Te Ru Rangahau | The Maori Research Laboratory

I have been working as a Māori/public health researcher since completing my Masters degree in public health in 2000. I have been involved in research across a wide range of areas relating to Māori advancement, including traditional Māori healing, Māori-focused service, programme and organisational evaluation, and Māori community, iwi and hapū development. I recently completed a PhD in Health Sciences, investigating the concept of identity as it features in the lives and experiences of Māori adoptees.

Improving outcomes for all learners is my passion and is always central to my research and postgraduate supervisions. I have been involved in research on innovative learning environments in schooling;  mentoring student teachers on practicum; how literacy and languages influence schooling and education; leadership in schooling during natural disasters; reading programmes in the upper primary school.

 

I supervise a number of NZ and international postgraduate students in literacy, languages, English as a second or foreign language and supporting Māori and Pasifika learners. 

 

 

 

 

Earlier research

I led a multisite case study qualitative research project in a wide range of primary and intermediate schools. The investigation explored the views of principals, teachers, parents and students on supporting reading, mathematics and how elearning can be used to motivate learning. I undertook research on experiences in primary schooling during and after the Christchurch earthquakes. I was the principal co-investigator in a research project funded by the MOE to investigate ‘E-learning, mixed mode and distance learning for adult literacy, language and numeracy’. This research led to international work in the area of adult literacy for speakers of English as a second language and exploring how e-learning can support English literacy acquisition. My earlier research focused on Pasifika students’ literacy achievement where I took a lead role as part of a research team, working with the guidance of matai. I have examined a number of theses on supporting Pasifika students in learning.


https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/education-and-health/research/learning-environments/

Professor Gillon (Ngāi Tahu iwi) is the Founding Director of the University of Canterbury Child Well-Being Research Institute. Prof Gillon is also the New Zealand UNESCO National Commissioner for Education.

 

Professor Gillon has a strong leadership and research background in education and speech-language therapy. She has held roles as Dean of Science, Dean of Education, and Pro-Vice Chancellor for the College of Education, Health and Human Development  at the University of Canterbury. Most recently she was the Deputy Director for the Better Start National Science Challenge E Tipu E Rea. She contributed to the leadership of a 10-year programme of research ($34million) focused on ensuring all young children have a successful start to life. 

 

Professor Gillon is well known internationally for her research in phonological awareness and children’s early literacy development. She has won several prestigious research awards for her pioneering work in effective interventions to accelerate reading in children with speech and language disorders and children with dyslexia. She has published well over 100 scientific research papers, and has presented numerous keynote and invited speeches around the world.

 

Professor Gillon is the Co-Lead Developer of the Better Start Literacy Approach (BSLA). This is a culturally responsive and structured literacy teaching approach based on the science of reading. It is currently being implemented in over 1000 schools across Aotearoa New Zealand. New Zealand. Professor Gillon is leading a range of research projects analysing data from the response of over 100,000 young children to BSLA teaching. Recent projects include understanding early literacy development in children who are English Language Learners, accelerating literacy in Maori and Pacific children in culturally responsive ways and the use of novel online assessments to monitor children’s growth in foundational oral language and early literacy skills.

 

Professor Gillon is a Fellow of Te Aparangi, the Royal Society of New Zealand, the first New Zealander to be made a Fellow of the American Speech-Language and Therapy Association, and a Life member of the New Zealand Speech Language Therapy Association. She has received several awards for her research including the prestigious University of Canterbury Research Excellence Medal and the University of Canterbury Research Innovation Medal.

My research grows out of my work as a teacher and teacher educator and as an artist. Therefore it is based in a group of interconnected areas: education, development , community engagement . the arts, and the intercultural spaces where these take place.

Some of my projects have been sited in one or other of these separate areas, but I am also keenly interested in where they overlap and impact on one another other, and in the ways in which they may inform each other in extending our conceptualisations of learning, and teaching, scholarship and knowledge, aesthetics and semiotics.

Research work in the fields of theatre, drama in education, critical literacies, education and cross-cultural perspectives have also lead to further examination of particular methodologies such as practitioner research, action research creative work, and to epistemological questions about the cultural locatedness of knowledge.

