Student Practicum as Participant Driven Empowering research: A Preliminary Investigation. A paper presented to the 14th National Conference of the New Zealand Association for Educational Research. Deakin University, Geelong, Australia. 22-26 November 1992. Russell Bishop, University of Otago. Alva Kapa, Te Kura Akau Taitoka ki Murihiku. Acknowledgements: We are grateful to Jane Bradley, Ted Glynn, Keith Ballard and the students of Maori 204 and Education 320 (1990 to 1992) for their ideas and help during the preparation of this paper. ABSTRACT At conference in 1991 the need for a bicultural research group, Te Ropu Rangahau Tikanga Rua, within the Education Department of the University of Otago was detailed (Bishop 1991). The kaupapa of this group was to be the development of emancipatory (empowering) research, under the control of Maori people for the betterment of Maori people. Since then a number of projects under this kaupapa have been initiated. Among these projects are student research practicum. This paper investigates the development of student research within this kaupapa, and gives examples of research undertaken by students. INTRODUCTION. At the NZARE conference in 1991 the need for a bicultural research group within the Education Department of the University of Otago was detailed (Bishop 1991a). The aim was to gather together under the kaupapa of emancipatory research, researchers who would conduct research that would be for the betterment of Maori people under the control of Maori people. The kaupapa of this group seriously challenges (Bishop 1992a) methods of research that could be classified as positivistic, interpretative and critical action research (Carr and Kemmis 1986) by suggesting a new paradigm. The key to the new paradigm lies in the initiation process. Researchers are encouraged to become participants in the research exercise, rather than experts, and to work as a member of a whanau. Researchers are encouraged to present their ideas as koha to Maori groups who then can decide whether to incorporate these ideas into their kaupapa. This paradigm, process of initiation and the notion of participant driven empowering research is detailed in Bishop (1992a). The kaupapa of the research group was presented to the Otago Maori Council (OMC), (Bishop 1992b) via its associate committee, META, the Maori Education and Training Association, in order that local Mana Whenua and Mata Waka runanga could consider the idea. Initial approval of the idea has been given, currently negotiations are underway for the appointment of a Kaumatua and a wider community based support and monitoring group. The kaupapa of the research group also informs the issues and themes and assessment procedures of the two courses conducted by the first author of this paper. This paper addresses part of the assessment practices of these papers, namely the student practicum. The Student Practicum. A major part of the internal assessment grade for both of these papers is gained by completing practical work that concentrates on the identification of issues raised in the courses and applying them to real situations.The Practicum is designed to be a year long project, initially covering planning, consultation and clarification of methods and of methodology in term one, followed by trailing and gathering of material in the second term. The third term is the time for completion of the project for assessment and of presentation of findings as an oral koha to the rest of the students. The actual topics are worked out in consultation with the student, the lecturer responsible for the courses, and others interested in the research questions and methods. Students are encouraged to consider the questions contained within the paradigm as presented in detail in Bishop (1991a & 1992a) as an organising framework for their work. The first task is to identify an area of interest where the student is located and involved, or perhaps would like to be involved. Often a necessary step is to then to make a statement of event or situation as identified by the student. Many excellent assignments have been completed to this point, these being critical appraisals often in the form of autobiographical analyses, ideological critiques, statements of events or detailing of changes that have taken place following specific events. Emphasis however is made that these are not the finish but are part of a wider study. Indeed it is hoped that situations of concern identified in this initial exercise will be developed in later years as positive and proactive intervention exercises within the methodological framework of participant driven empowering research. The emphasis for this next step is how to operationalise the changes? Answers to this question vary with the varying backgrounds of the students. Non-Maori students are challenged to consider their role and relationships toward possible research participants by considering the paradigm of research within which they work. Maori students are challenged to consider how to operationalise the paradigm within which it is suggested that they work. This operationalising differs from group to group thus providing great variety of responses to the challenge offered to students by the practicum exercise. The challenge of the paradigm is never better clarified as when conflict arises. From the initial statement, critique or identification of concerns, problems can be identified, situations of concern clarified and further study questions identified and developed. It has been often noted that it is at this point that conflict arises for here is the crucial point of most studies, i.e. how do we proceed to instigate change. Often at this point students note the need to extend the interest group, and here re- consideration of the methodological framework is necessary. If the change model is restricted