DoctorJoseph Houghton

Dr Joseph Houghton is a Senior Lecturer Above the Bar in the School of Curriculum, Assessment and Pedagogy. His research focuses on Pacific education, Pacific research methodologies, educational leadership, and the relationships between schools, communities, and education systems. He is particularly interested in how Pacific learners, families, and communities experience education in diasporic contexts, and how educational institutions can better recognise and respond to the diversity of Pacific identities, aspirations, and ways of knowing.

Joseph's doctoral research explored how Pacific voices can be amplified within secondary school settings through meaningful collaboration between students, families, community leaders, teachers, and school leaders. Guided by the Cook Islands Tīvaevae methodology, Talanoa, and Participatory Action Research, his work examined belonging, cultural identity, educational aspirations, and the role of schools in fostering authentic partnerships with Pacific communities.

A central focus of Joseph's scholarship is the application and development of Pacific research methodologies, particularly the use of Tīvaevae as a Cook Islands-centred framework. Drawing on Cook Islands epistemologies and relational approaches to knowledge creation, his research explores how Pacific methodologies can support collaborative, culturally grounded inquiry across diverse educational and community settings.

Prior to joining academia, Joseph spent more than fifteen years as a secondary school teacher and leader, working alongside students, families, and communities. More recently, he has held leadership and advisory roles within the Ministry of Education, contributing to system-level improvement across policy and practice. These experiences continue to shape his interest in research-informed approaches that strengthen connections across the education ecosystem and improve outcomes for learners and communities.