotearoa New Zealand in the south. Describing (2010) argues that Moana is “the ethnographic the term Oceania, Hau‘ofa (2008) says: indigenous-based,­ internally mediated name” rather than the “problematic foreign-led,­ exter- Oceania is vast, Oceania is expanding, Oceania nally imposed label Oceania or for that matter is hospitable and generous, Oceania is humanity Pacific” (p. 168). Continued discussion amongst rising from the depths of brine and regions of fire and between Mäori and Pasifika scholars around deeper still. Oceania is us. We are the sea, we are the purpose and use of our terms is yet another the ocean, we must wake up to this ancient truth vital aspect of us coming together. and together use it to overturn all hegemonic views Vä-­kä methodology is our contribution to the that aim ultimately to confine us again, physically exciting literature wave of Indigenous method- and psychologically, in the tiny spaces that we have ologies that have emerged from the Moana (see resisted accepting as our sole appointed places and Campbell, 2019; Fa‘avae, 2016; Hau‘ofa, 2008; from which we have recently liberated ourselves. Johansson-Fua,­ 2014; Lee, 2008; L. T. Smith, (p. 39) 1999; Te Ava & Page, 2018). We choose here to use the term Moana or Moana-nui-­ ­a-­Kiwa to Moana languages are rich and embodied, with shift the focus from a Western-­applied naming of much of their deeply held knowledge contained the “Pacific Ocean” and bring forth the familiar within their etymology. Colonising processes sounds of our Moana languages. More specifi- disrupted intergenerational language transmis- cally, the act of creatively binding language is sion, particularly with te reo Mäori in Aotearoa central to our assertion of Vä-kä­ methodology New Zealand, meaning that many of the complex as we lash together two terms—vä and kä—from meanings contained within the language have not two (or more) sets of Moana languages to demon- been transmitted (Fishman, 1996; Harlow, 2005; strate a combined Mäori and Pasifika researcher O’Regan, 2011). Mäori scholar Taina Pohatu approach. (2011) describes te reo Mäori as a “library of Indigenous and Moana research methodologies language” deposited by generations and holding such as Vä-­kä insist that researchers articulate potential solutions for today’s problems within their relationship(s) in and to the research. What its immense tomes of knowledge—for those who or who should be included or excluded in the have the eyes to read it (p. 3). Indigenous scholars work and how data are interpreted, analysed are encouraged to innovate, adapt and draw on and presented, and for what purpose, means that the knowledge contained within our Indigenous researcher positionality is a critical Indigenous and Moana languages and ways of being. Here methodological consideration (Chilisa, 2012; we boldly go one step further to draw together a L. T. Smith, 1999). The notion of vä reinforces Mäori term with a Pasifika term to create a new how groups and communities are valued over the idea from old knowledge. It is on the “high tide” individual (Autagavaia, 2001; Taufe‘ulungaki, of Moana scholarship, rich with language, knowl- 2004). More importantly, it reinforces how in edge, theory and history that we set our course relation to others the integrity of the self is shaped The choice of terminology in a Vä-­kä theo- and realised: “The self does not exist alone, and the risation is important to our argument as “old” Samoan individual does not survive in isolation”

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(Autagavaia, 2001, p. 59). In the context of higher to develop approaches to research. From this theo- education research, it is also a guiding code of retical foundation, robust and innovative Kaupapa conduct that reminds us to be mindful of our Mäori research has for 30 years tackled an array of intentions and our actions. Vä-­kä methodology research problems across multidisciplinary fields places importance on positionality and relation- both in Aotearoa New Zealand and abroad. ships, paying attention to the forming, maintaining Similarly, Pasifika theorists have developed and nurturing of relationships with and between a number of innovative research approaches, researchers, and therefore we introduce ourselves including Kakala (Johansson-­Fua, 2014; Thaman, at the outset. 1993), Talanoa (Fa‘avae, 2016; Vaioleti, 2006), The second author is a Tongan-born­ woman Tivaevae (Maua-Hodges,­ 2001), the Fijian Vanua from the islands of Falevai Vava‘u, Tongaleleka Research Framework (Nabobo-Baba,­ 2006) and Ha‘apai and ‘Atataa. She is a lecturer and academic Fa‘afaletui (Tamasese et al., 1997), to name a few. developer at the University of Auckland. I am a In addition, we acknowledge and lean on the work Mäori woman from the Te Rarawa, Ngä Puhi and of Pacific scholars such as Albert Wendt, Epeli Te Ati Awa iwi of Aotearoa New Zealand. A te reo Hau‘ofa, David Gegeo and Manulani Meyer as Mäori teacher and Kaupapa Mäori researcher, my voyaging pioneers who have theorised, contested interests are in decolonial education, arts research, and foregrounded Indigenous knowledges and Kaupapa Mäori methodologies and higher educa- research methods in this space. tion. Emerging from our experience of working It could be argued that Mäori and Pasifika together as a Mäori woman and a Tongan woman, people have been socially set against each other ‘Ema and I are keenly interested in how Mäori through systemic racism and societal structures and Pasifika academics can further enhance our that have discouraged the forging of Moana rela- Moana research relationships to create change in tionships, forcing us to compare and contrast the tertiary sector. ourselves rather than collaborating and collectivis- We begin by introducing the “problem” that ing (Anae et al., 2015; Harris, 2004; Suaalii-­Sauni, exists with a Mäori and Pasifika research col- 2017). Airini et al. (2010), for example, discuss laboration, locating our theorisation of Vä-kä­ the need for Pacific researchers to teu le vä—or methodology in the context of the He Vaka Moana nurture relationships—with tängata whenua and research fellowship. Next, we scan the ocean/ vice versa in order to grow Mäori and Pasifika literature-­scape of Indigenous and Moana meth- research space. Imagine for a moment the potential odologies as the theoretical foundations of Vä-­kä disruption to the monocultural social and political methodology, unpacking the language of vä and status quo in Aotearoa New Zealand that would kä, which we suggest can be lashed together to result from a strengthened political, social and create exciting potential research relationships economic alliance of Mäori and Pasifika energy. from old Moana ties. There are examples of Mäori and Pasifika collaboration in our broader Indigenous con- Naming and claiming the problem texts—the great collaborative advances made in Put simply, Mäori and Pasifika researchers in ocean-going­ sea voyaging (Evans, 2015; Howe, higher education do not talk enough. Our bodies 2006) developed through Mäori, Hawaiian, of theory and research have necessarily developed Tahitian and many other Pacific nations reclaim- their own distinct approaches that emerge from, ing and revitalising knowledge of seafaring vessels. and are in response to, both the different and the Another example is in the field of arts research, similar issues that our diverse groups encounter. where forums such as the Pacific Arts Festival draw Kaupapa Mäori theory, for example, emerged as together artists from all four winds of the Moana a radical response from Mäori academics in the to collaborate. Yet Mäori and Pasifika theoretical 1990s to create space for Mäori-­centric think- collaboration in education, particularly higher ing and research in the academy, or what Mäori education, in Aotearoa New Zealand is lagging scholar Leonie Pihama (2001) calls a “culturally behind the fleet. defined theoretical space” (p. 77). Articulated by A recent example of Mäori and Pasifika research a number of prominent Mäori academics (Henry in conversation with each other is a book chap- & Pene, 2001; Irwin, 1994; Lee, 2008; Pihama, ter written by Samoan criminologist Tamasailau 2001; G. H. Smith, 2003; L. T. Smith, 1999), Suaalii-Sauni­ (2017), who writes about a direct Kaupapa Mäori theory places Mäori language, relationship between the vä and Kaupapa Mäori. values and beliefs at its centre, encouraging Mäori She discusses the need for “a more deliberate researchers to look to their own sets of knowledge conversation between Pasifika researchers about

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how to go about engaging with Mäori peoples “active structural underserving” (Naepi, 2019, and with research tools, concepts, and theories, p. 221) and exclusion of Mäori and Pasifika from including Kaupapa Mäori” (p. 162). We align academic roles in New Zealand universities. For with Suaalii-­Sauni’s (2017) assertion that the time example, despite a 26% increase of Mäori doctoral is ripe for Mäori and Pasifika research to col- students between 2009 and 2016 (McAllister et laborate in ways that enhance our individual and al., 2019, p. 237) and broadly similar “equity wider collective agenda. Here we recall Graham and diversity” staffing policies that espouse the Smith’s response on the issue of Pasifika working recruitment and retention of Mäori and Pasifika together with Mäori particularly in engaging with staff, Päkehä academic staff remain the dominant Kaupapa Mäori and methodologies: “It is about ethnicity, accounting for between 56% and 83% people, it is about relationships” (as cited in Naepi, of academic staff in our universities. 2015). There is a need for increased and produc- The tertiary sector continues to ignore issues of tive conversations between Mäori and Pasifika systemic racism and fails to prioritise the develop- researchers, our concepts and cultural frameworks. ment, hiring, retention and promotion of Mäori Vä-­kä methodology offers a way to facilitate this and Pasifika academics (McAllister et al., 2019; kind of purposeful and deliberate conversation. Naepi, 2019). Naepi (2019) argues that high- It is important to reinforce here the complex lighting the critically low numbers of Pasifika and heterogeneous nature of Mäori and Pasifika academics is a powerful exercise in change to identities. Resisting the tendency to homogenise “hold government and universities accountable for identities and/or re-entrench­ boundaries between their inaction against structural racism” (p. 220). these groups, instead we seek to ignite the rela- Until the tertiary sector actively addresses these tional space between by theorising an approach staffing inequities, our growing student body of to encourage Mäori and Pasifika researchers to Mäori and Pasifika students will problematically come together, each bringing with them, and main- continue to rely on the “goodwill” and cultural taining, their sovereign ways of being to forward capabilities of non-Mäori­ and non-Pasifika­ teach- collaborative research that supports our wider, ing staff to work with us in this space. Critical multiple and complex agendas. conversations must continue amongst Mäori and Pasifika, and with non-Mäori­ and non-Pasifika,­ He Vaka Moana research fellowship about how to best serve the needs of our students in Vä-­kä methodology emerged from our experience ways that neither appropriate cultural knowledge as a Mäori woman and a Tongan woman co-­ nor continue to homogenise cultural groups and leading a one-year­ research fellowship on Mäori perpetuate racial inequities in education. and Pasifika student “success” at the University of Forwarding Vä-kä­ methodology does not Auckland. The fellowship offered a 0.2 time release set out to exclude non-Mäori­ and non-Pasifika­ for one year to nine academic and professional staff research allies or ideas. In the context of the He who each developed a strengths-based­ teaching Vaka Moana research fellowship, strong and and learning research project around Mäori and enduring relationships between Indigenous and Pasifika student success within their faculty. Five of non-­Indigenous fellows were forged as we learned these projects are presented in this special issue. A about our own strengths and weaknesses, abili- mixed “crew”, the nine fellows consisted of three ties and fragilities, through time spent developing Mäori, three Pasifika and three Päkehä across all and consequently igniting the vä between us. This but one of the university faculties. relationship is particularly crucial given the low The involvement of non-­Mäori and non-­ number of Mäori and Pasifika staff across the Pasifika research allies in a tertiary context is higher education sector. As with most relation- necessary—and in the context of this fellow- ships where diverse entities are drawn together, the ship was insisted upon by the institution. At the fellowship was not devoid of friction and frustra- University of Auckland, Mäori comprise 5.9% tion as different sets of assumptions and cultural and Pasifika 2.7% of academic staff (University capabilities occasionally prompted tense debate of Auckland, 2018, p. 8), which, while low, is and disagreement. As insecurities and anxieties slightly above the national averages of 5% Mäori were revealed, emotions were sometimes piqued and 1.7% Pasifika (McAllister et al., 2019; Naepi, but appeared to be mediated through, and because 2019). Two recently published articles, “Why Isn’t of, the time and energy spent in developing the vä My Professor Mäori?” (McAllister et al., 2019) within the fellowship. and “Why Isn’t My Professor Pasifika?” (Naepi, The emotive issues of Indigenous and non-­ 2019) work powerfully in tandem to highlight the Indigenous collaboration, in research and beyond,

MAI JOURNAL VOLUME 9, ISSUE 1, 2020 Igniting the Vä 19 are complex. In the fellowship, for example, a to swap resources, exchange information about non-­Indigenous fellow may have been a senior their travels and experiences, weather and ocean academic with a great deal of research experi- conditions, and sometimes even exchange crew ence and expertise but little knowledge of Mäori members before unlashing and continuing on their and Pasifika culture. Conversely, some of the journey. Indigenous fellows who brought in-depth­ cultural Our theorisation of pikipiki hama in this expertise and knowledge may have had less experi- research fellowship resists the tired and problem- ence in aspects of research such as publication or atic education trope of “we are all in this vaka/ ethics. One example was what we might name in waka together” or “let’s all paddle this vaka/ Te Ao Mäori as kanohi kitea, that is, the “seen waka together” to denote an uncritical and overly face”, a phrase used to describe a person who romantic idea of unity or coming together of ideas always shows up or takes the time to be present and often cultural ways of being. Such rhetoric as a demonstration of commitment to the group. raises the question of whose vaka/waka am I being Those who appeared at He Vaka meetings irregu- asked/coerced into, and are we really paddling in larly or sometimes not at all were commented on the same direction, with the same purpose and as not contributing to or nurturing the vä. The with a mutually agreed destination? Or indeed is fellowship demonstrated that nurturing and main- getting in the “one vaka/waka” a further exercise taining of the wä (space) and vä (relational space) in cultural assimilation? Instead, we suggest that through being present and actively involved was in coming together each vessel’s rangatiratanga or critical and expected. cultural sovereignty is better maintained and better There are many and varied ways that research- facilitates a sharing of power and choice around ers, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous,­ come when, with whom and for how long vessels may together to collaborate in research (and beyond). choose to be lashed to another. We are interested We encourage other cultural research collabora- in igniting the vä to activate and give energy to tions to identify their connections to one another the potentiality that exists in the space that binds and to theorise their own language, knowledges and feeds the space between Mäori and Pasifika and ways of being to develop transforming in a research context. research methodologies. How, for example, might Pikipiki hama was theorised and enacted in Mäori and Aboriginal researchers work together, our research fellowship as a way to bring people, or perhaps Tongan and Hawaiian doctoral stu- projects, ideas and identities together that encour- dents, drawing on their common and intersecting aged each entity to retain their rangatiratanga knowledges? Here we privilege the powerful and while actively encouraging and creating space unique relational space—the wä or vä—between for productive discussion, critique and learning Mäori and Pasifika researchers by lashing together to take place. One of the research fellows (see a Pasifika word and a Mäori word to theorise our Fonua, 2020) established regular monthly talanoa experience and offer a way to further develop (a Tongan process of sharing time space and dis- purposeful and transforming research journeys. cussion) for academic and professional staff to Having named our fellowship He Vaka Moana, meet and discuss important pedagogical issues ‘Ema’s cultural and language knowledge provided in relationship to each other. Amongst the fel- a Tongan proverb that gave us our conceptual lows, pikipiki hama was enacted through monthly framework. wänanga and regular hui to come together both socially and more methodically to write, share Pikipiki hama kae vaevae manava ideas, talk through research issues and consider the The fellowship drew its strength from the Tongan impact and implications of our collective research proverb “pikipiki hama kae vaevae manava” (see agenda. Importantly, our intention was to enact Wolfgramm-Foliaki­ & Smith, 2020). Pikipiki and enable the forming and enriching of relation- hama means to stick, bind or link strongly to the ships—igniting the vä then fanning the flames—to outrigger of a vaka moana (ocean-going­ canoe). create spaces that are all too rare for Mäori and Vaevae means to give or share, and manava (simi- Pasifika academics in higher education. lar to the word manawa in Mäori) is a deeply The why, or reason to take up Vä-kä­ as a complex, core term in Pasifika expression meaning research approach, is straightforward: to work the heart, centre, womb or breath (Efi, 2003). This productively together to support change for our proverb speaks to the ancient Moana practice of people. The how is far more complex. The prac- lashing together the outriggers of canoes whilst tical applications to chart a course using Vä-kä­ at sea, a practice that enabled ocean travellers methodology are as vast as the Moana itself, and

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while practical examples such as Talanoa men- technological knowledge and knowledge transmis- tioned above are useful (see the five articles by sion systems, and recasting the potentialities they He Vaka Moana fellows in this issue), we do represent” (p. 180). not attempt here to provide a “how to do Vä-kä­ Kaupapa Mäori scholar Leonie Pihama (2001) methodology”—such an attempt fails to recognise reminds us that theory and methodology did not the heterogeneous complexities of varied and arrive with the coloniser. Rather, Indigenous peo- different contexts, people, capabilities and aspira- ples have for centuries engaged in their own forms tions. Instead, we argue for why enhanced Mäori of methodological research to test theories and and Pasifika research relationships are vital and advance thinking: encourage others to consider their own how in their own contexts based on the key tenets of As Mäori we have a history of investigation. It is productive Mäori and Pasifika collaboration, an ancient history of exploration, of navigation, sovereignty and transformation that Vä-­kä meth- not solely in the physical domain, but in ways that odology forwards. reach throughout the many dimensions of Te Ao Mäori. These are all forms of research, they are Theorising a Moana methodology all ways within which our people have developed As Moana people we have always been theo- knowledge and have located ourselves in the wider retical, developing our own methodologies or world. (Pihama, 2001, p. 47) ways of approaching problems. These methodical sets of knowledge have for centuries supported Consider, for example, the sophisticated naviga- great advances, enabling Indigenous commu- tional systems developed by our early ancestral nities around the world to explore, adapt and sea voyagers that enabled them to criss-cross­ the advance our technologies (Chilisa, 2012; Efi, Moana, technologies later regarded as superior 2003; Hau‘ofa, 2008; Kovach, 2009; Meleiseä, to those of the Western world at the time (Evans, 1987; Pihama, 2001; L. T. Smith, 1999; Thaman, 2015). Navigational methods and methodologies 1998, 2000). Yet methodology in our more recent such as these required high level theorisation, history has been captured and claimed by the research, development and testing in order for academy, nudging our ancient ways of research to return voyages across vast expanses of ocean to the academic margins. Here we turn to our own succeed. Pacific navigation is known to involve Mäori and Pasifika scholars who have chartered methodical systems that enabled Moana people similar courses through the sea of literature, con- to travel and successfully populate the countless necting islands of theory that create and reinforce islands in the region. Turnbull (1994) points out our whakapapa links. that Pacific navigation is the most outstanding Eminent Mäori scholar Linda Tuhiwai Smith’s example of a knowledge system that can be com- seminal work Decolonizing Methodologies (1999) pared with Western technoscience. A more recent strongly advocates for re-­framing and re-­claiming development is the New Zealand Ministry of methodologies as a critical element of a strategic Pacific Peoples’ (2017) new Pacific policy analysis Indigenous research agenda. Smith discusses the tool titled Kapasa. The word kapasa refers to the tides or states of survival, recovery, development ancient Polynesian compass that was used by our and self-determination­ that intersect with those ancestors to help them navigate the vast Pacific of decolonisation, healing, transformation and Ocean. As a policy tool it provides guidance for mobilisation, none of which are linear; nor are how Pacific perspectives and worldviews can be they goals or ends in themselves. Instead, they are identified and included in wider policy. “processes which connect, inform and clarify the Methodology, as an element of research, is tensions between the local, the regional and the an immutable aspect of academic scholarship. It global . . . processes which can be incorporated refers to the concepts and theories that frame the into practices and methodologies” (L. T. Smith, way research is conducted, that is, the knowl- p. 116). Indigenous methodologies have evolved to edges and influences that underpin research as a fit a contemporary reality shaped by the struggle to process for creating “new” knowledge. Over the resist the assault of colonisation through projects last 40 years, Indigenous research methodologies of cultural reclamation. Educationalist and aca- within an academic context have taken up criti- demic Leah Abayao (2006) discusses Indigenous cal Indigenous theories (Kovach, 2005, 2009; L. methodology as that which is “acquired over T. Smith, 1999) that seek to re-claim,­ re-frame­ generations by communities as they interact and re-­present the lived realities of Indigenous with the environment . . . exploring indigenous peoples. Rather than accept a Western academic

MAI JOURNAL VOLUME 9, ISSUE 1, 2020 Igniting the Vä 21 definition of methodology, we are encouraged Melani Anae (2010) takes vä one step further, by other Indigenous researchers to look to our theorising a Samoan concept of teu le vä or the own “ways of being” in the world based on our action of nurturing the vä, that is “to look after own methodologies to create new knowledges the space”. She states that “by its very nature teu that will serve us in our current lived realities. By le vä has multi-relational,­ situational and spiritual re-claiming­ methodology as an aspect of being references” (p. 13). Significantly, Anae’s theory Indigenous that has for centuries served our people highlights the unique role of the vä within a Mäori-­ and allowed them to flourish, we are re-framing­ Pasifika research relationship. She notes that the how methodology can be viewed both within importance of “nurturing the vä and spaces that academic paradigms and beyond. have already been created by tängata whenua” Importantly, here we argue that methodology is was a means of acknowledging the special status a lived experience, a praxis if you will, of lashing of tängata whenua in Aotearoa New Zealand together the theory and practice—the thinking and (Anae, 2010, p. 17). doing. We argue that Vä-kä­ methodology cannot In the Mäori language, definitions of wä (the simply be understood from a distance but must Mäori derivative of vä) are relevant to our theori- be enacted, embodied and experienced. Vä-­kä sation. Wä is defined inA Dictionary of the Maori methodology insists upon an understanding of Language (Williams, 1997) as “definite space, the who I am that I bring to this research relation- time” (p. 472). The Reed Dictionary of Modern ship, the language, the identity, the intent and the Mäori (Ryan, 1995), meanwhile, defines wä as contribution that “I” offer to igniting the space. “an opportunity” (p. 330). The term wä appears Important to note here is that in line with vä, the in a number of Mäori words such as wähi, which “I” or “self” is viewed in relation to others or the means space to move, wänanga, as a learning or collective (Mila-­Schaaf, 2006). knowledge creation space, and wätea, to be clear of thought or free of burden. Linda Tuhiwai Smith The vä and the kä (1999) discusses how the concepts of time and Vä has been theorised, embodied and enacted space are particularly significant to Indigenous in research in a number of powerful ways by peoples, as well as the importance of reclaiming Pasifika scholars (see Anae, 2010; Autagavaia, these ideas in a decolonising research agenda. 2001; Ka‘ili, 2017; Mähina, 2010; Suaalii-Sauni,­ “Space”, she writes, “is often viewed in Western 2017; Taufe‘ulungaki, 2001). Samoan criminolo- thinking as being static or divorced from time” gist Suaalii-­Sauni (2017) describes the vä as “a (p. 52). In many Indigenous languages there is central organizing principle in many Pasifika cul- no clear distinction between the notions of time tures [that] governs all inter-­personal, inter-­group, and space; in the Mäori language, for example, and sacred/secular relations and is intimately the word for time and space—wä—is one and connected to a Pasifika sense of self or identity” the same. (p. 163). In a Ministry of Education report on The Mäori term for kä (with a macron) means relationships across research and policy, Airini et to make fire, to be lighted or ignited and allow to al. (2010) state: burn, and, interestingly, ka (without a macron) also lends itself to our idea in that it means the Va—or vä, va‘a, vaha—can be loosely translated commencement of a new action or condition as a spatial way of conceiving the secular and (Williams, 1997, p. 81). By drawing on our knowl- spiritual dimensions of relationships and relational edge of our respective languages to lash together a order, that facilitates both personal and collective Mäori term with a Pasifika term, we seek to enact well-­being, and teu le vä as the valuing, nurturing Vä-­kä, the igniting of the relationships between and looking after of these relationships to achieve Mäori and Pasifika researchers, of time and space, optimal outcomes for all stakeholders. (p. 10) of interests and reciprocal ties that have for genera- tions nurtured and bound us as Moana peoples. Tëvita O. Ka‘ili (2005) offers a Tongan scholar’s It is important to reiterate here that underpinning perspective on Moana notions of vä. He describes vä and wä is a commitment to ensure that the vä vä as both social relationships and space (p. 90) is nurtured and maintained, not just for research and tauhi vä as the Tongan value and practice of purposes but in all aspects of how we as Mäori and “keeping good relations . . . to tend, or to nurture” Pasifika academics relate to one another, placing (p. 92). He adds that “the performance of tauhi vä good relationships at its centre. is often etched forever in the memories of people involved in the process” (p. 93). Samoan scholar

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The vaka are decolonising and work to create legitimate The terms vaka (Tongan, Samoan), wa‘a academic space where the Indigenous disenfran- (Hawaiian) and waka (Mäori) can be broadly chised and dispossessed, can re-­claim, re-­store defined as a canoe, vessel, vehicle or conveyance, of and re-­present—seeing with their own eyes their which there are many sub-types,­ such as waka taua history of colonisation (Chilisa, 2012). (war canoes), a waka ama (outrigger canoes) or, in Indigenous research methodologies create space the present context, waka moana or ocean-going­ in the Western academy to view and conduct vessels (Evans, 2015). A resurgence of interest in research through an Indigenous lens. Indigenous ocean voyaging across the Moana has generated a scholars such as Irwin (1994), Kovach (2009), sea swell of literature in the areas of vaka moana Lee (2008), Maua-­Hodges (2001), Nabobo-­Baba and sea navigation (Evans, 2015; Howe, 2006), (2008), Pihama (2001), Pohatu (2011), Royal reclaiming a rich source of maritime knowledge (2011), Suaalii-Sauni­ (2011), L. T. Smith (1999), once in danger of being lost. Vaka have for gen- Thaman (1993, 2000) and Vaioleti (2006), erations served as powerful conceptual symbols amongst others, have encouraged other Indigenous within Te Moana-nui-­ a-­ ­Kiwa. For example, in researchers to look to our own systems of knowl- Vanuatu: edge to develop methodologies to investigate our own problems and make visible the ways we see The tree symbolizes rootedness in culture, while the the world. Often activated by a politics of resist- canoe stands for movement along sea routes that ance, Indigenous researchers are using our own connect people of different island locations. The approaches to speak back to Western research prac- canoe is history—the working out of relationships tices that marginalise our ways of being. Instead, established through travel and movement of mate- Indigenous methodologies work to re-centre,­ re-­ rials from one island to another. One may extend claim and re-present­ Indigenous knowledge as a this metaphor to include present-day­ connections valid and robust approach to research and, more between Oceania and the surrounding continental importantly, as capable of contributing to positive landmasses and cultures. (Hau‘ofa, 2008, p. 81) transformations for Indigenous people. Conclusion More recently, vaka and its associated ocean termi- nology have been used as conceptual frameworks Mäori and Pasifika researchers must talk more. It is for arts practices (Looser, 2015) and in areas such vital in our view that we create the wä and nurture as leadership (Spiller et al., 2015), to name just a the vä to come together in ways that create positive few. In higher education, the idea of vaka moana transformative change for our complex and diverse has been used in powerful ways to bring students communities. Rather than further homogenise our together in relationship and to encourage positive broad decolonising agenda, we seek to ignite the learning experiences (Teaiwa, 1994, 2017). In space between us to offer ways to talk and share Pacific Studies at the University of Auckland, for ideas. Theorising Vä-­kä methodology hones in on a example, Vaka Moana is a successful academic particular set of relationships, that is, the relation- advancement programme grounded in Moana ship between Mäori and Pasifika researchers. Until values to nurture the relationships between stu- the critically low numbers of Mäori and Pasifika dents and tutors. academics is addressed, it remains necessary to pikipiki hama with non-­Indigenous allies capable Vä-­kä within wider Indigenous research of working within Indigenous Moana paradigms. methodologies Theorising methodologies that examine deeply We are encouraged to theorise Vä-kä­ methodology the language, beliefs and ways of being held within thanks to the powerful emergence of Indigenous Mäori and Pasifika sets of knowledge is critical to research methodologies in the 1970s as part address issues that we face in our contemporary of a wider global movement of resistance and lived realities from within our ways of knowing, reclamation (see Chilisa, 2012; Kovach, 2005, being and doing. Enabled and emboldened by 2009; Thaman, 1993, 2000). Indigenous research- Indigenous scholars who have, and continue to, ers sought to re-centre­ Indigenous beliefs and chart the academic seascape, we forward Vä-kä­ privilege Indigenous knowledge systems in an methodology to encourage Indigenous Moana effort to “decolonize dominant research meth- scholars to look to our own sets of ideas, under- odologies” (Chilisa, 2012, p. 31) by theorising standings, knowledge, language and ways of being Indigenous approaches as valid, robust and rigor- to theorise and seek transforming solutions. While ous forms of inquiry. Indigenous methodologies Moana methodologies are becoming more visible

MAI JOURNAL VOLUME 9, ISSUE 1, 2020 Igniting the Vä 23 in academia, our methodologies are still held to wä time the margins within Western (dominant) scholar- wähi place ship. Vä-­kä is our contribution of one more “vaka wai/vai water to the fleet” of Indigenous and, more specifically, waka seafaring vessel Moana methodology as an encouragement to new waka ama outrigger vessel and emerging Moana researchers, as well as our waka moana seafaring vessel experienced colleagues, to continue to collaborate, waka taua war vessel connect, ignite and transform. Importantly, Vä-­kä methodology charts a wänanga to meet and discuss, traditional learning space course into rarely traversed waters, that is, the body of water/wai /vai that both connects and wätea to be free separates Mäori and Pasifika research(ers). While whakapapa genealogy, ancestry, history the same body of water nurtures and sustains, whänau family beyond the nuclear and sometimes batters and subsumes us, it is Te grouping Moana-­nui-­a-­Kiwa, the Pacific Ocean, that ulti- mately connects us as Moana peoples, and it is to References the Moana that we turn to once again ignite and Abayao, L. E. (2006). Articulating Indigenous peo- join the space between us. ple’s culture in education. In I. Abu-Saad & D. Champagne (Eds.), Indigenous education and Glossary empowerment: International perspectives (pp. 179– 187). AltaMira Press. Fa‘afaletui Samoan research methodology Airini, A., Anae, M., & Mila-Schaaf, K. (2010). Teu He Vaka Moana Oceanic Research Project Le Va: Relationships across research and policy in Pasifika education. Ministry of Education. hui meetings, gatherings Anae, M. (1997). Towards a NZ-born Samoan Identity: ka commencing an action Some reflections on “labels”. Pacific Health Dialog, kä ignite, fire 4(2), 128–137. Kakala Tongan research methodology Anae, M. (2010). Research for better Pacific schooling in New Zealand: Teu Le Va—a Samoan perspective. kanohi kitea the seen face, being present MAI Review, (1), 1–24. kapasa ancient Polynesian compass Anae, M., Tamu, L., & Iuli, L. (2015). Polynesian Kaupapa Mäori Mäori research methodology Panthers: Pacific protest and affirmative action in Aotearoa New Zealand 1971–1981. Huia. Mäori Indigenous peoples of Aotearoa Autagavaia, M. (2001). Social work with Pacific Island New Zealand communities. In M. Connolly (Ed.), New Zealand moana ocean social work: Contexts and practice (pp. 72–84). Pasifika peoples of the Pacific Ocean Oxford University Press. pikipiki hama to bind of lash together the Campbell, D. (2019). Ngä kura a Hineteiwaiwa: The kae vaevae outrigger of a vaka moana and embodiment of Mana Wahine in Mäori fibre arts manava share resources [Doctoral thesis, University of Waikato]. Research Commons. https://hdl.handle.net/10289/12583 rangatiratanga cultural sovereignty Chilisa, B. (2012). Indigenous research methodologies. talanoa sharing stories, creating dialogue SAGE Publications. in an inclusive, receptive space Efi, T. A. T. T. T. (2003). In search of meaning, nuance Talanoa Tongan research methodology and metaphor in social policy. Social Policy Journal of New Zealand, 20, 49–63. tängata whenua the people of the land, Indigenous Evans, J. (2015). Heke-nuku-mai-ngä-iwi Busby: Not Mäori here by chance. Huia Publishers. Te Ao Mäori the Mäori world Fa‘avae, D. (2016). Tatala ‘a e Koloa ‘o e To‘utangata Te Moana-nui- the Pacific Ocean Tonga i Aotearoa mo Tonga: The intergenerational a-Kiwa educational experiences of Tongan males in New Zealand and Tonga [Doctoral thesis, University te reo Mäori Mäori language of Auckland]. ResearchSpace. http://hdl.handle. teu le vä maintaining the relational space net/2292/32183 Tivaevae Cook Islands research framework Fishman, J. (1996). What do you lose when you lose vä relational space between your language? In G. Cantoni (Ed.), Stabilizing indigenous languages (pp. 80–91). University of va‘a seafaring vessel Arizona Press. vaka seafaring vessel Fonua, S. (2020). ‘Lalanga ha kaha‘u monu‘ia: Helping Vä-kä Indigenous methodology science educators to embed Indigenous knowledge,

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Te Ava, A., & Page, A. (2018). How the tivaevae model J. Morrison, P. Gerarthy & L. Crowl (Eds.), Science can be used as an Indigenous methodology in Cook of Pacific Island people: Vol. 1. Ocean and Coastal Islands education settings. Australian Journal of Studies (pp. 129–144). Institute of Pacific Studies. Indigenous Education, 1–7. http://doi.org/c6mf University of Auckland. (2018). Our contribution to well- Thaman, K. H. (1993). Culture and the curriculum in being [Annual report]. https://cdn.auckland.ac.nz/ the South Pacific. Comparative Education, 29(3), assets/auckland/about-us/the-university/official- 249–260. http://doi.org/dzjcwv publications/annual-report/annual-report-2018. Thaman, K. H. (1997). Reclaiming a place: Towards a pdf Pacific concept of education for cultural develop- Vaioleti, T. M. (2006). Talanoa research methodol- ment. Journal of the Polynesian Society, 106(2), ogy: A developing position on Pacific research. 119–130. Waikato Journal of Education, 12, 21–34. http:// Thaman, K. H. (1998, March 30–April 3). Learning to doi.org/c6mj be: A perspective from the Pacific Islands [Keynote Webber, M. (2008). Walking the space between: Identity address]. UNESCO Conference on Education and Mäori/Päkehä. NZCER Press. for the 21st Century in the Asia/Pacific Region, Williams, H. W. (1997). A dictionary of the Maori Melbourne, Australia. language (7th ed.). G. P. Publications. Thaman, K. H. (2000). Towards a new pedagogy: Pacific Wolfgramm-Foliaki, ‘E., & Smith, H. (2020). He Vaka cultures in higher education. In G. P. Teasdale & Z. Moana: Navigating Mäori and Pasifika student Ma Rhea (Eds.), Local knowledge and wisdom in success through a collaborative research fellowship. higher education (pp. 43–50 ). Pergamon. MAI Journal, 9(1), 5–14. Turnbull, D. (1994). Comparing knowledge sys- tems: Pacific navigation and Western science. In

MAI JOURNAL VOLUME 9, ISSUE 1, 2020 DOI: 10.20507/MAIJournal.2020.9.1.4

THE ART OF WAYFINDING PASIFIKA SUCCESS

Jacoba Matapo* Tim Baice†

Abstract The notion of “success” for Pasifika students in higher education remains contested given the socio-­ political agendas of education in New Zealand targeting Pasifika engagement. The motivation to increase academic achievement for Pasifika peoples stems from “tail-end”­ outcomes, in which Pasifika populations are compared with other demographic populations in the attainment of higher qualifica- tions. Many institutional “success” strategies are initiated essentially from a deficit positioning, to respond to barriers of participation, and ensure academic progression and student completion. While such aspirations may seem advantageous for Pasifika learners, the complexity lies in how such strate- gies shape Pasifika learner identity and subjectivity within institutions. In this article, the tensions for Pasifika success are argued from a position of decolonising education through honouring cultural onto-­epistemology (practices of knowing-in-­ ­being) and relating to the world, thus challenging motiva- tion for engagement with Pasifika learners as strength based rather than a deficit response. The art of engagement with traditional wayfinding tools designed for teaching and learning is utilised as a way of generating and reconceptualising notions of Pasifika success as Pasifika.

