Capítulo 4: Análisis y resultados
4.2 Segundo objetivo específico
Māori have a facility for acquiring structures, concepts and tools and turning them to their own use. Metge (1995) notes that Māori have taken possession of many aspects of the social and cultural arrangements brought to Aotearoa/New Zealand by English and European settlers, modifying them to fit into Māori contexts, re-orienting them to serve Māori goals and in doing so, making them their own. Some may consider this to be a form of “appropriation”, however according to Metge not all appropriation is necessarily “bad”. While she cautions against the form of appropriation that occurs without authority, she notes that cultural borrowing and cross-fertilization is both legitimate and creatively exciting. Metge argues that not only did Pākehā law and policy makers give their approval for the adaptation of the various social and cultural arrangements; often they positively encouraged Māori to do so. Where such “appropriation” occurs with authority and approval, new applications and understandings can arise.
In addition to structures and concepts, Māori have also adapted technologies and techniques in order to pursue their development as a people. In his book on researching family history, Royal (1992) describes how new technologies have become available to Māori since the arrival of Pākehā. Technologies such as printing presses, photographic
equipment and audio tapes have allowed Māori to collect and capture information in new ways. These new technologies, he argues, have challenged, and continue to challenge, Māori concepts of knowledge, learning and teaching and cultural ownership and possession.
Jahnke and Taiapa note that research, as a concept, is universal and not the sole preserve of the Western world. Research is driven by a desire to “improve ways of life” and is influenced by the very world in which the enquirer was nurtured and raised (Jahnke and Taiapa 1999). Durie (2004) argues that creative and inventive capacity forms the core of an indigenous knowledge system and, while it is valued for its traditional qualities, the potential modern applications and uses of indigenous knowledge cannot be underestimated.
The entry of Māori into the traditional fields of inquiry and knowledge generation has challenged the thinking and practices of those already engaged in these fields and in many cases broadened their understanding of knowledge and knowledge acquisition. At the same time, as a dynamic and vibrant people, Māori have adopted traditional methods and processes for gaining knowledge and added them to their own “kete” of tools and skills.
The following diagram expresses the location of my research project within the wider world of social science research knowledge and activity and Māori knowledge. As noted above, the paradigm or basic set of beliefs which the researcher brings to the research guides the actions of the researcher and provides an interpretive framework for the research (Denzin and Lincoln 2000b). Considered as a net, it contains the researcher’s ontological, epistemological, axiological and methodological principles (Denzin and Lincoln 2000a). Few would dispute the validity and legitimacy of Māori ontological and epistemological perspective since it is based on a world-view that continues to exist and is experienced by living people (Tomlins-Jahnke 1996). In addition, Māori bring their own values and methods to the process of inquiry; axiological and methodological principles that are unique to a Māori worldview.
Figure 1 represents the Māori research paradigm “net” which guides this research project and provides an interpretive framework for the results. The net is located within
two worlds, that of te Ao Māori and te Ao Pākehā. It is a permeable structure, allowing ideas and concepts to diffuse in from both worlds and allowing results to disperse out to both worlds. Contained within the paradigm net are specific research approaches. These are a kaupapa Māori approach, a Māori-centred approach, a qualitative approach and a quantitative approach. Researchers within a Māori research paradigm may adopt one of these approaches or a combination of approaches. Each approach brings its own “toolkit’ of methods to the research; methods may be used in any combination within the rubric of Māori research.
By adopting the concept of a “paradigm net”, this research builds on and moves beyond the traditional dichotomy that frames social science research; that of positivist versus interpretivist approaches, and the kaupapa Māori/Māori-centred dichotomy which colours Māori health research. The concept of the paradigm net allows the researcher the freedom to select and use the best and most appropriate research tools from both traditional social science research practices and from Māori culture and tikanga -from the world of Māori and the world of Pākehā - to answer the research question posed.
Durie (2004) has recently coined the term “research at the interface” to describe the practice many indigenous scientists and researchers have adopted of accessing both indigenous knowledge and scientific knowledge for the betterment of their people. He notes that while the relative validity and superiority of scientific compared with indigenous knowledge was hotly contested in the past, indigenous researchers are now beginning to use the interface between the two as a “source of inventiveness” (Durie 2004, p.9).
Figure 2: The Māori Research Paradigm
The paradigm net outlined above could be considered a pictorial representation of “research at the interface”. Durie (2002a) argues that a continuum exists between scientific method that is culturally indifferent at one pole, and indigenous knowledge that relies entirely on indigenous knowledge at the other. Between these poles exists research that is culturally sensitive and that employs indigenous methods in parallel with scientific methods. Whether the relationship between Māori worldview and science is linear, as Durie theorises, or overlapping spheres, as presented in the idea of a paradigm net, the key issue is that my own particular background, values and culture as well as my academic experience and societal reality not only define who I am, but dictate how this research was conceived, constructed and executed.
Māori-Centred Research Approaches
Te Ao Māori
MĀORI RESEARCH PARADIGM
ontological, axiological, epistemological assumptions
Methodological assumptions Quantitative Research Approaches Kaupapa Māori Research Approaches Qualitative Research Approaches Māori and non- Māori Methods Te Ao Pākeha
The research for this thesis was always going to occur “at the interface” as its purpose is to understand the different perspectives Māori providers and agencies of government bring to mental health service provision. A prerequisite was that it always had to be congruent with the worldview of the Māori health providers and the manner of health provision under study. This congruence occurs because my own worldview is similar to that of the research participants and because the ethical and cultural mores which underpin this research are also those governing relationships and interactions within Māori society.