Hiria McRae

Imaginary subjects: school science, indigenous students, and knowledge–power relations

The perspectives of indigenous science learners in developed nations offer an important but frequently overlooked dimension to debates about the nature of science, the science curriculum, and calls from educators to make school science more culturally responsive or ‘relevant’ to students from indigenous or minority groups. In this paper the findings of a study conducted with indigenous Maori children between the ages of 10 and 12 years are discussed. The purpose of the study was to examine the ways that indigenous children in an urban school environment in New Zealand position themselves in relation to school science. Drawing on the work of Basil Bernstein, we argue that although the interplay between emergent cultural identity narratives and the formation of ‘science selves’ is not as yet fully understood, it carries the potential to open a rich seam of learning for indigenous children.

Takina te Kawa: Laying the Foundation, a Research Engagement Methodology in Aotearoa (New Zealand).

In the bi-cultural context of Aotearoa (New Zealand), engagement with stakeholders that is transparent and culturally responsive is a priority for educational research. More common research approaches in New Zealand have followed a Western euro-centric model of engagement with research participants resulting in interventions and initiatives that have not necessarily served the needs of the education sector. The authors critically analyse the researcher relationship with research participants to provide a Maori perspective to guide the engagement process as researchers enter educational communities to conduct research. Embedded with Maori ideology and knowledge, the Hei Korowai ethical research framework is a platform for insider positionality that acknowledges partnership between the researcher and the researched for the benefit of knowledge development and the educational sector.

Tikanga Māori Kei Te Ao Whakaako

In a number of tertiary institutions in Aotearoa New Zealand there are Māori educators who are struggling collectively to ensure their autonomy over their cultural well-being. The purpose of the struggle is usually to assert the importance of the Māori language and culture as valid frameworks of critical analysis based on a Māori world view (G. H. Smith, 1997).