The University of Canterbury's first Doctor of Education has graduated saying he wants to be a good role model for his children.
Te Hurinui Karaka-Clarke and his whānau on graduation day (From left - youngest son Richie Renata Clarke, Te Hurinui Karaka-Clarke and wife Claire Robertshaw). Photo: Te Hurinui Karaka-Clarke
Te Hurinui Karaka-Clarke of Te Arawa and Ngāi Tahu received his doctorate in his hometown of Rotorua after what he says has been a fairly long journey but that it felt wonderful to be at the finish line.
A soldier for 12 years, Karaka-Clarke decided to pursue his doctorate to be a role model to his own children as well as his community so they could pursue their own aspirations.
The doctorate itself caters to professionals within their fields of occupation such as education as a part of the College for Education, Health and Human Development.
Karaka-Clarke's doctorate focused on te taha wairua (spiritual health) and how this can be impacted by online learning.
Taha wairua is a key feature of Te Whare Tapa Whā, a framework developed by Sir Mason Durie.
Karaka-Clarke utilized this framework to acknowledge how spiritual health and connections, especially for indigenous people, can be impacted by face-to-face learning or kanohi kitea versus online learning.
Karaka-Clarke completed the doctorate remotely which meant that online learning played a huge role in its completion and coincidentally was important throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.
"Distance does not suit many people's learning styles, especially Māori. They like to be face to face and not having that face to face or whakawhanaungatanga creates a barrier to their learning", said Karaka-Clarke.
Karaka-Clarke incorporated his discipline and commitment from his days in the army to carry out his studies while raising a family, insisting on waking up at the crack of dawn to study.
"I'd come home from work and spend some time with the kids. I'd put them to bed, then I'd go to bed and I'd get up at 2 or 3am to study," Karaka-Clarke said.
Along with completing a doctorate in education, Karaka-Clarke also spent a lot of time in the classroom as a lecturer within te reo Māori.
He was raised as a second language te reo Māori speaker so reclaiming and reconnecting with the language was important.
Karaka-Clarke led the year-long Hōaka Pouamu bilingual and immersion programme for teachers to build their te reo proficiency.
Upon reflecting on his doctorate journey, Karaka-Clarke was grateful for the help given by his colleagues and supervisors who were Professor Peter Roberts, Associate Professor Susan Lovett, Associate Professor Sonja Macfarlane, Associate Professor Jo Fletcher and Professor Angus McFarlane.
He was glad that he was able to break the mould for his own family and wider community.
Showing them, that it is possible to succeed in education despite the intergenerational trauma that exists within a lot of Māori whānau.
"I've always believed that you need to be a good role model for your children. Māori children have been over-represented at the wrong end of all the statistics and I didn't want that for my kids, so I thought, 'I've got to show them that I can do it', so they know they can do it," Karaka-Clarke said.