Dr. Kay-Lee Jones (Te Aitanga a Māhaki, Ngāti Porou, Te Whānau a Kai, Te Whakatōhea) serves as a Senior Lecturer in Teacher Education at the University of Canterbury. With extensive experience in kaupapa Māori and bilingual education in Aotearoa New Zealand, she teaches Initial Education and Postgraduate courses in Mātauranga Māori, culturally responsive practice, and language revitalization. Kay-Lee was a recipient of an Ako Aotearoa Teaching Excellence award in 2020 and also a UC Teaching Excellence award in the same year.

Kay-Lee’s research focuses on the experiences of teachers and ākonga (students) in bilingual education within Aotearoa New Zealand. Her work aims to foster culturally empowering practices, educational equity, and leadership. Currently, she is exploring alternatives to streaming (tracking) in education as part of treaty-based practice. Another research project she is engaged in addresses early literacy needs of bilingual tamariki through place-based pūrākau (narratives) using a kaupapa Māori approach. Her research emphasizes equity and Indigenous perspectives, employing qualitative analysis and kaupapa Māori methodologies. Kay-Lee has developed te reo Māori and bilingual teaching resources, serves on an editorial board, and has contributed to conference committees and an Educational Research Association's Early Career Group. Kay-Lee has contributed to book chapters and has produced peer-reviewed articles. She has presented her research nationally and internationally. She has delivered keynote and public lectures on Mātauranga Māori Teacher Education, equitable practices in education, culturally empowering pedagogies, and bilingual education.

She is a dedicated Board of Trustees member at Te Pā o Rākaihautū, (a kura mana Motuhake- special character schooling) delivering Māori medium 21st-century pā (village) style education. Kay-Lee serves as a Programme Coordinator in the Faculty of Education, she is a Māori Caucus Co-chair and sits on both the Faculty Board and university wide Teaching Awards committee.

Associate Professor Richard Manning has been the recipient of various academic awards and scholarships, including a prestigious New Zealand Top Achiever Doctoral Scholarship, awarded by the New Zealand Foundation for Research, Science and Technology. Richard is particularly interested in researching how Critical and Indigenous pedagogies of place can be applied to support inter-disciplinary efforts to address traumatic histories, Treaty of Waitangi and Indigenous education issues locally, nationally and internationally. Alongside Associate Professor Nēpia Mahuika (Massey University), he is currently a Principal Investigator - co-leading a Full Marsden Fund research project titled: Ngā Hanganga Mātua o te Whakaako Hitori: Critical Pedagogies for History Educators in Aotearoa New Zealand.

My writing and research interests are currently centred on children with disabilities and access and participation in early childhood educational settings.

Heru Hāpainga
Jen Smith (Ngāti Whātua, Te Roroa, Ngāpuhi) is a senior lecturer in Māori education in the Faculty of Education at the University of Canterbury [UC]. In addition to her lectureship, she leads Culturally Responsive Education in Te Kāhui Pā Harakeke: The Child Wellbeing Research Institute at UC. Jen is an experienced teacher of primary education.

As a recipient of the University of Canterbury’s Innovation Award, other awards, and grants, Jen’s research in culturally responsive pedagogies underpins her expertise in Māori educational experiences and wellbeing. Her research leadership has recently focused on culturally responsive strategies that enhance literacy engagement through the national Better Start Literacy Approach [BSLA]. As a doctoral candidate, Jen’s focus on Māori teachers' cultural safety experiences in schools theorises how institutional systems impact Māori success. Jen specialises in employing Indigenous braided approaches to methodology, leveraging qualitative analytical approaches and mixed-method designs.

Jen has published in the areas of CRP frameworks that enhance school practices in partnership with Māori, Māori audiological health, and teacher education. Jen won the inaugural fellowship with the Journal of Critical Study of Communication & Disability (JCSCD) and regularly peer reviews for other journals. Jen has shown leadership across the sector as a cultural advisor, guest keynote speaker and the Advisory Chair of Deaf Education for the New Zealand Deaf School. Jen presents regularly at international and national conferences, contributes to professional learning for kaiako and schools, and welcomes all enquiries.

