MsTeena Henderson

My research and the topic of my current PhD studies, focusses on hapū - school partnerships established to transform schooling outcomes for Māori. In this sense, my research aligns with Kaupapa Māori theory, in particular its transformative goals and potential. I investigate the ways both hapū and schools engage and collaborate and ask does the hapū enjoy the status of an equal Tiriti partner. Schools recognize the need to engage with hapū/iwi, however it has been my experience that schools tend to conceptualise the relationship in transactional terms. The resultant unequal relationships between the hapū and schools in the Ngāti Waewae rohe have negatively impacted on the achievement of all Māori. A richer relationship would be to engage in an ongoing dialogue, with solutions created in a collaborative fashion. I posit that schools need to relinquish some authority and control throughout this process and engage in a meaningful Tiriti partnership that protects hapū education interests and guarantees full participation in the life of the schools.
In my research I draw upon literature on Kaupapa Māori theory and research, language revitalization and Place Based education. I position myself as a researcher not as a disinterested external observer to schools and hapū but rather as someone who is embedded in the community – as both a tribal member and as an educational professional and I have a vested interest in the outcomes of the research.