This document examines historical and contemporary narratives of whānau (family), identity, and education in New Zealand. It discusses how whānau has historically provided strong support for Māori but was disrupted by colonization and assimilation policies. Now, whānau remains an important influence on Māori students' educational outcomes and identity development. The document also explores the author's own mixed-ethnicity background and upbringing, noting both the similarities and differences between his mother's Cook Islands Māori heritage and his father's Pākehā background.

1. Massey University
Whānau, Identity and Education
An examination of historical and contemporary narratives in the
midst of educational revitalisation
Nāu te rourou, nākū te rourou, ka ora ai tātou.
With the gifts you bring, combined with mine, we will all benefit.
By
Joseph Houghton
Student number: 14111980
Course: Mana Whānau: Whānau Engagement in Education 269.734
Lecturer: Dr PetiKenrick
3,113 words

2. One of the strongestinfluencesonthe academicperformance of ayoungpersonistheirfamily
or whānau and howmuch supportisgiventothem, bothas an individual andasan integrated
memberof theircommunity (Cunningham,Stevenson,&Tassell,2005).Recentdecadeshave seen
an increasedawarenessandunderstandingof thisprinciple withregardstothe realitiesfacingNew
ZealandMāori,bothin termsof theireducational outcomesandthe contemporarywayinwhichthe
conceptof whānau isstructuredand understood (Walker,2006; Cloher& Hohepa,1996; Metge,
1995). Many educatorsand institutionsare grapplingwiththese issues,andavaluable wayinwhich
we can come to a betterunderstandingof whānauandthe impactit can have on our youngpeople
isto reflectandrespondtothe truthsof the past,the whakapapaof whānauinAōtearoa,soto
speak.Bymakinglinkstorelevantliterature,thisessaywill seekto examinevariousaspectsof
whānaulife inNewZealand,bothhistoricallyandcontemporarily. Alongsideresearchliterature, I
will drawonmy ownexperiencesgrowingupas someone of mixedethnicity. Iwill alsoreflectonthe
growingupnarrativesof PatriciaGrace, Tom SmilerJrand AntonBlank, asset outin Ihimaera’s
Growing Up Māori.
Examiningthe historical aspectsof whānauinNew Zealandisanimportant partof
understandingwhere Māori have come from,how theyexperience education, andhow the more
recognisable social structuresof todayhave grownoutof adaptationsandsystematic,tribal
structuresof the past. Smith(1995) statesthat, historically,the central aimof whānauwasto
provide asupportstructure that supportedmembersof the family,andthatit hassurvived, inthe
face of “pressuresof assimilationandthe presenceof the dominantPakehafamilymodel insociety”
(Smith,1995, p.28). These pressureshave changedthe waythat Māori experience socialisation
(Lawson-Te Aho,2010), especiallyinanurban,non-iwi-centricmanner,andthe waythatyoung
Māori and theirwhānau interactwiththe conceptof education andthe educationsystemasa whole
(Cloher&Hohepa,1996). Connectionwiththe originalfoundationsof whānauisprimarilygained
throughan understandingof whakapapawhānau,the linktotipuna,ora commonancestor,being
the provisionforsucha connection (Lawson-Te Aho,2010; Irwin,2011). Often,modernday

