Rangatiratanga - Leadership for Māori in the Tertiary Sector
Last updated by: ako_admin (Ako Administrator) on 5 July 2010 - 1:14pm
Kia ora and welcome to the first Tuia Te Ako 2010 blog.
The four themes for the conference have been selected by a planning committee comprising representatives of the Māori tertiary sector and Ako Aotearoa’s Māori Caucus based on their own experiences within the sector and a series of strategic meetings with Māori leaders and teachers.
This week’s topic is Rangatiratanga – leadership.
Leadership in Māori tertiary education in Aotearoa has been distinguished by innovation and a willingness to push the boundaries.
At the recent Indigenous Traditional Knowledge Conference in Auckland, Sir Tipene O’Regan identified “the single most important quality that Māori have is our ability to adapt and innovate.”
In the 1990s this leadership was underlined by the birth and growth of wānanga and Māori PTEs and the introduction of innovative models in mainstream tertiary provision to attract and retain Māori learners. Māori now have the highest participation rate in tertiary education of any ethnic group in Aotearoa. This is a huge achievement.
However the increase in Māori participation is mainly at the lower levels and as Tuia Te Ako panellist, Vivien Bridgwater has observed the growth in Māori learners has not been matched by an increase in Māori academic staff.
Māori PTEs and wānanga are often dealing with learners whose problems extend well beyond their ability to learn and success for these tauira includes turning up to class every day as much as course completion or a job at the end of a course.
We’re privileged to have Professor Whatarangi Winiata give a keynote presentation on rangatiratanga – leadership at the Tuia Te Ako conference next month in Wellington. Professor Whatarangi was instrumental in the establishment of Te Wānanga o Raukawa which was set up in the 1980s to fulfil the tribal vision of Te Whakatipuranga Rua Mano. While Whatarangi is now more widely known for his political role, he continues to provide leadership in Māori education.
Ka mate kāinga tahi, ka ora kāinga rua
What are your thoughts on rangatiratanga – leadership for Māori in the tertiary sector?
How can we address some of the recurring challenges that face Māori learners?
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- Ngahiwi Apanui's blog posts
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Comments
Rangatiratanga - Leadership fo...
Kia ora
Just some thoughts to share......I hold the view that we all have aspects of leadership, this is inherent within us, and that the degree in which these aspects present themselves can sometimes be down to opportunity and the mentoring or coaching received leading up to each opportunity.
I think one approach to grow leadership potential of Maori staff in a mainstream institution is for the Maori staff to actively network and make connections with each other. Forming a group who are able to formally and informally make time and space to have convservations with each other enables, amongst other things, for strategic peer support, mentoring and/or coaching to be offered and received.
Recognising that each individual will bring with them a wealth of knowledge and experience suggests that these groupings should not be limited to like colleagues eg academic or non-academic or even schools of study, but should be wide reaching and wide ranging as per the instutitions roll of Maori staff..
He whakaaro anō
Kia ora Mere
I take the following from your post.
1. That qualifications are not the "be all and end all" of leadership, and;
2. That sometimes those in leadership positions who have academic qualifications may not have the necessary people management (manaaki tangata) and leadership skills required for their positions
When I carried out a series of strategic visits with Māori tertiary teachers and leaders, a new element "success" was added to the catch phrase, "retention and completion". The obvious implication here is that there is more to success than completing a qualification. When I asked further about this, the answer I got was that someone could achieve a qualification and still not be successful. That would be achieved by the graduate becoming part of the teaching staff or by involving themselves in iwi/Māori development. I think it is important to put this out there.
I agree that qualifications are not the "be all and end all" of leadership and there are other skills that are required. The ability to listen, to be empathetic, to take advice, to be inclusive are all part of the soft skills required to be a leader. The successful leaders of the past are people who have been able to see opportunity where no one else can and who have been able to act on this even though they find themselves in opposition to the people they are trying to serve. They have also been brave enough to face this opposition and big enough to find strategies to win support and buy-in for their kaupapa.
I think a question that requires some consideration is, what is the place of whakapapa in leadership?
Thoughts on rangatiratanga
In my years working in education I have found that there are Maori with grand qualifications who float and think jobs will fall into their laps. Also I see those who constantly reflect on their practice to try and improve their strengths. Why do we have learners with these strengths that don't know how to participate in both Maori and wider NZ society.
Maori tauira in a Tertiary organisation that is mainstream focused often lose themselves in what is more important - whanau or study. When there is an imbalance our tauira are left with little or no self value. I believe that those successful in leadership still need to be nurtured regardless of whether they have qualifications or are struggling to achieve and the potential we already possess as Maori in strengthening our own outcomes needs to be the priority.