to an "in-group" as specified by Carr and Kemmis (1986) for emancipatory action research then the potential for structural reform is limited for often the people who hold decision making power will not be part of the 'in-group' desirous of change. How to include members of the powerful decision making groups within the umbrella of 'participants' working for empowerment of Maori people is one question that this type of paradigm addresses, and challenges students to consider the methods of operationalisation. Students are introduced to this type of research by way of an introductory lecture and tutorial discussions. Reference is made to the practicum throughout the year to remind the students of the orientation of this type of exercise. Often it is the first piece of research many students have been involved in and encouragement is essential, however because they are able to locate themselves within the projects it has meaning for them personally and most students are very willing to engage in this activity. Methods of undertaking the research vary, but emphasis is placed upon the process of establishing a whanau of interest wherein lies the control over the research process. It is toward issues of power and control that the paradigm is orientated. How can we work towards solutions? It is this resolution of conflict that is fundamental to the notion of biculturalism where cultural integrity and autonomy in decision making is paramount. In cross cultural situations conflict can generate a necessity to move toward autonomous decision making locations, e.g. kaupapa Maori institutions as a means of conflict resolution and intervention (Smith 1992). Conflict can also be a spur to identify wider whanau of interest and to investigate strategies of incorporation and inclusion that will promote change and empowerment. TYPES OF PRACTICUM Students have responded to this challenge in a number of ways. a) more and more students have opted to examine their own life experiences in relationship to issues raised in the courses. It is often necessary to caution students from rushing to find a Maori respondent to answer questions they may have identified for a bicultural picture has at least two sides. It is often timely to remind them that Walker (1979) stated over a decade ago that; an axiom of Social Science (is) that social phenomena have multiple causes, and if these causes are to found the whole field needs to be examined, in other words it is time that researchers examined Pakeha society itself (p.91). The wisdom of this caution provides many students the opportunity to reflect upon a context within which they may find the answers. Pakeha students need to examine themselves within this context, some consider questions as to why did they do these papers and how do they affect their lives. Maori students are encouraged to examine, analyse and challenge their own life experiences within the context of the dominant Pakeha society, for example within a 'deficit model', or their life within an assimilationist policy driven world. These autobiographies are designed to critically evaluate their own socialisation and enculturalion, often through an examination of schooling practices or curriculum content. As Jones (1992) identifies initially many students are dubious about the value of their personal accounts, seeing them as inferior to "the distanced, neutral and measured academic discourse" (p. 28). Snow (1991) also reports that when introducing a similar autobiographical assignment to her stage three class "most students have great difficulty in coming to grips with the idea that their own lives could be 'valid' content for study within an academic setting (p267). She comments that students have become so accustomed to the dominant knowledge code and methodologies that initially they find this assignment bewildering. However the empowerment that is fundamental to this process is clear once students undertake this type of reflexive analysis, the self conscious introduction and making visible of "our own (socially constructed) voices in our written work"(Jones, 1992, p. 28). b) some outstanding life history projects have been completed where interviewees have been asked to reflect upon their life and or education and the impact this had upon the affirmation of their preferred life styles and life chances. c) a popular and very fraught area is that of institutional analyses, where evaluations are attempted of the responsiveness of the institutions to bicultural education initiatives, and attempts are made to implement reform within institutions. d) the last category is really a catch all for all the various themes and issues that students identify, covering analyses of contemporary and historical issues ranging from theoretical implications and methodological problems to land issues and political confrontations. SOME EXAMPLES FROM DUNEDIN. Some of the practical reports completed in 1991 were edited and produced in monograph form ( Bishop, Bradley and Tokona, 1992) as a guide and impetus to students in future years. The following is a summary of the contents of the monograph. The assignment of Tui Dodds, Sasha Tidswell and Alofa Heka highlighted the problems that working as a group entails. The problems they faced ranged from simply physically getting together, to agreeing on a theoretical stance and method, yet they exemplify how the work of a group can be better than that of three individuals, in that they all bring their own particular strengths. They chose to evaluate the moves towards biculturalism of the Law Faculty of Otago University using a checklist provided by a group of British educators who are concerned institutional reform be along anti-racist lines. They compared the Otago situation with Auckland and Waikato Universities and then they suggested avenues for action. John McMillan and Kathleen