A teaching practice underpinned by Mana Māori

Kaupapa Māori Award winner

Associate Professor, Te Kahui Whetu | Capable Māori at Otago Polytechnic 

Waitaha, Ngāti Rarua Ātiawa, Taranaki, Ngāti Maniapoto

“Mana Māori guides my educational practice to create systemic change for equitable outcomes.”

Kelli considers it an honour to hold a variety of Māori roles as an educator. From kaiako to learning adviser, initial teacher educator to strategic adviser for the Ministry of Education, she creates opportunities for ākonga Māori to flourish. She describes herself as a product of tīpuna resilience and resistance, her educational practice is underpinned and guided by Mana Māori, the unlimited potential of Māori. This framework serves ākonga and the aspirations of Ngāi Māori through the protection of indigeneity and promotion of decolonial practices.

As a mokopuna of Te Maihāroa, the last tohuka (tohunga) and prophet of Te Waipounamu, Kelli says being a learned person in this ever-changing world is an important aspiration for her and her whānau. Her tīpuna went from prophet to potato pickers, dispossessed and dislocated from their stolen whenua within one generation. Turning to survival mode ensured that her whakapapa continued, as mōrehu, survivors of colonisation. It is because of their sacrifices, she was able to be raised in rural Wānaka, with access to a good education. Kelli is the first of her whānau to gain a university degree, a master’s qualification and a doctorate. She carries the strong work ethic of her tīpuna, from being a teenage mother, to an adult student, to co-parenting five sons and being co-chair of international peace conferences.

In 2010 Kelli initiated the Māori Mentoring programme for Dunedin Secondary Schools, an effective intervention for Year 9 and 10 Māori learners ‘at risk’ of not meeting their potential. Her master’s thesis One Day Te Reo School Excellence documented the success of another local initiative designed to nurture and accelerate te reo Māori excellence in Otepoti. As a University Lecturer, she co-designed the culturally affirming Te Weu 101: Ko Wai Au paper which required initial trainee teachers to create a cultural artefact and realise the importance of culturally located learners. As the Māori Learning Adviser for Western Institute of Technology, she designed the Māori Learner Handbook, a guide to support culturally responsive practices, including Māori pre-graduation celebrations.

In 2018 she was appointed to two newly created directorship roles at the Otago Polytechnic (OP) - Tumuaki: Rakahau Māori/ Director: Māori Research and Tumuaki Kaihautū: Te Kāhui Whetū/ Director: Capable Māori – before moving fulltime into the Kaihautū role at the end of 2020. These roles provided the opportunity to build institutional-wide research cultural capabilities focused on equitable outcomes for Māori. Here, she led the development and deployment of Te Rautaki Rakahau Māori/ Māori Research Strategy, a new vocational strategy which embedded Māori research across OP. On behalf of the Office of the Kaitohutohu (KTO) and mana whenua, she provided Māori research consultations which provided cultural advice and guidance on all research institution-wide, including, for the first time in 2018, all ākonga research.

Kelli designed the KTO Kaupapa Māori Moodle site to support ākonga and kaimahi undertaking research. This online site invites ākonga and kaimahi to explore and develop a deeper understanding of Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles and partnerships, and issues affecting Ngāi Māori, such as knowledge, power, race and privilege. As Māori Research Director, she led the host team for the OP’s biennial Māori Research Symposia Mauri Ora (2018), and Kaitiakitaka (2020), each attracting around 120 ākonga Māori researchers. Kelli has made a substantial contribution to OP’s Capable NZ, offering online degrees which validate and extend ākonga knowledge in a fast-track pathway towards a formal qualification, ranging from degree to doctorate. In a 2020 strategic review, Capable NZ identified systemic barriers which led to pronounced inequitable learner outcomes across the institution, where ākonga Māori made up around 25%. In 2021, the Capable NZ leadership structure changed to adopt a Te Tiriti co-partnership model, focused on delivering a world-class quality learning, teaching and research unit and developing a culture that was innovative, caring, and accountable. Kelli led the development of the Capable Māori Team which supports a culturally responsive, Māori-centric, personalised learning programme, delivered flexibly to suit mature online learners. Capable Māori’s pre-pandemic success rate of 96%, opens the pathway towards higher learning and postgraduate studies.

Responding to learner feedback, Kelli co-developed an intensive noho marae writing retreat wānanga as an initiative to support learner engagement and success. Noho marae have been strategically embedded within the last few cohorts, providing a culturally responsive learning environment for over 25 learners. The lessons gained from these partnerships with iwi and Māori-based businesses have positioned Capable Māori well for future business partnerships and provided a potential model of excellence.

Capable Māori started its largest Ngāi Tahu cohort at the start of lockdown 2020, which prevented in-person wānanga opportunities. Kelli developed an engaging online Moodle site, with te reo Māori dropdown tabs, accessible and meaningful resources for now home-based ākonga. This kaupapa Māori-led practice now includes a bespoke Moodle site for each cohort, providing culturally relevant Māori-specific resources, such as the Capable Māori Manual, noho marae and Capable Māori marketing pānui to support recruitment and enrolment processes. Such initiatives resulted in her peer nomination for, and receipt of, the OP Implementation of Māori Strategic Framework Staff Award 2020. As a Capable NZ assessor, Kelli leads Capable Māori cohort assessment processes, including assessor training, and participates in kaupapa Māori undergraduate and postgraduate assessments. She sees mentoring as an important tuakana/teina aspect of her practice, enabling Māori and Indigenous scholars to succeed in higher tertiary education.

To uphold the mana of Māori, Kelli is committed to building evidence-based research on kaupapa Māori initiatives and contributing to the advancement of te reo and mātauranga Māori. Her extensive research has resulted in publications such as Ka Puananī o Te Reo as an Effective Means of Te Reo me Ōna Tikanga Enrichment from the Perspective of Tamariki and Whānau (2012), Optimal Learning Conditions for Master and Doctor of Professional Practice for Māori Learners (2021) and Ko te mouri o te mahi, te mouri o te ora (2021). She wrote a book chapter for Unleashing potential – legitimising Māori talent through Capable Māori (2022) and worked collaboratively on Mapping Transformational Change (2019) and Communities of Practice for Independent Learning Practitioners at Capable NZ, Otago Polytechnic (2020). She was the lead co-editor for Our Sacred Māori Voices (2022); Indigenous Autoethnography: illuminating Māori voices (2023), and Māori and Pacific Models of Praxis (in press). Kelli was selected as the Outstanding Indigenous Scholar for her outstanding scholarship and contributions to Indigenous research and community relationships at the Indigenous Inquiry Circles Research awards for the 20th International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry Conference 2024.  She is the current Co-General Secretariate Asia Pacific Peace Research Association (2022-2026) and Co-Chair for the International Peace Research Association 2024-25.

“Increasing Māori and Indigenous representation within the academy, nationally and across the globe, is important to advance intergenerational visions of wellbeing and advancement for Indigenous people.”