Māori academic receives Rutherford Discovery Fellowship
When Associate Professor Melinda Webber was told she had been awarded a 2017 Rutherford Discovery Fellowship from the
Royal Society she couldn’t believe it.
She was driving in Epsom and had pulled over to the side of the road to take the call.
“I was almost breathless. I just sat in the car for a little while until I realised I had been holding my breath for
ages.”
Melinda, (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Whakaue), an Associate Professor in the University of Auckland’s Faculty of Education and
Social Work, called the research her ‘heart project’ as the topics are so close to her heart. She asked herself, “If I
wanted to make a difference for iwi Māori communities, and put iwi research, science and technologies on the
international stage using my skills, what would be the best project to do?”
She also stated, “I am both humbled and proud to get this prestigious research award. It will enable me to work
alongside iwi on a project grounded in Māori potential and success.”
Dr Webber specialises in Māori identity and the ways in which race, ethnicity and culture impact on young people. She is
also the current Director of The Starpath Project for Tertiary Participation and Success which aims to improve
educational achievement of Māori, Pacific and students from low socio-economic communities through research and
evidence-based school interventions.
Melinda says her Rutherford Discovery Fellowship, which will provide up to $800,000 over five years to pursue her
research, will fill a current knowledge gap by producing powerful narratives of iwi success, identity, and thriving that
are unique and inspirational. This project will define and test models of success that put iwi role models/icons at the
centre of that conceptualisation.
“Iwi identity can be a powerful and enduring aspect of self in te ao Māori and every iwi has its own distinct whakapapa,
history, aspirations, and reputation. Consequently, pan-Māori approaches are insufficient when it comes to implementing
targeted programmes to accelerate Māori innovation, science, and knowledge creation,” she says.
“Also, many educational policies stipulate that Māori students must have their cultural identity affirmed to be
successful in educational contexts, yet none has explained what ‘success’ might look like from diverse iwi perspectives
and few schools and universities have made iwi knowledge a priority in the education of Māori students.”
She will explore what constitutes success and aspiration from unique iwi perspectives. In doing so, her research will
tackle an important question facing educators – ‘How can we foster cultural pride and academic aspiration among Māori
students?’ – using culturally informed and iwi-determined research methods. She will examine the historical and
contemporary icons of five iwi groups to discover what this tells us about enduring identity traits, iwi aspirations,
and the tribal educational research programmes that support Māori student success. By accentuating iwi knowledge and
agency, and seek to revitalize iwi knowledge bases and world views and make it a priority in the teaching of all New
Zealand students.
After her Bachelor of Education and working as a teacher, Dr Webber returned to the University of Auckland to complete
her PhD on the racial-ethnic identity of Māori, Pākehā, Samoan and Chinese secondary school students in Auckland. Her
subsequent research and publications combine social psychology, identity development and Māori perspectives on education
and methodology. She previously received a Marsden Fast Start grant and a Fulbright Scholarship to expand her research
and international collaborations.
Melinda will still be part of campus life and be based at Epsom.
She thanked colleagues Associate Professor Katie Fitzpatrick, who received a Rutherford Discovery Fellowship in 2014,
and Nic Mason, for their support in her application.
ends