Radloff also chose the area of institutional evaluation as the theme for their project. In their case they wanted to evaluate the usefulness of the notion of taha Maori, to examine some of the attitudes and modes of implementation relevant to this controversial topic. Their particular concern was that taha Maori has been positively accepted by many non-Maori teachers in schools and that they are successfully implementing this initiative. This type of research project is very timely given the Hirsch Report (1990) and the type of initiatives that Banks (1988) and others suggest may be successful in improving educational attainment for Maori children. This assignment also contains (as do many others in the monograph) an example of how these two students approached people in order to gain permission to undertake the research. Elmay Robati provides an insightful look at the effect that institutions can have on children, in this case her own. The poignancy of this tale exemplifies the use of telling real peoples' stories as part of the research process. This assignment and those others which containing life histories/biographies illustrate the usefulness of this type of 'real people' stories, especially in the area of developing cross-cultural understanding and highlighting racist practices, structural impediments and individual insensitivities and how these have affected the lives of minority group members. The history of New Zealand is one where there has been massive suppression of these people's stories. Hopefully one of the outcomes of this publication will be to make some real people a valid part of history. Carmell Hamid chose to examine the bilingual unit at Wellington High School and in many ways her introduction exemplifies the idea behind this practicum assignments in that she was not so much concerned with the theoretical debate concerning biculturalism as with applying the ideas about biculturalism to a real example to see their effects on specific people. The study looks at a long established bicultural unit within a mainstream educational institution. Hamid wanted to examine the functioning of the unit, its effectiveness, the support it received and what changes could be suggested for change and improvement. It is signal that she chose to examine these issues through the different experiences and perceptions of the staff, students and parents in order to allow the voices of these people to be heard and to facilitate their reflection upon their own practice. Colin Goldthorpe chose to investigate some of the theoretical issues raised in the course and to question some of the assumptions that had been made in a paper by two of the course lecturers. He discusses the usefulness of Action Research for cross-cultural research and illustrates the contention that there is no overall panacea for problems associated with bicultural research and practice. There are principles that need to be highlighted and considered but there are as many practices as there are practitioners, and this acts as a timely warning for us to consider the methodological framework within which we work. Biography and life history analysis are valuable tools in the process of reasserting the mana of Maori people. As mentioned before, the telling of real people's stories does much to dispel the suspicions that have been engendered in the minds of New Zealanders by the process of colonisation. The methodology of 'life histories' outlined by Middleton (1985, 1988, 1990) concentrates both on social structure and the individual agency. This methodology focuses on individuals, their aspirations, attitudes and ideologies, on the structural and institutional contexts and especially on the interactions between these two. This methodology is orientated at mediating the tension that exists between those who promote analyses of structures and those who promote analyses of purely cultural accounts. A ' life history' methodology is useful to avoid reduction of individuals to passive bearers of roles, norms, discourses and ideologies. It is also useful to avoid the exaggeration of the power of social actors to construct meanings of their existence that underemphasise the power relations of the wider society and the limitations that this places upon personal choice. Toni Jenkins considered the situation of an inter-racial marriage, comparing her case study analysis with the findings of related, yet more involved studies from the overseas literature. She describes the methodology and rationale for her study, introduces us sensitively to the people she writes about and produces a very interesting report. Gabrielle Ryan engaged in a detailed life history analysis with a Maori woman. Her paper exemplifies the subtle facilitation skills necessary for carrying out this difficult type of exercise. Her approach allows the voice of her participant to be heard. Ryan's linking of commentary with the issues raised in the course, enhances the story of her subject. Sheree Wallis raised many questions that arose during the course with the participants in her project and gave them an opportunity to speak their minds on these subjects. This type of exercise is important for it allows the often muted voices of Maori people to be heard by a non-Maori majority who are not necessarily suppressing these voices, but rather, have never been sensitized to hearing them. Haamiora Raumati compared the oral version of a story he had been told about one of his ancestors with the written version collected and published by Percy Smith in 1908. Raumati compares the content of each of the stories, highlights the different functions that each story offers and examines the ideological beliefs of the story tellers. This assignment is very useful when considering the impact of biased versions of history upon children's ethnic self-image. Two examples from the