Keywords Pasifika, higher education, equity, success, wayfinding, Indigenous

Introduction Pasifika within the academy. Before moving on, it This article draws upon a collective project called is important to distinguish the difference between “He Vaka”, a teaching and learning initiative Pacific and Pasifika as presented within this article. established at the University of Auckland to sup- Pasifika refers to Pacific peoples living in Aotearoa, port Mäori and Pasifika student achievement. He while Pacific specifically ties to Pacific ethnic and Vaka brings together Mäori and Indigenous Pacific cultural connections to Pacific Island homelands worldviews in an attempt to decolonise spaces genealogy (of people and knowledge). and places of learning within the institution. This The term Pasifika in an education context was article can be viewed as part of a whole, as it draws introduced by the Ministry of Education (Pacific upon political, social and historical tensions identi- leadership) in the mid-­1990s to ensure that only fied within other research projects in this special those of Pacific ancestry could access Pacific issue. The intentional engagement with Pacific teacher education study awards. Since then, the Indigenous navigational knowledge (as embodied) term Pasifika has been contested by Pacific schol- opens opportunities for re-­imagining success as ars as homogenising, as it groups together Pacific

* Associate Dean Pasifika/Senior Lecturer, School of Critical Studies in Education, Faculty of Education and Social Work, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand. Email: [email protected] † Pasifika Success Coordinator, School of Critical Studies in Education, Faculty of Education and Social Work, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand. The Art of Wayfinding Pasifika Success 27

Islands peoples living in New Zealand (either New transformation of the social and political order. Zealand born or migrant) and is not ethnic specific Indigenous peoples must be active agents, sharing (Finau, 2014). Other Pasifika scholars have recon- common goals that arise from lived experience of ceptualised the term Pasifika to represent a symbol colonialism. Self-­determination as understood by of unity rather than a homogeneous grouping of Indigenous societies is a key feature in the fight Pacific Islands peoples (Samu, 2006). against the impeding forces of globalisation of Featured throughout this article is wayfinding Indigenous cultures, society and knowledge. Thus, and the relationship to Moana Nui as a life force research must raise public awareness of the diversity that also connects Mäori and Pasifika people, of Indigenous lifeways, thus sustaining Indigenous rather than visioning waters as a separating of rights and empowerment (Smith, 2012). This lands (Hau‘ofa, 2008). In this spirit, we present research seeks to honour Pacific Indigenous ways navigation and wayfinding as an art that affirms of being and knowing to engage in generative and generates connection, where the collective and emergent reconceptualisations of success as (relational self tied to place, ancestors, people) may Pasifika within the university. Highlighted within thrive. Throughout this article, we present local the study are the political tensions for equity and and global debates regarding the representation parity, which remain enmeshed in navigating suc- of Pacific peoples in higher education, the impact cess within the institution. Accordingly, this article of deficit theorising and the need for decolonis- presents the political context for Pasifika student ing of personhood and the neoliberal institution. achievement in higher education and emphasises Neoliberal ideals have increasingly determined the complexities of Pasifika engagement as an measures of success in higher education, from equity focus and tensions of parity under the guise the guise of free choice, to the commodification of diversity. of education and knowledge transfer. We chal- In this study, engagement in arts practice creates lenge the human subject position as value-free generative and emergent ways of being-­in-­knowing and universal, and confront dominant notions in which traditional wayfinding materials and the of success presented within literature, policy and process of making shell maps evoke storying of equity initiatives. The shared (re)conceptualisa- histories and culture, and the sharing of different tions of Pasifika students and Pasifika staff within realities. The act of reconceptualising by way of a the Faculty of Education and Social Work at the social arts practice opened opportunities for a col- University of Auckland are presented throughout, lective mapping of “notions of success” in which in visuals of shell maps, and through poetry and the shell maps were collective creative expres- narrative. sions. The process of reconceptualising requires deep questioning of taken-­for-­granted truths, an Methodological considerations openness to experiential engagement with world From the beginning, this research project sought (materiality and) complexity to make and remake a decolonising agenda: to inform engagement meaning (Matapo & Roder, 2017; Pinar, 1995). in all phases to be conducive to Pacific cultural Bringing together social arts practice with talanoa onto-epistemology.­ Onto-epistemology­ brings (explained later), provided our Pasifika kainga and together ontology of being and nature of knowl- students with an experience to sense, question and edge, bridging a divide between dualisms of mind dialogue our experiences as Pasifika (students and over matter (such as Cartesian mind–body dual- academics) succeeding within the university. ism) and contests the dominant human subject As Pasifika academics within the Faculty of position presented in the “great chain of being” (a Education and Social Work specialising in Pasifika presupposition that separates the human subject education and research, we position ourselves from cosmos and cosmogony). The processual within a relational praxis—engaging collectively movement and flows in relation to the body, mind with Pasifika colleagues and students in culturally and material evoke an embodied (embodiment sustaining practice. As part of the decolonising sense) approach of interaction within this project, agenda, we call into question the humanist posi- intersecting with subjectivity, Pacific histories, tion privileged in qualitative research and enact traditional Pacific knowledge(s) and contemporary a Pacific onto-epistemology­ in which knowing Pacific research methodology. is not only subject to human condition such as Decolonising research calls for radical change constraints in rational thought, ordered think- in political and social environments (Smith, 2012). ing (a priori) and representationalism (Mika & The decolonising movement confronts the assump- Matapo, 2018). The intentional engagement with tions on which colonialism is based, to arrive at traditional wayfinding materials in art-­making

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provokes sense as knowing—knowing that is Tim Baice grounded in the belly, knowing that escapes strati- Originally from the villages of Sataoa-Safata­ and fied language signification (Matapo, 2018; Spiller Siufaga-­Falelatai, I have spent most of my adult life et al., 2015). Thus, the article presents various immersed in the heart of Aotearoa’s Pacific capital explorations of Pasifika success as visual provoca- (Mangere). This fusion of multiple structural fac- tions, the sharing of Pasifika academic and student tors (cultures, traditions, knowledge and patterns narratives and storying through poetry. of knowing) is simultaneously different—at times conflicting and at other times harmonious, as they Decolonising personhood: shape and continue to mould my Pacific itulagi Researcher-­in-­research (Vaai & Casimira, 2017). By way of decolonising and heeding the invita- As an “equity practitioner” in higher education, tion set out by Vaai and Nabobo-Baba­ (2017) to I occupy a role designed to support Pacific students increase the need to revisit personhood, we, the by constructing interventions infused with Pacific authors of this article, share with you, the reader, cultural values. Here, I am constantly challenged our research journey. Here, we express researcher with the task of privileging multiple Pacific itulagi positionality, a personal narrative of researcher within the confines of the “neoliberal university”. considerations engaged in and with research. Within the academic context, we work with stu- dents to reconsider and reframe their thinking in Jacoba Matapo multiple ways. Concurrently, we encourage those Being a New Zealand born Samoan and Pasifika in academic and professional roles to reconsider early childhood education lecturer, I am con- and reframe their ideas about Pacific education tinually faced with tensions advocating for and equity of provision. Central to this process marginalised Pacific Indigenous knowledge and of decolonising the academy is the validation of pedagogy within a predominant Western ide- Pacific epistemologies (Si‘ilata, 2014) and the ologically based education sector. Although I legitimising of “relationality” as key to Pacific intentionally and critically locate myself within a success (Vaai & Casimira, 2017). typically Western paradigm of education, I con- Such challenges transcend the walls of the uni- tinue to contest dominant discourses that privilege versity. They provide the context in which Pacific themselves and continue to marginalise Indigenous itulagi are contested and negotiated at the national knowledge (Matapo, 2018). Through my relation- and regional level. My advocacy work here in ships, interactions and experiences within broad Aotearoa, Samoa and across the region frames education contexts (early childhood, primary my positionality as a citizen of the Pacific—a school and tertiary), I have become increasingly notion that goes beyond geographic and political critical of taken-for-­ ­granted truths, notions of the boundaries, which speaks to a relational intercon- universal human subject and how this influences nectedness that is bound by a common cause to the place of valued knowledge(s) in education and champion all things Pacific. education research. Through my engagement in Pasifika educa- Talanoa and shell map making: Art of tion research, I have been able to traverse Pacific wayfinding Indigenous thinking, such as the relationship of The meaning of talanoa is explained as tala— human subjectivity to cosmogony, Pacific crea- “talk”, and noa—“nothing in particular” tion stories (Matapo, 2019). Pacific philosophy (Vaioleti, 2006). The complexity of talanoa lies has challenged me to think differently about the within deeper ethical relations (to concepts and spatio-­temporality of being and is significant to me people) as a condition and milieu for the creation personally, as I operate to decolonise education of knowledge that is socially constructed. Talanoa, and Pacific research from a location other than my as explained by Farrelly and Nabobo-Baba­ (2012), ancestral lands of Siumu, Samoa. I have grown an has potential for emergent and different ways affinity to specific places, my maunga, my awa, my of thinking and as an embodied and embedded shared connection with whenua and lasting rela- approach with Pacific Indigenous knowledges. tionships with tangata whenua. Through Pacific Talanoa is a relational and dialogic methodol- research and by way of storying, I am coming ogy, considerate of the intricate multiplicities to understand and reconceptualise the collective conceived and reconceived in the social space, histories of Mäori with tangata o le Moana in my which draws connections rooted within Pacific own becoming. oratory histories (Vaioleti, 2006). Trust within the practice of talanoa creates capacity for the

MAI JOURNAL VOLUME 9, ISSUE 1, 2020 The Art of Wayfinding Pasifika Success 29 sharing of feelings, inner stories, and experiences swells and islands (Genz, 2018). Pacific Indigenous that speak to our hearts and mind (Farrelly & navigation flows out of a belief in sacred kinship Nabobo-Baba,­ 2012). The act of talanoa within with all of creation and a deep sense of belonging this study intersects with collective arts practice, in an interrelated woven universe. At the heart of engaging all involved in the creation of shell maps Indigenous navigation knowledge is a spiritual as a provocation for dialogue and reconceptu- core—a belief in “co-­evolution” whereby humans alising of Pasifika success within the university. did not evolve only in relationship to each other, As Samoan Pasifika researchers drawing upon but that all of creation co-­evolved in a symbiotic Micronesian navigation tools, we are critical of spiritual exchange, and we all connect to a shared our positionality (neither of us have Micronesian origin (Spiller et al., 2015). We are reminded of ties); however, we value the shared genealogical the “embodied” nature of navigation as a way of connection of Pacific navigation knowledge(s). In being with, in and through the world—the body this spirit, we wish to engage the social and rela- and nature multiplicity. Wayfinders can use tional nature of Pacific wayfinding arts practice as a woven socio-historical­ fabric of cultural expres- the whole body as a perceptive instrument, attuning sion, where peoples and materials share story of to the changing and often seemingly imperceptible place, connection and genealogy. The shell maps signs of nature. They move with purposeful still- through talanoa became a reconceptualisation of ness, and know the world around them as they political, cultural and critical expression. know themselves. Theirs is a highly disciplined way In the Pacific, teaching the art of wayfinding based on using all of their senses and different types included specific tools that engaged learners with of intelligence to truly “see” what is going on—and the complexities of navigation. One such tool is processing these signs to understand the relation- known as the Marshall Islands shell map (rebbilib ships between them. (Spiller et al., 2015, p 17) or meddo) which plots islands, ocean swells, cur- rents and refraction of ocean swells. The meddo It is important to note that, traditionally, the shell shows the swell patterns of a few islands and the map was not taken out on the water; it was used rebbilib covers a larger part of the whole archipel- on land as a process of learning the ebbs and ago (Lewis, 1994). The rationale for the selection flows of the water (encouraging engagement with of the Marshall Islands (Micronesian) shell map or body and mind as perceptive instrument), to be Marshallese stick chart is in the experiential arts memorised, to be a visionary tool. Through this process of teaching and learning. Traditionally, processual engagement, we explore the markers the expert or master navigator would use the shell (shell map markers) of success as Pasifika. Shell map to teach the novice navigator about the ocean markers, as focal points within the maps, referred

 FIGURE 1 Faculty of Education and Social Work—Pasifika Kainga and Pasifika students’ shell maps

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to cultural, personal and collective values; aspira- Christian values and beliefs). There is a strong tions such as tautua, spirituality, aiga, collective presence within the Pasifika research literature of responsibility, ancestors, Indigenous knowledge, a blending of Christian values with Pacific ways of resilience and connections to ancestral lands were being (Anae et al., 2001), which was also present explicitly conveyed. As Pasifika staff and students through the shared values, beliefs and cultural connected their stories, experience and critique of connections made throughout each of the talanoa Pasifika success in the academy to the shell map and shell map making experiences. markers, an assemblage of wayfinding Pasifika In the sharing of narratives expressed through success with Indigenous navigation knowledges talanoa and shell map making, it is evident that emerged. There is a sense that knowing success is Pacific cultural knowledge, as nomadic, travels grounded in knowing context, knowing the body to enable new identity formations, and belonging (feeling the right direction), and knowing the within the university institution is no exception. environment and political landscape. We would We question how cultural knowledge that is argue that this is inclusive of the socio-­historical nomadic and open to relations of change deterri- context and hidden agendas of education and torialises and reterritorialises (Deleuze & Guattari, education policy. A Pasifika student and a Pasifika 1987) notions of success that are taken for granted staff member expressed the following: within the institution. The process of talanoa and shell map making calls upon shared histories, We must go by the waves, you can see and feel the connection and an affinity with Moana Nui to right direction to take, the path that will bring you bring together Pasifika peoples, and Indigenous success. (Pasifika staff) knowledge, histories and genealogies. Using the words of Manulani Meyer (2014), we reflect upon The shell maps are about understanding how our the capacities of Indigenous knowing: people navigated through the seas but relating it to how we are navigating our way through study. It is time to expand the discussion of knowledge (Pasifika student) with a more ancient capacity linked to land, water, people, and language. Time to extend knowing Following the talanoa, a Pasifika staff member was beyond cognitive accumulation perfectly rendered asked what was most significant to them during in textual form. Here is a space for mindfulness to the talanoa. In her response, she expressed par- enter the academy via chant, insight and spirit. We ticular tensions for Pasifika aspirations to succeed are long overdue for intelligence that recognises as Pasifika. The aspirations or ideal (presented in patterns of continuity and remembers the purpose the shell map) were indeed different from the lived of culture. (p. 157) reality. She said: Along with ancient capacities to know that extend The sense of connection. Also, the challenges of beyond cognitive accumulation, we argue for connecting the past to the present and reconcep- self-determination­ against colonising naming of tualising traditional practices to something that Indigenous peoples that engender political and is real and relevant juxtaposed to an ideal that systemic intentions to fix definitions of specific seems far removed from what we are experiencing. ethnic groups. The complexities for Pacific peoples (Pasifika staff) living in Aotearoa away from ancestral lands, yet connected to ancestral lands, ties to people Privileging Indigenous knowledge and culture demonstrating strength and resilience Pre-colonisation­ Pacific philosophical and theo- in collective responsibility and care. From here, logical thought is grounded upon its relation to we question how education regimes continue to all things; monotheism and cosmogony directly marginalise Pacific Indigenous onto-­epistemology influenced the Pacific collective constructions and what this means for Pasifika peoples continu- of knowledge and spirituality is encompassed ing to negotiate education and education politics. in ways of knowing (Hau‘ofa, 2008; Matapo, Re-­imagining the human subject as generative and 2018). The impact of colonisation upon the Pacific emergent becoming(s) rather than a universalised body of knowledge has changed what before was subject may change dominant views of success immanence in the generation of knowledge (the in education. One Pasifika student expressed her creation of new images of thought in relation connection to the collective and appreciation for to all things—material, human and non-human)­ organic material as a symbol of Indigenous knowl- to a transcendental epistemology (based upon edge. She went on to say:

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When I look here [at the shell maps], they’re kind field! However, being Pasifika means carrying your of grids, and so students from this collective can ancestors with you, as you have big support group have different pathways and if you look at the behind you, they maybe struggled significantly and symbolism of the top being the epitome of success, it is the push factor for Pasifika success. (Pasifika whatever that looks like, these are how you get student) there, different pathways, but you still come from this collective, and I think that in some ways, the Defining success for Pacific students in higher fact that it’s all organic material, like particularly education is complex, given the need to consider green leaves, that’s got to be indicative of what holistically how success is determined. On the feeds us in terms of our Indigenous knowledge. one hand, it requires a holistic approach to fully (Pasifika student) understand the relativity of any success to the multiple worlds they operate within (Si‘ilata et Pasifika success: What does the discourse al., 2018). Academic success is seen as the fruit tell us? of a collective effort, in which Pacific students are We move into notions of Pasifika success tar- supported heavily by peers, families and communi- geted at Pasifika students within Aotearoa. As a ties. Success contributes to the well-being­ of the minority ethnicity group and like minority ethnic collective and shows that success has both inter- groups globally, Pacific students in the context nal and external impacts (Mayeda et al., 2014). of higher education in New Zealand are more Pasifika success viewed as a holistic practice was prone to unfavourable stereotypes or “stereotype also conveyed in the talanoa: threat” (Allen & Webber, 2019) whereby they are typically deemed “less able”, “less intelligent” Success is about my whole hauora, you know, it is and (comparatively) “academically” disengaged about balance. (Pasifika student) (Hunter et al., 2016). Connected to stereotype threat are the ensuing effects of low teacher The literature on effective teaching and learning expectations. Teachers in Turner et al.’s (2015) practices for Pacific learners in higher educa- study cited deficits in Pacific students’ home back- tion features a variety of small-­scale case studies grounds that lead to a lack of goals, motivation focused on equity-­funded initiatives (Airini et al., and aspirations in education. These perceived 2009; Airini et al., 2011; Chu et al., 2013; Curtis deficits were suggested as being responsible for et al., 2012; Hunter et al., 2016; Lafaialii, 2012; the gap in academic achievement. Such perceived Mayeda et al., 2014; Patterson, 2012; Williams, deficits are often adapted by students, who in their 2009). See Universities New Zealand (2018) for socialisation within a given context internalise a list of equity-­funded projects. The initiatives paradigms of failure, which leads to a distortion are almost exclusively funded by the Tertiary of wider possibilities for success (Walker, 2006). Education Commission (TEC) Education Fund, Furthermore, Pacific students have been marginal- also largely positioned outside of formal pro- ised by inequitable teaching practice, cross-cultural­ gramme and course structures. Such approaches to misunderstandings and deficit theorising by educa- effective teaching and learning for Pacific students tors (Hunter et al., 2016). The tensions presented lacks systemic engagement with deeper issues, such in the literature are also relevant to the challenges as subjugation of Pacific ways of being and know- faced by students. To mitigate such deficit concep- ing within the academy. From an institutional tualisations, Pasifika students suggested: perspective, success for Pacific learners is defined as academic achievement rates on par with their Success for Pasifika needs to be defined by Pasifika Päkehä counterparts. Characteristic of contempo- people. (Pasifika student) rary education policy, parity for Pacific learners is also underpinned by a strong economic focus. This Tula‘i, means to arise, not as individuals but as is mandated by projections that Mäori and Pacific one—as a collective. (Pasifika student) communities will constitute 30% of the working population in 2030 and the recognition that, his- Another Pasifika student echoed the call to con- torically, both groups have been underserved by front such deficit theorisations of Pacific peoples: the education system (TEC, 2018). Estimations from Universities New Zealand (2018) based Pasifika success means a lot coming from Pasifika on census data and statistical projections show . . . as we are known stereotypically for not passing that if parity is achieved in the education sec- in academics, but achieving highly out on the sports tor, this will generate an extra $123 million and

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$55 million in the Mäori and Pasifika economies remnants of the ecological model of universities respectively. are struggling to remain true to their altruistic origins. Commitments to achieving social justice, The neoliberal university and equity equality, equity and human rights are undermined Equity is a contested term in its meaning, under- by the prioritisation of expanding and enhancing standing and practice (Barrow & Grant, 2019). economic growth. This dual focus of equity (edu- This difference in nuance shapes institutional cational equity and economic competitiveness) policy framing and implementation differently. In is often presented as “harmonious” and comple- higher education, the most prevalent differences mentary in institutional and government policy are between the understanding of equity as either (Savage, 2013). “fairness” or “inclusion”—in which the former Higher education institutions are, however, refers to increasing absolute representation of problematic sites for equity initiatives to thrive in, underrepresented groups and the latter refers to a given the competing and often conflicting interests proportional representation of underrepresented (economic vs. social justice) (Barrow & Grant, groups to their broader proportion in wider society 2019). Equity in the academic achievement of (Marginson, 2011). Moreover, “equity as fair- Pacific students in the New Zealand higher edu- ness” refers to policies of redistributive justice, cation context continues to be a persistent and and “equity as inclusion” refers to policies that enduring challenge. Pacific academic achievement seek to redress (ameliorate) inequities in higher continues to lag behind that of other students, education (Savage et al., 2013). On this note, Salmi which has important ramifications for the achieve- and Bassett (2014) define equity as the provision ment of social justice and social cohesion (Hart, of “equal opportunities for access and success in 2018). Successive government policy and invest- tertiary education” (p. 365). They distinguish this ment have been made into addressing the issue from the concept of “equality”, arguing that equity of inequities in education. Despite concentrated is not bound by the same commitment to treat efforts by both government and higher education everyone the same. Equity recognises difference institutions in New Zealand, this has yet to lead to and is a means of providing “interventions” that academic achievement of Pacific students at levels promote equal opportunity (p. 365). of parity with other students. Equity in higher education is a direct result of Pacific students at the University of Auckland the emergence of the neoliberal imperatives to are considered a target “equity group”, which build human capital (knowledge and education) the university recognises as “more likely to have and strengthen the commodification of knowledge experienced one or more barriers to accessing and (Barrow & Grant, 2019). This follows a global succeeding at the University, such as discrimi- trend in which higher education reforms (including nation, marginalisation, under-representation,­ privatisation, marketisation and internationalisa- underachievement in school, and/or socioeco- tion) have reduced education to a commodity, nomic background” (University of Auckland, to be bought and sold (Sakhiyya & Rata, 2019). 2017, “Definition”, para. 4). At its most basic At the heart of a “knowledge economy” is the description (in practice), equity can be described production and sale of knowledge. Under these as the investment of additional resources (fund- imperatives, higher education institutions have ing and academic support programmes) to lift become key drivers of (national) economic devel- Pacific academic achievement so that it achieves opment (Sakhiyya & Rata, 2019). Equity—framed parity with the performance of others (Ministry by theories of neoliberal economic development— of Education, 2014). then become the means by which (equitable) Based on these challenges, Pacific students—a participation in higher education for all is enabled. minority group within the university—have faced Under the competitive nature of the global similar challenges to other minority group and knowledge economy, universities have tradition- Indigenous students globally in higher education ally acted as screens, ensuring intense competition (Naepi et al., 2017). In the literature, Pacific students for limited places, restricting participation and are referred to as non-­traditional students (Wong, success to those who have the capital (means) to 2018), working class (Walker & Wilson-Strydom,­ succeed (Espinoza, 2010). The shift in the idea of 2017), low socioeconomic status (Universities higher education as a public good versus a private New Zealand, 2018), minority ethnic (Blessinger commodity captures the troubled place of equity et al., 2018), first in family (Wolfgramm-Foliaki,­ in the university. As higher education institu- 2016) and ethnically diverse students (Allen & tions have intensified their neoliberal outlook, Webber, 2019). The circumstances outlined above

MAI JOURNAL VOLUME 9, ISSUE 1, 2020 The Art of Wayfinding Pasifika Success 33 have led to the growth of equity (supplementary) to the sum of its parts. The need for Indigenous initiatives designed to lift the academic perfor- epistemologies, ontologies and cosmological ideas mance of Pacific students. Across the university, and philosophy must be considered in global con- these equity initiatives are known as Tuäkana versations; thus, consideration of local Indigenous mentoring programmes—learning communities understandings can support the way in which based on the tuakana–teina model (senior suc- Pacific peoples are governed—taking ownership of cessful students supporting first year Mäori and decisions made with regard to land, seas, people Pacific students) (Patterson, 2012). Essentially, and knowledge (Vaai & Nabobo-­Baba, 2017). Tuäkana programmes are underpinned by Mäori The process of decolonisation of personhood is and Pacific concepts of relationality and privilege complex: the relational capacities that tie one’s “Indigenous” Mäori and Pacific ways of learn- own subjectivity with collective identities, identi- ing collectively. Mäori and Pacific students who ties that are not always static or fixed. Here, we engage with these supplementary programmes recognise the multiplicity (network of relations) have shown increased levels of academic achieve- of student, Pasifika, academic, kainga, personal ment and retention (Universities New Zealand, and collective that intersect and cut across the 2018). However, given that many of these supple- act of wayfinding success as Pasifika. A Pasifika mentary initiatives sit outside of the formal course academic within the faculty summarised the key or programme structure, there has been little to values reflected through talanoa: no university-­wide evaluation of their impact. The structural location of Mäori and Pacific support Spirit, space and stewardship, it’s about knowing initiatives outside of the formal class structure has where we come from, that kind of spiritual ground- also been criticised as an ostracising of Indigenous ing, why we do our work. (Pasifika staff) (Mäori and Pacific) pedagogies for teaching and learning (Williams, 2009). In an effort to decolonise personhood and recon- Although the challenges raised in much of the ceptualise Pasifika success, we share a poem that literature regarding Pasifika success are related navigates the tensions, challenges and possibilities to student academic achievement, further impli- that Indigenous onto-epistemology­ offers us in cations arise for Pasifika academics navigating confronting deficit theorising of Pacific peoples. an academic trajectory, which requires further research. Much of the responsibility of Mäori Closing thoughts in poetry and Pasifika student support initiatives rests upon Priority learner the shoulders of a very few Mäori and Pasifika I’m a priority—that’s what I’m told, academics, mentors and student support staff. from the time, my mother held me in her Again, the systemic challenges were made clear arms, my father on his shoulders I stood, throughout the shell map making talanoa. always trying to look beyond the horizon. I’m a priority . . . learner, that’s what I’m The hegemonic culture of the university needs to told, lowering my head, lower statistics be challenged and changed. This needs to be done reveal. This dichotomy is my story. on a political level. Also, more Pasifika people Priority learner to lift the outcomes of need to be reflected in the higher hierarchy of this success, yet when I hear my grandfather’s institution. (Pasifika staff) words I am a success in his eyes no less. I am his story and he is mine, sensing more It’s not about being individualistic, you know, it’s than education outcomes to define me. My about being as a collective. I’ve always had that wairua, my mauri, my life force. with me, it’s not just me, on my own in that journey, Why the obsession to fix me? I take the others with me, in particular my students, Do I need to be fixed? our students. (Pasifika staff) How is education shaped by taken for granted truths? Navigating vision: Pasifika success as Am I reduce-­able to one’s perception taken in Pasifika brief moments of assessment? The concept of self in Pacific societies as explained When in brief moments, solidified are my by Vaai and Nabobo-­Baba (2017) is always a rela- fears. tional self, that is, one constituted by relations, in My fears to fail, to be another statistic which the relational self is the part of the whole another rhetoric, to persuade others that I and the whole part of the self that is irreducible need to be fixed, I am broken.

