About Māori research
Māori research at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington spans almost every field and method and is an important part of our research programme.
The University's researchers are working on local, national, and international Māori research projects, many of which are collaborations with iwi, Māori asset holders, and other Māori stakeholder groups.
For example, researchers in Te Kawa a Māui, the School of Māori Studies, research topics relating to the Māori language and customs, the Treaty of Waitangi, Māori science, Māori politics, Māori resource management, traditional and contemporary Māori societies and identities, Māori mental health, whānau and hapū development, Māori organisations, Māori acculturation, Indigenous academics and their experiences, and kaupapa Māori theory.
Staff at Te Kura Māori research topics that include Māori-medium education (particularly the use of technology), improving the educational aspiration, wellbeing, and achievement of Māori children, place-based education, education for sustainability, comparative education, development education, sociology of education, cultural and Indigenous studies in education, higher education and youth studies.
Māori researchers in the Law Faculty work on topics that range from a Māori legal dictionary, through to Treaty of Waitangi claims and Indigenous governance structures. Staff in the Māori business programme are engaged in research around Māori entrepreneurship, sustainability, activism, the role of Māori tradition in management, and Māori and Indigenous intellectual property issues. The Treaty of Waitangi Research Unit is dedicated to research related to the Treaty.
Toihuarewa, the forum for Māori academic issues at the University, actively encourages Māori research through the provision of professional development opportunities, research symposia and an international scholar exchange. The University is also a partner in Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga: The National Institute of Research Excellence for Māori Development & Advancement.