“Poipoia te kākano kia puawai” “Nurture the seed and it will blossom”
The Kia Angitu research project aims to develop a strategy for EIT to raise Māori student achievement across its programmes. The project comprises a partnership between EIT’s Māori Directorate (overview and oversight); the Education Development Centre (teaching and learning strategies) and the Research and Innovation Centre (evaluation of all). Kia Angitu involves students and staff from a cross-section of pre-degree, degree and post-graduate programmes at EIT Hawke’s Bay.
With the highest Maori participation rate in the country — 72 percent in Tairawhiti and 43 percent in Hawke’s Bay – Herea Te Rā1 (EIT’s Māori Capability Development Framework) was launched in 2016, aiming to strengthen the capability of staff across the Institute to further enhance Māori student success. Much work has begun and numbers of teaching staff engaged in waiata, te reo and Māori Studies is increasing. Deputy chief executive of the Tertiary Education Commission, Paora Ammunson, recently commended EIT for its progress in lifting Maori achievement rates in tertiary education. One key element of this, is increasing the numbers of teaching staff with effective knowledge and skills leading to enhanced learner experiences for Māori; Kia Angitu is an integral part of this.
Kia Angitu research participants are supported and encouraged to identify, develop and implement strategies/interventions, in a bid to improve Māori student engagement and success rates. Nine lecturers from EIT began the research with wānanga whakapiri (an engagement seminar) and will be working together to achieve enhanced experiences and outcomes for Māori students. We are well into the pilot phase, which will finish at the end of this semester.
One research participant summed up the journey so far:
“So much of the learning comes from the conversations, little things like understanding that karakia is a blessing not only a prayer, makes such a big difference to my own confidence in immersing myself further in te ao Maori. I’m so appreciative of the group who are helping each other on this journey. Together we challenge, together we succeed. Mā pango, ma whero, ka ora ai Ngāi Tātau.” (Research participant)
Research Project Team members:
- Project Sponsor: Tuhakia Keepa, Maori Directorate
- Teaching and Learning Strategy Lead: Deb Stewart, Education Development Centre
- Evaluation Lead and Project Co-ordinator: Dr Anne Hiha, Research Fellow, Research and Innovation Centre, EIT.
- Researcher: Margaret Young, Pouwhirinaki, Māori and Pasifika Student Support
- Project Mentor: Professor Kay Morris Matthews, Research Professor, Research and Innovation Centre, EIT.