range of practicum need to be mentioned for they illustrate the power of autobiographies within the framework of this exercise. Joan George and Rachel Sanson produced autobiographies that addressed some of the pressing issues of their lives. George considered what it was like to be as a Maori woman in a predominantly Pakeha society. She questioned the very values that she had been raised with and how they left her often stranded in between cultures. Sanson considered what the effect upon one's identity was to be a Maori child adopted into a Pakeha family in a small Pakeha community where your only impression of Maori people was negative. Responding to the Challenge: The Practicum Assignment in Murihiku (Southland N.Z) Students in Murihiku. The Maori population in Murihiku (Southland) is a heterogeneous, fast- growing and politically and educationally pro-active group. There is a significant minority of Mana Whenua, of Ngai Tahu, Ngati Mamoe and Waitaha people among the more recent migrants from the North Island. The prosperity of Southland, especially during the 1950's and the 1960's attracted many Maori people from the North island to seek work. Initially these workers were seasonal migrants but gradually they began to settle. Many of the families now resident are the second and sometimes third generation of this soutwards migrant group (Kapa, 1991). As their initial concerns have been met, now the need for better and more equitable representation in the powerful decision making positions in society are being felt. Maori in Southland are aware that they are unequally carrying the burden of the current economic downturn. Also of great concern is the inability of the mainstream educational institutions to meet the educational needs of their children. Part of the response by Maori parents has been to establish their own Kohanga Reo and Kura Kaupapa Maori. Many of these parents are also actively seeking higher educational qualifications. In response to this demand the first author of this paper was encouraged to make available his stage three education paper for students in Southland. Presently in Southland two 100 level courses and a 200 level Education paper are available. The inclusion of a 300 level paper was seen as very useful to allow Maori students the opportunity to improve their qualifications while still resident in Southland. A survey undertaken as a student practicum in 1992 (Thompson, 1991) ascertained the prefered paper and method of instruction. Using this survey as a guide it was decided to videotape lectures in Dunedin for later viewing and discussion in Invercargill with supplementation by three one day workshops throughout the year. Further refinement of this method could include tele-conferencing, but it is important to emphasise the importance of the face to face interaction. Some twenty students eventually enrolled in the course in Invercargill. The group consisted of thirteen Maori and seven Pakeha; seventeen women and three men. Their schooling backgrounds reflects the total range available in New Zealand during the period 1950 to 1970; from small rural, totally Pakeha schools to predominantly Maori rural schools, some single sex and others large co-educational urban secondary schools. Thirteen members of the group either work in or are currently training to work in education. The other seven are in social work. Seven are studying for a graduate diploma and towards a Bachelor of Education and three hope to complete a Masters of Education in the future. Six identified their backgrounds as middle class Pakeha and 14 said they were from working class or lower socio-economic backgrounds. The second author of this paper was a member of this group. The research kaupapa was introduced early in the year as an intervention strategy for alleviating the education crises facing Maori people today. The practicum assignment was explained at the first tutorial. Most students quickly identified a general area they wished to investigate. Some decided to work on their own, others in groups with similar interests. Maori students tended to prefer the co-operative shared learning environment and this preference began to filter through into the general conducting of the class. The initial research kaupapa was well received, although as it transpired the finer points of the assignment needed further elaboration. The group reported that they felt freed from rules and regulations and the mysteries of the institution and they shared with great enthusiasm a feeling of being empowered to change some negatives into positives for Maori in education, Social Welfare and society in general. Their pre-conceptions about the academic inertia and the 'gate-keeping' functions of higher education and traditional research were removed by the presentation of the potential of this exercise. "We all plunged into the deep end!" The following section is a record of discussions, with commentary undertaken about the research practicum late in the year. "I don't recall our reading carefully and/or analytically the assignment guide and requirements in our course booklet at that early stage. We were all too busy doing our practicums. The initial response to the idea that we could our own research was magic." The initial enthusiasm was great but the first of many considerations that arose was one of ethics. As the students were writing up their proposals it was suggested that they consider how to approach people and to protect their fellow participants. This led us them to question whose ethics?, what ethics? It was suggested that these ethical questions may be answered by the very paradigm within which we were working and this was generally agreed to. "Our enthusiasm to immediately engage in this research exercise was tempered by other commitments. All of us were in full employment or are full time students, many