What are Māori centred approaches briefly?

Use this link to access the full version of the Māori centred approaches document.

How do I use these ideas in my mahi?

This example is from a youth organisation. Here the cultural adviser who works in the mentoring service talks about how he draws on both tikanga and PARTH to shape his mahi.

As the cultural advisor supporting rangatahi in our mentoring programme, I have taken PARTH a step further with the young men I engage with. I am utilising reflective practice (always looking at previous aspects of my practice, to improve current practice) as a means to understand the rangatahi and their needs and also as a tool for them to use. I do this by encouraging rangatahi to reflect on decisions they have made regarding behaviours, attitudes or actions, that have negative consequences either at school, home or in the community. I then thread the PARTH elements into this exploration. For example, we observe the ways they are developing Agency, as we can then explore possible positive alternatives of behaviour, attitudes and actions, through trial and error and that each rangatahi is ultimately responsible for their choices. This creates autonomous ways of thinking. This can only be done through building positive, trusting, transparent, respectful relationships. I persevere with them, through the trial and error stages to ultimately set a goal. When it doesn’t go to plan, being adaptable to change something also helps. This process aligns with my role as a Cultural Advisor where I assist rangatahi Māori to explore their whakapapa, te reo or tikanga and how they can find information that refers to aspects of Taha Māori. They can reflect on things they have done that didn’t work or how the lack of knowledge from whānau has led to their lack of understanding of their Māoritanga, but through persistence, encouragement and support they can find out the information.

Here are some places to look for more information

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We thank the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment for funding the research that created this resource (MAUX2006).

This resource was developed by Justina Webster and Jackie Sanders it was refined by input from Professor Robyn Munford, Dr Jayne Mercier, Dr Linda Liebenberg & Kapiti Youth Support.

Citation: Webster, J. & Sanders, J. with Munford, R., Mercier, J., Liebenberg, L. & Kapiti Youth Support. (2023). What are Māori centred approaches briefly?. Relational Resources for Change, https://youthsay.co.nz/rbp-theories/maori-centred-approaches/.

CC BY-NC-ND Licensed using Creative Commons Licensing. Relational Resources for Change Project. You are welcome to use this resource individually, in your teams and in supervision/coaching/critical reflection, you should acknowledge the source using the above citation. You may not change this document, use it to develop your own external training, or for commercial purposes (e.g by charging a fee).