Maia Hetaraka was supported by whānau as she graduated with her Doctor of Education. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Maia Hetaraka was supported by whānau as she graduated with her Doctor of Education. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Maia Hetaraka first began her academic journey with a Bachelor of Education in 2002.
Her eldest daughter Justice - her only child at the time - was three years old and Hetaraka was interested in knowing how to educate her baby properly.
Eighteen years later she walked across the stageto receive her Doctor of Education at the University of Auckland's Tai Tokerau graduation yesterday, completing what has been a long and challenging journey.
"It was challenging but I just had to sit and do this and put a lot of things to the side for a while. My kids and my family were really understanding, especially in that last push," she said.
Yesterday24 students from the university's Tai Tokerau campus graduated with their Bachelor of Education (Primary) - 19 in the English medium pathway and five in the Huarahi Māori pathway.
Hetaraka was the only one to receive her Doctor of Education (EdD), making her only the second person to receive an EdD at the Northland ceremony.
Hetaraka, who also gave the graduation address at the ceremony, said she went down the education pathway "almost accidentally".
"I was interested but because of my own child. Once I started studying I was like 'oh my gosh, I really like this', like I really loved it - finding out about education and everything that goes along with education. That sparked a real passion for it."
Whangārei's Maia Hetaraka graduated with a Doctor of Education from the University of Auckland. Photo / Michael Cunningham
And that passion led Hetaraka to continue studying.
After graduating with her bachelor's degree in 2008 she went straight into post-graduate studies, completing her honours degree that same year.
In 2009 she started teaching in Cambridge before moving back to Whangārei and working at Manaia View and Whau Valley schools. In 2015 she started her Doctor of Education studies.
"I enjoy studying. But also I'm one of those people who like to find out more about something," she said.
For her doctoral research, Hetaraka - who also lectures on Tai Tokerau's three-year Bachelor of Education course - investigated the Ministry of Education's Māori education strategy Ka Hikitia and its accompanying support programme for teachers, Tātaiako: cultural competencies for teachers of Māori students.
"I was interested in what it even means to be culturally competent - especially considering we are a colonised society. As I got into my research I realised I needed to be looking at our Māori perspectives.
"I turned the focus more towards what our kaumatua had to say about what cultural competency was and how that matched up with what the ministry thought."
Hetaraka said one interesting finding from her research highlighted by kaumatua was the importance of teachers knowing and understanding themselves and their own culture.
"If you're somebody who is confident in yourself and you know who you are, then you are more likely to be understanding of other people and their cultures," she said.
Hetaraka - who is the daughter of tohunga whakairo (carver) Te Warihi Hetaraka and Janet Hetaraka - now has three daughters.
Justice is 20 and is studying at the University of Auckland herself, Aorangi is 15 and Pounamu is 7.
She hoped her children had learned the importance of hard work.
"But I also hope that - through my research and through the conversations we have around our dinner table - they know their voices are important and as young Māori women they are the ones that are probably cause of change."
