Māori research receives funding for projects on child rearing and men's health

Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga has awarded research grants to two projects to contribute to a better understanding of traditional Māori child rearing and Māori men's health.

Tiakina Te Pā Harakeke: Māori childrearing within a context of whānau ora – Dr Leonie Pihama, University of Waikato.

Researchers from the Te Kotahi Research Institute at the University of Waikato have been awarded a $520,000 grant for a two-year study of Māori child rearing. This project seeks to share with whānau and others, knowledge about successfully raising children in ways that are grounded within tikanga Māori, and have been and continue to be, practiced for generations. Dr Leonie Pihama, senior research fellow at Te Kotahi (University of Waikato), is the principal investigator for the research that will take a multi-pronged approach to study traditional forms of child rearing and how that might be applied in a contemporary environment. Joining Dr Pihama on the project is Donna Campbell, internationally renowned weaver and faculty member of Waikato’s School of Māori and Pacific Development, Māori language lecturer , postdoctoral fellow Ron Ngata, and Dr Jenny Lee, director of Māori research and publishing company Rautaki Ltd.

Aue Ha! Māori men’s relational health – Mohi Rua and Professor Darrin Hodgetts, University of Waikato.

This project addresses the everyday lives and positive relationships of Māori men in the context of men’s health. It will explore supportive relationships and positive social interactions among three diverse groups of Māori men: those engaged in traditional practices in their home settings; those who have migrated to an urban centre and work to maintain links back home; and those who are experiencing street homelessness.

These and other Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga research projects will be presented at the NPM New Research Showcase evening, part of the International Indigenous Development Research Conference 2012 being held 27 - 30 June in Auckland.

Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga is the Indigenous Centre of Research Excellence, based in Auckland, one of seven Centres of Research Excellence in New Zealand.

This information comes from the following news sources: follow the links to read them in full

Read Six new indigenous research projects to tackle essential issues for Aotearoa, Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga news

Read Grants to study Māori child rearing and Māori men's health awarded tangatawhenua.com - Māori news and indigenous views, 18 June 2012

 Photo credit: istock photo