having families and community commitments." Therefore there wasn't a lot of communication within the group until the next tutorial in term two when oral progress reports were given. These reports revealed the diversity of responses possible under the umbrella of this assignment, which in itself also reflected the diversity of the group. Positive responses to each other were another part of the empowering process, for this again reflected another Maori preferred context as all efforts were valued and acknowledged as useful. However, by this stage some students reported that they were encountering problems that they had not foreseen in their enthusiasm to commence. Generally this was because of the naivety of those new to research, difficulty in coping with a paradigm different from previous experiences and confusion about process and loss of focus. "We were lost in the freedom of empowering research and were carried away on a mission of passion to enhance Maori life chances." The potential for enhancing the self esteem of the students by acknowledging their ako Maori, working in a preferred Maori manner was a necessary step but we still did not understand the full ramifications of the process. "Our self esteem remained intact or was enhanced. Our ways of expressing and conducting ourselves and our contributions to group discussion was validated. No one in our group has had to compromise their tikanga (values, beliefs, attitudes). The co- operative, supportive way in which we have worked together has been empowering, enhancing and exciting ." Some projects which challenged conventional research and power relationships, in spite of careful planning and strategising, encountered considerable conflict. However from tension comes energy which can be turned into pro-active or creative consequences. Conflict resolution was needed. At this point consideration about who were the participants and the very questions and overall orientation had to be revisited and renegotiated. At this point we needed to consider how we would work towards change and it became obvious that for structural change to occur inclusion of the decision makers into the research process was necessary, otherwise methods of enabling Maori people to become powerful decision makers had to be investigated and implemented. Our enthusiasm and potential empowerment was often bluntened by the realities encountered, e.g. by the pain of remembering, or by intransigence. For example, two students were confused as to why their parents were unwilling to talk them about the decisions made early in their lives not to teach them the Maori language. They were able to identify the situation of concern, make a statement about the concern, but then they encountered conflict with their parents. The solution lay in the questions they were to ask. It was suggested that instead of asking parents why they had chosen to follow a certain action it would be more profitable to examine why they themselves were concerned by their situation. Indeed when they were able to include their parents in the questioning process about the systemic prohibitions on Maori language and cultural transmission, progress was made. Two other students were not able to resolve the conflict they encountered with one school Principal and chairman of the Board of Trustees of a large co-educational secondary school because the Principal refused to become participants in the desired change process. This situation is a vignette of the problem that has driven Maori to develop their own educational initiatives, te tino Rangatiratanga. Many students felt because of their participation in their research projects that they had been empowered through having time to reflect on memories, being able to speak freely and frankly, by pointing out negatives without fear, through developing awareness of rights, by improving articulation skills and generally sharing knowledge, ideas and issues. Affecting change in Maori education in some small way gave a feeling of success to students. Some felt the practicum gave them opportunities to learn to deal with institutional racism, to develop a better understanding of their own or their parents pasts, to develop and understand a variety of research and interview skills, to respect differences and diversity and to work co-operatively and collabortively through consultation. Students engaged in reflection, thought and discussion about their own lives, schooling and wider life chances in a critical, reflexive and analytical manner. They have conferred, compared and confirmed. For some this has been a painful experience because of engaging in research with a wider interest group that just themselves has involved asking questions from a different perspective than they have taken for granted all their lives. A process of conscientisation is often painful. By the third term some students still expressed dismay and misunderstanding of the kaupapa. Many did not understand the full implications of the notion of participant driven research, specifically, who were the participants, and who would benefit. Reference was drawn to the organising paradigm once again and then many began to realise that the changes they were out to implement or affect were indeed long term changes needing much consultation and collaboration. As this came clear many became more confidant about the paradigm, the tikanga and the kaupapa in which they were supposed to be working. Methods and processes varied considerably as did the identification of the issue, concern or problem and a combination of hui, interviews and questionnaires were used to engage with participants. These real life experiences have provided valuable experimental learning situations. The trial and error discovery method was experienced and eventually affected changes for many participants. Over half of the groups intend to report back to the participants verbally and in written form to share the information and make recommendations and report on proposals and solutions already activated and to undertake ongoing dialogue. The assignment as an Empowering Exercise. From the experiences of this group of students in Murihiku it is clear that they felt personally empowered by this assignment. Kataraina Mataira (1980) identifies how a learning process appropriate to Maori can be empowering. She stated that: 1) The student is able to take responsibility for their own learning, the tutor facilitates. Teaching is subordinate to learning. 