THE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY PROTECTION OF AUTHOR ’S COPYRIGHT This copy has been supplied by the Library of the University of Otago on the understanding that the following conditions will be observed: 1. To comply with s56 of the Copyright Act 1994 [NZ], this thesis copy must only be used for the purposes of research or private study. 2. The author's permission must be obtained before any material in the thesis is reproduced, unless such reproduction falls within the fair dealing guidelines of the Copyright Act 1994. Due acknowledgement must be made to the author in any citation. 3. No further copies may be made without the permission of the Librarian of the University of Otago. August 2010 Powhlri: A face - to - face encounter. Colleen Leacock-Johnson A thesis submitted for the degree of Master of Education (Teaching) Of the Otago University College of Education December, 2007 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to thank those who have contributed to the completion of this research. Ki toku kaumatua ki a Huata Holmes, nona i tu hei tuara moku. Te aroha atu ki a ia. Ki oku kaiwhakahaere ki a Ruth Gasson raua ko Julie Lawrence. Nga mihi ki a raua mo 0 raua arahitanga. He wahine atawhai, a, ka tino matau raua ki nga rapunga korero e pa ana ki te tirohanga nei. Ki nga kaiwhakauru, ka umere ratou mo te tirohanga nei. He mihi mahana, aroha hoki ki a ratou. Ki taku tama, a Adam. He awhina nui ona korero pukapuka, tuhituhi whai tikanga hoki. Ki nga tangata 0 te Komiti Whanaketanga 0 te Mahi. Hei whakamutunga e hiahia ana ahau kit e mihi ki a ratou, To Huata Holmes who has stood as a constant support for me during this investigation. My most grateful thanks go to him. To my supervisors, Ruth Gasson and Julie Lawrence, I thank them both for their caring, knowledgeable guidance. The efforts they have made have, without a doubt, enabled the completion of this investigation. Thank you to all the participants who gave generously of their time. It is their reflections which have provided a voice for this research. Thank you also to my son Adam who offered invaluable support as proof reader. His no nonsense attitude to writing was a boon. Finally thanks go to the Dunedin College of Education! University of Otago College of Education Professional Development Committee for the funding and workload support that enabled me to complete this investigation. i ABSTRACT The ceremony ofpowhiri has become a regular feature of welcome ceremonies in present day AotearoalNew Zealand, including within government funded organizations. This study is centered on the exploration of the experiences of beginning students in relation to the Dunedin College of Education 2006 powhiri. Firstly we look at the position of the researcher in relation to things Maori and to the ceremony at the heart of the study. Next we examine traditional understandings of powhiri and underlying issues concerning the integration ofthe ceremony into mainstream culture and government institutions in this country. Individual interviews are used as the method to gain a rich depth of information related to the participants' feelings, thoughts and experiences as they relate to the focus of this study. The emergent research design of the study allowed me to respond to the inquiry progressively, and to gather data using open ended probes in response to participant dialogue. Fifteen participant interviews were conducted. The data was collated from each interview in order to provide the reader with an authentic picture of the experience of each participant in relation to the powhiri. Within the study the reader is provided with opportunities to gain a glimpse of the background and culture of each participant. The data is presented using participant voice which provides trustworthiness in the findings of the study. ii Throughout this study a tuakana - teina stance was taken, firstly in relation to my consultation with Huata Holmes and Anna Marsich, and secondly in my associations with the participants. Huata holds expert knowledge of te ao Maori, Anna held the knowledge ofthe history of the inclusion ofpowhiri at the Dunedin College of Education. The participants were considered the experts, in relation to their own thoughts and experiences. The role of teina ­ person seeking knowledge, remained with me. The underlying theoretical foundation of the study is social constructivism, where meaning is shaped through interaction between individuals and in relation to their previous experience. This study provided the opportunity to explore individual participant's perceptions and experience of the powhiri. The findings lead on to avenues for discussion and further study. In keeping with the tuakana - teina stance, findings were sent to Huata Holmes for his consideration. The findings were also shared with College of Education management and academic staff. The reader should note that te reo Maori (Maori language) is used regularly throughout this thesis. Each word/ phrase is translated or explained in English the first time it appears. A glossary ofMaori terms is provided for the reader to refer to as needed. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgments........................................................................................................... 1 Abstract............................................................................................................................... 11 Table of Contents............................................................................................................. IV Chapter One: Introduction............................................................................................ 1 Chapter Two: Literature Review 19 Chapter Three: The College Powhiri 2006 46 Chapter Four: Methodology 63 Chapter Five: The Context 84 Chapter Six: Findings 97 Chapter Seven: Where To From Here7,................................................................. 148 Glossary of Maori terms............................................................................................. 162 Bibliography 171 Appendix One: (a) Written guide for personal introduction to Beginning Students....................................................................................... 182 (b) Letter to Beginning Students introducing the research....................................................................................... 184 Appendix Two: (a) Written guide for oral presentation following the powhiri........................................................................................ 186 (b) Research information sheet................................................. 188 (c) Introductory survey 191 (d) Consent form 192 Appendix Three: Thank you letter to Respondents........................................... 194 Appendix Four: First letter to Respondents to arrange interview times..... 195 Appendix Five: Second letter to Respondents to arrange interview times 197 iv Appendix Six: Introductory survey sheets showing individual participant responses,.......................................................................................... 199 Appendix Seven: Bank of Probes 219 LIST OF TABLES Table One: Insight into participant identity 86 LIST OF FIGURES Figure One: Physical setting for the powhiri showing seating arrangements, 55 Figure Two: Position and direction for the process of Hongi and Hariru 61 v CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION This chapter provides an overview of the thesis in five parts. To begin with, "Personal precepts and stance" introduces me (the researcher). Secondly "'Insider' and 'outsider' views ofculture" sets out concerns allied to aspects of cross cultural research as it relates to this study. The third section "Aim of the research" establishes the reason the particular focus ofinquiry was selected, and the research aim and the core issues that the investigation was centered on. Subsequently, "Timelines " provides information related to the research procedure with five essential phases, and their precise times. Finally, "The structure ofthis thesis" makes known the seven chapters as fundamental constituents of the thesis. Personal precepts and stance Tena koe e hoa. He mihi mahana tenei ki a koe e korero pukapuka ana i te whakapae nei. No nga takiwa 0 Ingarangi, Airana, Iharaira, Koterana, Aotearoa hoki oku tiipuna. I whanau mai ahau i Tamaki makau rau engari kei Toi Tu toku kainga inaianei. Kei te Te Kura Akau Taitoka taku mahi. Ko Colleen toku mgoa. Hello to you friend. This is a warm greeting to you the reader. My ancestors are from England, Ireland, Israel, Scotland and New Zealand. I was born at Auckland but now live at Toi Tu. I work at The School of the 1 Southern Tides (Otago University College of Education) previously known as the Dunedin College ofEducation. My interest in the Dunedin College of Education powhiri ceremony stems from two different, but not unrelated micro-systems in which I operate in daily life. The first is my cultural identity. In this setting I am a Pakeha ofNew Zealand. I was born in this country and have lived here all my life, as have my parents and the majority of my grandparents. I have no other home country. I liken my stance to that expressed by the late Michael King (2003) in which he asserts that, for many Pakeha, there is a growing certainty that their culture is no longer the same as the cultures from which they began. That it has become a second indigenous culture by the same process through which Maori culture developed from its Polynesian roots. The process of "... transplanting imported concepts and values from one place to another,