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The pieces of me, become pieces of you— whenua placenta or land (significant in fragments in politics, policies of change and Mäori and Pacific tradition; the priority education plans. returning of the placenta to the land is a symbolic connection What motivates you to help me to achieve to land and ancestors) higher degrees? Responsive to policies, a responsive tap to funding . . . and in changing my perceptions Marshallese of wisdom, what it is to know, and who’s meddo Marshall Islands navigational knowledge matters most. chart focusing on a small And still, with fire in my eyes, and warmth group of islands in my soul, the horizon I seek beyond one’s rebbilib Marshall Islands navigational control. chart focusing on a large part Responsive, inclusive, equality, terms coined of the archipelago in essentialising difference . . . of culture, of colour, of ability . . . my hopes, for Pacific Islands (shared) education is that our eyes may meet in kainga village, home, a collective from search of the horizon and for that moment, an academic perspective knowing the potential in me, is knowing maunga mountain (important in the the potential in you. genealogy of Mäori and Pacific How can we navigate potentiality, to bring peoples) forth new subjectivities, what it means Pasifika a term that represents a grouping to lead and to know, to traverse tides together of Pacific Islands of change in a globalised space, spaces peoples living in New Zealand, together, yet spaces apart, spaces of either New Zealand born or difference and an openness to the unknown. migrant Pasifika ethnicities, These are our indigenous histories, that bring including but not limited to Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, Cook us together, the vä of our ancestors, within Islands, Niue and Tuvalu me, within you, and the hope for wisdom talanoa a Pasifika concept of dialogical for a people yet to come. discussion or talk (Vaioleti, (Matapo, 2017) 2006) Glossary Samoan Cook Island aiga family (including extended Moana Nui the Pacific Ocean; lit. “vast family) ocean” itu side itulagi worldview, one’s thinking, Mäori including culture, family, Aotearoa commonly used as Mäori name religion, people, land, for New Zealand; lit. “the land ancestors, ocean, language, of the long white cloud” spirit and the tualagi (Toso awa river (connections to sea/ocean); & Matapo, 2018; Vaai & as important as the mountain Casimira, 2017); lit. “side of in the genealogy of Mäori and heaven” Pacific peoples lagi heavens hauora Mäori view of health exclusive tangata o le people of the sea/ocean (Mallon to New Zealand that covers moana et al., 2012) the physical, mental, social and tautua service spiritual needs and well-­being of all tualagi universe mauri life essence, life force, energy, life vä relational space principle References Päkehä a person of predominantly European descent Airini, Brown, D., Curtis, E., Johnson, O., Luatua, F., O’Shea, M., Rakena, O., Reynolds, G., Sauni, P., tangata whenua Indigenous peoples of the land Smith, A., Huirua, T.S., Tarawa, M., & Ulugia- wairua spirit, soul; attitude Pua, M. (2009). Success for all: Improving Mäori

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A view from the back, times between and marketisation: Emerging policies and practices spaces: Equality of educational opportunity and in Australian education. Discourse: Studies in the Pacific students at a university [Doctoral thesis, Cultural Politics of Education, 34(2), 161–169. University of Auckland]. ResearchSpace. https:// http://doi.org/dh5n researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/handle/2292/5698 Si‘ilata, R. (2014). Va‘a Tele: Pasifika learners riding Wolfgramm-Foliaki, E. (2016). “Do not assume we the success wave on linguistically and culturally know”: Perspectives of Pacific Island first in the responsive pedagogies [Doctoral thesis, University family students. In L. Santamaria & A. Santamaria of Auckland]. ResearchSpace. https://researchspace. (Eds.), Culturally responsive leadership in higher auckland.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/2292/23402/ education: Promoting access, equity, and improve- whole.pdf?sequence=2 ment (pp. 123–135). Routledge. http://doi.org/ Si‘ilata, R., Samu, T. 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MAI JOURNAL VOLUME 9, ISSUE 1, 2020 DOI: 10.20507/MAIJournal.2020.9.1.5

I AM WHO I AM

Pacific tertiary students and the centrality of ethnic identity for successful outcomes

Melani Anae* Ingrid Peterson†

Pikipiki hama kae vaevae manava

Abstract This article is about a university course which decolonises the classroom by making culture count. It examines how the ethnic identity journeys of 13 Pacific students in a third-year course in Pacific Studies run by the University of Auckland define and derive meaning for a more secure ethnic identity as a strategy for success across teaching/learning and life courses. It also shows that in the context of a New Zealand monocultural education for Pacific students across all sectors, while good courses and teachers get the job done, great courses and teachers have the potential to liberate and heal. The main aim of the research this article is based on was to investigate how the influential factor of a secure ethnic identity contributes to Pacific students succeeding well in their studies. Developing a secure ethnic iden- tity is defined here as the transition from a confused ethnic identity caused by obstacles and hardships experienced by challenges to one’s ethnic self-identity to a secure ethnic identity where resolution of a stable ethnic identity is reached over time, despite these challenges (Anae, 1998; Manuela & Anae, 2017). Students’ pre-course ethnic identity understandings were articulated in their life story interviews (Olsen & Shopes, 1991) at the beginning of the course, and their secure ethnic identity transitions were gleaned from the identity journey essays they wrote mid-course, as well as focus group discussions held at the end of the course. This article also seeks to ascertain the nature of any trends in teaching and learning (curricula, ethnic identity issues) which support or constrain a secure ethnic identity. Finally, it calls for strategies, changes to environments, teaching/learning communities, courses and curricula that allow students to think, write about and act on their ethnic identities to support Pacific success in their studies, within their families, and in their wider communities.

Keywords ethnic identity journey, ethnic enhancements, secure identity, student success, inter- and intra-ethnicity

* Senior Lecturer, Pacific Studies, Te Wänanga o Waipapa, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand. Email: [email protected] † Research Assistant, Centre for Learning and Research in Higher Education, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand. I AM WHO I AM 39

Introduction sacred and secular spaces of relationships. The This article focuses on Pacific 300: NZ-Born Pacific focus group interviews were held during the last Identities, a third-year course which examines week of lectures and focused on thematic areas the ethnic identity construct and its relationship from the life story interviews that were not covered with well-being taught over one semester at the in the identity journey essays. Out of the 13 par- University of Auckland. The course provides a ticipants (two were male and 11 female) who took space where Pacific students’ (and students of part in the project, nine participated in the focus other ethnicities’) notions of self-defined ethnic groups. Two focus group interviews were held. identity are examined, explored and experientially Research findings written about using European and Pacific theories of ethnicity and students’ own experiences. This This section contains the description of the course, article analyses this course through participants’ the thematic analyses of the life story interviews lenses of success and a transition to a secure eth- at the beginning of the course and of the eth- nic identity, thus providing optimal and healing nic identity journey essays, and the analysis of outputs from the course learnings. Rather than a the focus group interviews held at the end of the cultural enhancement course, this process posi- course. Overall, the research findings describe tions the course as an ethnic enhancement course the transitioning for some of the students from (Manuela & Anae, 2017). the positionality of ethnic identity confusion— described as “challenges” to their own perceived Methodology ethnic identities—to a secure ethnic identity posi- The qualitative research project on which this tion where learnings from the course have provided article is based tracked students’ experiences of “coping” and “empowering” strategies. the course. It consisted of thematic analysis of focused life story interviews (see Olsen & Shopes, The course 1991) during the first week of Pacific 300 classes, Pacific 300: NZ-Born Pacific Identities explores which explored understandings of success, ethnic the complex issues of growing up as a member and cultural experiences, family life and schooling. of a minority ethnic group or bi/multicultural These were followed by thematic analyses of stu- person and how these dual or multiple identities dents’ ethnic identity journey essays (mid-course) affected and/or interacted with an individual’s and focus group interviews which were held at the behaviours, priorities, social relationships and end of the course. concept of self. The concept of intra-ethnic iden- The research project took place from 16 July to tity was also explored, allowing the researcher to 19 October 2018. All students enrolled in Pacific ascertain ethnic issues within each participant’s 300 were invited to take part in the research. own Pacific ethnic group. To achieve a broad Participants consented to the interviews and their understanding of ethnic issues, part of the course identity journey essays being accessible to the used a cross-cultural perspective in which materi- researchers. All participant names and data were als about minority ethnic groups and inter-ethnic kept confidential to the researchers. Students were relations in New Zealand were examined. Case also invited to complete a demographic question- studies from other countries provided compara- naire, the results of which are presented graphically tive global perspectives. Special emphasis was in Appendix 1. None of the individual/focus group given to class discussions, creative writing, and interviews took place during class times. Out the exchange of viewpoints. of a class of 34, 13 students participated in the The four coursework components consisted of a project. The focused life story interviews at the literature review, a book/film/music album review, beginning of the course took between 1 and 1.5 an ethnic identity journey essay and an oral pres- hours, and were held on campus at a date, time and entation. The literature review surveyed European place which suited the participants. The interviews and Pacific theories of ethnicity. The book/film/ centred on students’ experiences of their ethnic music album review was based on course materi- identities themed across schooling during primary, als that analysed the local/global ethnic identity secondary and tertiary stages. Participants were journey of a published Indigenous novelist, poet, asked what it was like to grow up “Pacific” in rapper, musician or playwright from an ethnic Aotearoa New Zealand. The life story methodol- group other than the students’. In the middle of ogy was enhanced by the teu le va methodology the course, students wrote an essay describing (Anae, 2016), whereby the interviewer/interviewee their own ethnic identity journey. The students’ relationship was a respectful one, cognisant of the oral seminars were presented individually, in pairs,

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or as a group presentation. These presentations, on campus, and when I don’t want to get up like which were based on their identity journey essays, my biggest challenge is getting up in the morning took the form of a summary of their essay, a song, because I . . . it’s cold and I have to catch an early a poem, a performance, role-play, a rap, a paint- bus to uni just to get here on time. I think about how ing, weaving or other creative piece, or a short they surely didn’t want to get up in the morning to video. like go work or umm, you know, make ends meet but they got up anyway for me and I just need to Life stories before the course get up today to ensure that it’s going to work out. Life story interviews centred on growing up as a . . . I always refer to that when you know the going “Pacific” person in New Zealand. Emanating from gets tough. (P1FS) the students’ experiences were themes of home (relationships with parents and families, support Many speak about the need to communicate and systems, culture of the home vs palagi spaces, explain to their parents how the tertiary institution interpretations of success); schooling (intersectoral works, the rigour of university systems, and the experiences and influence of teachers and school- economics of “passing well” because of scholar- ing, career aspects); stress points (challenges from ships and through course grades assessments. both palagi and other Pacific Islanders about their self-perceived ethnic identities, identity confusion, I literally explain to my parents the downfall trying to find the balance between home/school; of what would happen, how hard it is to get to being a Pacific “academic” person, racist experi- this university, how easy it is to actually like get ences); and coping mechanisms (support from dropped if you don’t do good . . . the GPA [grade family and church, achieving goals, helping fami- point average] systems, the grades you should get lies financially, serving and respecting families. if you’re on scholarships, the grades that you don’t The 13 participants in the life story interviews want to get . . . (P2MS) were made up of 11 females and two males, and their ethnicities consisted of eight Samoans (including Many participants spoke about how important one self-ascribed Afakasi-Samoan), three Tongans it was for them to succeed in life. There were and two Cook Islanders (see Appendix 1 for more differing definitions of success. Many spoke of detail). In presenting quotes from participants, and the competitiveness required of them to get top across the life stories/identity journeys/focus group, marks. Overwhelmingly participants spoke about the following coding system is used: Participant the need to win certificates and high educational number/Gender/Ethnicity. For example, P[No.], achievements in order to “please” parents and to M[ale], S[amoan]) This coding system is used make them happy. to maintain the ethical consideration of keeping participants’ names confidential. It is interesting Yup—success was always winning, getting cer- to note that across the three ethnicities birthplace tificates, especially . . . rewards from teachers in seemed irrelevant to self-ascribed ethnicities. For primary, and then in high school . . . always getting example, while some Samoans were born in New that one spot on the top. That was success until I Zealand, they self-ascribed as “Samoan”, others came to uni. There was no such thing as ranking as New Zealand-born, and so on. and each year they’re not going to say, “Oh you’ve done so well, here’s something to reward you with” Home . . . (P4FT) When speaking about home, participants stressed the centrality of home and family and I completely denied my identity as a Tongan in the tremendous support they received from their order to assimilate to the culture that is believed grandparents, mothers and siblings. Most started to enhance opportunities and success. This was the with the stories of how either one or both parents mindset and attitude that I continued to carry all came to New Zealand as Pacific migrants, and throughout primary, intermediate and high school the difficulties they faced as they settled in a new education. (P12FT) country—problems with the language, getting a “good education” and the sacrifices made to give Other participants saw success in terms of educa- their children a “better life”. tion as a means of “getting a good job”, to become rich and to support their parents and families, My dad didn’t even finish year 10 and it was that and were cognisant of the additional dimension sacrifice that I know that enabled me to set foot of cultural roles and obligations.

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I know as a 10-year-old I wanted to be rich. I I loved Mozart. . . . I could play sports, but it actually wanted to be really rich . . . [laughs] but wasn’t my first choice. . . . But every time I got my through high school success was actually coming schedule back, I’d be put into PE. I guess that’s to uni and now while I’m at uni it’s actually get- where I encountered my first white teacher who ting a degree and actually getting a good job so I stood up for me because he came in and he was like can provide for my family. I think that’s success “Do you want to do classical music?” and I said: and making my parents happy. That’s success for “Yeah”, and then he said: “Do you know how to me. (P7FS) read music?” and I said: “Yeah, I know how to read music”, and then he was like “Let her in.” Schooling While participants’ primary school experiences Ethnic identity stress points were mostly fondly remembered as “enjoyable” Most of the stress points in the life story narra- and “fun”, secondary school experiences were very tives concerned ethnic identity confusion and the different. Some secondary schools had “Pacific cultural tensions between roles and expectations spaces”, which made some participants feel com- around being both a Pacific person and a university fortable, accepted and celebrated. It also gave them student, and how “switching between [the] two” a strong sense that their Pacific ethnic identities impacts on family members. were solid. For some, this grounding disappeared when they moved on to tertiary institutions where Like I have to switch my mind, and my mind they were definitely the minority, and this made becomes intellectual and academic. . . . I didn’t them feel alienated and unwelcome. realise the way I was talking until my brother was like “Why do you always use big words?” . . . So I went to AGGS [Auckland Girls’ Grammar I feel like that’s an ongoing journey for me as I’m School]. I feel like I was comfortable in my skin always switching between two. and there was no question of who I was because my school was very diverse . . . like we have PI’s . . . [Pacific Islanders] . . . at our school and they really talk about strong tamaitai [young women]. . . . At Not being able to speak mother tongue is another uni . . . I feel like when I go to my science papers ethnic identity stress point, one which is com- and then it’s predominantly palagi and then there’s pounded when one’s parents are NZ-born or me sitting in the corner and I feel like I can’t breathe raised. (P5FS) until I come here . . . I feel like I can’t breathe or relax until I come to Arts, you know, like my safe I think yeah—you need a strong hold of it like you space . . . (P1FA-S) know the language even though you don’t speak it but at least understand it, then you’re fine. I guess The power and influence of teachers at secondary with them [parents] it’s just they grew up and so level and beyond who can “make you” or “break they came at a really young age and so they grew you” was glaringly apparent in many of the narra- up with the whole palagi mentality, I guess, and tives, especially for P4FT: “. . . because sometimes my parents didn’t put too much emphasis on the I just get scared of asking them [teachers]. Because language or like speaking at home. Even at home of the whole mindset that she’s too stupid to ask we don’t speak Tongan. We only speak English, in class, so why would you need help afterwards?” and it’s fine with them, so I guess that’s why they’re She continued: just like “Oh they’re not Tongan.” Especially when they go out with their friends and stuff because of When [a male lecturer] gave the lectures, we just felt all the stereotypes with all the Islanders, they don’t comfortable with the way he lectured and when we say it out loud. (P4FT) wanted to go ask for more help he’d just willingly help. But I think it just has to do with the way they Perhaps the strongest and most common stress sort of answer the questions or put themselves up point amongst the participants was their overt there. Because there are some lecturers who when experiences of racism and sexism, which, prior you go ask them for help, they’re quite stand-offish. to the course, the participants had no intellectual . . . And then that’s when you just, “Yeah I’m not way of dealing with. The anger and bitterness they going to come and ask you a question again.” experienced, for many on a daily basis, remained in their psyche, in deep spaces of sorrow, hurt . . . and pain.

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Because the [workplace] . . . is predominantly I’ve been in contact with my mum and my brother European it is always a struggle for me because this week so I’m feeling—like those relationships not only am I a Pacific Islander but I’m also a of maintaining, so yeah and obviously getting good woman, and so there’s the struggle of breaking the grades. It’s not so much I think getting good grades, stigmas that already exist within the film industry it’s more that doing the best that I can be doing if . . . which is Pacific Islanders are usually in front that makes sense. That I know, okay, I didn’t say of the cameras and they act, and if they’re behind get an “A”, but I know that I gave that my all. Like then they’re usually the catering unit. Like I got what more could you ask for? (P3FA-S) asked that so many times on that first film shoot. When I walked on, they were like: “Oh where is the Coping mechanisms unit?”, which is the film terminology for catering, Participants’ narratives prior to their course learn- and they were like “Is the unit here?”, and I was ings described a variety of coping mechanisms like “I don’t know”. He was like “Oh, you don’t for the racism and ethnic identity confusions that know . . . Oh, what are you doing here?” And I’m they experienced. Most participants talked about like “I’m a producer, I’m the producer for this film success being the strongest coping mechanism. set”, and then they just like take a second and then With success they will be able to be good “Pacific I think they realise almost their racism they’ve just children” who support and serve their parents done and then they’re like “Oh, it’s so great to have and extensive Pacific families in New Zealand you”, and I’m kind of like “Yeah . . . you just kind and abroad. of just snapped yourself out.” (P5FS) Success to me means achieving my goals, and when Some participants also recalled school place racism I do achieve them, I’m completing the tasks that and the anger at being racially profiled with Pacific need to be achieved at the best of my ability, so stereotypes, for example, as a thief: not half-do anything and ensuring that when I achieve my goals it means that umm there is sta- . . . then I got called up at lunch and I walked up bility in my home. Like I’m doing something, my to the office and there were the other two Islanders goals mean something . . . [which] also means that in the school, and it was us three. I mean I still I can help my family, help my parents and those remember her name now. . . . She asked me to abroad. (P1FS) come into the class and then she said to me: “You won’t be in trouble, but you just need to tell me The same participant spoke about the frustration the truth. Why are you taking lunch out of these they felt about not being literate in their mother kids’ bags?” And I thought, first of all, you didn’t tongue. Most would only seek help from a coun- even ask: “Are you taking lunch out of these bags?” sellor as a last resort; others sought other coping You just completely just said: “Why are you taking mechanisms. . . .”, and I remember just being gobsmacked, and I remember that was my first real . . . I guess that I write in my book and then I go to eat, or I go to was my first interaction with racism. (P5FS) Albert Park and read, and you know to realign my focus. When things get really tough, I’ll go to . . . if The impact of racist attacks, taunts and stereotyp- it gets really tough, then I’ll go to . . . the counsellor ing was described by participants as making them or I’ll seek official help, but I just read my book. “out of balance”, as “affecting schoolwork” and Yeah, I think sometimes there’s this language bar- making them “feel unwell”. Some participants feel rier or embarrassment or shame . . . (P1FS) confused about the extent of this impact when they are otherwise a “good” and obedient son/daughter One participant, who lived through the who keeps the “links” with family members and Christchurch earthquakes, had struggled with who are “successful” in their studies. her mental health and coped by just “off-loading” to a counsellor or her mother. Her narrative rein- Yeah, I think mental health is so important . . . that forces that it is “okay” to ask for help in dire would be a big one for me. Because I feel like when circumstances. I’m not in balance, like just how much that kind of mucks me up. So I feel like success is being like I’m definitely someone who is proactive, and I I’m okay, I’m on top of my work, I’ve been going learnt quite early on just how important it is to to church, praying or journaling—something to do ask for help and, yeah, after the earthquakes in with my mental health or spirituality. You know Christchurch it was just like a crazy time, and I

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got—well I wouldn’t say I got depressed, but my twice and dyed it four times. Today, I’ve come to mental health definitely did take a hit. I just remem- appreciate my hair. I’ve lost my tight curls for good ber the burden just getting lifted off my shoulders now. But the wavy curls which remain I absolutely once I went to see a guidance counsellor, and then adore, even after all that bleaching. I see my identity from that talking to my mum and so that just taught journey as an extension of my journey with my hair. me just like ask for help, put away your ego and From losing my tight curls and praying for white your pride. It’s okay not to . . . like, don’t see it as skin, shaving my hair and re-evaluating my identity, a weakness. (P3FA-S) to growing my hair from the beginning and finding myself through siva [Samoan traditional dance]. Identity journey essays My hair is still growing and inevitably so am I and The identity journey essays were written purely my journey in understanding myself as a Samoan. from personal experiences and involved intellec- Thank you. (P5FS) tual-engagement issues that are often confronting to students on a personal and collective level. In summary, I can say that through [this course], Many participants said that writing their essay I have come to think about my identity critically. was an empowering experience because it allowed The labelling convention—like my name makes me them to negotiate their way through both positive appreciate it more. My appearance, I am not too and negative reflections of their own self-identities fussed about because it is what is on the inside that and the challenges to them. This is not to say that matters and not the outside. The Tongan concepts their personal issues were resolved. Rather, it gave that my dad has tried to teach me, and my siblings students the opportunity to use and appreciate play a major role in my life. I am always trying acquired inter- and intra-ethnic skills to try and (emphasis on trying) to keep the Tongan values and negotiate a way through what were overwhelming practise being Tongan. And I cannot say anything events for many. It also highlighted the privilege about possibly marrying. I always tell people that of having a healing and liberating education that I love kids, so I think I’d just end up being a single allows them to think their way through issues, mother with 10 adopted kids. We’ll see what the rather than relying solely on others’ representa- future holds. (P12FT) tions of who they are. Below are excerpts from participants’ identity journey essays. All in all, the core values normalised in Samoa that differentiates from other cultures portrays the I feel that my ethnic identity has improved. . . . I significance of one’s identity, the unique pride one find myself secure in who I am and what I want to has over the other and the sentiment of belonging become in the future. I used to think of my culture to another culture that isn’t necessarily salient as dull, useless and a waste of time. However, . . . or first-placed in the diaspora. To have a sudden I now realise the value in cultural practices and realisation of the little things that contribute to the traditions, I am New Zealand-born, I am Tongan. strengthening of my identity journey is manifested (P10FT) through who I identify as, the practices of my culture and traditions, my ekalesia [church], and Joining [this course], solidified my identity. It was lastly language. (P2MS) a course which introduced a space that was unique and part of who I am. . . . This course helped me It is scary to think of the dangers of losing our to make sense of who I am, where I have come identity, and how it will eventually cost us our from. . . . It has allowed me to go home and have mental health. (P1FS) conversations with my parents about ethnic iden- tity. I always wondered “what if . . . I did not take This course completely flipped my point of view, the course?” Will I still be courageous towards it burned the assumption that there is nothing to my Pacific ethnicity or not? I am grateful to learn learn about the Pacific . . . simply because we allow about amazing Pacific scholars which contribute it to happen. . . . However, the most significant and help shape a persistent Pacific worldview that impact of this exposure, was the ignition of pride many take for granted. . . . As the year progresses, through support and encouragement. I was able I am still transforming and am still learning who to rediscover my purpose as a student but also as I am. (P6FC) a young first-generation migrant female. (P12FT)

Three years have passed since I shaved my head. My Analysis of the identity journeys essays suggests hair is now just past my shoulders. I’ve bleached it that Pacific students’ initial perceptions of success

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such as “achieving goals” and helping families acknowledging my ethnic identity . . . but I wouldn’t financially (through a good education and securing be happy, or I wouldn’t be honouring myself. Like, employment) at the beginning of the course had you know how I talked about being in balance I developed into notions of tautua—serving and always use this and that would take me off balance respecting parents and families—and the feeling and so then I could probably go through uni and of satisfaction from what one has achieved by the life but not very well. middle of the course. The focus on ethnic identity helped them to demystify accusations of being A pivotal moment for P3FA-S was when she “plastic” and to challenge the racial profiling they was recently challenged about her Samoanness experienced. It has also provided a space for them by another Samoan who called her a “plastic to find balance and a holistic sense of who they Samoan”: are. Some participants had realised that these chal- lenges, if not reconciled, can lead to unwellness Previously, these statements would have made and mental health issues. me very upset and uncomfortable and I would’ve internalised them. Now I don’t feel as affected by Focus groups them because I don’t crave validation in my identity The focus group interviews revealed that experi- as a tamaitai Samoa. I feel a little annoyed at this encing the course and understanding the theory student’s ignorance, but I don’t feel upset nor does and practice of the ethnic identity journey had it make me question my identity. . . . Putting me extended participants’ perceptions of success in down enables them to feel more superior in their their life story interviews at the beginning of the knowledge and identity. I didn’t realise how far I course. Two very vocal focus group participants had come in my ethnic identity journey until I was in particular were adamant that they had been confronted by this student’s comments. It was such empowered by life-changing learnings from the a strange but a nice feeling to be so secure that I course. For P3FA-S, her ethnic self-ascription had was not affected by her words. changed from Afakasi-Samoan to Samoan, and she had a newfound pride and confidence in her For others, early understandings of meanings of “secure” identity. She shared the following during success such as “getting money to help parents” the focus group interview: had been re-evaluated to “not just the big things . . . like material things, but maximising knowledge . . . such a nice feeling to be at uni and know the and skills and abilities at every level. Helping my grounding in your ethnicity and your ethnic experi- parents out financially are just bonuses”. “Giving ences. They’re all important things in shaping you back” was another theme in focus group discus- and YEAH, THEY MATTER! [expressed with sions, especially in relation to parents’ migration appreciation and happiness]. stories. Another life-changing experience occurred for P6FC. What changed for her was that her . . . ethnic identity as Tongan Cook Island counted. She had come to realise that in multi-ethnic and After [this course] I feel more grounded and more diverse contexts knowing one’s ethnic identity and secure in my identity. I feel more balanced. Not where one comes from provides more understand- feeling balanced or secure in my ethnic identity ing about diversity, different cultures and different would lead to mental health issues but because of lifeways. this paper, I’ve been able to critically analyse my journey and myself and I feel good . . . like, in a I didn’t consider my identity or culture as part of sweet spot—it’s really grounded me. my education, so coming to university, everything has fully changed. Now I feel a lot closer to my . . . identity than I was back then. In high school or in intermediate or primary I felt like I didn’t really Just someone being interested in who I really am. care much about who I was. For myself I felt like . . . The feeling that you don’t have to leave part as long as I knew I was Tongan Cook Island that of yourself at the door when you come into class. was more than enough. But with university . . . everyone tends to know where they come from and . . . all this and so I felt like I needed to also know more . . . I feel like if I’m able to understand more who I think I could get by life, uni, etc., without I am or know who I am, it will help me with other

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career pathways. Like say for example if I were to I am . . . to my Samoan parents . . . their go and do case managing there will be families I child. will come across who have issues and maybe if I didn’t have the view that I have now I’d be biased The “I am” verse above arose out of the first in some kind of way. Whereas knowing all this author’s doctoral research amongst a group of knowledge and able to be accepting and under- New Zealand-born Samoans of the Newton Pacific stand other circumstances or situations or like Islanders Congregational Church, the first Pacific people’s problems . . . so more of an understanding ethnic church to be established in New Zealand. point of view rather than being like one-viewed. The verse depicts the core shared understanding (P6FC) of growing up as a New Zealand-born Samoan amongst the research participants (Anae, 1998, This course empowered these two students referred p. 159). Although based on New Zealand-born to above in life-changing ways. Experiential and Samoan identity journeys, the “I am” verse can existential exercises that are engaging, inclusive also be applied to New Zealand-born Pacific and and challenging and facilitate serious conversa- other ethnic groups. The first two lines describe tions are incorporated in Pacific 300. Feedback the simultaneous inter- and intra-ethnic identity from students who took part in the study reveals confusion state they find themselves in—usually that they felt the course work, although difficult, in their adolescent years—and the last line rep- was more rewarding than that of other papers. resents a reconciliation of inter- and intra-ethnic They found it empowering because it forced them challenges to their self-perceived identities, which to understand and apply theory to practice; it leads to a permanent secure identity. enabled them to intellectualise and evaluate their Thus, ethnic identity is not to be explored as a own ethnic identities in a way that provided them static state but as a series of states or as a process with a newfound confidence, self-reflexivity, a new changing over time and increasing maturity, that self-respect and a secure identity. Based on both is, as a journey and a series of responses to chal- European and Pacific ethnicity theories and their lenges regarding one’s self-identity (Anae, 1998). own personal identity journeys, they were able to A secure ethnic identity is a political commitment demystify “racism”, “difference” and “self-iden- to one’s ethnic identity in the diaspora/transna- tity”. As a consequence, they were able to analyse tional space; an ethnic identity in which coping and articulate theories of ethnicity with their own mechanisms and strategies have been developed identity experiences, thereby rationalising coping and which connects “roots” and “routes”. It con- mechanisms along the way. nects homeland/indigeneity with diaspora and Pacific 300 provides students with space to dis- transnationalism, with a positionality where one is turb existing experiences, perceptions and thinking comfortable and secure in one’s own skin, despite about who and why they are; why the correct pro- inter- and intra-ethnic challenges from both the nunciation of their names correctly is important dominant settler group and their own ethnic group to them; why the negative stereotypes of South (Anae, 1997, 1998). Auckland are not who they are; why they no longer Courses/pedagogies such as Pacific 300 are regard themselves as plastic Samoans/Tongans or integral because they provide students with ethnic half-castes. This allows them to understand and enhancements through exegeses of their inter- and engage with themselves, their peers, lecturers, their intra-ethnic relationships with others (Manuela academic work, their families and their ethnic & Anae, 2017). They interrogate how individual communities, as well as other ethnic groups and success is understood, described and explained the wider New Zealand communities, and to con- by Pacific students themselves. In the focus group nect with “difference” in positive ways to optimise interviews at the end of the course, students their ethnic identities for successful outcomes. explained how the power of a secure ethnic identity provided them with a “sweet spot”—grounding, a Conclusions balance, newfound confidence, self-reflexivity, and Theorising the ethnic identity journey a new self-respect with which to view and pursue I am . . . a Samoan . . . but not a Samoan success, their studies, and their university and life To my aiga in Samoa, I am a palagi. experiences. Thus, the power of a secure ethnic I am . . . a New Zealander . . . but not a New identity will have flow-on effects at many levels. Zealander. In its ontology, epistemology and pedagogy, To New Zealanders I am a “bloody coconut” Pacific 300 demonstrates how to teu le va—a at worst, a “Pacific Islander” at best, Samoan term meaning to value, nurture and act

