Who we are - Anei mātou
(Ngai Tahu, Ngati Huirapa and Gujurat India)
Ko Dr Jessica Hutchings te Tumu Whakarae o Te Wāhanga i te NZCER. He kairangahau kaupapa Māori ia kua roa nei e ruruku ana i ngā tai papaki o te hapori, te hapū me te whānau Māori tae atu ki te mātauranga Māori, te hauora ā-taiao me ngā tika tangata. E whakaū ana a Jessica ki te whanake, ki te tautoko anō hoki i te tikanga whakaaro e tū Māori ai ki mua i ngā tikanga kaiewe a Tauiwi. Ko tōna tū, he wetewete tauira, kia whai mana ai, kia mihia ai, kia whai tikanga ai, kia whakamarumarutia ai hoki te Māori me ōna ake mātauranga taketake.
Dr Hutchings is the Manager of Te Wāhanga at NZCER. She is an experienced kaupapa Māori researcher whose research with Māori communities, hapū and whānau spans the Māori education, environment, health and social justice areas. Jessica is committed to developing and supporting critical thinking that challenges colonial hegemonic norms. She works from a decolonising paradigm where Māori and indigenous knowledge and wisdom is honoured, engaged, valued and protected.
(Pākehā)
Nō Tauranga Moana a Alex. He hononga nōnā ki Ngāti Pūkenga, Ngāi Te Rangi iwi, me Ngā Pōtiki hapū. Kua puta tōna ihu i te kōhanga reo me te kura kaupapa Māori. Nō taua wā tonu, kua whai a Alex i ngā kaupapa rangahau e tautoko ana i te Ao Māori, me te Tiriti o Waitangi. Nō muri mai, i tū a Alex hei kaiaromatawai i te taha o Ngāti Pareraukawa hapū, ā, i tū anō ia hei kaiāwhina i Te Wānanga o Raukawa. E whakapono ana a Alex ki te whakataukī nei, arā, “He ora te whakapiri, he mate te whakatākiri.”
Alex was raised in Tauranga Moana. He has affiliations to Ngāti Pūkenga iwi and Ngā Pōtiki hapū through his family participation and support of kōhanga reo and kura kaupapa Māori. More recently he has worked with Ngāti Pareraukawa hapū as a programme evaluator, and Te Whare Wānanga o Raukawa as a kaiāwhina.
Alex is passionate about understanding what elements improve family and whānau environmental, social, and cultural wellbeing. This focus involves understanding personal and professional positioning, and how institutions can aid and in some cases inhibit people's wellbeing. He is a researcher and evaluator with Te Wāhanga and the General Research Group at NZCER, and holds a Master of Arts in Education Studies (the University of Waikato).
(Tūhoe, Ngāti Awa)
I uru atu a Nicola i te rōpū rangahau o Te Wāhanga i Poutū-te-rangi 2012.
E whakaū ana a Nicola ki te whanake, ki te tautoko anō hoki i te reo Māori, te mātauranga, me te mahi whakangungu kaiako. I ngā tau ki mua rā he kaimahi ia mō Haemata Ltd. Nō muri i tērā, i mahi ia mō Te Taura Whiri i te reo Māori hei kaitātari kaupapa.
Nicola joined the Te Wāhanga team as a kairangahau in March 2012. Her research experience is in Māori language, education and professional learning and development. Nicola formerly worked as a consultant for Haemata Ltd, and prior to that, for the policy team at Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori.
Her primary interests are in contributing to the revitalisation of te reo Māori. She is interested in exploring the ways in which kaupapa Māori research approaches can contribute to making a positive difference to Māori learners.