Prize details

Walter Takaha Te Ouru (Wally) Penetito Prizes in Education

Value:

2 x $500 (subject to available funds)

Closing date:

No application required

Eligibility

The prize is awarded to the highest achieving Māori and Pasifika students in BA Education or BA Educational Psychology majors.

Information

The prize was established to honour Wally Penetito's commitment and service to education, and supporting Māori and Pasifika students. The prize recognises Māori and Pasifika students in the BA Education and/or Educational Psychology programmes who have excelled in their studies in education at Victoria University of Wellington.

Professor Wally Penetito's background is in sociology of Māori education. The central theme of his teaching and research is the role of Place-Based Education as an emancipatory strategy linking indigenous studies, social justice and ecological questions and the influence of power relations on these. Professor Penetitio was appointed Victoria University's first Professor of Māori Education in 2009. Throughout his academic career he was a tireless advocate for Māori and Pasifika educational advancement and in his retirement, he continues to work with tribal and government authorities to secure just and equitable outcomes for Māori at all levels of education.

The prize is awarded annually to students, who in the opinion of the Head of School (or nominee), most senior academic of Māori Education (or nominee) and most senior academic of Pasifika Education (or nominee), is the highest achieving Māori and Pasifika students in BA (Education) and/or BA (Educational Psychology) courses.

Recipients of the prize will be invited by the senior Māori and Pasifika colleagues to either share a morning or afternoon tea, and if this is not possible to exchange notes of appreciation.