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in the social and sacred spaces of relationships palagi communities, Pacific- and palagi-orientated for optimal outcomes (Airini et al., 2010; Anae, pedagogies, and amongst themselves. Relatedness 2010, 2016). This attention to relationality can overlaps with dialogue, constituting relationships help teachers positively re-vision their practice. and flowing across relational spaces. While dia- Pacific 300 is about ethnic identity and the va, logue is to do with the way expression shapes which necessitates a dialogical approach and also relationships, relationships are more contexts for supports a relational positionality whereby both expression. In an intercultural educational setting, the student and the teacher become “edgewalk- relational methodologies have the potential to ers” between Pacific and palagi concepts, Pacific facilitate interactions across groups of participants, Indigenous and palagi knowledges, Pacific and for instance, teachers and students, catalysing

FIGURE 1 Post-it notes from fono participants gathered from faculty-based groups of departmental academic and professional staff

MAI JOURNAL VOLUME 9, ISSUE 1, 2020 I AM WHO I AM 47 relational intensity and enhancing understanding Faafetai/Acknowledgements (Reynolds, 2016). With respect to the women of the various vaka The learnings from this project can be under- moana who have lashed our canoes together in stood through concepts such as va and a secured this time and place as we rest from our voyages to ethnic identity, disrupting existing thinking about share rations, swap resources and share knowledge Pacific students and what and who they represent. before untying and continuing our traversing of the As a result, this research has the potential to assist blue continent, we give thanks. We acknowledge a re-framing of theory and practice in the field, as the the He Vaka Moana vision of Hinekura Smith well as providing a model of relational inquiry for and ‘Ema Wolfgramm-Foliaki, who have steered further social justice research and praxis into inter- us to this place and who have kept us watered and cultural fields such as Pacific education. These fed during this voyage. We also give thanks to learnings also show how attention to, and indeed our fellow voyagers, the Centre for Learning and a focus on, va provides a relationality that can help Research in Higher Education (CLeaR) Fellows for teachers positively re-vision their practice. 2018 who contributed to this special issue: Abigail The practice of teu le va has a strong tradition McClutchie (Leadership Through Learning), Sonia as a strategy for inquiry, meaning making, and dis- Fonua (Embedding Indigenous Values Culture and semination of ideas in Pacific cultures. Researching Knowledge in Science), Marcia Leenen-Young and implementing strategies to enhance the (Pasifika Students Learning to Learn), Jacoba engagement of Pacific students in their learning Matapo and Tim Staice (Decolonising Success in through ethnic identity journeys has the potential Higher Education and the Art of Wayfinding) and to improve participation, retention and success Ashlea Gillon (Growing the Fleet), as we create a for Pacific students. Collaborative teaching and star-path for our Pacific students and their teach- learning technologies provide an opportunity for ers enabled by our CLeaR Fellowship projects in both teachers and students to experience a range of this special edition. diverse intercultural experiences and perspectives The authors are grateful to CLeaR at the where culture counts. University of Auckland for providing funding and support for the research project. We also The fono thank the Maneaba team, the Pacific 300 2018 The dissemination of our research findings occurred course research participants, and Pacific Studies, during a Pacific professional development fono for Te Wänanga o Waipapa, University of Auckland. academic and professional staff members of the University of Auckland, which was held after Glossary the focus group sessions. Fono participants were afakasi half-caste provided with the research project findings as well aiga large extended family as an opportunity to be immersed in Pacific-ness. The fono programme consisted of a welcome— ava beverage made from the dried roots of the plant Piper an ava ceremony by the Samoan students—and methysticum and mixed with then the keynote speakers presented the research water before it is strained project data, followed by Pacific Island-themed for drinking; used in ritual workshops where fono participants were able ceremonies to circulate amongst booths for a diverse range fono meeting of Pacific nations. At these booths Pacific post- palagi lit. “sky-breaker”, white man, graduates shared specific Pacific Island-themed European, foreigner, Samoan sociocultural aspects with them. This was followed not born in Samoa by a talanoa—faculty/departmental groupings pikipiki hama pikipiki hama means to stick, sharing reflections—and recommendations on kae vaevae bind or link strongly to the ways forward. The programme ended with lunch manava outrigger of a vaka moana; and cultural performances. vaevae means to give or share; We end our article with a visual form of feed- and manava— similar to back from staff who attended the dissemination manawa in Mäori—is a deeply fono, highlighting their needs, aspirations and complex, core term in Pasifika desires for this vaka now and into the future expression meaning the heart, (Figure 1). We believe the fono represented a centre, womb or breath great start to the liberating and healing process talanoa sharing stories, creating dialogue for both students and teachers of Pacific students. in an inclusive receptive space

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tamaitai young, unmarried women Dialog: Journal of Community Health and Clinical tautua to serve, service Medicine for the Pacific, 4(2), 128–137. Anae, M. (1998). Fofoa-i-vao-‘ese: The identity jour- teu le va to value, nurture and to act in neys of NZ-born Samoans [PhD thesis, University the social and sacred/spiritual of Auckland]. ResearchSpace. http://hdl.handle. spaces of relationships for net/2292/66 optimal outcomes Anae, M. (2010). Research for better Pacific schooling va relationality; the sacred and in New Zealand: Teu le va—a Samoan perspective. secular/spiritual and social MAI Review, (1), 1–24. spaces of relationships both Anae, M. (2016). Teu le va: A Samoan relational ethic. animate and inanimate Knowledge Cultures, 4(3), 117–130. vaka moana ocean-going canoe Manuela, S., & Anae, M. (2017). Pacific youth, accul- turation and identity: The relationship between Appendix 1: Demographic data ethnic identity and well-being: New directions for research. Pacific Dynamics: Journal of See Figure A1. Interdisciplinary Research, 1(1), 129–147. Olsen, K., & Shopes, L. (1991). Crossing boundaries: References Burning bridges: Doing oral history with working Airini, Anae, M., & Mila-Schaaf, K., with Coxon, class men and women. In S. B. Gluck & D. Patai E., Mara, D., & Sanga, K. (2010). Teu le va: (Eds.), Women’s words: The feminist practice of Relationships across research and policy: A collec- oral history (pp. 189–204). Routledge. tive approach to knowledge generation and policy Reynolds, M. (2016). Relating to va: Re-viewing the development for action towards Pasifika education concept of relationships in Pasifika education in success. Ministry of Education. Aotearoa New Zealand. Alternative, 12(2), 190–202. Anae, M. (1997). Towards a NZ-born Samoan iden- http://doi.org/c6k9 tity: Some reflections on “labels”.Pacific Health

FIGURE A1 Demographic data collected from the students of Pacific 300: NZ-Born Pacific Identities who participated in the study

MAI JOURNAL VOLUME 9, ISSUE 1, 2020 DOI: 10.20507/MAIJournal.2020.9.1.6

LALANGA HA KAHA‘U MONU‘IA

Helping science educators to embed Indigenous knowledge, values and cultures in their courses for Mäori and Pacific science student success

Sonia Fonua*

Abstract Mäori and Pacific students are not achieving in science in comparison with other ethnic groups in Aotearoa New Zealand. At the same time, evidence of engagement with their traditional ways of knowing and being in university science settings is limited. Most formal science curricula globally are founded on Western modern science, and this focus can contribute to the underachievement of Indigenous students in science, particularly if Indigenous knowledge is not included (Howlett et al., 2008). Culturally sustaining pedagogy (Paris, 2012) acknowledges cultural pluralism, yet many science educators lack the cultural capital to comfortably reference Indigenous knowledge in their teaching. In this article, I describe some of the tensions, benefits and considerations that need to be acknowledged and addressed when encouraging non-­Indigenous university science educators to incorporate and embed Mäori and Pacific values, culture and knowledge in their teaching practice and learning spaces. This article discusses findings from a research project on embedding Indigenous knowledge, values and culture in university science teaching, with a particular focus on relationship building.

Keywords Indigenous knowledge, cultural values, science education, vä, relationality, critical self-­reflection, Tonga, Pacific, Motutapu

Introduction time. Although not recent, these concerns are still Over 15 years ago, Osborne et al. (2003) highlighted pertinent, particularly that an increasing “recognition of the importance and economic utility of scientific knowledge and its traditional science education, designed to prepare cultural significance” (p. 1049). They also noted science-­able students for science careers, is in fact that fewer young people were studying science or turning many students away from science and it pursuing a career in science, and scientific igno- may not be serving any of our students particularly rance was increasing in the general populace. well—even those who are high achievers on current Despite its importance in pre-­professional educa- measures. (Bull et al., 2010, p. 32) tion and for enhancing societies’ scientific literacy (Coll et al., 2010), Bull et al. (2010) argued that Similar concerns exist regarding university sci- science education did not fit with the needs of the ence education. Since the 1980s, market reforms

* Professional Teaching Fellow, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand. Email: [email protected] 50 S. FONUA

have shifted the strategic economic and social consider how they are teaching Mäori and Pacific objectives of universities nationally and interna- students. tionally (Shore, 2010). In Aotearoa New Zealand, As a non-­Indigenous university science educa- universities have increasingly aligned to a more tor, I embrace the idea of critical reflexive practice business-­style model of operation, introducing being more sustaining of the cultures and values various performance measures and emphasis- of Mäori and Pacific students and becoming more ing economic competitiveness within the “global inclusive of Indigenous knowledge. However, knowledge economy” and “education for citi- improving the quality and equity of university zenship”. Some question the subsequent impact science teaching requires an understanding of the on what is taught and what counts as “proper culture of students who struggle in a system domi- knowledge” (Shore, 2010). Of particular concern nated by a different worldview (Fonua, 2018). is that the increasing number of university students In light of the low number of Mäori and Pacific enrolling has not corresponded to more teaching science educators in Aotearoa, it could be inferred staff, which has often drastically affected teaching that most university science educators have limited ratios (Shore, 2010) and the time academic staff Mäori and Pacific cultural capital. If true, this has have to teach students as individuals (Wilcox et al., implications for how culturally sustaining science 2005). The current situation remains problematic, educators can be without support, especially if we particularly regarding whether students’ needs are want to minimise the potential to further isolate being met, and whether the quality of their learn- Mäori and Pacific science learners with poten- ing experience as students is becoming more and tially tokenistic, offensive or incorrect attempts more diverse. to include them.

Science education Relationships in education Basing formal science curricula on Western mod- Relationships have been emphasised in Mäori and ern science creates a “learning gap” or tension Pacific education research and policy for many between Western and Indigenous value sys- years (Bishop et al., 2014; Hill & Hawk, 2000; tems (Little, 1990). This can contribute to the Reynolds, 2018), in particular the need for edu- underachievement of Indigenous science learners, cators to form “good”, meaningful or quality particularly if Indigenous knowledge is excluded relationships with Mäori and Pacific students from the formal science curriculum (Howlett et because the quality of the teacher–student rela- al., 2008), thereby maintaining the feeling that it tionship affects engagement and achievement. is being “othered” or deficient in an educational However, what constitutes a good relationship institution’s culture (Bishop et al., 2014; Kahu, is not universal, as cultures understand good in 2013). Including Indigenous knowledge in curric- different ways (Thaman, 1998). Instead, the sig- ula celebrates multiple perspectives and challenges nificance of the expression of the teacher–student the “hegemonic role that Western science plays in a relationship in relation to Mäori and Pacific stu- rapidly globalizing world” (Hammond & Brandt, dent academic outcomes must be recognised. 2004, p. 2). Indigenous knowledge has benefits for Deficit theorising of Mäori and Pacific students all students, their institutions and wider society by linking teacher expectations to student ethnicity (Thaman, 2003). However, many science educa- has been clearly demonstrated for over 15 years, if tors lack the cultural capital to comfortably refer not longer (e.g., Alton-­Lee, 2003; Nakhid, 2003). to Indigenous knowledge. Educators need to recognise their role in main- taining stereotypes, including how their actions Culturally sustaining pedagogy continue or expand these problematic depictions Culturally sustaining pedagogy seeks to “perpetu- of Mäori and Pacific students, and how this affects ate and foster—to sustain—linguistic, literate, and the students themselves. cultural pluralism as part of the democratic pro- ject of schooling” (Paris, 2012, p. 93). It requires Relationality pedagogies to be responsive and relevant to multi-­ From a Mäori perspective, relationality refers to ethnic communities, supporting young people to “our lived relation to other human beings, other maintain their own cultural and linguistic com- living creatures, and to the non-­living entities petencies while building cultural competence in with whom we share our spaces and the planet” the dominant culture. In Aotearoa New Zealand, (Ritchie, 2013, p. 307). While often mistaken for an excellent opportunity for science educators relationships, relationality’s essence is broader, to initiate a culturally sustaining pedagogy is to encompassing any type of association or link with

MAI JOURNAL VOLUME 9, ISSUE 1, 2020 Lalanga ha kaha‘u monu‘ia 51 anything and replacing the linear idea of connec- involved in Pacific societies, working to change tion with a connection through an expanse or mind sets and expand power and control for the space. To be able to discuss relationality in a Pacific benefit of Pacific communities” (p. 37). Based context, it is necessary to understand vä. on this definition, I consider myself an Oceanic Vä is a viewpoint found in many Pacific coun- researcher, but also an Oceanic educator. I feel I tries, including the Kingdom of Tonga, Samoa and am now much better equipped to understand what Fiji. Vä can be variably understood as the space it is about the wider university context that drives where relationships or interactions occur, the the inequitable achievement of Mäori and Pacific “socio-­spatial” connection, and is also associated science learners, a position that formed the basis with balance in relationships (Airini et al., 2010). of the project discussed below. The vä is never empty; it is filled with the relation- ship that exists between two people, groups or Method entities that both have responsibility for how the Previous research suggests that incorporating relationship works. From a Tongan academic per- Pacific values, behaviours and concepts within spective, vä “emphasises space in between. This is the formal classroom curriculum and pedagogy fundamentally different from the popular western of science may address Pacific students’ engage- notion of space as an expanse or an open area” ment and achievement in science (Kalavite, 2010). (Ka‘ili, 2005, p. 89). Therefore, understanding Influenced and informed through reflection and vä can help educators working in Aotearoa and critique of my own teaching practice and ongoing the wider Pacific to consider the embodiment of doctoral studies, I developed a research fellowship relationality in their teaching and learning spaces project, “Lalanga ha kaha‘u monu‘ia—Embedding (Ka‘ili, 2005; Reynolds, 2018). Indigenous Knowledge, Values, and Culture for Mäori and Pacific Student Success”. The Tongan Positionality phrase “Lalanga ha kaha‘u monu‘ia” can be trans- The framing of my research and teaching is influ- lated as “weaving together for a better future”. enced by my three “situated positions” (Samu, The goal of Lalanga was to enable science-focused­ 2014): (1) university science educator, (2) non-­ educators to identify ways to embed Mäori and Indigenous Päkehä educator and (3) member of Pacific values, culture and knowledge in their a Tongan family. As a university educator, I have teaching and learning by creating safe spaces for spent 20 years continually witnessing the ineq- Indigenous and non-­Indigenous staff to undergo uitable outcomes in Mäori and Pacific student critical self-reflection.­ Indigenous experts (inter- achievement. For the past 15 years I have taught nal and external to the university) provided science exclusively to Mäori and Pacific students. guidance, insight and perspective on the cur- This has often been challenging, triggering exten- rent content and delivery approach, helping to sive critical self-reflection,­ particularly regarding expand or develop more culturally sustaining my Päkehä privilege, how I engage with cultural approaches. values and the power dynamic present when I teach Mäori or Pacific students. My lived experi- Pikipiki hama kae vaevae manava ence as a wife, mother, aunty, daughter-­in-­law Methodologically, Lalanga is underpinned by and so forth in an extended Tongan family has “pikipiki hama kae vaevae manava” (to lash also influenced my ontological and epistemo- together to give or share from the heart). This logical thinking. This is now shaped more by Tongan metaphor describes the purposeful and the contemporary expressions of Tongan culture deliberate connecting together of ocean-­going demonstrated by my Tongan family, who main- vaka mid-journey­ to allow people to converse tain close ties to the Kingdom of Tonga, than the and share resources during long voyages. It is Päkehä culture I was brought up in. employed to demonstrate deliberate and purpose- I am not claiming to be Tongan (or an insider). ful ways of creating deep and honest connections, However, I believe my worldview situates me as sharing information, knowledge and resources, an “external insider”, someone who has become and collaborative engagement alongside indi- affiliated with an “outside culture” and who vidual responsibility. The connections are strong may adopt aspects of this culture, while critically like the lashing of vaka outriggers. They are also regarding and rejecting many of the values and intentional and encourage sustainability and trust beliefs of the culture they were first socialised because they are connections that can be repeated in (Banks, 1998). Johansson-Fua­ (2016) defines as and when necessary and are reciprocal. an Oceanic researcher as “one who is actively Lalanga focused on encouraging educators

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who oversee curriculum design and assessment to when responding to Hau‘ofa’s (1993) “Our Sea consider the reality of Mäori and Pacific science of Islands”: learners’ lived experiences. Many Mäori and Pacific students experience micro-­aggressions (Nadal, the individual—the self—does not exist. One exists 2011), stereotype threat (Steele & Aronson, 1995) only in reference to others. Hence the practice of and unconscious bias during their tertiary studies. always consulting, meeting, talking matters out, Creating spaces to discuss and document why such that all decisions are fundamentally collective Mäori and Pacific values, culture and knowledge ones, based on a remarkable degree of consensus. should be expressed and experienced in the formal While such a way of proceeding may be tedious classroom highlighted these negative experiences. and unproductive to the rational, Western mind Furthermore, it encouraged educators to explore . . . there is something fundamentally generous ways to address such experiences when previously about such a way of proceeding, where dialogue, they may have been unaware of or unsure how to debate and collective searching are at the centre of deal with them. our preoccupations. It is of course a style, a man- A pikipiki hama kae vaevae manava approach ner of proceeding which is remarkably rare among encouraged connection and sharing opportuni- scholars, where each is so often ensconced in his or ties. After one year, over 35 university science her inviolable truth. (Waddell, 1993, p. xiii) educators had participated in an intensive monthly reflective process documented by note-­taking. Ten As expected in any Mäori or Pacific context, we of these participants also engaged in an intensive always recognise the importance of sharing food. course development process guided by Mäori and Sharing food can build relationality, especially if Pacific experts external and internal to the univer- it is handmade and connects the consumer to a sity. Further, two faculty-­sponsored talatalanoa particular culture or nation through stories, histo- opened up the discussion and sharing space, accu- ries and explanations. Discussing values and how mulating an interested audience of 150 academic different cultures can consider the same value, such and professional staff. Several talanoa sessions as respect, in different ways has been another point also collected Mäori and Pacific student voice of connection. Lalanga participants are diverse (N = 16) regarding changes in teaching practice with respect to gender, age, ethnicity, seniority they noticed and their suggestions on how science-­ in the institution, indigeneity to Aotearoa or the focused courses could better reflect Indigenous wider Pacific, migrant status or born in Aotearoa, values, culture and knowledge. In addition, one teaching experience and educational background. year after the project began, talanoa were held Importantly, we embraced the presence of both separately with eight science educators to gather academic and professional staff, ignoring the insti- their stories of reflection and change. tutional hierarchy and considering everyone’s contribution equal, whether they were academic Talanoa deans or lab technicians. We also initiated oppor- Talanoa, or “talking about nothing in particu- tunities for Mäori and Pacific experts to attend lar, and interacting without a rigid framework” and share their stories, knowledge and perspec- (Vaioleti, 2006, p. 23), allows participants to tives, as a way to provide intercultural support reflect on the research topic, providing their own (Reynolds, 2017). critique and argument. Talanoa is complex but flexible, allowing for formal or informal conversa- Findings and discussion tion in different contexts or settings for different The expectation to form positive relationships purposes (Johansson-Fua,­ 2009). In Lalanga, it comes with very little explanation of what this allowed unstructured conversation triggered by an means in practice. For example, Tapasä, a recent idea or a question, rather than set interview ques- Pacific-­focused document, expects a teacher to tions (Johansson-­Fua, 2009), enabling participants “establish[] and maintain[] collaborative and to determine the discussion focus so they were respectful relationships and professional behav- purposeful and deliberate conversations. iours that enhance learning and wellbeing for Our monthly hui lasted 90 minutes and provided Pacific learners” and highlights the need to employ ways to experience or consider relationality and to Pacific constructs to do so (Ministry of Education, enjoy the journey with others, something that is 2018, p. 8). Although an admirable directive, most not usually common, encouraged or emphasised university science educators prioritise content in the university environment. My intention was delivery over investing in the learning environment to demonstrate what Waddell (1993) described where they deliver this content.

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In other words, there is often limited focus on culture into their teaching practice along with forming any relationship, regardless of whether some of the critical self-reflection­ they experienced. it is a positive one. Yet, for many Indigenous stu- Science is often positioned as objective, neutral dents, the learning environment they experience and unbiased. As a result, science teachers often is far more important than the content, and it can consider their role to be exclusively to deliver inform and influence their engagement and success content, not to build a connection. Yet, for many (Fonua, 2018; Hill & Hawk, 2000; Reynolds, cultures, an introduction is common practice to 2018). This creates an interesting tension, one that set the tone of an interaction, to position oneself usually plays out according to who has the agency and to demonstrate linkages and connections. In or power in this situation—often this is not the Mäori and Pacific cultures, this often includes a Indigenous student. spatio-­temporal acknowledgement of geographi- cally significant places and ancestral links, known Sea of islands as a pëpeha in Mäori (Mead & Grove, 2001). In A good place to start considering vä, particularly our first Lalanga hui, Indigenous cultural experts the expectations, ethics and responsibilities of explained how a pëpeha demonstrates your tauhi vä, is Hau‘ofa’s (1993) essay “Our Sea of positioning in relation to the world and creates Islands”, which critiques how Oceania is consid- connections and relationships by sharing who ered. Hau‘ofa described Oceania (Central and you are from. South Pacific) as a “sea of islands” rather than As discussed above, relational links are often “islands in a far sea”, offering a more “holistic not made in science lectures. Instead, lecturers perspective” that encompasses the “totality” of prioritise content delivery, perhaps introducing relationships and countering the dominant deficit themselves professionally so as to qualify their “smallness” description associated with Oceania academic position as the teacher. Unsurprisingly, geographically and economically. Instead, Hau‘ofa the initial Lalanga discussions about introductions acknowledged the breadth of Oceania and its revolved around the time spent on introductions, wealth of knowledges, cultures and history existing usually considered a waste of time because of the beyond imposed colonial boundaries and narrow content’s importance. For example, in her first lec- perspectives. Hau‘ofa raised the importance of ture, Eloise, a non-Indigenous­ lecturer, explained ontological positioning; seeing the islands as con- the need to “communicate [to the students] where nected (a sea of islands) or disconnected (islands I stand and how I work in terms of efficiency and in a far sea) will determine what is and therefore being task-oriented­ so as to not ‘shock’ them if I what is possible in that space. come across as being blunt”. Like other researchers embracing Hau‘ofa’s However, once the participants became better work, Reynolds (2017) notes parallels between the informed about pëpeha, they all expressed a desire separation and connection of islands in Oceania to learn their own as a way of connecting with stu- and those in classroom relationships. My contribu- dents of different cultural and ethnic backgrounds tion is this: if we specifically shift the view of science from theirs. For example, another non-­Indigenous educators away from Mäori and Pacific students lecturer said: as islands in a far sea to a sea of islands that are connected socially and spatially, we highlight and I wanted all of my students to feel relaxed and com- emphasise the need to reduce the conscious (and fortable in my class because I think that’s important unconscious) bias towards Mäori and Pacific sci- to allow them to achieve, and I’m interested in ence learners. Educators also need to recognise being able to build relationships as a part of that that these connections and separations in class- and I know it’s easy for me to build relationships room relations are perhaps more obvious when the with students that I understand and they tend to subject being taught is one in which knowledge is be the ones that are from my own culture, but I am derived from an investigative method that seeks not so good at it with students who are not from to avoid subjectivity or human influence. More my own culture. I need to make more of an effort science educators will then recognise their role and this is a way [through pëpeha] that I think I can in acknowledging diverse viewpoints and knowl- make more effort. (Ella, non-­Indigenous lecturer) edges in their classrooms and teaching spaces, and their role in maintaining the relational space. The Despite their efforts, some participants felt unsup- following stories (using pseudonyms) demonstrate ported by their colleagues when they expressed a how the Lalanga participants explored a process desire to develop their pëpeha. Others were dis- of embedding Indigenous knowledge, values and couraged by their department because a pëpeha

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would not “fix” Mäori and Pacific student engage- felt that pëpeha made a hugely positive contribu- ment. For example: tion to building relationships as it demonstrated respect. One Mäori science learner, Te Huia, when I discussed this [project] with other academics described it this way: and my desire to be involved to make a positive change. . . . They start to want evidence and science it warms you, aye, when somebody stands like this because that’s where I work. The kinds of questions year, it doesn’t happen frequently at med school I get are “why should you be doing this?”, “what’s [but] when it does happen, it sends a warm fuzzi- the real point?” . . . The number one question from ness over you and . . . I don’t think that the lecturers my department was “Is that just token, just throw- realise that when they mihi, when it’s in Mäori, ing a bit of Mäori in to your introduction? [It] isn’t they acknowledge that Mäori are tangata whenua, going to do anything.” [Yet] they wanted to solve when they do that it’s a good thing, that is coming the problem [of Mäori and Pacific success]. (Ella, from a place, from caring and aroha from them. non-­Indigenous lecturer) However, some students were concerned that staff Many educators had avoided specifically engaging considered a pëpeha or in-­depth introduction was Mäori and Pacific students because they did not enough to engage Mäori and Pacific learners. They know how, and were not ready, to admit their wanted to ensure there was more to it: ignorance or lack of ability. Understanding pëp- eha more deeply helped Hester, a non-­Indigenous [pëpeha is good] but does it stop there? [laughter] lecturer: Because to be honest . . . it’s good, a nice cultur- ally touching experience but in reality what’s being I came here 10 years ago . . . and I’d like to learn practised is totally different. . . . that’s a minute, more but I have always been a bit uncomfortable maybe five minutes max at the beginning of a lec- with trying things like using the language and ture. You have to ask, is that then it for the rest of beyond sort of reading academic text, I haven’t the semester? “Kia ora”? (Tana, Pacific student) become very versed in how to use things like the language in order to help people feel included and For some educators, their pëpeha development and welcome and a part of things. . . . I really want delivery was reasonably straightforward and had to feel more comfortable talking about that and immediate benefits for their student interactions: not just feel like I can parrot these words [of the pëpeha]. I want to know what pëpeha mean, what they remembered [me after my pëpeha] a lot more. does it really mean to someone if I say it and I think And that was really special for me. . . . So, I think if I feel confident of how it will build that relation- having that relationship, that, you know, because I ship of that person who hears it then I feel I can was opening up a little bit to them . . . it really did. defend saying it to anybody [i.e., colleagues], even And I continue to do that, at the start of all my first if they don’t agree. lectures. And I think that’s really important for me. It’s not normally what I do, but, I was challenged, To be clear, the purpose of sharing these stories but I think it was a good challenge . . . so that’s a is not to excuse the inaction of science educators personal goal, that I felt, that I was able to do, I had or absolve them of any responsibility; instead, it confidence, I could see the merit in why I was doing is intended to highlight the personal reality for this. . . . It gave me sort of a bit of more rapport many science educators who do not know what with the students. (Evan, non-Indigenous­ lecturer) to do or where to start. Most felt unsupported by the university or were unclear about available While the Lalanga participants were keen to find resources, or even if there was an expectation that ways to embed Indigenous values, culture and they would learn to engage Mäori and Pacific stu- knowledge in their teaching and learning practice, dents. Often, they had managed to avoid engaging they were very aware of their own insecurities and in any personal development concerning Mäori capabilities. They wanted to be able to do things and Pacific student success because there was no better but felt challenged about acting immedi- clear directive to do so nor seemingly any conse- ately. For example: quences if they did not. During the students’ talanoa sessions, how for me, [this project] . . . taking the time out to teaching staff interact and build connections in think about and discuss and be challenged on some their first lesson was a key topic of discussion. They of my existing ideas [was important] . . . when we

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started the whole journey with pëpeha . . . I sort of understanding of Pacific relationships resulted in felt hesitant about doing it in the traditional way, a tangible behavioural shift. Instead of refusing to which is how I’ve heard other people do it . . . [in shift assessment dates, with dire consequences for English was] a different way, but at the same time the student, because of her increased awareness authentic, it made connections to the audience and cultural understanding she: and it led nicely into his talk. So, I think I need to leverage that idea and present myself and make allowed a student to sit a test early so she can go connection with my audience in a more authentic back to Samoa with her grandmother because I way that I’m comfortable with. Um, and that may now understand how central family is to her, that not necessarily be in the framework of a traditional she’s been chosen and can’t just say no—that her pëpeha but, um, yeah. (Eloise, non-Indigenous­ life is not that of the ”strive to be what you can be lecturer) as an individual” mindset.

When there is some pushback about not embracing Motutapu a pëpeha or particular cultural practice immedi- Lalanga had key goals: to increase connection ately, I would argue that ensuring the cultural between educators; to raise awareness of their safety of the students and the educator is para- teaching context, namely, Aotearoa and the wider mount. What we do not want to happen is for Pacific; and to create a safe space for non-­Mäori staff to take an idea and run with it in the wrong and non-Pacific­ educators to meet, reflect, discuss direction, as in the following example: and learn without feeling judged, as most had lim- ited Mäori and Pacific cultural capital. Although doing a mihi or introducing, them doing it not in familiar with the third space concept, I was taken Mäori, how when lecturers just introduce them- by the hybrid space suggested by Johansson-Fua’s­ selves in English . . . I think that’s cool . . . when (2016) description of Motutapu, sacred islands they introduce themselves, that’s the first thing you found across the Pacific and considered safe spaces see of them, I think that’s a good way for us to get for travellers to rest. Building upon Hau‘ofa’s to know them . . . but I think also they need to be Oceanic philosophy, Johansson-Fua­ (2016) sug- more educated when they introduce themselves, not gested Motutapu were “actionable” and “ethical” just introducing themselves in Mäori but [if you hybrid spaces where self-­efficacy and awareness say] my family were the first people in the South can be raised and where cooperative partnerships Island . . . when you are not educated, “Wow, she’s between Indigenous people and Western institu- cool because she is the first person in the South tions can be negotiated. Island!” but then . . . you [were] not, you colonised Although Johansson-Fua­ (2016) was originally and you took it all, you know . . . so making sure developing a space for Oceanic comparative and they are culturally aware and educated when they international education in the Pacific, I believe are doing something that is trying to be culturally the concept translates easily to science education appropriate. (Areta, Mäori student) and attempts to improve it for Mäori and Pacific students. For example, Johansson-­Fua emphasises Although the science educator (who was not a par- time and the importance of resting, waiting and ticipant in the Lalanga project) referred to in the considering the next part of the journey, rather above extract seemed to be engaging in attempts than rushing to “finish”. Sustainable transforma- to build positive relationships, in reality they dem- tive change must be true change; any change must onstrated their ignorance (at best). Describing be desired not forced and must allow time for each themselves as the first people in the South Island, (science) educator to navigate their own journey, when they are not Indigenous, entirely dismisses with expert guidance. I would argue that there Mäori as the first people of Aotearoa, which is is not just one way to become a culturally com- hugely problematic and risks isolating Mäori and petent science educator; yet, to be able to embed Pacific students even further. Indigenous values, culture and knowledge in their Engaging in developing their pëpeha had teaching practice well, without being tokenistic, wide-ranging­ consequences for the participants. offensive or incorrect, educators need time to Some felt they were beginning to understand their become confident and familiar with them. This Mäori and Pacific students in ways they had not benefits students because the delivery will then be previously—these shifts had immediate implica- appropriate, useful and relevant, which reduces tions for improving Mäori and Pacific success the risk of isolating or marginalising Indigenous in tangible ways. For example, Hester’s deeper science learners.