3. discussionsaroundidentityinNew Zealand,andthe frequentmarginalizationof Māori inour
society,fail tototake intoaccount what thiscrucuallyimportant,historical aspectof whānauinthis
countrymeans.Colonial familystructures,whileretainingafondnessandasomewhatpatriotic
affectionforancestral ties,cannotcompare withthe importance placeduponwhakapapawhānau
by Māori.Colonisation,whichhastakenplace overthe lasttwocenturies,demandsacertain
severingof tiesanda re-establishmentof familiesandcommunitiesinthe Europeanmodel.Itis
interestingtonote the tensionpresentin PatriciaGrace’snarrative concerningthe differences
betweenherMāori side andherEnglishside,withthe rootsseemingtogo deeperforherMāori
side:
These were twodifferentworlds –the contrastingworldsof mymother’sandmy father’s
families […] Iwasalreadyaware thatI was ‘like’myfather,‘like’myaunties[…] ‘notlike’my
motheror hersistersandtheirchildren,apartfromhavingtheirblue eyes. (Ihimaera,1998,p.
48)
In orderto understandwhānauincontemporaryNew Zealandsocietyandthe powerful role thatit
continuestoplay,especiallywithregardstobeinga“custodianof culture” (Irwin,2011, p. 37) and
an importantfactorin educational outcomes,we mustacknowledgethe historical nature of the
institution andthe Euro-centricmannerinwhichoureducationsystemoperates (Penetito,2002).
The historical relationshipbetweenMāori andeducationhasbeenafraughtone,with
significantimpactsuponboth the familystructure andthe waythateducationisperceivedand
participatedin (Watangi Tribunal,2012; Penetito,2009; Alton-Lee,2003).The assimilationperiod,
whichlastedwell intothe 1930’s, was a systematicwayof reducingthe cultural,linguisticand
familial strengthof Māori (Lawson-Te Aho,2010).It soughtto integrate Māori intoa European
educationsystem,andthus,transformtheirsocietyintoaEuropeanone (Penetito,2010).The effect
was thatMāori were marginalised,theirculture trivialised,andtheiridentityandwhānau
connections greatly weakened. Grace,whowaseducatedinthe 1940s, discussesthatperception

4. that she was “different”andthat“there was a low[er] expectationof [her] bysome teachers”
(Ihimaera,1998, p. 50). As well asfeelingasense of not necessarily belongingathome,she alsofelt
“different”atschool,sometimesbeing“accused of brownnessandbeingaMāori” (p.49). The
barriersthat were erectedwithinthe educationsystembythe exclusion of Te reoMāori cannot be
overstated (Bright,Barnes,&Hutchings,2013). Asearlyas the 1847 EducationOrdinance,Te reo
was seenas controversial,andfundingwasonlygivenif the language of instructionwasEnglish
(Irwin,2011). The effectonwhānauconnectionsandstructure wasdivisive anddestructive.Penetito
(2002) discusseshowintergenerational gapswidenedandcultural knowledge andidentitywaned,as
Māori were “systematicallydenied”aneducationof whatitmeantto be Māori. The negative
experience of educationforMāori became like anavalanche,as whānauconnectionsandthus,
connectionstoidentifyandculture were damaged,leadingtofurtherisolationwithina European
educationsystem.
Tom SmilerJunior,originallynamedTe HāO Rūhia and educatedinthe early20th
century,
experiencedadifferentkindof education atthe start of hislife,one whichcontrastsstronglywith
Grace’s andwithmany Māori today.Smilergrew upina rural, whānau-centricenvironment,with
differentemphasesandadifferentview of educational priorities.Throughoutthe evolving
relationshipbetweenMāori andeducation,the mainfocushasbeento force Te AoMāori, a Māori
worldview,intoaPakehaorEuropeantemplate orbox,specificallythroughthe vehicleof education.
Penetito(2010) notesthat whatis nowemergingisadesire to create an educational system“that
enhanceswhatitmeansto be Māori” (Penetito,2010,wh. 251). Smiler’s educational narrative,
while notwithout the experience of discrimination, givesusaninsightintohow thistype of whānau-
centricviewof educatingthe childhasworkedinthe past.Raisedbyhismatriarchal grandmother,
Hine Te Ariki,Smiler’sfamilial structure doesnotfitintothe conventional, nuclearmodel that
Europeanfamilieswouldbe usedto.Amongsthisrelatives,Smilerrecountsthathe learntlanguage,
politics,oratoryand,“simple,natural wisdom” (Ihimaera,1998, p. 68), largelythoughthe influence
of hisgrandmother. Thisnatural connectionto whānauissomethingthatenhanceseducation and