2) A feeling of personal control and self freedom is facilitated, and is bi-culturally appropriate and comfortable for the student as opposed to conformity to the rules and regulations imposed by the institution. 3) A real excitement is experienced by the opportunity to examine one's self-worth. 4) Critical assessment acknowledges and validates prior knowledge and experiences. 5) Opportunities are given to explore options and build confidence 6) Competence to plan a course of action to affect change in ones area of passion- Maori educational success, is developed. 7) Individual and group development caters for Maori learning needs. Learners are treated as partners in the whole process and are able to create a relevant dialogical context with participants. 8) The Relationships between the tutor and the students is horizontal and equal, not the 'missionary position'. 9) The learning is problem centred, process orientated, self directed, highly interactive and often informal and choice oriented. Constant reapproval, critical reflecting of one's own learning experiences happens especially when faced with the threats to ones mana. The Practicum assignment for this paper matched the criteria that Mataira established for an empowering learning experience within a Maori preferred context. For the whole group a critical consciousness and awareness became apparent when students realised that the system failed to cater for them and their whanau learning needs. The shared co-operative learning and dialogue we developed as Maori in the group in Southland helped individuals articulate ways in which they could empower other Maori. Reliable, realistic goals set in a self determining manner which direct efforts to achieving the goals are very empowering. Also, the realisation that we were on a continuum of research and change, provided a reassessment of the power of the research process for Maori themselves, and a different perspective for those enskilled into research methods. It is the means whereby we initiate, instigate and include participants that will enable Maori to control the research process.. REFERENCES. Bishop, R. (1991a) Te ropu rangahau tikanga rua: The need for emancipatory research under the control of Maori people for the betterment of Maori people. A paper presented to 13th N.Z.A.R.E. Conference. Knox College, Dunedin. Bishop, R. (1992a) Towards a paradigm for participant driven empowering research: A paper delivered to the Summer Workshop for the Development of Intercultural Coursework at Colleges and Universities. Institute of Culture and Communication,East-West Centre, Honolulu, Hawaii. Bishop, R. (1992b) The establishment of a bicultural research group within the education department of the university of otago. A paper submitted to the Otago Maori Council. Te Ropu Rangahau Tikanga Rua, Department of Education, University of Otago. Bishop, R. Bradley, J. & Tokona, R. (Eds)(1992) Rangahau Tauira: Examples of Student Research. Monograph No. 2, Te Ropu Rangahau Tikanga Rua. Department of Education, University of Otago. Carr, W. and Kemmis, S. (1986). Becoming critical. London: The Falmer Press. Hirsch, W. (1990) A report on issues and factors relating to maori achievement in the education system. Auckland: Ministry of Education. Jones, A. (1992) Writing feminist educational research: Am 'I' in the text? in Middleton, S. (ed) Women and Education in Aotearoa 2. Auckland; Allen & Unwin. Kapa,A. (1991) Maori Education, Otago and Murihiku: A demographic, social and economic introduction. A paper presented to the 13th N.Z.A.R.E. Conference. Knox College, Dunedin. Middleton, S. (1985). Feminism and education in post war new zealand: A sociological analysis. Unpublished PhD Thesis University of Waikato. Middleton, S. (1988) Women and Education in Aeoteoroa: Wellington Allen and Unwin Port Nicholson Press Middleton, S., Codd, J. and Jones, A. (1990) New Zealand Education Policy Today. Critical Perspectives. Wellington: Allen and Unwin. Snow, D. (1991) (1991)The self as text: Autobiography and pedagogy in the history of education. A paper presented to the ANZHES Conference. Woollongong, Australia. Thompson,R. (1991) Investigation of educational paths preferred by students in Invercargill. Unpublished paper. A practicum research exercise of Education 320 Walker, R. ( 1979). A consumer view of research. New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies, 14, 91-93. A specific example of a practicum undertaken was by the second author of this paper in her role as a senior Lecturer, College of Education (Southland Campus),and also os a studnet of Education 320. Specific Example of a Practicum,and also as a studen "I worked with three final year Maori Diploma of Teaching students for we share a concern about the paucity of Maori teachers in Murihiku especially in the face of a large and rapidly growing Maori population (Kapa, 1991). We shared the convictions of Ohia (1989), Smith, (1990), Irwin, (1989) and Walker, (1990) that more Maori teachers are necessary to provide appropriate positive achievement-oriented role models for Maori children and to challenge the control and domination of school structures, curricula and decision making processes by the Pakeha majority. We