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The sanctity for critical reflection created by rejuvenation, a sanctuary, a place to launch new Motutapu assists science educators to engage journeys. (Johansson-­Fua, 2016, p. 37) in a process of discovery, providing them with somewhere “to rest until it is safe to continue their Perhaps this is one element that is missing from journey” (Johansson-­Fua, 2016, p. 36). I believe it approaches attempting to improve Mäori and also aligns well with our pikipiki hama methodol- Pacific science learner achievement. ogy by providing opportunities to come together The educators acknowledged the value of work- and share resources, in this case somewhere to ing closely with people, knowing that there was rest, and recuperate, together. University-level­ support and sanctuary: science is predominantly taught by non-Mäori­ and non-Pacific­ teachers, as are most subjects at [at university] people do critique things quite a lot secondary or tertiary levels; often the teachers have especially when they’re not the ones who need to limited intercultural relational experience. Our actually engage the students or implement some- Motutapu helps educators to try, to ask, to think thing. So, when a suggestion is made about how I and to understand information that they might not could do it or who I could approach, it’s like it’s otherwise be exposed to or have a place to explore easier to critique and be negative about something safely. For Ella: than it is to sit there and say “OK, how are we going to do this together?” (Evelyn, non-­Indigenous part of my preparation process has been if I want lecturer) to be able to share this I want to expose my vul- nerability in a way that I feel safe. I’m prepared to the smaller group that we had . . . that small group, be very open with you, but not necessarily with I thought I could you know, it was just because people in power positions over me who affect my I was seeing them very often. . . . And there was employability. that, a feeling of trust, and you could talk . . . you could discuss things and you could bring in your stories, they might not be relevant to that, but was Being able to speak freely and openly does not just something, I felt that really was key . . . I think, often exist in higher education work spaces. yeah, being able to share my things and be able However, together we have created a space “to to then bring it back [to my work] . . . [because] explore something different, something new and you become really, sort of lonely soldier fighting perhaps unrecognisable, but in that process find against the system, which it shouldn’t be” (Evan, new areas of negotiation, drawing new meanings non-­Indigenous lecturer) and representation” (Johansson-­Fua, 2016, p. 36). Although most Lalanga participants were not We have created connections that did not previ- Indigenous to Aotearoa or the Pacific, they aspired ously exist—not just individual relationships, but to change their practice to benefit Mäori and broader and deeper connections based on shared Pacific university-­level science learners. Realising philosophies, ethics, morals and, now, under- the value placed on connections and relation- standing. For example, understanding vä and ship building through the Lalanga process, these considering the relational space created within participants were keen to become more aware of science learning contexts at university was hugely values, or “the cornerstones of Indigenous culture important. For the Lalanga participants, learning that [I] can keep in mind or work with” (Eloise, about vä often resulted in “ah-ha­ moments”, when non-­Indigenous lecturer). the realisation that the empirical understanding For me, the idea of Motutapu enables me to of relationships they were used to did not capture participate in a third space that: all the invisible factors that occur in any interac- tion (if they are even acknowledged), such as the enables other positions to emerge, it displaces, emotional state of those involved. unsettles the histories that constitute it and at Presenting this conceptualisation of socio-­ the same time it settles the “unsettled”. The third spatial relationships helped explain the necessity space sets up new structures of authority and new of taking time for introductions at the beginning political initiatives; it is an ambiguous area that of a lecture or class. Vä provided a framework for develops when two or more individuals/cultures these educators to understand connecting, in par- interact. The third space is a place of continuous ticular why sharing where they were from, whether tension and negotiation. But if the third space they had children and their interests was more is in Motutapu, then it can also be a place of important than listing academic qualifications

MAI JOURNAL VOLUME 9, ISSUE 1, 2020 Lalanga ha kaha‘u monu‘ia 57 and scientific research projects, or not introducing privileged to have participated in this journey with themselves at all and spending that five or ten min- you, learning and reflecting all the time on my own utes teaching science content. Furthermore, such a practice and privilege. simple but powerful change in their approach to their students would “speak” to Mäori and Pacific Glossary (among many other) students who understand vä, Aotearoa commonly used as Mäori name or a similar epistemological position that holds for New Zealand; lit. “the land maintaining positive relationships as a core value. of the long white cloud” Ultimately, embodying vä enabled us to contest aroha kindness, affection, love, the impression that relationships are not essential compassion in science education. hui meeting kia ora hello, best wishes Conclusion mihi speech of greeting, Many attempts have been made to improve Mäori acknowledgement, tribute and Pacific academic success in the tertiary educa- Päkehä a person of predominantly tion space, yet Mäori and Pacific students still do European descent not succeed on par with other ethnicities. Instead pëpeha personal introduction based on of finding ways that Mäori and Pacific students one’s identity and heritage can change so that they succeed, I purposefully talanoa talking about nothing in and explicitly focus my energies and efforts on particular, and interacting the teaching staff as the locus for change. It is without a rigid framework they who need to be assisted to build their cultural talatalanoa to continue to talk about capital and critical self-­reflection so that they can tangata whenua Indigenous people of the land understand and engage with Mäori and Pacific students, not the other way round. tauhi vä caring for socio-­spatial relations Science educators must understand that Mäori vä relational space and Pacific science learners want and need to feel vaka canoes welcome, valued, respected and included in their learning spaces. Yet the current system, which References emphasises delivering large volumes of Western Airini, Anae, M., Mila-Schaaf, K., Coxon, E., Mara, modern science content according to Eurocentric D., & Sanga, K. (2010). Teu le va—Relationships ways of being, often contradicts core cultural val- across research and policy in Pasifika education: A collective approach to knowledge generation ues and practices such as tauhi vä. Such a system & policy development for action towards Pasifika does not acknowledge or assist the cultural border education success. https://www.educationcounts. crossing Mäori and Pacific science learners must govt.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/75897/944_ engage in to be successful in their university sci- TeuLeVa-30062010.pdf ence studies. Science educators have the agency Alton-Lee, A. (2003). Quality teaching for diverse stu- to challenge the current preference or habit of dents in schooling: Best evidence synthesis. https:// delivering science in a dehumanising manner. Yet www.educationcounts.govt.nz/__data/assets/ pdf_file/0019/7705/BES-quality-teaching-diverse- often they are unaware of the cultural contexts students.pdf Mäori and Pacific students exist in and have no Banks, J. A. (1998). The lives and values of researchers: means to learn about them. By exposing them to Implications for educating citizens in a multicul- some ways of knowing and being within Mäori tural society. Educational Researcher, 27(7), 4–17. and Pacific cultures, science educators are able to http://doi.org/b78t3s begin to disrupt and decolonise university science Bishop, R., Ladwig, J., & Berryman, M. (2014). The learning spaces by safely embedding Mäori and centrality of relationships for pedagogy: The Pacific knowledges, values and cultures in them Whanaungatanga thesis. American Educational Research Journal, 51(1), 184–214. http://doi.org/ in a manner that will engage Mäori and Pacific dhzm science learners, and benefit the learning of all Bull, A., Gilbert, J., Barwick, H., Hipkins, R., & science students. Baker, R. (2010). Inspired by science: A paper commissioned by the Royal Society and the Prime Acknowledgements Minister’s Chief Science Advisor. https://www. I would like to express my deep gratitude to the nzcer.org.nz/system/files/inspired-by-science.pdf Lalanga participants (students and staff) for their Fonua, S. (2018). Embedding indigenous science knowledge and values in higher education: Critical commitment to our work. I am so proud and reflexive practice informed by successful Tongan

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MAI JOURNAL VOLUME 9, ISSUE 1, 2020 DOI: 10.20507/MAIJournal.2020.9.1.7

LEADERSHIP THROUGH LEARNING

Normalising Mäori and Pacific leadership and learning success in a tertiary environment

Abigail McClutchie*

Abstract Leadership Through Learning is a 12-­week (i.e., one-­semester) programme for Mäori and Pacific tertiary students run by Te Fale Pouäwhina, a Mäori and Pacific student learning service at the University of Auckland in Aotearoa New Zealand. The programme is designed to help students lead, empower and transform through normalising their leadership and learning success. As a strategy, normalising suc- cess counters negative stereotypes, micro-­aggressions, and the everyday colonialism and racism these students encounter. By normalising success, positive stereotypes are created that challenge the deficit framing faced by Mäori and Pacific students. This article describes research exploring the Leadership Through Learning programme, its focus on “students as leaders”, the relationships that develop between students on the programme as they engage with the curriculum, and the impact of innovative teach- ing and learning praxis. Kaupapa Mäori and Pacific research methodologies, particularly talanoa, are employed to highlight the student leaders’ voices, aspirations and growth as leaders. Student leaders’ engagements and relationships strengthen their identity and self-efficacy,­ and provide opportunities that have created positive stereotypes, especially in the programme’s three critical areas: leadership, empowerment and transformation.

Keywords Mäori and Pacific, tertiary-­level transformative leadership programmes, normalising success, empowerment, self-­efficacy

Introduction build self-efficacy,­ promote their unique iden- How do Mäori and Pacific students learn to tity, and reinforce positive stereotypes. During lead, empower and transform in a tertiary set- one 12-week­ semester, academic literacy skills, ting, when their aspirations are rarely normalised, leadership, personal growth and professional and they experience negative stereotypes, micro-­ development provide a curriculum backdrop for aggressions, and everyday colonialism and racism? students to understand their academic context. One way is through Leadership Through Learning, This context includes the self in relationship with a transformational programme run by Te Fale the whänau/aiga, broader communities, the insti- Pouäwhina, a Mäori and Pacific student learning tute and tertiary study, and explores why all of this service at the University of Auckland in Aotearoa matters to them. Normalising Mäori and Pacific New Zealand. The programme takes small cohorts leadership and learning success is at the heart of (10–12 students) on a transformative journey to Leadership Through Learning. The programme

* Te Rarawa, Ngäti Porou. Learning Adviser and Doctoral Candidate, Faculty of Business and Economics, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand. Email: [email protected] 60 A. MCCLUTCHIE

provides broad and unique strategies for Mäori develop analysis tools to help navigate their aca- and Pacific success and is designed to empower demic journeys more successfully. and transform Mäori and Pacific “students as lead- Over the five years Leadership Through Learning ers”. Purposefully emphasising the “students as has been running, each cohort of student leaders leaders” concept helps to foreground Indigenous has demonstrated a strengthening of self-­efficacy knowledges and leadership. Furthermore, this and promoted a strong cultural identity within prominence creates a counternarrative to the usual the university and study context. In this way, deficit framing of Mäori and Pacific sensibilities student leaders learn new academic competen- (Le Grice, 2017). To develop this counternarra- cies in addition to the content-­specific literacies tive further, I refer to those who participate in learned in their courses. Within the programme, the Leadership Through Learning programme as these approaches create positive stereotypes and “student leaders” throughout this article. challenge the prevalent and ongoing deficit framing Significantly, success and a range of perfor- Mäori and Pacific students face. mance indicators for Mäori and Pacific students in Mäori and Pacific student leaders come from tertiary institutes remain a priority for the Tertiary cultural traditions where oratory and storytell- Education Commission (Chauvel, 2014). However, ing is used to pass down knowledge, history and success is still narrowly defined in degree-­level culture. Furthermore, student leaders’ knowledge, studies, despite influential studies of Mäori and discussion and storytelling are associated with Pacific students’ success being published a decade mana (Bishop & Glynn, 1999; Hau‘ofa, 1993) ago. Airini et al.’s (2010) report Success for All: and make an important contribution to how they Improving Mäori and Pasifika Student Success learn and grow. Patterson (2012), a Pacific scholar, in Degree-level­ Studies made the key point that argues that when students’ voices are emphasised, “success” encompasses many factors not easily their “knowledge and lived experience is valued measured through quantifiable data. Drawing and legitimized” (p. 3). Having witnessed these from these studies and using examples from the changes in the student leaders on the Leadership Leadership Through Learning programme, this Through Learning programme, I sought to explore article asserts that Airini et al.’s (2010) findings are the following research question: still relevant 10 years later. Whilst earlier studies identified a need for a holistic approach to success, What teaching and learning innovations in I contend that Mäori and Pacific student success the Leadership Through Learning programme in the tertiary context must also be normalised. impacted the student leaders’ leadership, empower- Secondly, this article argues for developing a ment and transformation? countercultural lens and a counternarrative to dominant and hegemonic discourses. It is intended Talanoa research methods were used to garner that while on the Leadership Through Learning student leaders’ attitudes and experiences of the programme, student leaders learn skills which programme and to explore whether it was benefi- empower them to better navigate degree-level­ cial to their studies and leadership development. studies and enjoy greater academic success. As It was within this context that student leaders Bamberg (2004) observes, “Countering the domi- discussed the micro-­aggressions and everyday nant and hegemonic narratives is the flip side of colonialism and racism they experienced in the being complicit” (p. 351). The alternative for spaces they traversed, and thus the importance of student leaders is to assimilate, leaving their cul- having access to a programme with a countercul- tural values at the gates of the institute, a point tural and counternarrative approach. frequently made by the student leaders who par- The opportunity to feature the voices of ticipated in this research (see below). Leadership Through Learning’s students came as Leadership Through Learning is designed to a result of the author being awarded a University help participating student leaders understand the of Auckland Centre for Learning and Research in degree-­level context. The programme’s strategies Higher Education (CLeaR) fellowship in 2018. The provide them with a decolonising countercultural CLeaR fellowship theme that year was “He Vaka lens and a counternarrative that enables them Moana: Navigating Mäori and Pasifika Student to critique their postcolonial study environment Success”. The Leadership Through Learning pro- at university. Learning countercultural affirma- gramme objectives were a good match for the tive language helps student leaders explain and fellowship’s theme. Fellows were encouraged to frame their experiences. Student leaders learn work within a collaborative framework derived to explore their context with a critical eye and from the Tongan saying “pikipiki hama kae vaevae

MAI JOURNAL VOLUME 9, ISSUE 1, 2020 LEADERSHIP THROUGH LEARNING 61 manava”, which describes the practice of binding (2012) concludes that for Mäori adolescents hav- vaka/waka together on long-distance­ journeys in ing a positive racial-­ethnic identity is important order to share ideas, knowledge and resources “because when they develop healthy, positive before they are separated so that they can navigate and strong racial-ethnic­ identities they are able to independently again. Metaphorically, the saying repel negative stereotypes and accommodate other supports the Mäori and Pacific methodological positive attributes, such as academic achievement, approaches taken in this research, such as working into their Mäori identity” (p. 26). Houkamau with the other fellows’ reciprocating ideas, knowl- and Sibley (2011), meanwhile, found a positive edge and resources, which parallels what student correlation “between ethnic identity and various leaders do in Leadership Through Learning. It was psychological constructs including self-esteem,­ a pleasurable experience to work collaboratively self-­efficacy, personal mastery and an internal with Mäori, Pacific and Päkehä fellows, navigat- locus of control” (p. 380). In alignment with this ing independently and lashing our waka together finding, when student leaders in the Leadership to reclaim, re-­view and re-­story our journeys and Through Learning programme strengthened their aspirations for better outcomes for Mäori and ethnic and cultural identity, self-­efficacy and Pacific staff and students. positive self-concepts,­ they started to normalise their success. In this way, wider transformation Theoretical background: Culture, self-­ occurred, and their ability to provide a countercul- efficacy and identity tural approach and counternarrative to everyday This article draws largely on two key ideas colonialism and racism, micro-aggressions­ and about normalising Mäori and Pacific leadership negative stereotyping was strengthened. and learning success. The first is that psycho- The second idea about normalising Mäori and logical constructs, such as self-­efficacy and other Pacific leadership and learning success that this self-­concepts (self-­esteem, self-­confidence, self-­ article draws on is the concept of a strengths-­ mastery), are important factors in the success of based approach. Deficit-based­ approaches put the Mäori and Pacific students. Self-efficacy­ relates responsibility of low achievement on the students, to an individual’s belief that he or she is capa- a perspective that is indirectly maintained through ble of completing a duty (Bandura, 1982), and “acceptance of the assumptions held of Pasifika within Leadership Through Learning it relates to [and Mäori] students by the education system”, student leaders’ capability to lead, empower and according to Nakhid (2003, p. 299). Bertrand transform. Strengthening self-­concepts through Jones et al. (2016) recommend a strength-­based acknowledging a Mäori and/or Pacific identity or assets approach in leadership programmes and is important because it connects student leaders classrooms. These authors, building on the work and facilitators through genealogy, land/islands of Ladson-Billings­ (2014), trialled the strength-­ and the Pacific Ocean. Bishop (2003) argues that based approach at an American university and “we need to create contexts where to be Mäori is “transformed teacher education by calling on to be normal; where Mäori cultural identities are teachers to adopt an assets approach to teaching valued, valid and legitimate . . . [and] Mäori lan- culturally diverse students” (Bertrand Jones et guage, knowledge, culture and values are normal” al., 2016, p. 10). The strength-­based approach (p. 226). These are important factors that guide adopted in the Leadership Through Learning pro- classroom exchanges (Bishop, 2003); indeed, they gramme has transformed the experience of Mäori are analogous to Mäori and Pacific cultural identi- and Pacific student leaders and normalised their ties, languages, knowledges, cultures and values. leadership and learning success. Having these factors embedded in Leadership Through Learning helps normalise success. Agency, self-­efficacy, and Mäori and Studies in Aotearoa have brought together Pacific students culture, self-efficacy­ and identity, which helps to Personal agency and self-efficacy­ are important explain why these concepts are significant fac- components in Mäori and Pacific students’ leader- tors in Leadership Through Learning. Webber ship and learning success. Social-­cognitive theorist (2012) has conducted important racial-­ethnic Bandura (2000) asserts that human agency encom- identity work about Mäori and Pacific school stu- passes collective agency. Bandura (2000, 2006) dents in collaboration with McKinley and Hattie observes that self-­efficacy is fundamental to human (Webber et al., 2013). Although their age groups agency and notes that it is an intentional activity. are different, my findings from student leaders Self-efficacy­ is not always reliant on the indi- at degree-­level are similar. For instance, Webber vidual producing experiences or shaping events.

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A study of Pacific tertiary-­level students found or higher as the most valuable to their educational high self-efficacy­ and agency amongst the group journeys. Whilst this is the case, institutes that tend because success was considered a collective pur- to have narrow success markers, mostly in the suit (Marat et al., 2009). Thus, responsibility was form of pass rates, will perhaps inhibit the aspira- taken on personally by the Pacific student(s) for tions of Mäori and Pacific students, and therefore and with the extended family, as a simultaneous minimise the enjoyment of the broader aspects of agentic force in their success. Self-determination­ their definition of success. is a Mäori collective aspiration (Bishop, 1996). In terms of what might facilitate success, the stu- Additionally, “Mäori cultural aspirations, dent leaders in the Leadership Through Learning preferences and practices will facilitate agency programme enjoyed being part of a collective (self-determination)”­ (Bishop & Glynn, 1999, and engaging in supportive relationships. Curtis p. 177). For Mäori and Pacific students, collective et al. (2012) argue that feeling comfortable in the agency is a familiar cultural notion, where shared university environment is an important factor in capacities and knowledge achieve success for, by Mäori and Pacific students’ success, as is support- and with the collective. ing their academic and pastoral care. Providing Mäori and Pacific students having either more culturally specific practices and content in the or less self-­efficacy is influenced by a host of classroom, and promoting positive relationships factors. For instance, the benefits of reclaiming between learners, their peers and the staff (Airini et culture, values and language are well documented al., 2010; Bishop, 1991; Bishop et al., 2009; Curtis locally in Aotearoa (see Bishop & Glynn, 1999; G. et al., 2012) correlate with Mäori and Pacific stu- H. Smith, 1997; R. Walker, 1990). Houkamau and dents’ success. These activities move the learner Sibley (2011) draw from international literature from the position of an outsider when they arrive sources to argue that viewing one’s Indigenous to that of an insider, where they find belongingness culture positively is good for one’s self-concept­ and flourish (Airini et al., 2010). For Mäori and and wellbeing. Bandura (1982) sees self-­efficacy Pacific student leaders in the programme, foster- from a psychological perspective, where it pertains ing relational trust helps with their adaption to to one’s insight, innate ability, behaviour, mindset the university environment and bridges the gap and emotional capability to manage challenging between the institute and the students. circumstances and to implement essential actions that deal with those circumstances. Stajkovic and Factors that influence and challenge Luthans (1998), meanwhile, see self-­efficacy as success relevant to performance and the ability to face Leadership Through Learning student leaders challenges for a sustained period. Therefore, self-­ believed forms of colonialism, racism and micro-­ efficacy is necessary for Mäori and Pacific students’ aggression were major challenges to their success. success. Self-efficacy­ leads to better and longer-­ Essed’s (1991) work on racism towards ethnic term maintenance of performance to help student minority groups in contemporary society found leaders achieve their degree goals. that racist acts were pervasive yet subtle, and pro- vided a persistent backdrop for people of colour Success for all: Defining and facilitating from the ethnic groups. Essed (1991) coined the Mäori and Pacific success phrase “everyday racism” to acknowledge the The title of Arini et al.’s (2010) report, Success for often unconscious acts that are not intended to be All, stimulated my imagination because it encom- offensive. Based on the same ideas, and in recogni- passes the idea that what is good for Mäori and tion of Mäori students’ historical and continued Pacific students’ success has wide-ranging­ benefits. connections with colonisation, a similar term, Positive exchanges between Mäori students and “everyday colonialism”, was coined by Mayeda teachers who developed a “culturally respon- et al. (2014, p. 174). These scholars differenti- sive pedagogy of relations” (Bishop et al., 2009, ated Pacific students’ experiences of colonisation p. 736) impacted their achievement. Building on from those of Mäori students. They argued that this, Airini et al. (2010) found success was linked Pacific students’ experiences were more in line with “notions of potential, effort, and achievement with everyday racism and fine tuned the phrase over time” (p. 4). They described this as holistic into “everyday colonialism and racism”. progress, with students accomplishing important Micro-­aggressions, on the other hand, have individual goals that were linked to their whänau a similar underpinning to everyday colonialism and communities. Furthermore, students viewed and racism. Micro-­aggressions have been defined the teachers that helped them achieve a pass grade as “subtle verbal and non-verbal­ insults directed

MAI JOURNAL VOLUME 9, ISSUE 1, 2020 LEADERSHIP THROUGH LEARNING 63 toward non-White­ students, often done automati- input at every stage of the research. Adopting cally or unconsciously” (Solorzano et al., 2002, this approach and following the 2018 CLeaR p. 17). According to a comparative study looking fellowship theme of He Vaka Moana, the fellows at the United States and Aotearoa, white privilege provided each other with input throughout the brings “social advantages, benefits, and courtesies various stages. afforded to members of the dominant culture in Pacific research acknowledges and privileges every society” (Santamaria et al., 2014, p. 6). The Pacific peoples’ knowledge, values and princi- authors refer to research by L. T. Smith (2012) ples. Talanoa is a Pacific research methodology and Delgado and Stefancic (2011) evaluating that has found wide acceptance with research- white privilege in Aotearoa, where Päkehä edu- ers across Pacific nations (Fa‘avae et al., 2016; cators failed to recognise the difference between Farrelly & Nabobo-Baba, 2014; Halapua, 2013; their Mäori and Pacific students. Accordingly, Prescott, 2008; Suaalii-Sauni & Fulu-Aiolupotea, this leads to forms of acting out both conscious 2014; Vaioleti, 2016). Aspects that bring Kaupapa and unconscious micro-aggressive,­ discrimina- Mäori and talanoa methodologies together are tory and prejudice behaviours (Santamaria et al., mana, tapu and noa (Tecun et al., 2018). These 2014). Bishop et al. (2009) have argued that in are important underpinning principles for this order “to serve the interests of a mono-cultural­ research project and the Leadership Through elite”, the education system has been dominated Learning programme itself. For instance, respect- by Eurocentric agendas and deficit theorising that ing the research participants’ time and value must be challenged with “agentic positioning pro- acknowledges their mana and aspirations for self-­ moted by teachers” (p. 738). determination. Furthermore, starting talanoa with On the other hand, attributing low achieve- karakia and whanaungatanga builds relationships ment to student deficits and student-­blaming and acknowledges tapu. The tapu is made noa rhetoric denies the existence of structural rac- with the provision of food and hospitality. Having ism and oppositional cultural systems. Curtis et two methodological lenses recognised that the al. (2012) note that structural power lies with Leadership Through Learning student leaders are the institute and argue for “the development of Mäori and/or Pacific. interventions aimed at changing the institution I am a Kaupapa Mäori researcher, and so to (rather than the learner) . . . to produce meaning- ensure Pacific representation I employed Rachel ful improvements for Mäori and Pasifika student Cocker-­Hopkins, who is of Tongan and Native success” (p. 599). One of the barriers to leadership American descent, as my research assistant. She and learning success is when students do not feel brought the expertise of an Indigenous doctoral comfortable with or know how to navigate the researcher with experience using talanoa. Talanoa university system. Leadership Through Learning provides “a cultural synthesis of the information, provides a platform for informal sharing of infor- stories, emotions and theorising” (Vaioleti, 2016, mation between facilitators and students to bridge p. 21), and is “a co-production­ of knowledge knowledge gaps. through relationally mindful critical dialogue” (Tecun et al., 2018, p. 157) and building relation- Methodology ships (Fa‘avae et al., 2016). For the interviews The best fit for an exploration of normalising and focus group, Rachel was given the research Mäori and Pacific leadership and learning suc- questions as a guide. She was also aware of the cess was found to be a dual approach: Kaupapa project aims and objectives, and therefore was able Mäori (G. H. Smith, 1997; L. T. Smith, 1999) and to assess how to best talanoa with the participants Pacific research methodologies (Health Research for the co-­production of knowledge. Council of New Zealand, 2004). Kaupapa Mäori Utilising Kaupapa Mäori transformative praxis is an established methodology and theory drawing and talanoa methods, this study recruited eight from Mäori principles to advance Mäori aspira- student leaders enrolled in semester one of 2018 tions (Bishop, 1996; Pihama et al., 2002; G. H. and four alumni student leaders from various Smith, 1997; S. Walker et al., 2006). Bishop (1996) Leadership Through Learning cohorts. Five stu- fought to have Kaupapa Mäori research recognised dent leaders took part in a focus group, with in the academy and challenged the mainstream to one student leader also participating in a one-on-­ ­ increase power sharing and self-­determination. one talanoa. All together eight (four alumni and Utilising cultural values and practices from both four enrolled) student leaders had one-on-­ one­ Mäori and Pacific perspectives, Airini et al. (2010) talanoa. Utilised as part of the Leadership Through took the approach of including Mäori and Pacific Learning programme, talanoa provided a familiar

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way to gather data from the student leaders as paper where you learn about what Indigenous research participants and enabled them to delve people have gone through in New Zealand and the deeply into the issues concerning their success. Pacific. And so there’s still a lot of racism. . . . It’s an Talanoa helped cross cultural boundaries through unhealthy environment for Mäori and Pacific to be story sharing, empowerment and empathetic in. You’re constantly fighting or working against a communication. system that’s working against you. It’s hard!

Findings and discussion The programme helps student leaders to critique This section presents the findings from the talanoa and evaluate their struggles, and to transform them and discusses the key themes identified by par- into successes. One student leader commented, “It ticipants relating to countering deficit framing, has made me more culturally aware and more cul- negative stereotypes and micro-­aggressions. The turally sensitive as a person. Because I think what counternarratives work to normalise Mäori and a lot of people perceive our people to be, is really Pacific student leaders’ success and produce a form negative. Like more negative than positive.” Being of positive stereotyping. What Mäori and Pacific in the Leadership Through Learning programme student leaders say to, and about, each other is has helped some student leaders recognise that the powerful and relevant for understanding what negative perspectives and stereotypes people hold is meant by normalising leadership and learn- do not accurately represent them or their peers in ing success. The Leadership Through Learning the programme. programme also encourages peer support and A seminal study on negative stereotypes found accountability, which in practice normalises suc- some fundamental differences about the way cess for student leaders. This section considers Päkehä New Zealanders, Mäori and Pacific people the student voice, their participation and growth are stereotyped. For instance, Sibley et al. (2011) in the programme, and how those aspects shape found that Päkehä are stereotyped as highly warm normalising success to provide a countercultural (in an approachable way) and highly competent. perspective on degree-­level studies. The authors also found that Pacific people were Normalising Mäori and Pacific success for some also stereotyped as highly warm but low in compe- of the student leaders started in the Leadership tence, and that Mäori were stereotyped as low to Through Learning programme. Student leaders medium in both areas. They conclude that “socio-­ from stage one through to doctoral candidates structural characteristics of ethnic group relations have joined the programme, and sometimes it is (competition and status) foster fundamentally dif- the first time that their value is acknowledged. As ferent forms of legitimizing ideology, prejudice and one student leader expressed, “Yeah, it’s about discriminatory behaviour toward different ethnic you realising your potential and knowing that you groups in the New Zealand context” (Sibley et al., do have a lot to offer.” This awareness helped the 2011, p. 25). Therefore, negative stereotypes have student leaders to recognise and value their worth, implications for how Mäori and Pacific students which in turn developed their self-efficacy.­ For are viewed and treated on campus, and how they instance, from the first day of the programme, see themselves. they are called leaders, and they eventually grow Päkehä hegemony is a risk for Mäori and Pacific into the role by the end of the semester. One of students in a large institution because it subsumes the leaders exclaimed: “You don’t get told you’re them under the dominant group’s norms and ideas. a leader when you go to some random class. You Hohepa (2000) recognises the dangers of hegem- don’t go to Sociology 100 and they’re like, ‘You’re ony, and Hoskins (2010) notes that hegemony awesome, you’re a leader!’” is the cultivation of common sense that becomes Changing negative self-­talk is one of the instituted. G. H. Smith (2004) insists that Päkehä objectives many of the student leaders choose to hegemony must be undone through decolonising. address during the programme. One student leader Pihama et al. (2004) argue that hegemony must be suggested that negative self-­talk is sometimes gen- challenged, questioned and critiqued to maintain erated in the social environment and around the aspirations of success. Student leaders not under- university. Coming to the programme helped her standing their own context risks the penetration recognise this: of negative beliefs into their psyche. One student leader in the talanoa touched on There is a lack of prior knowledge and understand- negative beliefs and stereotypes about his Pacific ing of Mäori and Pacific things at university. Like people, before discussing how Leadership Through you don’t have a compulsory Te Ao Mäori 130 Learning had changed his outlook:

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In my experience, not to stereotype, but I haven’t When we were in the programme it would challenge met many [ambitious friends]. That’s just me my ideas of like how much do I know? I was raised maybe; I choose the wrong friends. Some that are with values and so looking back on those values not really succeeding. Like they don’t look long-­ and having to reassess where I’d put them and how term. But a lot of people here have shared stuff like I’d pushed them aside, and then having to implant their ambitions and big goals. So being around that, them back into my life was a big impact for me! and people that have experienced lots in life, kind of makes you open up. Over time this student and others developed a countercultural lens and narrative. She started He started to feel unsure of which group he to speak up in her lectures rather than take the belonged to: Was he more like his friends or like content of her lectures at face value and as fact. the other student leaders? This example demon- She was able to reflect on her grandparents’ teach- strates that student leaders have influence over ings and ponder a cultural perspective not being each other and can build self-­efficacy in the pro- taught in the lecture theatres. It made her think gramme, in a reciprocal manner. When Mäori and about how much of what she was learning was Pacific student leaders see others like themselves knowledge based and how much of it was based on achieving, it helps motivate them to do the same. unconscious bias. She questioned how much she One student leader reflected on a stereotype adopted from a mainstream perspective about who about Mäori and Pacific students not going to she was culturally. Reclaiming her Pacific cultural classes, and insisted it was because they did values and consciously living them in the university not feel comfortable or supported like they do space set this student on a pathway of building a in Leadership Through Learning. She examined strong scholarly trajectory based on her cultural the difference in her desire to show up to the identity. Being able to reflect on her upbringing programme: and the respect she held for her grandparents helped this student leader to reconnect with her You’re not just another number, not just another cultural roots. She was able to take the influence brown face that doesn’t go to class because you felt of those cultural values on her life and reframe uncomfortable. But it’s a space where you do feel herself anew. She realised she did not have to leave comfortable, and you really do want to be there. important parts of herself behind at the university It’s just really positive and everyone’s supporting gates. The impact caused her to make a 180-degree­ each other. And that’s leadership, yeah! turn and develop a desire to serve her community:

Another student leader critiqued the negative per- From the past to the present, and I guess to the ceptions that people outside of the programme had future as well, because even career-wise­ I would about him and other Mäori and Pacific students. He have never considered anything in a Pacific sort of felt pressure to succumb to the negative stereotypes field. I wouldn’t have considered it. I don’t know in his actions but rejected the idea because other if I will end up in that sort of career or anything, student leaders in Leadership Through Learning but it wasn’t one I would consider before. did not reflect those stereotypes. He was able to voice these contradictions to the group: Asserting agency over one’s cultural identity for both individual and collective success is a positive I feel like I’m being myself more than I was before. outcome of the programme. It develops from being Yeah, that’s a big thing for me personally, that with other proud Mäori and Pacific people in the kind of “you don’t care” attitude. I feel like I was programme. One student leader was able to shed suppressing it. You know, like you’ve got to act the stereotypes and see herself as part of a collec- a certain way. But for me, I feel like that’s some- tive of like-­minded individuals, comfortable with thing I’m going to carry; embracing individual their cultural identity: uniqueness. For me, it is tapping into working with Mäori and Another Pacific student leader considered the Pacific people and working in a way that benefits influence of the wider university’s culture on the them, but also hopefully bringing that into the perception she held of herself culturally. After Western, mainstream world. So, working collec- being in the programme, she concluded that having tively rather than individually is where I’m at. to leave cultural values at home was not the way What I see is that people can thrive when they work she would succeed: together, and that is how collective societies work.

