A new dawn for transformative Māori leadership

Johnson Davis (Raukawa, Tūkorehe) and Dr Therese Ford (Ngāi Takoto, Ngāti Kahu) are highly experienced Māori educational leaders and researchers.

Therese and Johnson descend from Māori and Pākehā tūpuna – the Tiriti partners. They stand in strong lines of ancestors who signed He Whakaputanga o te Rangatira o Nu Tīreni and Te Tiriti o Waitangi. They recognise the responsibilities they have in the 21st Century to realise the vision that their Māori ancestors had for them, and the responsibilities of Pākehā to be honourable partners.

Both are highly experienced Māori educational leaders, researchers and parents, and their practice focuses on developing and strengthening the capacity of education leaders to address racism and discrimination, and to nurture the language, culture and identity of ākonga Māori and their whānau.

Therese and Johnson bring their own experiences of being Māori leaders in English medium settings, and the reality of not having the opportunity to understand themselves as Māori leaders. They are open in sharing their experiences, and how that’s brought about an important conversation about Māori leadership and Māori enjoying eduational success as Māori.

Johnson explains, “I did go through a leadership programme as a senior leader in a school. And, if I am honest, it launched me nowhere. What it did do, was to help maintain the status quo.

“The programme was very euro-centric and promoted ideologies that we are now trying to disrupt and dismantle. The course reinforced these elements in my practice and concealed it from me. I’ve been fortunate that over a number of years of learning, I can now look back on that practice and pull it apart and see it for what it is.”

Dual whakapapa

Johnson and Therese talk about their dual whakapapa, and the duality of the educator and researcher hats that they wear.

They have undertaken research with, and learned alongside, many Māori emerging leaders, principals, academics and iwi leaders across Aotearoa.

Building on many years of research and mātauranga, two positioning pou have guided the development of these programmes.

“The first one we prioritise in a determined way is kaupapa Māori theory, drawing from the knowledge systems and the ways of being that enabled our people to thrive for centuries before non-Māori arrived in this land,” says Therese.

“The second theory, or pou, is critical theory. Critical theory helps understand where power is located, who is benefitting from that power, and who is not. We see these as important and complementary guiding foundations for this work. We also know from previous research that these pou can lead to transformation,” she says.

Disrupting the space

Johnson and Therese hope to develop leadership capacity that enables Treaty-honouring ways of thinking and being.

Therese and Johnson’s commitment to strengthening the capacity of education leaders has led to their appointment as the national coordinators for two new leadership development programmes: Te Akatea Emerging Māori Leaders’ Programme and Te Akatea Māori First Time Principals’ Programme, commencing in early 2022.

They are hoping to disrupt the space, as researchers, educators, and facilitators.

“In our leadership programmes, we are closely looking at how leaders are activating their own agency to de-centre the power that’s often held within schools, to reposition that power and to create relationships that are reciprocal and mutually beneficial with mana whenua; this is a distinct aspect of these two programmes,” says Johnson.

Therese continues the conversation about power and the importance of understanding the whole story, “because that’s an important, fundamental concept when we are thinking about developing leadership capacity that enables Treaty-honouring ways of thinking and being.”

Therese says their own work with school leaders has shown that if they look to the Treaty as the starting point of the nation, it negates a whole lot of important history.

“History that needs to be understood if we are going to genuinely address inequity and racism. There isn’t generally a good understanding of how we got to this place; if we go back to the Treaty, that tells us some of the story, but not all of the story,” she explains.

The opportunity to engage with the depth of material and experiences offered in these courses will be appealing to many.

It’s anticipated that demand will outstrip supply when applications open for these programmes beginning in 2022.

Johnson is passionate about these two new leadership development programmes, and the important role they will play in allowing participants to look at their whakapapa and then see how the system has influenced their whakapapa and their practice. He wants participants to be able to look at what they’re doing, to see it, to critically understand it and ask, what are we going to do about that?

What to expect

Applicants can expect learning to be carried out in Māori contexts, underpinned by Māori principles.

Grounded in whakapapa, whanaungatanga, manaakitanga, tuakiritanga, they will reach into the origins of identity, and to understand that identity is critical to Māori leadership and how that’s carried out.

Participants will go through a combination of collective and individual learning opportunities that are tailored to specific goals, appreciating that people approach this learning from all ends of the continuum. This will include wānanga (noho marae), hui ako and personal visits.

The course will run on a two-year cycle, “so there will be an incoming cohort next year, and they would be part of that whānau in a formal way for two years, and then part of that whānau for ever and ever,” says a smiling Johnson.

“Our role as coordinators and facilitators is to awhi and support participants, to strengthen who they are in terms of their own identity and to strengthen their critical leadership practice. That’s a responsibility we all carry,” he adds.

Bruce Jepsen (Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Raukawa) is the president of Te Akatea New Zealand Māori Principals Association.

Te Akatea president Bruce Jepsen also sees the power of these programmes in contributing to better outcomes across the education system.

“This is the single most significant response to acknowledging and developing Māori leadership in history, within the sector. These programmes are about ensuring success for Māori at all levels within the system, and to set Māori leaders up for success as Māori, whānau, hapū and iwi.”

Realising the vision

Therese concludes by identifying the responsibility of those teaching and leading in education to decolonise learning spaces.

“We have ancestors who signed He Whakaputanga o te Rangatira o Nu Tīreni and Te Tiriti o Waitangi because they had a vision for their iwi and for Aotearoa that they would benefit and prosper from entering into a partnership with people who arrived in Aotearoa.

“That vision has yet to be realised. We carry with us the responsibility to ensure the vision is realised. It’s a bigger responsibility than being solely an education leader; it’s about being a descendant, and one day we will be ancestors.”

The PLD programmes will be run by Māori, for Māori. Therese and Johnson look forward to welcoming emerging leaders and first-time principals who are seeking a critical leadership and learning experience that is underpinned by te ao Māori ways of knowing and being.

For more information about these two programmes, visit Te Akatea New Zealand Māori Principals Association(external link) website.