Meet the whanau

Sharee Jury

I moved on from the foundation programme to Huarahi Māori this year, and I’m learning to teach the Māori curriculum in Māori bilingual units and mainstream. Before that I was a stay at home mum, and I have four kids aged 6,7, 13 and 15. This is a big career change for me, but I am loving it. It’s not just about changing nappies and getting the children fed anymore - it’s also about using your brain and getting your assignments in on time!

Vanhou Lolesio (Samoa)

I wanted to be able to teach in Māori medium but I hadn’t taken Maori as a subject at school, so I enrolled in the Foundation Certificate Tohu Tūāpapa Mātauranga first to study te reo and tikanga Māori. That was where I really made the decision to become a teacher. In the Huarahi Māori degree programme, we are learning how to improve our reo and teach from a Māori perspective.

Leon Ward (Ngapuhi)

I enrolled in this programme because I didn’t have enough credits to get University Entrance. When I complete it my goal is to enrol in the Bachelor of Education (Teaching) Huarahi Māori so I can teach Te Reo Māori in a mainstream Secondary School. Having a knowledge of Te Reo Māori is important to me personally because it goes to the heart of who I am, but I feel it can bring us all together.

Shira Posimani (Niue)

I love everything about this course - it’s way better than school and like a new journey for me. Even though I don’t have a background in Te Reo, I’m keeping up and the class is really supportive.

Kimai Tocker

I decided to do a doctorate after encouragement from past lecturers, colleagues, family and friends. I wanted to extend on my masters study of Kura Kaupapa Māori, as I have a passion to tell the positive story about the kura. After two years of part-time study, next year will be spent interviewing people and gathering data. In 2010 I will probably take some time off to complete the writing.

Our graduates
For ten years now, our Huarahi Māori programme has provided hundreds of high quality teachers to kura kaupapa, bilingual classrooms and mainstream primary and intermediate schools. It is also possible to apply for some secondary teaching positions. Some graduates have gone on to other areas including lecturing here at the Faculty of Education and other institutions or working as educational consultants, while others have moved on to careers in broadcasting and media.

Our graduates are highly sought after and most students secure their teaching job before they even graduate.

Meet the staff
Great teachers make all the difference when it comes to enjoying your time as a student. Take the opportunity to meet our academic staff.