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Experiencing the value of working collectively What makes it different is the groups are a lot in the programme and reclaiming the value of smaller and you’re surrounded by people who are a collective identity had pushed this student similar to you. Just seeing the same people helped and others in Leadership Through Learning to me keep going with the programme and developing reclaim their cultural identity. In the degree-level­ my journey alongside my peers, which was really setting reclaiming cultural identity as a notion inspiring. should not be a conscious decision that Mäori and Pacific students need to make because it is a Leadership Through Learning is a programme right and a responsibility for their institute to sup- that by definition is countercultural for Mäori port. When cultural identity is strong, self-efficacy­ and Pacific student leaders, and is an attempt improves. to remedy a history of inequities. One student Developing self-efficacy­ can be challenging leader, for example, said that some people think when Mäori and Pacific students start degree-level­ these kinds of programmes are “unfair” because study. Success is a factor that helps improve self-­ “they lack the understanding of colonisation, of efficacy while perceived failure lowers it (Bandura, inequities in Aotearoa”. These kinds of statements 1982, 1997; Bandura et al., 1980). When one constitute everyday colonialism and racism. This alumni student came to the programme, he had a student leader and many others over the course strong critique of the university. He understood of the programme shared similar stories about the conceptually about structural racism and colonis- burden of everyday colonialism and racism, micro-­ ing agendas yet did not understand it at a personal aggressions and negative stereotyping. Carrying level. He noted how negative stereotypes had these burdens through degree-­level study has made pushed him towards an unhealthy habit of per- them question their place in the university, their fectionism. The toll of his perceived identity was ability to succeed, and their ability to empower, heavy, but Leadership Through Learning helped lead and transform. empower him: Conclusion It got rid of perfection, and it shifted my thinking to This article has discussed normalising Mäori think more proactively and got me to acknowledge and Pacific leadership and learning success. The that a) I’m not a perfect person, b) I will always Leadership Through Learning programme has probably be carrying something, emotionally, or been used to illustrate examples of success and to mentally, or spiritually or physically. But it’s like I showcase knowledge about some of the challenges now feel that I shouldn’t beat myself up about it. Mäori and Pacific students face in degree-level­ study. These challenges affect their identity, stud- He developed self-­efficacy through learning more ies and ability to succeed. Student leaders’ voices about himself, which changed his outlook and and their understandings of those experiences career pathway: have been highlighted to stimulate reflection, especially for those working with or intending to You do end up becoming more kind to yourself (in work with Mäori and Pacific degree-­level students. the present tense). And in that manner—I think that These students look to staff in academic, front- it does make your future look brighter by about 20 line, administrative and leadership roles to create to 50 per cent—which means so much; especially opportunities to engage with them on an authentic in this place! level and not through a lens of stereotypes. It is in these relationships, the worthwhile exchanges Quite often student leaders strengthened self-­ created with staff members and other students, efficacy because of the relationships and trust that stereotypes can be broken down. they developed in the programme. A praxis that Normalising leadership and learning success for creates power sharing and relationship building in Mäori and Pacific “students as leaders” changes the classroom helps students to participate actively the students and everyone around them. Positive (Bishop, 2003) and therefore engage at a deeper stereotyping through actively reframing negative level with each other. Mäori and Pacific student beliefs held and assumptions made about Mäori leaders identify with this approach as it reflects and Pacific students is one way to help them lead, cultural pedagogies like ako and tuakana–teina, empower and transform. In turn, this strengthens which are practised in the programme. One stu- their self-efficacy­ and identifies them as successful dent leader recalled: leaders and learners in their own families and com- munities. I suggest educators working at degree

MAI JOURNAL VOLUME 9, ISSUE 1, 2020 LEADERSHIP THROUGH LEARNING 67 level think about ways in which they can create Päkehä New Zealanders of European positive stereotypes for Mäori and Pacific students descent and negate diminishing ones. A countercultural tapu sacred and counternarrative approach not only reduces Te Ao Mäori the Mäori world negative stereotypes and micro-aggressions­ for tuakana–teina older sibling–younger sibling, Mäori and Pacific students; it sets the scene for mentor–mentee relationship other students to follow an alternative “normal”— waka ocean-­voyaging canoes one without everyday colonialism and racism. whänau extended family Teaching and learning environments vary whanaungatanga relationship building across institutions, faculties and departments, and this article has focused on the ways educators try to normalise Mäori and Pacific students’ leadership Tongan and learning success at the University of Auckland. aiga extended family Mäori and Pacific students have graduated with talanoa discussion, conversation; degrees despite the challenges of an uneven playing research methodology based field. Recognising that this unevenness persists, as within a Pacific worldview this study has demonstrated, raises the question: vaka ocean-­voyaging canoes What more can you do to normalise and empower Mäori and Pacific students’ leadership and learn- References ing success? Airini, Brown, D., Curtis, E. T., Johnson, O., O’Shea, M., Rakena, T. O., Reynolds, G., Sauni, P., Smith, Acknowledgements A., Su’a-Huirua, T., Tarawa, M., Townsend, S., Savage, T., & Ulugia-Pua, M. (2010). Success for I would like to thank CLeaR for awarding me all: Improving Mäori and Pasifika student success a 2018 fellowship and for the exceptional guid- in degree-level studies. Teaching and Learning ance and leadership I received from Dr Hinekura Research Initiative. http://www.tlri.org.nz/sites/ Smith and Dr ‘Ema Wolfgramm-­Foliaki. A special default/files/projects/9247-Airini-final-report.pdf thank you also goes to Associate Professor Susan Bamberg, M. (2004). Considering counter-narratives. Carter, whose CLeaR workshops helped me to In M. Bamberg & M. Andrews (Eds.), Considering counter-narratives: Narrating, resisting, making give this, my first article, a final polish. Your sup- sense (pp. 351–372). John Benjamins Publishing. port has meant so much to me. Ngä mihi ki a http://doi.org/dhwv koutou! Thanks also to the Schuler Educational Bandura, A. (1982). Self-efficacy mechanism in human Enhancement and Development (SEED) Fund for agency. American Psychologist, 37(2), 122–147. supporting this project. My gratitude goes to the http://doi.org/dszsqm other CLeaR fellows, Rachel Cocker-Hopkins­ for Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of con- outstanding research assistance and Ashlea Gillon trol. W. H. Freeman. Bandura, A. (2000). Exercise of human agency for administrative support. Heartfelt aroha to our through collective efficacy. Current Directions in Leadership Through Learning student leaders, Psychological Science, 9(3), 75–78. http://doi.org/ facilitators and wider Te Fale Pouäwhina team. bt235t The University of Auckland Human Participants Bandura, A. (2006). Going global with social cog- Ethics Committee approved this research on nitive theory: From prospect to paydirt. In S. I. December 20, 2017, for three years (#020409). Donaldson, D. E. Berger, & K. Pezdek (Eds.), Applied psychology: New frontiers and rewarding Glossary careers (pp. 53–79). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Bandura, A., Adams, N. E., Hardy, A. B., & Howells, Mäori G. N. (1980). Tests of the generality of self-efficacy ako to teach and to learn theory. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 4, 39–66. Aotearoa New Zealand http://doi.org/fvbh4b Bertrand Jones, T., Guthrie, K. L., & Osteen, L. (2016). aroha kindness, affection, love, Critical domains of culturally relevant leadership compassion learning: A call to transform leadership programs. karakia prayers New Directions for Student Leadership, 2016(152), Kaupapa Mäori research methodology based 9–21. http://doi.org/dhww within a Mäori worldview Bishop, R. (1991). He whakawhanaungatanga tikanga rua: Establishing family links; a bicultural experi- mana power and authority ence [Master’s thesis, University of Otago]. OUR Mäori Indigenous people of Aotearoa Archive. http://hdl.handle.net/10523/3637 noa non-­sacred Bishop, R. (1996). Addressing issues of self-determination

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Talanoa in building Leadership (IUSL): A critical cross-cultural com- democracy and governance [Paper presentation]. parative analysis of educational leaders in New Future Leaders of the Pacific Conference, Pago Zealand and the United States. School Leadership: Pago, American Samoa. Opportunities for Comparative Inquiry, 43(1), Hau‘ofa, E. (1993). Our sea of islands. In V. Naidu & 1–22. E. Waddell (Eds.), A new Oceania: Rediscovering Sibley, C. G., Stewart, K., Houkamau, C. A., Manuela, our sea of islands (pp. 2–16). School of Social and S., Perry, R., Wootton, L. W., Harding, J. F., Zhang, Economic Development, University of the South Y., Sengupta, N., Robertson, A., Hoverd, W. J., Pacific. West-Newman, T., & Asbrock, F. (2011). Ethnic Health Research Council of New Zealand. (2004). group stereotypes in New Zealand. New Zealand Guidelines for Pacific health research. Journal of Psychology, 40(2), 25–36. Hohepa, M. K. (2000). Hei tautoko i te reo: Maori Smith, G. H. (1997). 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Solorzano, D., Allen, W. R., & Carroll, G. (2002). Vaioleti, T. M. (2016). Talanoa research methodology: Keeping race in place: Racial microaggressions A developing position on Pacific research. Waikato and campus racial climate at the University of Journal of Education, 12(1), 21–34. http://doi. California, Berkeley. Chicana/o Latina/o Law org/c6mj Review, 15, 15–112. Walker, R. (1990). Ka whawhai tonu matou: Struggle Stajkovic, A. D., & Luthans, F. (1998). Self-efficacy without end. Penguin Books. and work-related performance: A meta-analysis. Walker, S., Eketone, A., & Gibbs, A. (2006). An explo- Psychological Bulletin, 124(2), 240–261. http:// ration of kaupapa Maori research, its principles, doi.org/fbwv6m processes and applications. International Journal Suaalii-Sauni, T., & Fulu-Aiolupotea, S. M. (2014). of Social Research Methodology, 9(4), 331–344. Decolonising Pacific research, building Pacific http://doi.org/bx82s2 research communities and developing Pacific Webber, M. (2012). Identity matters: Racial-ethnic iden- research tools: The case of the talanoa and the tity and Maori students. Set: Research Information faafaletui in Samoa. Asia Pacific Viewpoint, 55(3), for Teachers, (2), 20–27. 331–344. http://doi.org/bd7j Webber, M., McKinley, E., & Hattie, J. (2013). The Tecun, A. (D. Hernandez), Hafoka, ‘I., ‘Ulu‘ave, L., importance of race and ethnicity: An exploration & ‘Ulu‘ave-Hafoka, M. (2018). Talanoa: Tongan of New Zealand Päkehä, Mäori, Samoan and epistemology and Indigenous research method. Chinese adolescent identity. New Zealand Journal AlterNative, 14(2), 156–163. http://doi.org/c6mg of Psychology, 42(2), 17–28.

MAI JOURNAL VOLUME 9, ISSUE 1, 2020 DOI: 10.20507/MAIJournal.2020.9.1.8

PASIFIKA STUDENTS AND LEARNING TO LEARN AT UNIVERSITY

Marcia Leenen-Young*

Abstract As a Samoan educator, I have frequently heard the claim that Pasifika students need to learn how to learn to succeed at university. As part of the He Vaka Moana Fellowship in 2018, I sought to explore this claim by conducting talanoa with 24 Pasifika students who had taken a Pacific Studies course at the University of Auckland. The talanoa focused on their thoughts about learning and learning processes inside and outside the university. This study demonstrates that Pasifika students know how to learn and frequently reflect on their learning processes. These findings are important for recognising that Pasifika students’ learning processes are not an issue, but that educators need to be more aware of how Pasifika students learn at university to successfully support Pasifika student achievement.

Keywords Pasifika students, learning, Pasifika pedagogy, higher education

Introduction are told that Pasifika educational success is a gov- For Pasifika peoples, learning has always been a ernmental priority (Ministry of Education, 2014; central and lifelong occupation. Pasifika communi- Tertiary Education Commission, 2017). While ties value knowledge and have clear frameworks many people and organisations have taken strides for learning centred on the multiple knowledge towards educational equity, universities in general systems of Pasifika peoples. At the core of this is the have not yet figured out how to reconcile what has understanding that Pasifika people know how to been proven through research to support Pasifika learn, think about learning and learning processes, student success with the Western structures of have developed deep ways of knowing and doing, education embodied in the university (Alkema, and above all value reflection and wisdom (Gegeo, 2014). University systems in Aotearoa still pri- 2006). This deep respect for learning encompasses oritise Western-based­ pedagogical practices, but both cultural knowledge and Western education. this system is looking increasingly outdated in the However, this motivation and passion for learning face of an evolving and increasingly multi-­ethnic has not historically been recognised or translated student body (Salesa, 2017). into success within the Western education system Pasifika students in tertiary institutions in in Aotearoa New Zealand. Aotearoa often fall into a division between those Pasifika pedagogy and effective learning envi- who adjust to the expectations of a Western insti- ronments for Pasifika students are complicated tution and those who do not. While there is a issues that have been written about by many push against deficit student blaming for achieve- esteemed Pasifika academics (for example, Alkema, ment rates in education, my experience shows that 2014; Benseman et al., 2006; Chu et al., 2013). We excuses are still sought that overlook the teachers

* Lecturer, Pacific Studies, Faculty of Arts, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand. Email: [email protected] PASIFIKA STUDENTS AND LEARNING TO LEARN AT UNIVERSITY 71 and the tertiary institutions themselves in order to Dr ‘Ema Wolfgramm-­Foliaki, the fellowship was place blame elsewhere. One claim I heard repeat- framed through the Tongan adage “pikipiki hama edly is that Pasifika students need to learn how to kae vaevae manava”, which speaks to the ancient learn in order to be successful at university. This voyaging practice of lashing together vaka on the justification places the onus on the student who ocean to share food, information and resources. does not know how to learn, alongside the sec- Within this framework, this fellowship became ondary schooling system that did not teach them a space defined largely by Mäori and Pasifika how to learn. Issues with the National Certificate women to tautoko and manaaki each other as of Educational Achievement and Pasifika student we lashed our vaka together once a month and achievement have been well documented, although discussed our shared visions for our projects. there has been positive development in recent I was fortunate to pursue my questions about years (New Zealand Qualifications Authority, Pasifika students and learning through this fellow- 2019). However, more significant is the offering ship and step outside my area of expertise. While of learning to learn as an excuse to exonerate the not trained in education, I have a unique perspective universities themselves and place the burden of as a Samoan educator and early career researcher blame on the student and their secondary school- who has focused on learning and Pasifika student ing. But do Pasifika students need tolearn how support through both academic and professional to learn and what exactly does that mean in the positions within the tertiary education sector. context of a university? The increasing number of Pasifika faces in lecture theatres envisioned by Literature Salesa (2017) makes urgent the argument that Pasifika student success in education has been a tertiary institutions “ought to be more culturally focus of research in Aotearoa for several years democratic, taking more serious consideration (for example, Airini et al., 2010; Alkema, 2014; of the ways in which Pasifika people think, learn Benseman et al., 2006; Chu et al., 2013; Ross, and communicate with one another” (Thaman, 2008; Thaman, 2009; Theodore et al., 2018). 2009, p. 1). However, research on Pasifika students’ processes In this project, the 24 Pasifika students who of learning is rare. participated and shared their experiences clearly showed that they know how to learn at university, Pasifika ways of knowing and learning think and reflect on learning, and adapt learning Pasifika ways of knowing and learning have sig- skills to circumstance. Learning is not a Pasifika nificant value in contemporary education. Thaman problem. But it also became clear through this pro- (2014) explains the differences between Pasifika ject that the underlying ideology for learning and knowledge systems and Western knowledge assessment focused on at university is not effective systems on “contextual, substantive and meth- for knowledge acquisition at the undergraduate odological grounds” (p. 302). Western knowledge level for Pasifika students. The demands of assess- systems are commonly identified as scientifically ment and time pressures alongside Western-­based based and located around recognised centres of pedagogical frameworks and environments con- knowledge creation, such as universities and gov- tribute to settings that are at odds with Pasifika ernments, whereas Indigenous knowledge systems ways of learning. In the context of an increasingly are generationally developed, tested and trans- Pasifika population, the inability of universities mitted through specific ethnic groups or regions to separate themselves from outdated Western-­ (Thaman, 2014). European colonisation of the based systems of learning increases the divide Pacific undermined the value of Indigenous Pasifika between Pasifika students and higher learning knowledge systems and privileged a European institutions. structure of education that suppressed ancient sys- tems of learning and teaching. Prior to European He Vaka Moana CLeaR Fellowship contact, a robust system of informal education The He Vaka Moana CLeaR (Centre for Learning existed in the Pacific with recognisable methods of & Research in Higher Education) Fellowship teaching and learning. As Thaman (1995) points was a one-year­ fellowship programme held in out, more formal education for specialised areas 2018 that brought together Mäori and Pasifika of knowledge also likely existed in areas such as professional and academic staff from different warfare, navigation and the passing down of cul- faculties at the University of Auckland to work tural knowledge to females. on projects to enhance the success of Mäori and The “classroom” for such education was Pasifika students. Led by Dr Hinekura Smith and the ‘aiga and wider village community, with

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teaching conveyed through oral history, dance, at the USP and the vague concept of the “Western” song, poetry, proverbs, material culture and cul- student. While generalisations about students are tural rituals (Thaman, 1995). Those with specialist impossible because of the varied geographic and knowledge would teach the younger generation to ethnic Pacific backgrounds of their participants, ensure the continuation and future development they acknowledge that culturally specific learning of the knowledge they had inherited. There was styles are of significance. One key point Mugler a clear method of teaching and learning prior to and Landbeck (1997) query is the assumption that colonisation, through observation, listening and Pacific students prefer collaborative learning to imitation (Thaman, 1995). Gegeo (2006) identifies individual learning. Lesa (1995) conducted a study key aspects of Indigenous Pasifika epistemolo- into learning styles of students at the American gies, highlighting methods of learning acquisition Samoa Community College and found that 83% that were communal and dialogic; practice ori- of participants preferred collaborative and par- ented; based on memory, reflection and intuition; ticipatory learning. This aligns with Mugler and alongside learning using the senses of sight, touch, Landbeck’s findings that most of their participants hearing, smell and taste. Significantly, he also found group work useful; however, there were highlights the importance of testimony in learning Pacific students who preferred to learn individu- from ancestors and elders (Gegeo, 2006). ally. As Ross (2008) points out, assuming learning Indigenous Pasifika methods for learning and preferences based exclusively on ethnicity is not teaching have a long history and are by no means conducive to effective learning support. redundant in the contemporary world. In particu- Mugler and Landbeck (1997) also report par- lar, the practical aspects of Indigenous Pasifika ticipant distinction between learning as acquiring methods of learning resonate with research on new knowledge, often for assessment or to fulfil active, experiential and student-centred­ learning a requirement of the course, and “real learning”, that place the student within the learning process which points to understanding a topic. Real learn- and not as a passive observer focused on theo- ing or understanding is not automatic to learning retical learning (Lea et al., 2003; Moon, 2013; since learning for a purpose does not necessarily Tangney, 2014). presuppose understanding. Similarly, according to their participants, rote learning or memorisa- Pasifika students and learning tion did not assume lack of understanding, which A significant amount of Western educational is often presumed (Purdie et al., 1996). Notably, research analyses how students approach learn- Mugler and Landbeck (1997) emphasise that their ing using analytical learning assessments (Biggs, participants knew what real learning was: 1987; Tait et al., 1998). Richardson et al. (1995) used a learning assessment tool, the Approaches Our interviews make clear that students are per- to Study Inventory (ASI), at the University of fectly aware of what they consider “real learning”, the South Pacific (USP) to analyse two groups of for instance, but “real learning” may not always be undergraduate students. Results from this research what they think is asked of them to pass a course. were ambiguous and raised questions about apply- To paraphrase one of our students, there’s real ing ASI in non-Western­ countries. A decade later, learning, and then there’s studying for a course. Phan and Deo (2007) used a revised version of (p. 236) Biggs’s Study Process Questionnaire at the USP to conclude that undergraduate Pacific students Learning for assessments is often only achieved approach learning in two ways: either to under- at the surface level and reflects the significance stand information or to reproduce information of motivation in the learning process (Hattie & for academic assessment (“Pacific” has been used Donoghue, 2016). In the Pacific, Phan and Deo when referring to these studies at the USP because (2007) argue that for students at the USP, par- the context is outside Aotearoa). ticularly Indo-­Fijian students, the objective is Both Richardson et al. (1995) and Phan and to achieve good grades in order to have social Deo (2007) support the centrality of context, mobility, which promotes a link between surface culture and environment to learning approaches. learning and assessments. They claim this is insti- The recognition that cultural differences affect tutionalised, citing rote learning and memorisation educational experiences and achievement is not as techniques learned at school that are continued new (Benseman et al., 2006; Mayeda et al., 2014; into tertiary education (Phan & Deo, 2007). Thaman, 2009). Mugler and Landbeck (1997) dis- Additionally, academic staff and students cuss cultural differences between Pacific students often identify time management as a key skill for

MAI JOURNAL VOLUME 9, ISSUE 1, 2020 PASIFIKA STUDENTS AND LEARNING TO LEARN AT UNIVERSITY 73 academic success. However, research has shown of Auckland City Campus and Facebook adver- that the concept and management of time may be tisements through the principal investigator’s or different for Pasifika students (Davidson-Toumu‘a­ RA’s networks. Participants chose whether to do & Dunbar, 2009). Yet, limited attention has been an interview or a focus group between July and paid to Western concepts of time as a barrier to August 2018 on the University of Auckland City Pasifika student success. Davidson-Toumu‘a­ and Campus. Dunbar (2009) argue that Pasifika students find All of the participants were Pasifika students. it difficult to adapt to a culture in which time is There were 12 male participants and 12 female finite, using Hall and Hall’s (1990) definition of participants. Interview and focus group length polychronic time to illustrate that Pasifika stu- depended on the participants, and none was over dents value relationships over keeping to schedule. 90 minutes long. Questions were used to guide Although Davidson-­Toumu‘a and Dunbar (2009) the talanoa because of the inexperience of the RA acknowledge that Pasifika concepts of time are (Vaioleti, 2013). Each interview and focus group unlikely to be embraced in a Western institution, opened with prayer and shared food, and each an awareness of this by those who teach Pasifika participant received a $30 Westfield voucher in students is paramount. appreciation. While much scholarly focus has been aimed at This was the first time I used an RA in a research Pasifika student success, there is a gap in the lit- project and there was much to learn. Because I erature on Pasifika learning processes. Filling this teach in Pacific Studies, employing an RA to do the gap could contribute to a shift in tertiary education interviews was intended to counter any potential in direct response to the learning requirements of conflict of interest. Fa‘avae et al. (2016) articulate Pasifika learners. the complications of putting talanoa into practice in a culturally competent way that does not con- Methodology tradict the research guidelines of a Western tertiary The research processes undertaken during this institution. This was further complicated through project centred Pasifika values. Although the the allocation of this task to someone else. The RA data gathered from this project was exceedingly for this project was a young Samoan male with valuable, the process was not without difficulties, whom I discussed the theoretical application of specifically with conducting talanoa and using a talanoa; however, I did not support him enough research assistant (RA) for the first time (Fa‘avae with practical models of the process. This resulted et al., 2016). in some interviews and focus groups progressing This research project was qualitative and used like a free-­flowing talanoa and others reverting talanoa as a method for interviews and focus to a question–answer style. From the recordings groups to promote open, authentic dialogue and transcriptions, it was clear the RA was more (Fa‘avae et al., 2016; Vaioleti, 2006). The meth- comfortable with the male participants, with odological focus of this project was on ensuring the whom he allowed a free-flowing­ conversation in centrality of key Pasifika research values: respect, which he offered his own insights and prompted service, reciprocal relationships, Pasifika ways of further reflection. In contrast, in the recordings knowing and being, and of benefit to Pasifika com- and transcriptions of the interviews and focus munities (Naepi, 2015; Penetito & Sanga, 2002). groups with female participants, the RA relied Twenty-­four participants took part in six on the questions. The relaxed conversation with semi-­structured focus groups and nine individual males was also characterised by periods of joking interviews. Participants had to be of Pasifika eth- and reference to male participants as uso or uce, nicity and an undergraduate student, and to have which contributed to the relational tone of these attended a Vaka Moana session. Vaka Moana is interviews and focus groups, but this was absent an academic enhancement programme in Pacific from his dialogue with female participants. This Studies in the Faculty of Arts at the University of dynamic was not one I anticipated but should have Auckland for students who take Pacific Studies in line with Pasifika cultural norms. Much reflec- courses. It prioritises Pasifika ways of knowing tion on the process of talanoa and how it is taught through academic-­focused workshops and study to young researchers has been done in the wake of sessions, providing a Pasifika-­centred learning this research project, although nothing could be environment for students. done to mitigate effects. This has reinforced for An RA led the participant recruitment, and con- me as an early career researcher the importance of ducted and transcribed the talanoa. Participants fully anticipating potential cultural challenges and were recruited through flyers around the University the significance of providing practical examples

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instead of relying on theoretical models to guide the subject and viewing the subject as important. young researchers. Time featured as a key deciding factor in whether to think about learning or to just do it: “I do think Research data about how I learn, how I study and stuff as well, Analysis of the data gathered through this research but sometimes I probably just do it. If I don’t have uncovered several subthemes for Pasifika students the time, then I’d just do it” (P1). Key to this was and learning. Key themes relevant to this article are the immediacy of assessments in particular and thinking about learning and processes of learning the time factor in completing them for submission: inside and outside university. “Previously I would do learning, instead of learn how to learn . . . Yeah, ’cause I was just, I got this Thinking about learning assignment to do and I just have to do it” (J1). Participants gave three types of responses to the Alongside time, interest was identified as a question of how much they thought about their factor that motivated participants to think about learning processes. They thought about their learn- how they learn because learning became important ing (9), did not think about their learning (5) or once the student was invested: sometimes thought about their learning (8). Figure 1 is a representation of responses. Two of the 24 I use[d] to be a just do it person, but . . . I changed participants did not answer. my perspective on uni. I was doing something just for the sake of it, but I started taking crim—crimi- nology—and it’s some of the most interesting stuff I’ve ever come across. So I went from just doing it to appreciating the field and wanting to learn and know more about [it]. (N1)

The perceived importance of the course in terms of the overall degree programme was also a deter- minant, and less emphasis was put on courses that were not considered essential. General Education courses were identified as having fewer conse- quences, so were given less thought in terms of FIGURE 1 Thinking about learning learning processes: “I reckon it just depends on what reason you’re doing it for, for me, for my Gen For the nine participants who both thought about Eds I just do it but for my other papers I would learning and did not think about it, the decision to try and pass them” (O2). do so depended on circumstances: “There is a bit One key theme discussed by participants was of a mix, so sometimes you just have to dive in and that thinking about how you learn develops over sometimes you have to think about it—depending time. Several participants contextualised their on what it is” (D1). thinking about learning as reflection at the end of Seventeen participants thought about their their degrees: learning and recognised the importance of under- standing how you learn in order to be better at It’s like you come to the end of your degree and it. One participant recognised the importance then you do a lot of self-­evaluation in terms of how of analysing your own learning strengths and I could of done this and this better and I feel like weaknesses: I should have done [this] earlier on in my degree ’cause I just like, previously I would do learning I definitely do . . . [you] definitely need to know instead of learn how to learn. (J1) yourself and how you can learn better, otherwise you’re not going to do it . . . I had to be honest Thinking about learning as a skill developed and identify what my learning difficulties were and over time was also linked to taking courses that what my strengths were [and] working around that encouraged thinking about learning, developing to study. (G1) interest or achieving better grades: “I started to, just do it . . . do it to get it out of the way, but For participants, the decision to think about the then not realising that I sort of need to understand process of learning relied on three key factors: hav- how I learn in order for me to get a better mark” ing the time to think about it, being interested in (C1). One participant illustrated the impact of