5. contemporaryresearchisincreasinglyemphasisingthis (Ministryof Education,2004; Ministryof
Education,2013; Alton-Lee,2003). The matriarchal character of hisupbringingissomethingthatI
can relate,withmyextendedfamilyhavingastronggrandmotheratits head.She isa figure of
cultural identityandstrength,aroundwhichalotof the social flow of the familyrevolves.
Withthe contemporaryrealityof whānaubeingof mixedethnicity,the straddling of “different
worlds”,asGrace putsit, is a part of life thatmanyyoungMāori have to live with.Myownwhānau
comesfromthe mergingof manyethnicities,andassuch,the variousbrancheswhichconnectto
formour whānauinvolve differentexperiencesanddifferentattitudestoaspectssuchas education.
Withboth the change in locationandculture,strongfamilial tiesandconnectionsare stillseentobe
“a critical cultural entity”(Lawson-Te Aho,2010, wh.31) forus. Growingupwiththismix,andthe
subsequentraisingof myownfamily,have givenme insightsintodifferentdynamicswhichcan
constitute afamily,andhave assistedme inmyownjourneyasan educator.In 1952, my mother’s
NewZealandEuropean father,tookthe drasticstepof acceptinga transfertothe CookIslands,
specificallythe Islandof Rarotonga.He wasworkingwiththe postoffice,and eventually marriedmy
grandmother,whodescendedfromachieflyfamilyof the islandof Aitu,the Rongo-Kea’s. In1964,
the two of themand five children made the move backtoAotearoaNew Zealand. Myfather’sfamily
isquite a contrast,withmy grandfatherbeingfromanEnglishminingfamily andmy Nanfrom a
Polishfarmingfamily.Grace commentsaboutgrowingupinthe “contrastingworldsof my mother’s
and myfather’sfamilies“(Ihimaera,1998, p. 48) and thiscan be consideredareality formy
generationandmanyMāori inthe present andpreviousgenerations. Formywhānau,thismix of
differentethnicities,culturesandhistorieshasproducedaninterestinggeneration,withdiverse
expectationsaroundthingssuchasfamilystructure,relationshipsandeducation.Similarities
betweenthe two heritagesrevolve aroundahighvalue placedoneducation,andassuch,our
schoolinglife becamethe focusof mostof our effortgrowingup. Like manyMāori,our familyhave
managedto maintaincultural preferencesthatconnectbackto our CookIslandMāori heritage

6. (Smith,1995; Metge,1995) and thisservestostrengthenouridentity,notonlyasNew Zealanders,
but as people of the widerPacific.
Whānau expectationsare asubstantial factorinthe educational outcomesforMāori,with
Ministryof Educationinitiatives,suchasKa Hikitia,AcceleratingSuccess2013-2017 having“Parents,
Family, Whānau”at itscentre (Ministryof Education,2013). I am the eldestof fourchildrenbornto
Bruce WesleyHoughton andDianaRongo-Mate-O-Taku-Ariki Sullivan.WhenIwasgrowingup,my
fatherwasa policemanandmymotherworkedforANZBank. There were highexpectationswith
regardsto conduct and education,neitherof myparentshavinghada tertiaryeducation.Whānau
are the basisfor attitudestoeducation (Ministryof Education, 2004; Alton-Lee,2003),and much of
whatparentsand otherfigureswithinthe extendedfamilyare able provideasexamplescan affect
the outcomesforstudents:
[…] the valuesandbeliefsheldbywhānauregardingthe importance of education,likelyimpact
on the effortappliedindevelopingandmaintainingeducational learningaschildrenprogress
through[…] education.Byincreasingthe awarenessof whānauregardingthe keyrole theyplay
inthe educational learningof theirchildren,whānauare more likelytobecome andremain
involvedinsupportingtheirchildrenthroughthe educationsystem. (Cunningham, Stevenson,&
Tassell,2005, p. 43)
The impact of whānauinvolvementcannotbe underestimated.Myparentsbothtriedto be involved
ina lessformal way,oftendodginginvolvement withinformal structures,suchasboardsor
committees,insteadoptingformore handsonroleslike school camps andsports.Māori whānau
involvementisstatisticallylowwhencompared withPakehaparentinvolvement,however,
increasedtrendsinsome areashave beennotedinimmersionandbilingualschools (Cunningham,
Stevenson,&Tassell,2005).The parental involvement numbersare higherinBilingual unitsandKura
Kaupapa,as opposedtoEnglish-Mediumschools. Thiscouldbe because whānauwhohave strong
linkstotheirculture andidentityas Māori are more comfortable withparticipatinginthesetypesof

