Navigating the Awa – the Story of a Māori Doctoral Student’s Journey from Start to Completion of a PhD

Abstract

This paper explores the journey of a Māori doctoral student navigating the awa (river) and emphasizes the importance of embedding cultural frameworks in postgraduate research supervision for Indigenous Māori doctoral students. It also considers the key factors necessary for effective cultural supervision.

The paper presents a narrative of the dual journey undertaken by a first-in-family Māori doctoral student, who completed a doctoral qualification while simultaneously strengthening connections within te ao Māori (the Māori world). The narrative provides insights into the researcher’s experiences, which led to the development of an Indigenous methodology model called ‘XXXXX’. Drawing on the experiences of a Māori doctoral candidate at AUT, this paper reflects on time spent with XXXX and efforts to strengthen connections to whakapapa (genealogies) and tūrangawaewae (the place where one has the right to stand).