MAI JOURNAL VOLUME 9, ISSUE 1, 2020 PASIFIKA STUDENTS AND LEARNING TO LEARN AT UNIVERSITY 75 senior Pasifika students encouraging them to acknowledgement was that everyone is differ- think about their learning processes: ent and learning is individual. Four participants stated they would not recommend their processes I definitely think a lot more and I say that comes of learning for exams. Even those students who down to having [been] given that knowledge by would not recommend their own processes dis- other island mentors around the uni who would played awareness about their own learning, with stress the importance of studying, thinking and one stating, “It’s ’cause you gotta find what kind planning before going straight in to it and then also of learner you are, so you gotta find out whether my own personal experience of trying to straight you’re visual, audio or the hands-on­ type of per- do it. (K1) son” (N1). Interestingly, only five participants would rec- Overwhelmingly, participant responses demon- ommend studying in groups for exams, and two strate that the majority of Pasifika students think participants preferred to study individually: about their learning, but in different ways and motivated by different factors. When you work in groups with people that are doing the same course with you, if there are holes in Learning processes and assessments: Essays their argument [or] if there are holes in their under- and examinations standing . . . you can fill them up . . . Then there’s Participants were prompted to discuss learning for the fact that you . . . are all doing the same course essays and exams in different ways. For essays, . . . are all going through the same thing; it just adds students were asked what kind of learning they got to that whole collective—if you’re struggling, I’m from writing essays. The majority of participants struggling, but we can do this together. (J1) responded with discussion of technical skills with much less emphasis on content-based­ learning. Seeking support from Pasifika academic support Participants questioned whether any learn- services such as Vaka Moana or the Tuäkana ing was done in the process of writing an essay: programme also pointed towards participants “Sometimes we don’t even learn . . . ’cause some believing communal support would be benefi- people just do it for the sake of the grade” (N1). cial for learning for examinations. In addition, Participants identified the learning achieved none of the participants mentioned learning for through assessment essays as based on skill rather exams through memorisation. Three key learning than content: techniques were mentioned repeatedly—drawing diagrams, practising from past exam papers and condensing notes—although responses in general Sometimes it’s not really the topic you learn about, focused on doing the readings and going over tuto- I mean that is the gist of it . . . but the skills . . . it rial and lecture content. One participant included just depends how active you are in researching . . . that they learned best when they had to teach and whether it actually sticks in your mind or if it’s someone else the content. just used for that two days to write the essay then Interestingly, when discussing study skills, goes out the window. (D1) only two talanoa from the 15 focus groups and interviews did not identify time management as In one case, a participant included that under- a significant aspect of their ability to learn and standing was not even necessary to write an essay: succeed at university. The majority of students identified being able to manage time as vital: “I When you don’t know what you’re talking about think [time] management is a big one. I know a lot and you use a scholarly article, you instantly forget of students at the front [academically] who have a what you just wrote. You can write it in your essay, lot of outside commitments and so just being able but you won’t understand what you just wrote, to cope and maintain the workload [is important]” and . . . once your essay’s submitted you probably (F1). Participants recognised the need to balance won’t even remember that. (O1) academic commitments with responsibilities out- side university, such as church and family. Participants questioned the learning behind the essay process, but none demonstrated the same Learning outside of university opinion about examinations. For exams, they Participants recognised their processes of learning were asked to discuss how they would advise outside university, discussing learning inside uni- someone to study for them. The most common versity and outside university as opposite. Often

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learning at home or outside university was seen home, walk about, sit and eat. I guess that’s the as practical, whereas learning at university was same with your university experiences or education theoretical: in general—where [you] listen and see how things are done and take in what’s been taught to you and At home . . . it’s more of like practical work, it’s how to do your assignments properly, just like how not like the work we do outside where it’s more you do your chores at home. (G3) theory where they give us what we have to learn and we have to learn it. Whereas practical work is While this participant recognised similarities when . . . they stand there and they teach you while between these learning environments, the majority doing it . . . We’re so used to having a certain way regarded the way they learned in each environment of learning and our families understand the way as distinct: focused on Pasifika ways of learning in we learn at home . . . but when you come to uni their home and church environments that centred I think it’s a totally different environment where on demonstration and imitation, and Western they just give you the papers and you have to go theoretical styles of learning at university. study it yourself. (O1) Discussion Participants joked about applying university Learning as Pasifika peoples tools of learning to what they learn at home or Participant responses about their approach to at church: “It’s different, it’s not like they have a learning and learning processes, inside and outside PowerPoint to teach us what we have to do” (H2); university, clearly indicate that Pasifika students “At church we don’t write down notes” (H2). But think about learning, recognise their own learning these participants also pointed out that they learn processes, identify connections between learn- something every day outside university, either at ing and assessment, and can categorise different home or at church. types of learning in different environments. This Participants identified providing examples and provides evidence that Pasifika students know imitation as the way they learn at home. Most par- how to learn and respond directly to the learning ticipants talked about what they learn from their demands of university. The contradictory claim parents and grandparents through observation that Pasifika students need to learn how to learn and demonstration. According to participants, seems to attribute blame elsewhere in the educa- this way of learning encourages good work ethic, tion system or even to the students themselves for self-­discipline, fa‘aaloalo, using your initiative and their rates of achievement. multitasking: To promote Pasifika student success and reach equitable educational outcomes, educators need to I feel like a lot of it wasn’t even taught . . . you recognise how Pasifika students learn and respond kind of grew up to know it . . . you see everything pedagogically. Although the majority of partici- around you and . . . you’re just expected to know pants saw a difference between what they learned that it’s the way it is . . . [it’s] much more informal, in university and what they learned outside univer- it’s not like that whole, sit down I’m going to teach sity, a successful pedagogical model was evidenced you about this, it’s like . . . you should know this. outside university that helped participants learn You learn by seeing, it’s not like . . . the theory part every day—providing instruction through demon- of learning, you have to see what’s happening. I stration and encouraging imitation and practice. learnt what a si‘i was through watching, I was not This is the way Pasifika peoples have learned and told what it was. (L2) taught for millennia (Gegeo; Thaman, 1995). This research shows that Pasifika peoples still learn and Participants also recognised similarities between teach this way today within their homes, churches learning at university and learning outside univer- and the community. These models of learning are sity. They identified three key similarities between not unrecognisable in education and are similar learning in these different environments: both to active or experiential learning, but such models require initiative and multitasking, and encourage of teaching are not used regularly or effectively collective learning. Only one participant recog- in universities. The dichotomy of theory-based­ nised that learning in the home can be the same learning at university and practical learning is an as learning at university: unhelpful division that is losing ground with the increased attention to student-­centred teaching I guess every Samoan can agree there is a saying alongside constructivist and humanist theories of vaai maka, faalogo kaliga, how to do chores at learning (Lea et al., 2003; Tangney, 2014). While

MAI JOURNAL VOLUME 9, ISSUE 1, 2020 PASIFIKA STUDENTS AND LEARNING TO LEARN AT UNIVERSITY 77 theoretical learning is the cornerstone of higher Pasifika students, assessments and time education, this does not preclude our ability as It is significant that students recognise that an educators to use examples, imitation and practice essay, one of the major summative assessments to facilitate learning. Using pedagogic strategies they do in education, largely promotes skill-­based that are familiar not only to Pasifika students but learning rather than content-focused­ learning. also to many students who have similar learning Because the method of measuring academic success experiences outside of university would validate is through grades in tertiary education, assess- the value of this learning and potentially invoke ments and the “how to” involved with completing more effective learning. them are a key focus. This was evident from par- ticipant responses when asked about learning Learning to learn at university in essays. While writing an essay involves many Pasifika students are observant of their own transferrable skills, the short-term­ surface learning learning processes when approaching essays and that is done specifically to fulfil the assessment task exams—key methods of learning assessment at undervalues the essay as a marker of knowledge university. Five of the 24 participants claimed acquisition. The objective and place of assessment they did not think about their learning, but then should be considered in higher education, along- went on to discuss their learning approaches to side the lack of emphasis on supporting students assessments and could clearly articulate how they to reflect on their own learning processes. learned outside of university. Seventeen partici- While there is a place for surface learning pants thought about their learning, reflected on the dependent on the motivation for learning, there process and developed it through experience. It is should be a greater emphasis on deep learning significant that a number of participants discussed and knowledge transfer at university (Hattie & their learning as a development, and that they had Donoghue, 2016). One method of exam learn- various motivations to rethink the way they learned ing that was discussed by participants is group at university. Although effective learning is often learning, which is often assumed to be the pref- the result of reflection and experience, students erence for Pasifika students (Lesa, 1995). Only should be encouraged to focus on learning as a five participants included group learning as a key aspect of their tertiary journey (Marouchou, learning technique for exam preparation, and 2012). Currently, the responsibility for learning two participants stated they preferred to study development after secondary education is placed on alone, which shows a variation of student pref- the students alone, but this undervalues learning as erences in line with the findings of Mugler and an important process within the tertiary education Landbeck (1997), who found both collaborative system. While independent thinkers are valued in and individual learning preferences among the tertiary settings, becoming an independent thinker participants in their study. While discussing the is not automatic for a first-year­ university student. communal learning emphasis in Vaka Moana Focus on learning and encouragement to reflect on workshops in the wider study data, participants the learning process will provide students with the expressed appreciation for the communal learning tools to succeed in higher education. environment. However, it is significant that group Deciding to think about learning is often a learning was not a process participants saw as part development achieved through reflection. In this of their own learning frameworks but rather one study, participants who developed awareness they participated in when attending workshops. of their learning towards the end of their study Time factored heavily in participant discussions displayed regret at not discovering this sooner, about learning and assessment. The decision to implying it would have made their early tertiary think about learning was determined by the ability years easier. Participants who were motivated to to have enough time to do it. The participants who think about their learning early in their tertiary thought about their learning later in their degree study were led to it by courses that promoted it or demonstrated that thinking about learning and by senior students, and while senior student role developing processes takes time. The decision to models are significant in Pasifika learning environ- either think about learning or to not think about ments, this seems like a responsibility that should learning was often linked by participants to the be placed instead on the university itself (Manuel et time pressure of assessments, which left them al., 2014). Emphasising reflection on learning in a with little choice but to just do it. This pattern of culturally relevant way early in tertiary study could students going from assessment to assessment is ease the strain of the first year of university and not new, but it should make us pause as educa- potentially bolster retention and completion rates. tors to consider when students can find time to

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learn and what the priority should be in tertiary frameworks of time outside of the education sys- education. Time pressures also determine a ten- tem and multiple responsibilities beyond their dency towards surface, assessment-driven­ learning education. While learning to learn is not a Pasifika that sacrifices a student’s ability to achieve deep problem, there are barriers for Pasifika students learning. A culture of overassessing has been cre- within the Western-based­ university system that ated in higher education, but when paired with hinder effective learning. Traditional Indigenous the research-­informed recognition that Pasifika ways of learning and teaching have applications students have multiple responsibilities outside uni- within the university system that could go towards versity, what does this mean for Pasifika student providing an answer to these problems. success (Theodore et al., 2018)? If Pasifika student success is a priority, this becomes an urgent and Acknowledgements unanswered question. This research could not have been done with- The impact of time-driven­ pressure needs to be out the support of the He Vaka Moana CLeaR considered if effective learning is the central goal Fellowship, SEED Grant, Pacific Studies and the in tertiary education. Pasifika concepts of time Faculty of Arts at the University of Auckland, also imply there is a culture adjustment for many who allowed me the time and space to do this Pasifika students within the Aotearoa education project. The mentorship of ‘Ema Wolfgramm-­ system (Davidson-Toumu‘a­ & Dunbar, 2009). Foliaki and Hinekura Smith have made this While some of the Pasifika students in tertiary project, and the fellowship, an experience that lecture theatres have been raised within a Western contributed significantly to my conception of education system, this does not apply to all Pasifika being a Samoan educator. Fa‘afetai tele lava also students, so concepts of time and ability to manage to the He Vaka Moana fellows for providing a time pressures vary. Additionally, the connection strong, Indigenous space for critical thinking between Pasifika students and their island homes and friendship. is often strong, and many live within their specific cultural frameworks when not at university (Allen Glossary et al., 2009). Therefore, the concept of time, use of Mäori time and time pressures can mean one thing inside Aotearoa New Zealand the home within their cultural frameworks and manaaki hospitality, generosity and care something completely different outside the home in a respectful and sustaining in a Western-­informed environment. Added to this way are the recognised multiple obligations Pasifika tautoko support students often have to juggle with their university Samoan study (Theodore et al., 2018). While the time constraints of university cannot change, Davidson-­ ‘aiga extended family Toumu‘a and Dunbar’s (2009) call for awareness fa‘aaloalo respect of this is certainly advisable and may go some way fa‘afetai tele lava thank you very much to preventing the rhetoric of disengagement that si‘i specific cultural practice of has historically been placed on Pasifika students. giving (in goods or monetary terms) for a family, church or Conclusion cultural event This research project has put to rest the claim, often uce; uso (colloquial) brother or sister (not heard in my experience, that Pasifika students do to be used between genders) not know how to learn or do not think about vaai maka, faalogo use your eyes, listen with your learning. Pasifika students think about learning, kaliga ears can identify how they learn and have frameworks Tongan for learning outside of university that are endur- pikipiki hama ancient voyaging practice of ing. Learning is a developed process that requires kavaevae lashing together vaka on attention, opportunity and time. We currently manava the ocean to share food, have an education system driven by time pressure information and resources that takes from students the ability to focus on Pan-Pacific effective learning. The impact of this pressure on talanoa talk to or to speak to; within learning needs to be recognised and acted upon by research, a culturally tertiary institutions and educators, especially for specific, reciprocal, authentic Pasifika students who have both different cultural discussion

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MAI JOURNAL VOLUME 9, ISSUE 1, 2020 DOI: 10.20507/MAIJournal.2020.9.1.9

GROWING THE FLEET; VIEWS OF THE MOANA

A Mäori re-search-teina’s perspective on Mäori and Pasifika re-search relationality

Ashlea Gillon*

Abstract He Vaka Moana is a strengths-­based project framed by oceanic principles and methodologies that connect us as Mäori and Pasifika to the ocean. The underpinning kaupapa and theoretical framework of He Vaka Moana is the Tongan proverb “pikipiki hama kae vaevae manava”, which refers to our individual vaka coming together to support each other as we navigate the moana. He Vaka Moana operates through tuäkana-tëina­ relationships, with Mäori, Pasifika and Päkehä re-search­ fellows across disciplines working with experienced academics, professional staff and new and emerging re-­searchers towards Mäori and Pasifika student success. The ways in which these tuäkana-tëina­ relationships enhance and support new and emerging Mäori and Pasifika re-­searchers are important to the success of “growing the fleet” and increasing Mäori and Pasifika re-search­ capacity and capability. Through metaphors of the moana, this article takes a critically self-­reflective approach to discuss being a re-­ search-­teina. The experiences and conversations from “floating” through a relational space that can be understood as Moana Nui a Kiwa are explored in this article. Thoughts from the moana are shared as to how re-search­ tuäkana-tëina relationships influence and support the growth of Mäori and Pasifika re-searchers.­ The need for further oceanic projects that support and (re)centre Mäori and Pasifika tuäkana-­tëina relationships and mentorship within westernised academia is also discussed.

Keywords Mäori, Pasifika, new and emerging academic, re-­searchers, Indigenous, whanaungatanga

Introduction become a re-­searcher. My experiences are shaped Ko wai au? He aha tënei waka? Who am I? by those around me and my upbringing, and these What is this waka? interactions have great influence on who I am and Ko Pütauaki te maunga, ko Rangitaiki te the ways in which I understand and make sense of awa, ko Mataatua te waka, ko Ngä Maihi these experiences. As a Kaupapa Mäori re-searcher,­ te hapü, ko Ngäti Awa te iwi. Tënä tätou. the ways in which I seek to re-search,­ re-­tell, re-­ write and re-right­ our stories and our experiences I am a Mäori woman, a daughter and a sister, are purposeful. In this sense, re-­searching is a and the first in my family to attend university, to re-doing­ and re-acknowledging­ of the ways that do postgraduate study, to complete a master’s, to we as Mäori and Pasifika re-searchers­ can, and undertake doctoral studies, and to subsequently have the right to, re-­present ourselves through our

* Ngäti Awa. Research Assistant and Doctoral Candidate, Centre for Learning and Research in Higher Education and Te Wänanga o Waipapa, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand. Email: [email protected] 82 A. GILLON

narratives, rather than reproducing colonial narra- This conceptualisation of what He Vaka Moana tives of researching, redoing and reacknowledging. stands for and seeks to do illustrates the ways in This means that we, as Indigenous peoples, are which those working in academia, particularly re-doing­ research in ways that re-place­ previous Mäori and Pasifika but also Päkehä and tauiwi, colonial research and reinterpretations of who we can work together on separate vaka through shar- are (L. T. Smith, 2012). These purposeful praxes ing resources and knowledges before unlashing and language practices are illustrated through and continuing on our journeys. the hyphenations, capitalisations and discourse Within re-search­ teams, we are re-negotiating­ utilised within this article and in the He Vaka spaces and relationships often. Within this team, Moana project that serves as the context of this as with others, there is a mixture of experienced, paper. He Vaka Moana is a strengths-­based pro- early career and new and emerging academics and ject funded by Ako Aotearoa within the University scholars. of Auckland that seeks to navigate Mäori and From a Kaupapa Mäori understanding, these Pasifika student success in tertiary education. relationships and mix of experiences can be under- The project operates through our connections as stood as tuäkana-­tëina relationships, as opposed oceanic people to the moana, to each other and to westernised notions of research fellow/principal to our goals. The foundation of He Vaka Moana investigator and research assistant relationships. lies within the ocean itself and our ancestors who This article discusses the importance of developing navigated the vast Pacific Ocean purposefully, Mäori and Pasifika tuäkana-­tëina relationships using ancestral knowledges, pedagogy, under- throughout re-­search and within westernised aca- standings and methods to travel the vastness that demia that provide academic support, as well as is Moana Nui a Kiwa in order to reach their goals. personal, professional and pedagogical growth That ancestral knowledge is within us as Mäori through a critically reflective discussion of key and Pasifika peoples, and, through the He Vaka learnings. Moana project, it has been applied to goals within a tertiary setting. Mäori and Pasifika students can Tuäkana-­tëina: He aha ënei mea? conceptualise success in multiple, complex, inter- Part of what we as Mäori and Pasifika know to connected ways. Entering higher education with be crucial to our educational success is people, the support and aspirations of their communities place, practices, pedagogies (Alkema, 2014) and is one of these ways (Wolfgramm-Foliaki, 2016). an understanding of spirit, space and stewardship He Vaka Moana seeks to re-define­ what Mäori (Matapo, 2018). He Vaka Moana has been able to and Pasifika student success can mean from Mäori successfully implement a Mäori and Pasifika edu- and Pasifika perspectives. cational project that creates and maintains a Vä, a However, it is important to understand that relational space (Anae, 2016) between Mäori and westernisation and colonial influences on edu- Pasifika re-searchers­ and staff within academia. In cation are not strictly restricted to the “West” particular, the ways in which this relational space or western education. They influence globally. has been understood illustrate how seeking to fos- Often westernised educational environments can ter and re-­create knowledge through re-­connection re-classify­ Mäori and Pasifika students as deficit and renavigation of ancestral knowledges and and at risk, despite the reality that colonisation pathways supports Mäori and Pasifika students. and westernisation are the problem (McAllister I argue that these spaces can be realised within et al., 2019; Pihama et al., 2019; Wolfgramm- tuäkana-­tëina relationships. Foliaki, 2016). He Vaka Moana centres around Tuäkana-­tëina relationships from a Te Ao Mäori the Tongan proverb “pikipiki hama kae vaevae and Kaupapa Mäori understanding encompass manava”. Pikipiki hama means to bind or lash notions of kinship and relationality, specifically together to the outrigger of a vaka moana, vaevae between older siblings (tuäkana) and younger means to share, and manava is a complex term siblings (tëina). The focus of these tuäkana-­tëina and concept that reflects Pasifika expressions for relationships lies with foundational principles of the heart, centre, womb and breath, similar to reciprocity, manaakitanga and whanaungatanga that of manawa in te reo Mäori (Tui Atua Tupua (Nepe, 1991). A tuakana is typically understood as Tamasese Taisi Efi, 2003). Central to the project an older or more experienced person. The role of is the importance of this relationality between a tuakana is usually as an overseer or kaitiaki and Mäori and Pasifika peoples. As kaihana we can as someone who has experience and the ability to share cultural nuances, knowledges and resources make decisions. A teina is often seen as a younger in ways that benefit us and our relationships. or less experienced “relation” and is often given

MAI JOURNAL VOLUME 9, ISSUE 1, 2020 GROWING THE FLEET; VIEWS OF THE MOANA 83 different tasks than a tuakana, which arguably and involves recognising how our positions as may be considered more menial tasks (Hook et whanaunga can influence not only re-­search par- al., 2007; Nepe, 1991). However, I would suggest ticipants or partners, but also those within our these tasks are complementary to each other, as project teams, as we are often seen as “advocates, are the relationships. and sometimes therapists, guidance counsellors, Tuäkana-tëina­ relationships carry more than and facilitators of change” (C. Smith, 2013, p. 95; connotations of tutorship or mentorship; these Bishop, 2005; Kensington-­Miller & Ratima, 2015; relationships illustrate the responsibilities and Sunseri, 2007; Webber & O’Connor, 2019). Within rights of tuäkana-­tëina in order to have thriving, the He Vaka Moana project, re-­search-­tëina were reciprocal, lasting whanaungatanga (Berryman et viewed in these ways—as re-­searchers and more. al., 1995). What is important to understand about Tuäkana-tëina­ pedagogies have been employed these tuäkana-tëina­ roles is that they are not fixed; within educational contexts to enhance and shift they are fluid and interchangeable depending on energies within (westernised) institutions. These the context. Often tuäkana-tëina­ relationships ways of teaching and being are often understood can be understood as a pedagogy that has foun- to provide culturally relevant, safe and reward- dations within Te Ao Mäori (Winitana, 2012). ing ways of engaging in education and re-­search What was traditionally a whänau relationship contexts for both tuäkana and tëina (Kensington- often based on mana and whakapapa between Miller & Ratima, 2015; Winitana, 2012). Critical siblings has become a relationship of social sta- questions are posed around the nature of these tus, structured through both reciprocal and kin relationships. Similarly to Linda Tuhiwai Smith’s relations (Mead, 2003; Winitana, 2012). Mäori (2012) development of critical re-search­ questions, scholar Mei Winitana (2012) considers tuäkana-­ Winitana (2012) also poses questions that explore tëina pedagogy within tertiary education contexts tuäkana-­tëina relationships and pedagogies, such and notes that from a “Mäori worldview, the as “How it is done? Who does it? Why? At what tuakana vocational tutor will always hold the levels of the training organisation? Who benefits?” mana of the selected vocational field. . . . Mäori (p. 33). pedagogy can be utilised to exemplify the mana of These questions seek to explore, challenge the tuakana (tutor) with the teina (apprentice) in and re-­negotiate the underlying values, influences mutually beneficial ways that uplift the mana of and purposes of these relationships in ways that both tuakana and teina” (p. 32). Similarly, within strengthen, foster and support space for relation- He Vaka Moana these reciprocal relationships, ships to grow (Winitana, 2012). Tuäkana-­tëina and subsequently complementary tasks, have been relationships are a culturally safe way to reinforce foundational to the project. the development of spaces that are whänau centred, Through Kaupapa Mäori understandings and that support the reciprocity and enhance- of tuäkana-­tëina relationships, an emphasis ment of tuäkana and tëina as well as (whaka) on whanaungatanga occurs. Whanaungatanga whanaungatanga (Bishop, 2005; Kensington-­ centres around relationality and whänau as foun- Miller & Ratima, 2015; Webber & Macfarlane, dational to these extended familial relationships. 2019; Winitana, 2012). Whänau can be understood both literally and With these conceptualisations of tuäkana-tëina­ metaphorically to represent the complex relation- relationality, differences between a research assis- ships between individuals that prioritise individual tant and a re-search-­ teina­ can be identified. The and collective flourishing, rights and responsibili- space that is nurtured in order to enable and place ties of the group centred through aroha, äwhina, emphasis on Indigenous relationality is crucial to manaakitanga and kaitiakitanga (Bishop & Glynn, having an empowering tuäkana-tëina­ relationship. 1999; Bishop et al., 2014). In educational con- Such a space encourages, nurtures, and seeks to texts, whanaungatanga is often privileged within manaaki, support, grow and nourish these re-­search Kaupapa Mäori environments. This privileging relationships, in particular re-­search-­tëinatanga. ensures that relationships and subsequently peo- This article focuses on my experiences as a re-­ ple are centred, and, thus, mutual flourishing can search-teina,­ with an emphasis on Indigenous occur. Bishop (1996) emphasises the importance relationships and capacity building. In contrast to of collaboration and culturally appropriate actions other, often non-Mäori­ and non-Pasifika­ research such as whakawhanaungatanga as a “metaphor project spaces, re-search-­ tuäkana-­ tëina­ spaces for conducting Kaupapa Mäori research” (p. 215). emphasise relationality and are environments that The importance of relationality within re-search­ seek to support, encourage and manaaki each contexts is paramount among Indigenous peoples, other within the re-search­ (Kensington-Miller &

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Ratima, 2015). This aligns with wider Kaupapa to consider both the structural and cultural issues. Mäori aspirations that seek to “grow the fleet” in We dare to have a preset agenda of attempting to terms of Mäori and Indigenous flourishing. make positive changes within communities because we believe in the wisdom and strengths of our own Hoea te waka: Positioning and people. (p. 96) epistemology As mentioned previously, positionality is essential Consequently, my own Kaupapa Mäori theoretical in understanding how Mäori and Pasifika-centred­ and re-search­ approach has been, and continues spaces such as He Vaka Moana encourage re-­ to be, shaped by my own experiences, like those search-tëina­ to flourish as more than assistants I have had as a re-­search-­teina, and by numerous in the re-­search process. Within Tängata o Te Mäori theorists and their seminal work (see, e.g., Moana are relationalities that shape our inter- Pihama, 2001, 2005, 2010; C. Smith, 2013; G. actions and how we make sense of the world H. Smith, 1997, 2012; L. T. Smith, 2005, 2006, through theoretical and methodological para- 2011, 2012, 2013; Walker, 1996; Webber, 2009). digms (Bishop, 1996, 2005, 2012). The multiple My perception of how Kaupapa Mäori informs Mäori and Pasifika theoretical and methodological my understandings of the world—how I “traverse frameworks employed within the He Vaka Moana the moana” and my relationality within Aotearoa re-search­ fellowship are extensive; however, a with whanaunga of Moana Nui a Kiwa—is encap- commonality within these spaces has been the sulated by Linda Tuhiwai Smith’s (2011) simple focus on our peoples and providing strengths-­ yet eloquent explanation of Kaupapa Mäori: based narratives that counter the westernised perceptions of Mäori and Pasifika within academia When I think about Kaupapa Mäori research, I see (Pihama et al., 2019; Webber & O’Connor, 2019). it really simply: it’s a plan; it’s a programme; it’s an As a Kaupapa Mäori re-­searcher, criticality and approach; it’s a way of being; it’s a way of knowing; relationality are central to my praxis, and within it’s a way of seeing; it’s a way of making meaning; He Vaka Moana these values and worldviews are it’s a way of being Mäori; it’s a way of thinking; privileged. I interpret, comprehend and apply the it’s a thought process; it’s a practice; it’s a set of knowledge gained through my experience as a re-­ things you want to do. It is a kaupapa and that’s search-­teina through a Kaupapa Mäori lens as a why I think it is bigger than a methodology. (p. 10) Kaupapa Mäori re-­searcher. Kaupapa Mäori theorising is not a recent Drawing on these epistemological, methodologi- development; nor did it occur as an accident—its cal and theoretical frameworks to make sense of foundations are present in historical concepts, and my experiences as a re-­search-­teina provides a it is a natural process for Mäori (Pihama, 2001; means to articulate the importance of Indigenous-­ Pihama et al., 2004; G. H. Smith, 1997; Taki, centred re-­search, of decolonising re-­search and 1996). Linda Tuhiwai Smith reinforces Pihama of Indigenous relationality. Through a Mana (2005) in saying that Mäori have always been Wähine lens—a re-­prioritisation of Indigenous theorists and re-searchers­ and have always done women—our knowledges and our ontologies can research: be understood in our re-­search praxis (Pihama, 2001, 2005, 2010; Pihama et al., 2019; Simmonds, The legacy of our ancestors is actually a legacy of a 2009, 2011; L. T. Smith, 1992, 2012; Yates-Smith,­ people who thought, who valued knowledge, and 1998). This re-prioritisation­ of Indigenous women who actually did research. They valued research as authentic “knowers” and beings actively chal- enough to navigate the greatest waterways in the lenges dominant Eurocentric discourses and world, the Pacific Ocean, and they did it purpose- ongoing acts of colonisation through the re-search­ fully. (Graduate Center, CUNY, 2013, 20.38) process by utilising and reinforcing notions of kaitiakitanga, rangatiratanga and manaakitanga As a re-­search methodology, Kaupapa Mäori re-­ through decolonising re-search­ praxes (Pihama, search embodies Kaupapa Mäori theory and being 2001, 2005, 2010; Pihama et al., 2019; Simmonds, Mäori; it is explicitly transformative, anti-colonial,­ 2009, 2011; L. T. Smith, 1992, 2012; Yates-Smith,­ inclusive, critical and purposeful as Cherryl Smith 1998). (2013) elaborates: My understanding of working with Indigenous re-searchers­ of Moana Nui a Kiwa is based on Kaupapa Mäori research is often more complex these foundational concepts, epistemologies, than other forms of research because we dare to try ontologies and Kaupapa Mäori conceptualisations

