title: Imagining Pākehātanga: how to be where you are

authors: Boyens, Aaron

subjects: Pākehātanga

abstract: Imagining Pākehātanga: how to be where you are is a creative practice thesis in which I explore the question: in what ways can I imagine Pākehātanga through personal experiences and shared family practices? In framing the contemporary context of Aotearoa / New Zealand I draw on literature relating to Decolonising Theory and Pākehātanga, leading to the development of a research design based on autoethnographic performance. The research was carried out in three phases using the following methods: individual interviews with family members; a session involving a thematic research conversation with a group of my family members; and creative practice throughout the project. The last phase culminated in an evening of autoethnographic performance incorporating creative writing, poetry and song. The performance script and an audiovisual recording of the performance are integrated with the written thesis text. Throughout the thesis, my creative writing weaves with my academic writing, revealing three clear responses to the research question: naming, listening, and longing. These responses function interdependently, together showing the potential for an infinite motion of imagination in action and possibilities for Pākehā practising a relational way of being. This is my quest of how to be, how to be where I am.

text: Imagining Pākehātanga: how to be where you are Imagining Pākehātanga: how to be where you are is a creative practice thesis in which I explore the question: in what ways can I imagine Pākehātanga through personal experiences and shared family practices? In framing the contemporary context of Aotearoa / New Zealand I draw on literature relating to Decolonising Theory and Pākehātanga, leading to the development of a research design based on autoethnographic performance. The research was carried out in three phases using the following methods: individual interviews with family members; a session involving a thematic research conversation with a group of my family members; and creative practice throughout the project. The last phase culminated in an evening of autoethnographic performance incorporating creative writing, poetry and song. The performance script and an audiovisual recording of the performance are integrated with the written thesis text. Throughout the thesis, my creative writing weaves with my academic writing, revealing three clear responses to the research question: naming, listening, and longing. These responses function interdependently, together showing the potential for an infinite motion of imagination in action and possibilities for Pākehā practising a relational way of being. This is my quest of how to be, how to be where I am.

year: 2024

title: Backyard perspectives: Considering a biogeographical, sociocultural and socioecological framing of environmental education in Australasia and Asia

authors: Eames, Chris W.

abstract: Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand are geographically situated at the southern edge of the Asia-Pacific region and have therefore sometimes been referred to as the ‘backyard’ of the wider Asia region. It is from this vantage point that we comment on the broad focus of this Special Issue - ‘Environmental Education in Asia’. The intent is to open up and extend a dialogue with, across and outside of Asia as it pertains to environmental education and its research. We do this by framing our discussion around the biogeography, sociocultural and socioecological history of the region, beginning with Australasia, and then speculating on how this framing might be applied to connect environmental education in Australasia and Asia.

text: Backyard perspectives: Considering a biogeographical, sociocultural and socioecological framing of environmental education in Australasia and Asia Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand are geographically situated at the southern edge of the Asia-Pacific region and have therefore sometimes been referred to as the ‘backyard’ of the wider Asia region. It is from this vantage point that we comment on the broad focus of this Special Issue - ‘Environmental Education in Asia’. The intent is to open up and extend a dialogue with, across and outside of Asia as it pertains to environmental education and its research. We do this by framing our discussion around the biogeography, sociocultural and socioecological history of the region, beginning with Australasia, and then speculating on how this framing might be applied to connect environmental education in Australasia and Asia.

year: 2017

title: Activating belonging: Towards a critcial ensemble pedagogy

authors: Brown, Gaenor

abstract: Contemporary research shows school belonging as a key determinant of learner health and wellbeing. Teachers, and teaching practices, are pivotal in developing safe, supportive communities in which students can learn and thrive, where they can belong. In this thesis the high school drama education ensemble in Aotearoa New Zealand is presented as a site for the exploration and activation of belonging. Framed through a self-study of teacher education practice, using (S-STEP) methodology, the research reimagines ensemble pedagogy for dramatic inquiry process through a lens of critical belonging. The research opens with a contextual review of contemporary scholarship and evolving theories about school belonging and ensemble pedagogy, mapping how both fields are relationally, spatially and temporally situated. The contextual review highlights the importance of drama education and school belonging practices and pedagogies in the generation of transdisciplinary knowledge.

Six principles of practice for drama educators have been developed to support the activation of belonging, relating to Identity, Process, Provocation, Space and Place, Performativity and Reflexivity. These principles are informed by semi-structured interviews with participants experienced in ensemble-based teaching and learning, and by autoethnographic reflective responses prompted by interview dialogues. In this research autoethnography is identified as a form of wayfinding, a traditional Pacific concept, drawing on the mātauranga Māori concepts and values of manaakitanga and whanaungatanga, to weave affective, political and socio-ecological belonging into a critical perspective of ensemble practice.

The six principles of practice have been trialled in dramatic inquiry workshops, with pre- service drama educators, in a design incorporating process drama, image theatre and forum theatre. Drama conventions as boundary objects, bridging the fields of drama education and belonging, provide structure to the workshops, further informing development of the principles of practice. Through an ongoing dialogic cycle of workshop enactment, participant feedback and drama educator reflection, the principles are reassessed, redefined and refined.

This research argues for a critical ensemble pedagogy that makes space for the ensemble as both site and practice. The study advocates for a pedagogy which honours indigenous ways of knowing in drama education, catalyses creative expression and activates critical belonging.

text: Activating belonging: Towards a critcial ensemble pedagogy Contemporary research shows school belonging as a key determinant of learner health and wellbeing. Teachers, and teaching practices, are pivotal in developing safe, supportive communities in which students can learn and thrive, where they can belong. In this thesis the high school drama education ensemble in Aotearoa New Zealand is presented as a site for the exploration and activation of belonging. Framed through a self-study of teacher education practice, using (S-STEP) methodology, the research reimagines ensemble pedagogy for dramatic inquiry process through a lens of critical belonging. The research opens with a contextual review of contemporary scholarship and evolving theories about school belonging and ensemble pedagogy, mapping how both fields are relationally, spatially and temporally situated. The contextual review highlights the importance of drama education and school belonging practices and pedagogies in the generation of transdisciplinary knowledge.

Six principles of practice for drama educators have been developed to support the activation of belonging, relating to Identity, Process, Provocation, Space and Place, Performativity and Reflexivity. These principles are informed by semi-structured interviews with participants experienced in ensemble-based teaching and learning, and by autoethnographic reflective responses prompted by interview dialogues. In this research autoethnography is identified as a form of wayfinding, a traditional Pacific concept, drawing on the mātauranga Māori concepts and values of manaakitanga and whanaungatanga, to weave affective, political and socio-ecological belonging into a critical perspective of ensemble practice.

The six principles of practice have been trialled in dramatic inquiry workshops, with pre- service drama educators, in a design incorporating process drama, image theatre and forum theatre. Drama conventions as boundary objects, bridging the fields of drama education and belonging, provide structure to the workshops, further informing development of the principles of practice. Through an ongoing dialogic cycle of workshop enactment, participant feedback and drama educator reflection, the principles are reassessed, redefined and refined.

This research argues for a critical ensemble pedagogy that makes space for the ensemble as both site and practice. The study advocates for a pedagogy which honours indigenous ways of knowing in drama education, catalyses creative expression and activates critical belonging.

year: 2025