Abstract:
Placing student voice at the heart of this project, we learned more about how students encounter the colonial history of Aotearoa Te Waipounamu in their education at our University. We looked first to Māori methodology for cultural responsiveness and cultural safety, recognising our responsibilities to enact Te Tiriti o Waitangi – Treaty of Waitangi (TOW) as researchers within the University. Te Tiriti o Waitangi is the founding document of Aotearoa Te Waipounamu and sets out Māori-Crown partnerships and relationships within the four Articles.
Wānaka as research methodology work as practices that are embedded in and shaped by local knowledge, place, people, language and tikaka (customary practices). Ōtākou is the place of mana whenua, the peoples of Kāi Tahu (local iwi) and, is also the place of our University. In our context, wānaka provided us with dymanic research practices that drew from our teaching and learning approaches, the language and knowledge of students as they evaluated their studies, and the setting of Ōtākou. Wānaka create “thought spaces” that encourage critical thinking, debate, and the co-creation of knowledge. Wānaka fostered an environment for a diverse group of 68 students to come together, discuss, and share their experiences at the University.
Researchers should not assume that thought spaces are automatically culturally safe spaces. Enabling the voices of participants is first fostered through tikaka, framed within Māori values and practices. Researchers must be consciously aware of their own cultural frameworks and assumptions, and how these work to create research spaces that can silence, or amplify, Indigenous voices.
We applied a Critical Tiriti Analysis method to recordings of students’ discussions. Our findings indicate that students are critical of what they see as tokenistic content in their courses, revealing problematic educational practices. Students learn little about TOW, Māori values, such as takata whenuataka (Indigenous contexts for learning) and manaakitaka (ethos of care), and how these relate to the programmes they are studying. Students aspire for place-based, problem-based and future-focused education, which better prepares them for global citizenship.
Dismantling colonial structures within research provides possibilities for nurturing affective and flexible spaces for student voices. We acknowledge discomfort, but avoiding difficult conversations and enacting unsafe research methodology can perpetuate more harm and prolong unsustainable relationships and partnerships with Indigenous peoples. Educational researchers, having invited students’ voices, are subsequently challenged to listen, value and validate their concerns and recommendations.
Wānaka as research methodology work as practices that are embedded in and shaped by local knowledge, place, people, language and tikaka (customary practices). Ōtākou is the place of mana whenua, the peoples of Kāi Tahu (local iwi) and, is also the place of our University. In our context, wānaka provided us with dymanic research practices that drew from our teaching and learning approaches, the language and knowledge of students as they evaluated their studies, and the setting of Ōtākou. Wānaka create “thought spaces” that encourage critical thinking, debate, and the co-creation of knowledge. Wānaka fostered an environment for a diverse group of 68 students to come together, discuss, and share their experiences at the University.
Researchers should not assume that thought spaces are automatically culturally safe spaces. Enabling the voices of participants is first fostered through tikaka, framed within Māori values and practices. Researchers must be consciously aware of their own cultural frameworks and assumptions, and how these work to create research spaces that can silence, or amplify, Indigenous voices.
We applied a Critical Tiriti Analysis method to recordings of students’ discussions. Our findings indicate that students are critical of what they see as tokenistic content in their courses, revealing problematic educational practices. Students learn little about TOW, Māori values, such as takata whenuataka (Indigenous contexts for learning) and manaakitaka (ethos of care), and how these relate to the programmes they are studying. Students aspire for place-based, problem-based and future-focused education, which better prepares them for global citizenship.
Dismantling colonial structures within research provides possibilities for nurturing affective and flexible spaces for student voices. We acknowledge discomfort, but avoiding difficult conversations and enacting unsafe research methodology can perpetuate more harm and prolong unsustainable relationships and partnerships with Indigenous peoples. Educational researchers, having invited students’ voices, are subsequently challenged to listen, value and validate their concerns and recommendations.