MAI JOURNAL VOLUME 9, ISSUE 1, 2020 GROWING THE FLEET; VIEWS OF THE MOANA 85 of relational space. The space I create quite simply connection as Indigenous peoples to the moana. seeks to re-­prioritise and re-­vitalise all things Mäori Under this conceptualisation, what is apparent to and Pasifika, particularly success, and to critique me as a re-­search-­teina are the ways in which the colonial power inequities, often through “a cal- Vä operates as a relational space that can prioritise culated and deliberate attempt to position Mäori relational ethics, much like tikanga Mäori, which research with an alternative worldview” (Ford, can include the ways in which actions are carried 2013, p. 93). Part of this worldview involves pur- out, and the ways in which the sacredness of this poseful praxis as a re-­searcher, particularly around lived space operates (Anae, 2016). In this sense, the the language that is used as we re-search,­ re-write­ Vä allows for space that centres relationships and and re-right­ our narratives (L. T. Smith, 2012). As simultaneously enhances the building, maintaining noted previously, Indigenous peoples have always and growing of those relationships. been re-­searchers (L. T. Smith, 2012). These Within Mäori contexts, the words ka and kä worldviews are alternatives to the “dominant” have various meanings. Kä as utilised in this article western epistemologies that re-­present Indigenous revolves around notions of being ignited, being peoples in ways that fail to acknowledge the value lit and allowing to burn. Ka illustrates notions of in our “culturally framed resources, programmes commencement, particularly of new actions (Smith and pedagogical approaches” (Pihama et al., 2019; & Wolfgramm-Foliaki,­ 2020); in this context the Webber & O’Connor, 2019). (re)igniting of a relational space and the com- My critical self-­reflective approach explores mencement of He Vaka Moana has been a site for understandings of tuäkana-­tëina re-­search rela- tuäkana-­tëina (re-­search) relationships to spark tionships and, in line with these Indigenous and ignite, to develop and be nurtured between knowledges, the ontological and epistemologi- Indigenous peoples. cal positionings and purposeful praxis within which re-search-­ tëina­ engage with Indigenous Paddling and floating between vaka: re-­search(ers). This critical self-­reflective examina- Waves and praxis tion is utilised to capture embodied experiences of Within He Vaka Moana, and Mäori and Pasifika relationality (Matapo, 2018). re-search­ more broadly, there have been many opportunities for re-search-­ tëina­ to engage and Navigating the Vä(-­kä): Mäori and Pasifika collaborate with re-­search-­tuäkana. Stories from relationality He Vaka Moana are shared here to elaborate Our relationships are central to our ways of being the re-­search tuäkana-­tëina relationships and as Tängata o Te Moana, of the Moana Nui a Kiwa the importance of these for Mäori and Pasifika which encompasses Mäori and Pasifika peoples. re-search-­ tëina­ like myself, particularly the rela- Part of this relationality is thinking about how we tionships with Mäori and Pasifika women that as Mäori re-­searchers engage with our Pasifika have sought to “grow the fleet”. As a re-search-­ ­ whanaunga and kaihana. teina, I worked with the various fellows of the He One of the ways in which this occurs is through Vaka Moana project, “floating” between their navigating and nurturing the Vä. It is important to own projects. note that while I am describing this as “the” Vä, my use of Vä is plural. The Vä is similar to Mäori Talatalanoa conceptualisations of wä(tea), and centres and Talatalanoa were a key component of one of promotes relationality. As a Mäori re-search-­ teina,­ the He Vaka Moana fellows’ re-­search project. my understanding of the Vä as a fluid, spatio-­ Talatalanoa were events that centred Pacific ways relational space; as a space of betweenness that of knowing and relating to discuss Mäori and separates and holds space for each of us; as a Pasifika student success. They provided a forum space that requires valuing, nurturing and main- for discussion and conversations to be built, as well taining comes from my experiences of seeing it as relationships (see Fonua, 2019). A “pikipiki within Pacific contexts and working with Pasifika hama kae vaevae manava” approach encour- re-search-­ tuäkana,­ as well as from the literature aged connection and sharing opportunities. These of Pasifika academics (Anae, 2016; Ka‘ili, 2005; particular events were run by a Päkehä He Vaka Mähina, 2010; Wendt, 1996, as cited in Refiti, Moana fellow, with the support of the He Vaka 2002). Moana re-­search project team, for primarily tauiwi What is noteworthy about the ways in which science educators to participate in a reflective a relational space has been nurtured within this process. Ultimately these talatalanoa were about context is its connection, and subsequently our having open discussions and sharing space, and

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accumulated interested audiences of 150 academic is the re-searching­ and analysing, and another and professional staff. part is being present, being kanohi kitea in the Being present at these talatalanoa reinforced support and whanaungatanga that we show each my understanding of holding and maintaining other within our re-search­ teams as well as outside relational space (Anae, 2016) in order to enable of them (G. H. Smith, 1997; L. T. Smith, 2012). others to engage in and support Mäori and Pasifika student success. Having an open space for tauiwi “Floaters” and reminders to openly share their experiences and the gaps Whilst there are re-search-­ related­ instances of in their knowledge around Mäori and Pasifika whanaungatanga, it is also important to note the values, culture and knowledge, and to critically non-­specific interactions that support re-­search-­ reflect on their praxis (Fonua, 2018) can be seen tuäkana-­tëina relationships to flourish and that as beneficial to the overall re-­Indigenising and help guide re-search-­ tëina­ through westernised decolonising goals of He Vaka Moana. Having this institutions and processes (Kensington-Miller space created by Päkehä for tauiwi to have these & Ratima, 2015; Pihama et al., 2019). While discussions can be understood as an effective way these cannot be explored in depth in this article, to discuss the institutional challenges that affect they are mentioned here to highlight the impor- Mäori and Pasifika student success (DiAngelo, tance of whanaungatanga between Mäori and 2018; Wikaire, 2015) and the ways in which edu- Pasifika re-searchers­ and the influence this can cators can engage in critical self-reflection.­ have. For student re-­search-tëina­ with limited This experience highlighted the importance of access to funding, simple things such as attending Mäori and Pasifika relationality as a means to find conferences and seeing familiar faces allows us good allies in the overall kaupapa of Mäori and to strengthen and build whanaungatanga within Pasifika student success, as well as enhancement these Indigenous re-­search spaces. of Mäori and Pasifika re-search-­ ­tuäkana-­tëina Quick, five-minute,­ bump-into-­ each-­ other­ relationships. As the “floating” re-­search-­teina, catch-ups­ and having relationships across cam- I was involved in assisting with and supporting puses and disciplines are key elements of building several of these events. Paddling between projects Mäori and Pasifika re-­search-­tuäkana-­tëina meant that as a re-­searcher my roles varied, and relationships. Exposure to multiple and trans- the methodological practices I was exposed to disciplinary re-searchers­ is not always available varied also. to re-­search-­tëina (Kensington-Miller & Ratima, 2015), and being a re-­search-­teina in this space has Wayfinding and shell maps also meant being sought after for other re-search­ Another event that I supported as a re-search-­ ­teina roles through this relationality. Being seen as a was an exhibition of shell maps as wayfinding valuable and coveted member of projects demon- tools (see Matapo & Baice, 2019). Shell maps strates not only the strength of the relationship, but were understood as a tool for guidance and navi- the need for Indigenous re-­search capacity building gation (Spiller et al., 2015), as well as a means (Kensington-Miller & Ratima, 2015; McAllister for mapping Pasifika student success. This event et al., 2019; Pihama et al., 2019). sought to create dialogue and discussions around The ways in which re-search-­ tuäkana­ have what guides Pasifika student success. Through the been supportive of me as a re-search-­ teina­ are creation and exhibition of shell maps, a space for numerous and include prioritising time to guide dialogue was generated around Pasifika success, me through new re-search­ processes; including specifically from Pasifika student and staff per- me in wider project decision making; reinforc- spectives, for re-­claiming ways that our ancestors ing and nurturing a Vä that welcomes me and traversed the moana purposefully, utilising epis- acknowledges my life circumstances; and asking temological knowledge and Indigenous ontologies how work can be structured around my schedule to seek out new futures. Being a re-­search-­teina and my studies in ways that prioritise my develop- meant I had the opportunity to see these shell ment as a re-­search-­tuakana, rather than reinforce maps displayed with the images of those who cre- power differentials. Whilst these may seem like ated them in ways that (re)tell Indigenous stories the norm within Kaupapa Mäori and Pasifika (Bishop, 1996; Sunseri, 2007) of traversing (often re-­search spaces, they are not the norm within westernised) education (Matapo, 2018). Being a westernised academia. Being able to work with part of this project has meant building relation- Mäori and Pasifika tuäkana within academia may ships with academics across departments, faculties seem like the norm for those of us in those spaces, and disciplines. Part of this relationship building but unfortunately within westernised educational

MAI JOURNAL VOLUME 9, ISSUE 1, 2020 GROWING THE FLEET; VIEWS OF THE MOANA 87 contexts access to this can be restricted due to but I think in our space there is that desire to see institutional racism and oppression of Indigenous people develop and build capacity so that you get to peoples through the normalisation of racist poli- be self-­determining and we’re drawing on our own cies that restrict access to academia for Mäori and knowledge to help us navigate this western space in Pasifika (McAllister et al., 2019; Naepi, 2019). ways that can benefit us. (‘E. Wolfgramm-­Foliaki, These experiences and spaces have high- personal communication, June 12, 2019) lighted the differences between working within Indigenous-­led and -­focused re-­search spaces and The re-­thinking of re-­search relationships also some westernised research spaces (L. T. Smith, reinforced the importance of focusing on “growing 2012). the fleet” and the ways in which relationality can support wider Indigenous goals through both re-­ Kaiurungi tuäkana ränei? Indigenising and decolonising (McAllister, et al., Throughout this project, as with many re-search­ 2019; Pihama et al., 2019; Smith & Webber, projects, interactions within the project team took 2019; Webber & O’Connor, 2019). The focus on place. As the re-search-­ ­teina, I was guided by the development and enhancement and re-thinking­ two principal investigators of the project. While what success looks like has been crucial not only there have been numerous occasions of support, of to He Vaka Moana, but to our tuäkana-tëina­ learning and of teaching, I wish to highlight some relationships: of those instances and conversations, however small they may seem, that have reinforced the Developing emerging researchers, research-­teina, importance of whanaungatanga to me and my however it is, I’ve never really thought of you as a understanding myself as a re-­search-­teina. research assistant, you’re part of the research team, The value of space is something I have learnt as the project team. . . . It’s about that support and a re-search-­ ­teina (Anae, 2016). The importance of developing and nurturing of the next set of vaka recognising my own autonomy and my own worth to come alongside, because we are working into within academia has been highlighted to me often a much bigger agenda. It’s not just a project, it’s within the He Vaka Moana fellowship. The ways not just the university, it’s developing Indigenous in which my re-search-­ tuäkana­ have valued not research. Developing Indigenous research capacity, only my input as a re-searcher­ but also my value Mäori and Pasifika research capacity, Indigenous as a whole person are numerous. However, this has women’s research capacity. (H. Smith, personal not been the case in every academic or research set- communication, June 12, 2019) ting that I have experienced, and it can be difficult to gain access to working with Mäori and Pasifika It’s a decolonising way of working. (‘E. Wolfgramm-­ within westernised academia because of the ways Foliaki, personal communication, June 12, 2019) in which racist policy restricts our access to formal positions (McAllister et al., 2019; Naepi, 2019). Being a re-­search-­teina is a privilege that has The focus on relationships and reinforcement of re-­shaped the way I understand Indigenous my holistic value as a person as well as a Kaupapa relationality within westernised academic set- Mäori re-searcher­ emphasised the types of spaces I tings. Through the supportive relationships of could choose to be a part of as a teina that are not tuäkana-­tëinatanga within re-­search, moments of readily available to all re-search-­ tëina­ in academia. discomfort have allowed for growth and resolu- The emphasis placed on my overall abilities and tion. As a re-­search-­teina it can be difficult at times hauora during this project, rather than pure pro- to voice concern or suggestions in westernised ductivity, has reinforced my understanding of the academia, but centring relationships has made type of re-search­ environments I want to be in, the that process easier and allowed for confidence relationships I want to be a part of, and the value building as well. While there is still discomfort, it I bring with my Kaupapa Mäori lens. is re-­defined as a way to grow and develop further, The focus on developing my capacity as more rather than seen as a negative. Re-­search-­tuäkana-­ than a research assistant has been, and continues tëinatanga has enabled me to identify what is to be, more than apparent: able to enhance my skills as a re-­search-­teina and to align with my positionality as a Kaupapa We’ve been really fortunate to get you, we’ve been Mäori re-searcher­ in ways that reinforce my tino really lucky. It’s not easy, the system makes it very rangatiratanga and desire to decolonise research difficult. . . . Some people think if you’re an RA and academia (McAllister et al., 2019; Pihama [research assistant], you’re forever gonna be an RA, et al., 2019; Smith, 2012). The ways in which

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relationality centres a continuation of Mäori and and decolonising. Projects like He Vaka Moana Indigenous re-­search excellence reiterate that indi- are an opportunity to acknowledge and support vidual projects, frameworks or initiatives should Indigenous re-­search. This re-­prioritisation of not be siloed (G. H. Smith & Webber, 2019) Indigenous re-­searching opportunities seeks to transform re-­search relationality and the ways Wayfinding, finding the ways: Concluding in which re-­search-­tuäkana-­tëinatanga can be comments emphasised and supported. Being a re-search-­ teina­ Tuäkana-­tëina relationships are paramount within put me in a position to pose these critical, pur- Te Ao Mäori (Hook et al., 2007; Mead, 2003; poseful questions (L. T. Smith, 2012; Winitana, Nepe, 1991; Winitana, 2012). They provide a 2012) in order to be a good (re-search-­ )tuakana­ for foundation for developing and enhancing skills, those tëina and relationships to come. Ultimately, whanaungatanga and overall wellness. Within being a re-­search-­teina is simultaneously being a westernised institutions, prioritising Indigenous re-­search-­tuakana and working towards creating relationality is crucial to the continuation of and nurturing space in order to grow the fleet. Indigenous re-search(ers).­ This, however, is an area in which westernised institutions have Acknowledgements been failing (Amundsen, 2019; Hall et al., 2013; Tënei te mihi mïharo, te mihi aroha ki a koutou, e McAllister et al., 2019; Nikora et al., 2002; Pihama öku hoa o He Vaka Moana, mö ö koutou tautoko et al., 2019). In order to grow the fleet, tertiary möku. This article is based on my experiences institutions must prioritise access to Indigenous working within a re-search­ project, He Vaka re-­search-­tuäkana-­tëina opportunities for Mäori Moana, of which Dr Hinekura Smith and Dr ‘Ema and Pasifika re-searchers­ to be mentored and Wolfgramm-Foliaki­ are the principal investigators. nurtured by Mäori and Pasifika. Tuäkana-­tëina I acknowledge with gratitude whanaungatanga, (re-search­ and academic) relationships with Mäori tautoko and aroha during this project from Dr and Pasifika are enabling and reinforce auton- Hinekura Smith, Dr ‘Ema Wolfgramm-Foliaki,­ omy, as well as support teaching and learning in Dr Marcia Leenen-Young,­ Dr Melani Anae, Dr Indigenous-­centric ways through Kaupapa Mäori Julia Novak, Sonia Fonua, Jacoba Matapo, Tim and Indigenous methodologies (Amundsen, 2019; Baice, and Abigail McClutchie. I would also like Hohapata, 2011; Mete, 2013; Pihama, 2001, to acknowledge körero with Kapua O’Connor and 2005, 2010; Simmonds, 2009, 2011; L. T. Smith, Tara McAllister: ngä mihi e öku hoa mö ö körua 1992, 2012; Tomoana, 2012; Yates-Smith,­ 1998). tautoko möku. Through a prioritisation of Indigenous relational- ity and Indigenous values, re-­search-­tuäkana-­tëina Glossary relationships can be built and enabled to flourish. Mäori (Re-)centring­ relationships and acknowledging the aroha love, compassion, affection value that re-search-­ tëina­ bring to re-search­ spaces Atua ancestors, gods, can further enable tuäkana-tëinatanga­ to become supernatural beings effective praxis within westernised institutions and äwhina help, support, assistance (Indigenous) re-search­ spaces. Being a re-search-­ ­ hauora wellness, wellbeing teina within Indigenous re-­search projects is a position of privilege. Having access to our ontolo- He aha ënei mea? What are these things? gies and our epistemologies through relationships hoea te waka paddle the waka with Indigenous academics, even within western- ka particle used before verbs ised institutions, is a privilege not all have access to indicate the start of a to. Being a re-­search-­teina means being in spaces new action that re-­prioritise whanaungatanga, manaaki- kä to burn, glow; be alight, tanga, kaupapa and kaitiakitanga. As Indigenous burning, ablaze peoples, our goal is to pikipiki hama kae vaevae kaihana cousin manava; however, within westernised tertiary kaitiaki guardian, minder, institutions accessing our ways of being and re-­ custodian claiming re-search­ can be challenging (Pihama kaitiakitanga guardianship, looking et al., 2019; L. T. Smith, 2012). McAllister et after, stewardship al. (2019) suggest the need for a shift from the Kaiurungi tuäkana Navigators or tuäkana? colonial, singular, neoliberal focus of tertiary ränei? education to one of plurality, (re-­)Indigenising

MAI JOURNAL VOLUME 9, ISSUE 1, 2020 GROWING THE FLEET; VIEWS OF THE MOANA 89 kanohi kitea seen face, being present wähine women (physically) waka seafaring vessel kaupapa agenda, an ideology, wätea to be free, unrestricted theory, methodology, open space epistemology whakapapa genealogy, ancestry, Kaupapa Mäori Mäori approach, Mäori familial relationships principles, Mäori whakawhanaungatanga building relationships, agenda, an ideology, relating well with others theory, methodology and epistemology whänau familial group, family, extended family körero speak, talk, discuss; discussion whanaunga relation, relative, kin mana power, spiritual power, whanaungatanga relationships, kinships, authority, control, familial connections, enduring indestructible friendships, reciprocal power in all things from connections Atua Tongan manaaki to support, take care of, pikipiki hama kae to bind or lash together protect, show generosity, vaevae manava the outriggers of vaka respect and care moana; share resources manaakitanga hospitality, kindness, talatalanoa sharing stories, creating generosity, support dialogue within an manawa heart (of a person) inclusive, receptive space; specific project-­related Mäori Indigenous peoples of examples Aotearoa New Zealand Pan-­Pacific moana ocean, sea Vä space between, relational Moana Nui a Kiwa Pacific Ocean space Päkehä New Zealand European vaka moana ocean-going canoe Pasifika peoples of the Pacific Ocean located in References Aotearoa New Zealand Alkema, A. (2014). Success for Pasifika in tertiary edu- ränei or cation: Highlights from Ako Aotearoa-supported tängata peoples research. Ako Aotearoa. https://ako.ac.nz/ assets/reports/Synthesis-reports/f836897c7e/ Tängata o Te Moana peoples of the ocean SYNTHESIS-REPORT-Success-for-Pasifika-in- tauiwi foreigners, non-­Mäori, tertiary-education-Highlights-from-Ako-Aotearoa- Päkehä supported-research.pdf tautoko support, advocate for Amundsen, D. (2019). Mäori transitions into tertiary Te Ao Mäori Mäori worldview education [Unpublished doctoral thesis]. University of Waikato. teina/tëina younger sibling/s, less Anae, M. (2016). Teu la va: Samoan relational ethics. experienced relation/s Knowledge Cultures, 4(3), 117–130. te reo Mäori the Mäori language Berryman, M., Bidois, P., Furlong, M., Atvars, K., & tikanga practice, plan, protocol, Glynn, T. (1995). Tatari Tautoko Tauawhi: A systems of values, Mäori language reading tutoring programme. SET: customs and practices Research Information for Teachers, (1), 5–15. Bishop, R. (1996). Collaborative research stories: tino rangatiratanga sovereignty, self-­ Whakawhanaungatanga. Dunmore Press. determination, autonomy Bishop, R. (2005). Changing power relations in educa- tuakana/tuäkana older sibling/s, more tion: Kaupapa Maori messages for mainstream experienced relation/s education in Aotearoa/New Zealand. In F. Bodone tuäkana-­tëinatanga relationships between (Ed.), What difference does research make and for experienced and new whom? (pp. 255–269). Peter Lang. and emerging peoples; Bishop, R. (2012). Pretty difficult: Implementing the conceptualisation Kaupapa Mäori theory in English-medium sec- of the tuäkana-­tëina ondary schools. New Zealand Journal of Education relationship Studies, 47(2), 38–50. Bishop, R., & Glynn, T. (1999). Culture counts:

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Tauhi vä: Nurturing Tongan socios- Supporting Mäori and Indigenous doctoral scholars patial ties in Maui and beyond. The Contemporary within higher education. AlterNative, 15(1), 52–61. Pacific, 17(1), 65–115. http://doi.org/cxf7x9 http://doi.org/c9ck Kensington-Miller, B., & Ratima, M. (2015). Mäori in Pihama, L., Smith, K., Taki, M., & Lee, J. (2004). A partnership: A peer mentoring model for tertiary literature review on Kaupapa Mäori and Mäori indigenous staff in New Zealand. Race Ethnicity education pedagogy. (Report prepared for ITP and Education, 18(6), 813–833. http://doi.org/dh2s New Zealand). International Research Institute for Mähina, ‘O. (2010). Tä, vä, and moana: Temporality, Maori and Indigenous Education. spatiality, and indigeneity. Pacific Studies, 33(2–3), Refiti, A. (2002). Making spaces: Polynesian architec- 168–202. ture in Aotearoa/New Zealand. In S. Mallon and Matapo, J. (2018). Traversing Pasifika education P. F. Pereira (Eds.), Pacific Art Niu Sila: The Pacific research in a post-truth era. Waikato Journal of dimension of contemporary New Zealand Arts Education, 23(1), 139–146. http://doi.org/dh2t (pp. 209–225). Te Papa Press. Matapo, J., & Baice, T. (2019). The art of wayfinding Simmonds, N. (2009). Mana wahine geographies: Pasifika success. MAI Journal, 9(1), 26–37. Spiritual, spatial and embodied understandings McAllister, T. G., Kidman, J., Rowley, O., & Theodore, of Papatüänuku [Master’s thesis, University of R. F. (2019). Why isn’t my professor Mäori? A Waikato]. Research Commons. https://hdl.handle. snapshot of the academic workforce in New net/10289/2798

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Simmonds, N. (2011). Mana wahine: Decolonising Tomoana, R. (2012). Sharing successful teaching and learn- politics. Women’s Studies Journal, 25(2), 11–25. ing strategies for Mäori, Pacific and youth learners. http://www.wsanz.org.nz/journal/docs/WSJNZ252 Ako Aotearoa. https://ako.ac.nz/assets/Knowledge- Simmonds11-25.pdf centre/RHPF-c48-the-whitireia-way/29eded5cad/ Smith, C. (2013). Becoming a Kaupapa Mäori RESEARCH-REPORT-successful-Teaching-for- researcher. In D. M. Mertens, F. Cram, & B. Chilisa Maori-Pacific-and-youth-learners.pdf (Eds.), Indigenous pathways into social research Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Taisi Efi. (2003, June). In (pp. 89–100). Left Coast Press. search of meaning, nuance and metaphor in social Smith, G. H. (1997). The development of Kaupapa policy. Social Policy Journal of New Zealand Te Mäori: Theory and praxis [Doctoral thesis, Puna Whakaaro, (20), 49–63. https://www.msd. University of Auckland]. ResearchSpace. http:// govt.nz/documents/about-msd-and-our-work/ hdl.handle.net/2292/623 publications-resources/journals-and-magazines/ Smith, G. H., & Webber, M. (2019). Transforming social-policy-journal/spj20/20-pages49-63.pdf research and indigenous education struggle. In L. Walker, S. (1996). Kia tau te rangimarie: Kaupapa Smith & E. McKinley (Eds.), Indigenous handbook Mäori theory as a resistance against the construc- of education (pp. 813–822). Springer. http://doi. tion of Mäori as the other [Unpublished master’s org/dh2x thesis]. University of Auckland. Smith, H., & Wolfgramm-Foliaki, ‘E. (2020). Igniting Webber, M. (2009). The multiple selves and realities the vä: Vä-kä methodology in a Mäori Pasifika of a Maori researcher. MAI Review, (1). Article 1. research fellowship. MAI Journal, 9(1), 15–25. http://www.review.mai.ac.nz/mrindex/MR/article/ Smith, L. T. (1992). Mäori women: Discourses, pro- view/195/200.html jects and mana wahine. In S. Middleton & A. Webber, M., & Macfarlane, A. H. (2019). The Jones (Eds.), Women in education in Aotearoa 2 transformative role of iwi knowledge and geneal- (pp. 33–51). Bridget Williams Books. ogy in Mäori student success. In L. Smith & E. Smith, L. T. (2005). On tricky ground: Researching the McKinley (Eds.), Indigenous handbook of educa- native in the age of uncertainty. In N. Denzin & Y. tion (pp. 1048–1074). Springer. http://doi.org/dh2z Lincoln (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of qualitative Webber, M., & O’Connor, K. (2019). A fire in the belly research (3rd ed., pp. 84–107). SAGE. of Hineämaru: Using whakapapa as a pedagogical Smith, L. T. (2006). Colonising knowledges. In tool in education. Genealogy, 3(3), Article 41. R. Maaka & C. Anderson (Eds.), The indigenous http://doi.org/dh22 experience: Global perspectives (pp. 91–108). Wikaire, E. (2015). Data speaks: Predictors of suc- Canadian Scholars Press. cess in tertiary education health study for Mäori Smith, L. T. (2011). Story-ing the development of and Pacific students [Master’s thesis, University Kaupapa Mäori: A review of sorts. In J. Hutchings, of Auckland]. ResearchSpace. http://hdl.handle. H. Porter, & Katrina Taupo (Eds.), Kei Tua o Te net/2292/27046 Pae Hui proceedings: The challenges of Kaupapa Winitana, M. (2012). Remember the deeds of Mäui: Mäori research in the 21st century (pp. 10–15). What messages are in the tuakana–teina pedagogy New Zealand Council for Educational Research. for tertiary educators? MAI Journal, 1(1), 29–37. Smith, L. T. (2012). Decolonizing methodologies: http://www.journal.mai.ac.nz/sites/default/files/ Research and indigenous peoples (2nd ed.). Zed MAI_Journal_v1%2C1_Winitana.pdf Books. Wolfgramm-Foliaki, ‘E. (2016). Do not assume we Spiller, C., Barclay-Kerr, H., & Panoho, J. (2015). know: Perspectives of Pacific Island first in the fam- Wayfinding leadership: Groundbreaking wisdom ily students. In L. J Santamaria & A. P. Santamaria for developing leaders. Huia. (Eds.), Culturally responsive leadership in higher Sunseri, L. (2007). Indigenous voice matters: Claiming education: Promoting access, equity, and improve- our space through decolonising research. Junctures, ment (pp. 123–35). Routledge. http://doi.org/dh23 2007(9), 93–106. https://junctures.org/index.php/ Yates-Smith, G. R. A. (1998). Hine! E hine! Rediscovering junctures/article/view/69/63 the feminine in Mäori spirituality [Unpublished Taki, M. (1996). Kaupapa Mäori and contemporary doctoral thesis]. University of Waikato. iwi Mäori resistance. [Unpublished master’s thesis]. University of Auckland.

MAI JOURNAL VOLUME 9, ISSUE 1, 2020 DOI: 10.20507/MAIJournal.2020.9.1.10

BOOK REVIEW

Decolonizing Research: Indigenous Storywork as Methodology. Edited by Jo-Ann Archibald, Jenny Lee-Morgan and Jason De Santolo with a Foreword by Linda Tuhiwai Smith.

I was in high school in the 2000s when I first learnt meaningful education and research” (Archibald, the kupu “püräkau” in my Mäori class. Often Lee-­Morgan & De Santolo, 2019, p. 1). translated as “myth”, but meaning far more, I Archibald, Lee-­Morgan and De Santolo’s understood, even then, the importance of stories, collaboration provides a platform for critical, of legends, of whakapapa and building those rela- transformative, decolonial, re-­Indigenising story- tionships through storying. Püräkau is a word, work to be had and as such they pose a challenge or more importantly a concept and practice that for us, as Indigenous peoples, to expand our think- I have clung too into my career as a re-search­ ing and ultimately our storyworlds. This book teina, and as a new and emerging Kaupapa Mäori challenges ‘dominant’ westernised theories via researcher. Finding ways of undertaking research, Indigenous understandings of meaning making of talking about our Indigenous stories, of creat- by traversing new relationships through stories. ing and re-creating,­ of writing and re-writing­ and Archibald, Lee-­Morgan and De Santolo bring re-­righting our püräkau, has become a central together storytellers, story-listeners,­ academics feature of what I want to do and how I undertake and researchers to talk story. The book is written my re-search­ praxis. in three each exploring the storywork of three Storywork, in its various forms of Indigenous distance geographical settings. The first section relationality, provides a platform for re-­thinking explores storywork in Canada through Jo-­ann and re-­prioritising Indigenous ways of being and Archibald’s seminal conceptualisation of story- making sense of the world. Whilst these praxes are work and Indigenous ethical praxes as expressed by not new to Indigenous peoples, within westernised Canadian scholars who have contributed chapters. academia, they offer a decolonising alternative to Dorothy Christian explores the importance of re-­ dominant, hegemonic narratives that have often visualising our narratives from multiple Indigenous re-­presented and re-positioned­ Indigenous stories perspectives and re-prioritising­ knowledge holders through western lenses (Smith, 2012). Storywork expertise and influence on our research. Georgina has become a method of decolonising and re-­ Martin and Elder Jean William’s chapter discusses Indigenising within research. how Archibald’s principles of respect, reverence, Decolonizing Research: Indigenous Storywork holism, interrelatedness, and synergy relate to as Methodology explores the various ways healing from historical trauma and the mainte- Indigenous people utilise narratives as pedagogy, nance of cultural identities. Archibald’s principles as learnings and as expressions of our languages, are explored further in her chapter with Cynthia our cultures and our identities. This body of Nicol and Joanne Yovanovich around Indigenous work brings together Indigenous researchers from storywork as methodology within transformative Aotearoa New Zealand, Canada and Australia to mathematics education. forward Indigenous Storywork as research meth- Moving to Aotearoa, Jenny Bol Jun Lee-­ odology. Jo-Ann­ Archibald Q’um Q’um Xiiem Morgan discusses her seminal conceptualisation coined the term “Indigenous storywork” to enable of püräkau as methodology. Contributing author space where “storytellers, story listeners/learners, Hayley Marama Cavino explores notions of researchers, and educators can pay better atten- gender and power through Mäori Land Court tion to and engage with Indigenous stories for and explores closely held purakau that challenge BOOK REVIEW 93 dominant heteronormative imposed narratives. Decolonizing Research: Indigenous Storywork Extending our understanding of püräkau in legal as Methodology demonstrates the importance settings, Carwyn Jones discusses the importance and potential of (re-)establishing­ relationships of püräkau as cultural expressions in Mäori law with Indigenous peoples. Where I believe there is and the legal issues experienced by Indigenous space to expand upon in its next form is through peoples broadly. Leonie Pihama, Donna Campbell the inclusion of storywork from wider Indigenous and Hineitimoana Greensill’s collaborative con- peoples, such as our Pasifika relations. Talking tribution centres relationships, relationality, and story with Känaka ‘Öiwi, talanoa with Sämoan whanaungatanga , delving into the Indigenous and Tongan relations, talanga with Tongan pedagogies of püräkau and storying in re-­ whanaunga, Cook Island metaphor and storying in connecting with Indigenous value systems that tivaevae, for example, are happening within these centre mokopuna. Lee-­Morgan concludes this spaces as well as the diaspora. Further considera- section of the book, discussing te pü o te räkau, tions for this crucial storywork could be the place where she emphasises the importance of (re-)cre­ - of Pasifika storywork in this field of decolonising ating spaces where Indigenous ways of being are and re-Indigenising­ research—is this a space that transformative and healing. converses with/about peoples who were colonised Finally Australian scholar Jason De Santolo differently and includes whakawhanaungatanga explains the role of storytelling in transforma- with these whanaunga? Re-­conceptualising the tional research for Aboriginal peoples. In a legal ways in which we make meaning of Indigenous context, Larissa Behrendy explores storytelling storywork as sites of knowledge (re)production, and relational responsibilities as ways to challenge knowledge restoration and knowledge continu- colonisation and colonial violence by providing ation requires continued critical reflection and a platform for Indigenous voices to share and incorporation of our various storying methods and indeed heal from trauma. Evelyn Araluen Corr’s methodologies from all our Indigenous relations. work discusses the limitations of western literary This book provides a space for a critical re-­ theories and positioning Indigenous storywork as thinking, re-­doing and re-­claiming of how we restorative, combative recovery and praxis. This is relate to each other and to our stories. I look for- followed by Nerida Blair’s work on ethics within ward to the next set of püräkau we right, write, the academy utilising metaphor and philosophy listen to and share. to re-privilege­ Indigenous knowing. Finally Jason De Santolo’s work on Indigenous homelands Review Author explores talking and storying, video practice and Ashlea Gillon, Ngäti Awa, Te Wänanga o Waipapa, how this relates to Indigenous Kaupapa and meth- University of Auckland odologies for working with relations, researchers, creatives, activists and water protectors who move in Indigenous knowledge and relational spaces.

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