7. events,inthese typesof environments (Penetito,2010) and is somethingthatmainstreamschools
needtotake intoaccount.My ownexperience asateacher,as well ascontemporaryresearch,
suggeststhatwhenstudentshave astrong whānausupportbase,connectedtothe school,theyare
lesslikelytohave issuesaroundtruancy,substance abuse andengagement (Berryman,Kerr,
Macfarlane,Penetito,&Smith,2015).
Identityisacritical issue for Māori withregardsto theirexperience ineducation.Whenstudents
understandwhotheyare,andfeel like theybelong wheretheyare,whetheritbe school,community
or whānau,theyfeel more driventoexperience success (Ministryof Education,2013; Watangi
Tribunal,2012; Grocott, 2014). The realityisthatMāori are still experiencinginequalityinNew
Zealand(Marriot& Sim,2014), and this inequalityoftenstemsfromexperiencesineducation
determinedbyissuesaroundidentityandidentityconstruction.The eldestthree inourfamily were
neverallowedlongperiodsof time off school and,while familywasmostimportant,school became
a strong focus for all of us. We were reasonably wellintegrated, involvedinsportsandcamps,a
strongindicatorfor successat school (Ministryof Education,2007). I neverfeltlike Iwas
disadvantagedatschool.Assiblings,we are verydifferentwithregardstoourindividual passions
and interests,andoureducationlives were all different.Asthe eldest,Iwas considered the most
responsible, orboringfrommysiblings’perspectives.Itrackedthroughschool confidently,and my
love of readingandthe fact that I was the firstto getuniversitymeant Iwasalwayspraisedasthe
academic.My sisterTessawasseenas the creative one,withastrong poeticability.Chris,the third
inline,wasthe charismaticone, involved inmusicalsandleadershiprolesatschool.Lastly,Josua was
differenttothe restof us, strugglingwithidentityashe grew up.Similartothe experienceof Anton
Blank,he was consciousof the needtoconstruct hisownidentityandsaw strengthinbeingable to
do that.However,thattakestime, oftenyears.Thismeant,thatinthe meantime,hiseducation
suffered.He couldnotvalue the externalexperienceof aEuro-centriceducation,whenthe more
importantinternal issue of identity,wasaproblemthatstill neededtobe resolved. Savage etal.
state that:

8. Schoolsthatreflecta dominantculture representinvisible culturesthatcan effectivelyprivilege
studentswhoshare thatdominant cultural identitywhilesimultaneouslydisadvantaging
studentswhose culturesare different.(Savage,etal.,2011, p. 184)
Blank’sexperienceof being“labelledPakehabythe otherkidsat school”andthe perceptionthat
“there wasalmostno validationof beingMāori athighSchool”(Ihimaera,1998, p. 223) pointsto a
disconnectbetweenbothindividual,familialandeducational identity.
Blank’sexperienceinthe constructionof hisownidentityandhisdialogue aroundit,point tothe
critical issuesthatmanyyoung Māori face within theirown whānau,andinthe educationsystem
(Berryman,Kerr,Macfarlane,Penetito,&Smith,2015; Grocott,2014; Cunningham, Stevenson,&
Tassell,2005). For them, itcan be hard todetermine ‘who’theyare,andasBlank profoundly states
“I feltlike I wasand I wasnt”(Ihimaera,1998, p. 225). ThisconnectsstronglytoGrace’s perception of
education andto youngpeople inmyownfamily.There isanurgentneedtoensure thatthe future
of educationseekstobuildon the identitythatthe individualbringstothe institution,asopposedto
merelyallowingthe institutiontoimpressitsidentityonthe individual:
Connectiontowhakapapaandiwi createsthe sense of self-worththatbecomesabase onwhich
parentscan raise theirchildrenwithpride anddignity,while undoingsome of the conditioning
that colonisationhasinflictedonMāori culture. (Boyle,2015)
Notonlyshouldwe be seekingtoaccomodate the individualswithinoureducationsystem, we need
to alsobegintooverhaul the systemasa whole (Grocott,2014). Admittedly,thisisanenterprise
that has alreadybegun,andone thatwill take place graduallyovergenerations,however,the need
isurgentand the task immense. Whānauneedtobe placedatthe centerof thisrenaissance and
giventhe chance to leadtheiryoungpeople tosuccess,asuccessthat theyare able to define (Boyle,
2015; Ministryof Education,2013; Bishop,Berryman,Tiakiwai,&Richardson,2003). The Te
Kōtahitangaproject(2003) foundthat “relationshipsbetweenmainstreamsecondaryschoolsand
those parentingMāori studentsare at a standoff,exacerbated bydiscoursesof blame andguilt”and