felt that the College of Education should be more pro-active in it is policies, procedures and practices in order to ensure that more Maori are recruited and appropriately trained to address Maori Education needs. In July, 1991, a Foundation Course for ten people committed to bilingual and Kaupapa Maori principles and programmes was funded by the Ministry of Education's Contestable Equity Fund, and run at the Southland campus. This course prepared the students for the standard College of Education qualification, the three year Diploma Course for Teachers. This Diploma course includes four joint papers with Otago University, one of these papers being Education 320. At the beginning of 1992 these students were mainstreamed, but by the end of term one it was obvious that there were problems. These problems manifested themselves as absenteeism, lateness to class, late assignments, 'changes' in attitude, conflict of tikanga, questioning of course content and delivery, feelings of being unable to communicate freely and frankly, feelings of conflict over beliefs and values and overall negativism. These symptoms even spilled over into some conflict and confrontations between students and also between staff and students. These problems brought into sharp relief the problems experienced by other Maori students on campus who had always been part of the mainstream training programme. Many of them also expressed having felt in similar ways but being in a minority they had felt intimidated and unable to rectify the situation. With the arrival of a large group of Maori students on campus they recognised many of their own feelings being mainfested within this group. The practicum assignment was a useful framework for us to identify these problems and to plan how to work towards solutions. After a few false starts we realised that this would involve working with all staff and students, for it was a campus wide problem, for working within the kaupapa of Education 320, we realised the futility and erroneous nature of 'deficit theory' orientations to problem solving which would have blamed the symptoms on the Maori students' inablity to work within the present campus structure. We were convinced that this paper's orientation towards promoting tino rangatiratanga (self determination of Maori cultural aspirations) as a means of identifying methods and processes of institutional structural reform was a more realistic approach to problem solving. We identified four strands to our project, i.e. four areas that needed to be worked on if structural reform was to be instigated on our campus. 1. Identification of the welfare and academic success of these ten students, now in their first year of training. 2. Identification of the policies, practices and procedures on campus in relationship to the College charter and philosophy. 3. The professional development of the staff in relationship to understanding the cultural learning preferences, understandings and aspirations of the Maori community. 4. Empowerment of the final year students to cater for their own needs within the kaupapa of Maori Education. After identification of the problems, we attempted to work on all these fronts to promote reform. It was not easy, there were times when misunderstsndings of an appropriate method to bring about change created some chaos, but by revisiting the kaupapa of the research project it was clarirfied that the participants in the change process were in fact the staff and the students involved, not just the reseachers. Indeed all students needed to be brought into the dialogue in order to reduce resistance and possible misunderstandings of the aspirations of the Maori students. Our initial puzzlement over who were the actual participants could have created a conflict situation that would have got us nowhere. It was clarifying the conflict areas that enabled us to identify the participants in our research project. It was because of using the utilising the power of this wide group of participants in the problem solving process that we were able to work towards solutions. We were really surprised at the speed with which structural reform was able to be accomplished by using this method. Some of the specific outcomes have been: a. Extention of the weekly te reo Maori (Maori language) classes for staff to include discussions of issues. b. Proposals for independent programmes for third year students were written up and implemented. c. Two of these students became Learning Assistance Tutors for the ten foundation students (a tuakana-teina principle in practice). d. A three day total immersion Maori language within a kaupapa Maori programme was initiated for the ten foundation course students and their final two years of teacher training will be delivered bilingually. Summary. collaboratively K. (1989) Multicultural education; The New Zealand response, 1974- 1984. NZJES, 24 (1) Ohia, M. (1989) Research for maori education. Address to NZARE Conference, Trentham. Proceedings of the conference. Smith, G. H. (1990) Taha maori: Pakeha capture. In J. Codd, R. Harker and R. Nash (Eds.), Political Issues in New Zealand Education. (pp.183- 197) Palmerston North: Dunmore Press Limited. Walker, R. (1990). Ka whawhai tonu matou: Struggle without end. Auckland: Penguin The practicum was proposed to us as a means of implementing this structural reform within this agenda by using a methodological framework of participant driven empowering research. The Dunedin College of Education's Outpost was the chosen location for delivery, other education papers were already being offered there and there was a tutor avaliable. who enrolled to realiseidentifying the process of It was because of potential participants rto with a wider interest group than?? produced in 1992 ˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙€˙˙˙@˙˙˙AARE\NZARE Joint Conference