Jen teaches various Teacher Education courses at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. She supervises students at a master’s level and is available to supervise Māori and non-Māori students in subjects of her interest.
- Māori Education
- Cultural and social well-being,
- Kaupapa Māori theory and methodology,
- Teacher education and practice;
- and Kaupapa Māori audiology.

My teaching, research and service are guided, influenced and inspired by the metaphorical notion in Samoan  – ‘ole talatalaina ole upega lavelave, the untangling of the tangled net’.  This notion contextualizes the reality of my role as an educator, a researcher and a community leader in seeking solutions that can help resolve matters that impact on the lives of students, families and communities.  Such expression captures the real essence of why I serve my community, why I am fully engaged in research and why I am passionate about teaching.  My interest in Pasifika education as a whole and educational leadership completely capture my aspiration to engage in research to improve outcomes for Pacific learners.  My passion in these areas inspires me to develop a new research methodology known as the Soalaupulega Samoa Research Theoretical Framework (SSRTF).  Such methodology captures the relationship between people and the research matter.  It opens doors to deep thinking in seeking solutions to resolve issues impacting on the lives of the community. Soalaupulega theoretical framework is a taonga I offer to the research community, locally, nationally and globally.

In my personal life, I  am a father of 4 children.  My wife is an Early Childhood teacher.  I have a leadership role in my church as Bishop, a role that gives me the opportunity to work with people of all ages, genders, cultures and so on.  As a leader in this capacity, I enjoy working with young people supporting them in all they do in life.  In my role in education at UC, I have the opportunity to develop, coordinate and lead the Pasifika Education Initiative - known as the Samoa Malaga. I developed this initiative as a strategy to help non Pasifika teachers, school leaders, academics, initial teacher educators etc to increase their knowledge of Pacific cultures and contexts to support this whole kaupapa on raising the achievement and engagement of Pacific learners.  The completion of my PhD in 2023 has been the highlight of my last 4 years in my role in education.  The fulfilment of this achievement motivates me to carry on and continue to give something back to my Pasifika families and communities in lifting the engagement and achievement of Pacific students.

Ngāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, Waitaha

Dr Toni Torepe (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Māmoe, Waitaha) is a respected Māori academic and Senior Lecturer in the School of Teacher Education at Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury. Her whakapapa is grounded across the Ngāi Tahu region, and she identifies Arowhenua as her whānau home. Having successfully navigated an education system that did not always recognise Māori ways of knowing and being, Dr Torepe brings deep lived insight into the challenges and possibilities facing Māori learners and educators. This experience underpins her enduring commitment to Māori advancement, educational equity, and mana‑enhancing practice across teaching, research, and institutional leadership.

 

Her work focuses on strengthening Māori education, culturally responsive teaching, and equity in initial teacher education, with a strong commitment to supporting Māori ākonga, whānau, hapū, rūnanga, and iwi. Her research and teaching are grounded in mātauranga Māori, kaupapa Māori methodologies, and bicultural practice, with a particular emphasis on developing teachers who are culturally grounded, relationally responsive, and confident in creating inclusive learning environments.

 

Dr Torepe holds multiple leadership and service roles in support of her rūnanga, iwi, and wider community. These roles reflect her commitment to Māori governance, representation, and collective wellbeing, and are guided by the principles of whanaungatanga, manaakitanga, and rangatiratanga. Through this leadership, she ensures that her research, teaching, and institutional contributions are strategically aligned with iwi aspirations, responsive to community priorities, and accountable to Māori knowledge holders.

 

A longstanding advocate for Māori staff and students, Dr Torepe contributes to institutional leadership in equity, wellbeing, and cultural capability, and is widely recognised for her mentorship, relationship‑building, and commitment to mana‑enhancing approaches. Her work continues to shape how the University of Canterbury prepares teachers to serve diverse learners and communities across Aotearoa New Zealand, in ways that honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi and iwi‑led aspirations.