9. that “changingfailure tosuccessinthe classroomisthe keytoaddressingstructural issuesaswell as
home and school relations”(p.2),thus,reinforcingthe crucial role thatthe school plays,asa partner
to whānau.It isillogical thatthe school shouldpointto whānau,inthe weakenedstate thatitfinds
itself in because of colonialismanda varietyof aotherfactors,andsay that it issoleytheir
responsibilityandsoleytheirfault.Whatisneededinfuture interactionsbetweenkuraand whānau
isauthenticdialogue andcommittedrelationships (Penetito,2010).
The concept of kaupapawhānauis one that 21st Centuryeducationalinstitutionsneedto
become familiarwithandembrace alongside the ideaof whakapapawhānau.“Contemporary Māori
live ina range of social,economicandcultural realities” (Cunningham, Stevenson,&Tassell,2005, p.
57), withIwi diffusedthroughoutthe country,andindeedthe world.Pakehateachersandstaff are
eagerto assistMāori withregardsto educationandto supportthemintheirendeavours.Itisfor
these reasonsthatkauapapawhānauidealsneedtobe embracedinoureducationsystem:
Kaupapawhānauare boundtogetherinrelationshipstofulfil acommonpurpose orgoal.
Kaupapawhānaumay or may notshare the same whakapapa.Thisisa model that
recognisesboththe traditional andcontemporaryrolesthat whānauperforminthe livesof
whānaumembers.Itrecognisesthatthe collective of whānauisvital forthe individual
functioningof whānaumembers.
What the researchand narrativesexploredinIhimaera’s Growing Up Māorireveal, isthatproducing
successand establishingstrongidentityforMāori,goesbeyondmanyconservative,restrictive and
exclusivemethods.The ideaof authenticityisimportant,butasBlankputsit,ina somewhatpost-
modernanddefianttone,“There isnotruth aboutMāori anymore.There isonlydiscourse”
(Ihimaera,1998, p. 225).
The educationof Māori has beenanexercise inadaptationandchange,setinthe contextof
challengingandevolvingcircumstances.Asaresultof historical conditions,the experience of
previousgenerationsandthe societal impactthatflowedforthfrominequalityandinequity,

10. educational underachievementhasbeenthe normuntil veryrecently.The acknowledgementand
strengtheningof whānaulife inmoderndayNew Zealand hasseenanincreasedawarenessand
understandingof the role thateducationshouldplay inthe lifeof the individualandthe wider
whānau.A wealthof researchoverthe lastfourdecadeshasindicatedpossible pathstofollow,both
to addresspressingcontextual issuessuchasfamilystructure andsocial inequality,andeducational
issuessuchas communityengagementandeffective teachingpractice (Bishop,Berryman,Tiakiwai,
& Richardson,2003). Thisessayhas soughtto alignthe narratives withhistorical andcontemporary
educational issues,offeringsome perspective intothe sometimestumultuousworldof Māori
educationand whānauengagement.
Nāu te rourou, nākū te rourou, ka ora ai tātou.
With the gifts you bring, combined with mine, we will all benefit.

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