Māori in partnership: a peer mentoring model for tertiary indigenous staff in New Zealand

Abstract

This article presents a professional development programme which brought an indigenous minority group of tertiary staff together. We describe a peer-mentoring model, piloted in 2009 at The University of Auckland, New Zealand with university staff in order to promote staff advancement. The participants were all Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand. The strengths of the model were: it gave Māori staff a rare opportunity to work with other Māori in a context where their culture was the norm with regards to language, spirituality, humour, and whakawhanaungatanga (togetherness); it mediated the effects of isolation that Māori staff often feel when working in large institutions; and, provided affirmation of Māori in a large institutional environment. This case study suggests that the model of staff development would be applicable to other indigenous minority groups, by adopting a similar approach and adapting the model to the specific cultural practices of the group.