Kura Marie Teira Taylor

Kura Marie Teira Taylor's (Te Atiawa) thesis subject, ‘Te Atiawa Paake: Reflections on the Playgrounds of my Life’, was developed within indigenous paradigms.

PhD, New Zealand Studies

Kura Marie Teira Taylor (Te Atiawa) worked on her doctoral studies at the Stout Centre, studying under Professors Richard Hill and Lydia Wevers. Her thesis subject, ‘Te Atiawa Paake: Reflections on the Playgrounds of my Life’, was developed within indigenous paradigms. Her work comprised an autobiographical narrative spanning eighty years of her life as a Maori/Pakeha woman teacher. The Maori theoretical approaches which underpinned the thesis are: Kaupapa Maori, which takes being Maori for granted; Mana/Wahine Maori feminism, about how Maori Women view their lives; and Aitanga, which denotes Maori women’s active participation in social relationships. The thesis focuses on selected life experiences. Memories and events of one Maori woman teacher are reflected upon and analysed using a metaphor of ‘play’ across the ‘playgrounds’ of Kura’s life. Three main recurring themes, Whakapapa and Identity, Cultural Navigation and Cultural Flexibility, Resilience and Endurance, are woven throughout the thesis’ fabric. A key motivation for Kura’s desire to gain her doctorate at a late point in her life was to act as a role model for the young people of her iwi and other young Maori.