send to a friend

print

Associate Professor Te Tuhi Robust 

About me:

I graduated with a Bachelor of Education from the University of Auckland in 1968 and completed a Master of Education in Māäori Education (Honours) with Second Class Honours in 2000.  I then  commenced my Doctor of Education studies in 2001 in the School of Education now the Faculty of Education.  This  EDD research was supervised by Professor Stuart McNaughton and involved the investigation/ examination of the development of indigenous infrastructure in the University institution.   I was a Teaching Fellow of the Woolf Fisher Research Centre and Research Fellow of the International Research Centre for Māäori and Indigenous Education in 1999 at the University of Auckland.

My research focuses on the development of indigenous infrastructure in the university institution drawing on an examination of the University of Auckland and the University of British Columbia models that represent a ‘virtual’ or dispersed type model and a concentrated model respectively.  These universities have come from different perspectives and have been informed in their development by a series of reports that aim to address indigenous presence in the institution. This background of work experience is based on Kaupapa Māaori/ Māaori philosophy and practice. As a former chairman of a Tribal Trust whose activity included iwi/ tribal development that specifically focuses on its relationship to the Crown. Most recent research in Māaori education has evolved further in the analysis of government policy and its impact and responsiveness to the Māaori community. 

Throughout my doctoral studies to the present I have continued to explore education in New Zealand and other countries such as Australia, Chile and Canada and am currently the Director of Operations (Northland) at Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi and located within the School of Indigenous and Graduate Studies.

Teaching Responsibilities:

• Mao 413 Maori Policy and the State - This paper critically examines education policy for Maori education. It explores and critiques a range of policy documents that have impacted on Maori education, the theoretical views that informed them and the practices and consequences for Maori.
• Mao 414 The Study of Mataatua Waka - This course allows students to study in depth some aspects of the history, the culture and the region of the Mātaatua people. Of particular interest is the early history of Mātaatua and its relationship to the people of Te Taitokerau (Northland).
• Mao 416 Special Topic – Maori Studies - For 2010, this paper focuses on critical pedagogies as a means to engage with culturally appropriate frameworks, knowledge and practices for indigenous peoples within education. The course examines both western and indigenous theories and philosophies to enable students to critique, reflect and engage with transformative educational practices.

Current Research, Projects or Papers:

Te Runanga o Ngati Whatua - The development of an Iwi Led Crime Prevention Plan for the Auckland Metro Region - This project focuses on the research and development of the Iwi Led Crime Prevention Strategy in consultation with Iwi and associates across the three policing districts within the Auckland Metro region.

Publications:

Research Publications:-

1. Robust T.T. 2000. ‘Backing into the Future: Motatau Bilingual School’; Canadian Journal of Native Education; Vol 24, No.1., 14-29 pp.
2. Robust T.T. 2000.  ‘Nga Mahi A Iwi’. ‘Working for the People’.  Unpublished thesis, University of Auckland, Auckland.
3. Robust T.T. 2002. ‘Ko te reo, te mauri o te mana Māori’: The language is the life essence of Māori existence’ in Burnaby J., Reyhner, J.A. Indigenous Languages Across the Community. Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona pp: 1-16
4. Robust T.T. 2006. “Te kaitārei ara tāngata whenua mo te Whare Wānanga: “Ēhara, he hara ranei?”     Developing indigenous infrastructure in the University: “Another Era or another Error?”  Unpublished thesis, University of Auckland, Auckland.

Papers Presented -

1. Robust T.T. ‘Backing into the Future: Motatau Bilingual School’; Invited presentation at the Q’epethet ye Mestiyexw: A Gathering of the People Conference, University of British Columbia, Canada, July 1999.
2. Robust T.T. ‘Nga Mahi A Iwi: Working for the People’; Invited presentation at the Seventh Annual Indigenous Stabilizing Languages Conference, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, Canada, June 2000.
3. Robust T.T. ‘another Era or another Error’; invited presentation at the World Forum for Early Care in Education, Montreal, Canada, May 2005
4. Robust T.T. . “Te kaitārei ara tāngata whenua mo te Whare Wānanga: “Ēhara, he hara ranei?”     Developing indigenous infrastructure in the University: “Another Era or another Error?”  Doctoral Conference, “Resonating Knowledge”, Nga Pae O Te Maramatanga, University of Auckland, Auckland.
5. Robust. T.T. “Kei hea ngā Tane?/ Where are the Men in Early Care and Education? World Forum for Early Care and Education, Kuala Lumpar, Malaysia, May 2007.
6. Robust, T. ‘Reversing into the Future for Men in Early Child Care and Education’.  Paper presented to the World Forum for Early Child Care and Education: MECE, Hawaii, May 2008. 
7. Robust, T. ‘Wassup: another Era or another Error.  Paper presented to the PPTA Māori Teachers Forum, Rotorua, June 2008. 
8. Robust, T. ‘ECE: another Era or another Error’.  Paper present to Educare Management and Co-ordinators Conference, North Shore, Auckland August 2008. 
9. Robust, T., Hikuroa, D., Boswijk, G., Malin, P. ‘Ngā Papakauri o Hokianga.’ Report on the identification and excavation of Kauri logs from the Hokianga harbour and Waterways. August 2008.
10. Robust, T., Swales, R., ‘Overcoming barriers to Health Care for Māori with Known Diabetes in Te Tai Tokerau’.  Paper prepared for Northland District Health Board, Whangarei, Northland. September 2008.