Ka whawhai tonu matou
Kia ora Michelle
In the last quarter of 2009/first quarter of 2010, I conducted a round of meetings with Māori leaders and teachers from right across the tertiary sector. Three of these meetings were with representatives of MPTEs. The MPTEs are working in a unique part of the sector which is widely acknowledged as "high need". This places almost crippling demands on the teachers and the organisations they represent. Several of the teachers at these meetings told me that it took up to 18 months typically to get their tauira ready to learn. This included counselling sessions, meals and actually taking a van to pick learners up from home to ensure they got to class each day. How many other parts of the sector would go out of their way to do this? So I agree with the points you make about the absolute need for MPTEs but also that there is a lot of innovative solutions to a difficult issue being found by MPTES in an arduous situation.
The plight of the MPTEs cries out for strong leadership and that is why I am particularly pleased that Co Chair of AMPTEE, Samantha Lundon will be on the leadership panel at Tuia Te Ako and I'm sure she will put the case for MPTEs strongly and clearly. But I think it goes further than that. I believe Māori in the tertiary sector need to come together on these issues and support each other regardless of which part of the sector they are involved in.
At a recent meeting I attended, one of our kuia said, "no matter how tired we are or how outnumbered, we must find the strength to stand aginst the tide of mainstream opinion". This statement to me is a vital component of leadership - being brave enough to stand up and say, "this doesn't speak to my world, so I cannot support it ."
Ka whawhai tonu mātou.
Rangatiratanga - Leadership fo...
Rangatiratanga - Leadership fo...
Tena koutou katoa
Having read Ngahiwi Apanui Blog, I would like to add some comments to the discussion.
In the 1st instance I tautoko the comments with respect to us maori being innovative, a willingness to push the boundaries, to adapt, to go well beyound the boundaries' regardless of financial recompense.
Te Rapunga O Poutama a MPTE was established in 1987 , based on the principle 'that Maori have the right to deliver training and education to Maori". This principle has not changed in 2010.
Targeted training has been successful in re-engaging Maori back into education hence the stats that support this; over 52% of all students in targeted training are Maori. It has been successful in re-engaging 'at risk' rangatahi and again the stats support this.
However what should be of concern to Maori, maori educationalists, Government, iwi and hapu has been the systematic destruction by the Teriatry Education commission of MPTE's not only in Tamaki Makaurau but all of Aotearoa. Poutama is now the last MPTE with a Maori Kaupapa within Tamaki Makaurau delivering 'targeted training'. At issue is we have a bruearacy managing what should be an innovative intervention and an agency that determines what it calls 'success', an agency that ignores the success of MPTE's around a range of KPI's and places no weighting on many of those KPI's, instead the TEC chooses to contract, cut and chop primirally based on what it calls successful labour market outcomes.
What should be of concern to all is 'what' they determine as positive, neutral and negative outcomes for example; if a student is murdered, killed in a hit and run accident, or dies, then the TEC counts this as a negative outcome against the PTE. Secondly a TEC which varies the contract and the formula for calculating those outcomes after the contract has been delivered and completed, which in turn has now negated 'positive' outcomes acheived by Poutama which were into higher education- Te whare waananga O Aotearoa, Auckland university of technology and the Manukau institute of technology.
To have leadership by Maori in the teriatry sector applies across all levels of the sector, secondly one has to exist first. We also need to ensure that agencies like the TEC are held accountable to their KPI's with respect to Maori Participation and Provision. I have watched since the 90's Tamaki Makaurau go from 60 MPTE's inclusive of Iwi provision to 2010 with Poutama the only MPTE left.
I call that absymal failure by the TEC, I do not accept that all the MPTE's before us have 'failed' I do not believe 'Poutama' is a 'failure'. We can not survive a 'regressive purchasing model' where only ' TEC percieved' failure is used to chop and cut and no increases to those programs which meet the TEC definition of 'success'. Poutama has never recieved any capacity building, we have never been increased on programs which have met in some instances contract now for 23 years, I call that an amazing acheivement.
Which brings me to, it is all well and fine for us as Maori to be innovative, to deliver education and training under "maori models' i.e Whare tapa wha model, however our funding is linked to Government and then administered by a Government agency which is bureaucratic by nature; innovation and brueaucracy is a 'contradiction'.
We once again have pakeha determing 'what' constitues 'success' for Maori, have Pakeha not learned they have 'failed' us since 1840 and they continue to fail us. 50% of Maori boys back in 1987 were leaving school with no qualifications, maori girls 50%, I note education statistic's in 2009 still state that over 50% of maori continue to leave school with no qualifications.
Yes lets celebrate that leadership in Maoridom, however our biggest challenge is being able to operate, ensuring accountability by both government and their agencies to their Maori KPI's , challenging their definitions of 'success' and ensuring the 'right of maori provision by maori'.
I leave this with 'Where has the treaty gone'?
Ka whaiwhai tonu matou ake ake ae