Professor Mera Penehira

Mera has dedicated her research and teaching career to Kaupapa Māori approaches in education.

Her journey began as a kindergarten teacher, and in the early 1990s, she graduated from Taranaki Polytechnic with Te Tohu Mōhiotanga (Reo Māori). She later completed a master’s in educational psychology at the University of Auckland, followed by doctoral research focused on Māori women’s health and traditional healing practices, particularly moko - traditional Māori skin carving. 

As a recipient of a New Zealand Health Research Council post-doctoral fellowship, Mera explored Māori perspectives on sexual and reproductive health through the lens of mouri whakapapa. Her current research and teaching interests include Māori and Indigenous women’s identities and well-being, Indigenous research methodologies, and the reclamation and revitalisation of Native and Indigenous cultural practices. 

Mera is the Head of the School of Indigenous Graduate Studies at Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi and leads the International Indigenous Doctoral Programme. She supervises Indigenous and Native doctoral candidates across Aotearoa (Waikato-Tainui College for Research and Development), the Big Island of Hawaii, and Washington State (University of Washington Tacoma). 

Beyond academia, she has been deeply involved in Māori and Indigenous community initiatives. She served for 12 years on the board of Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Hoani Waititi Marae and is a founding member of Te Wharepora Hou, a Māori and Pacific women’s organisation dedicated to political action that supports Māori and Indigenous women, children, and whānau in achieving and maintaining rangatiratanga. She is also a member of Te Rūnanga o Te Pou Tiringa and Ohomairangi Early Intervention Trust and a founding member of Te Kōpae Piripono in Ngāmotu, Taranaki. 

Teaching/Research Topics:

Māori and Indigenous Education, Māori and Indigenous Wellbeing, Mana Wāhine, Kaupapa Māori and Indigenous Research Methodologies 

Professor Mera Penehira

Head of School of Indigenous Graduate Studies

Qualifications: 

2011 Doctor of Philosophy, University of Waikato 

2002 Master of Education (Educational Psychology), University of Auckland 

1999 Diploma of Early Intervention (Special Education), University of Auckland 

1987 Diploma of Teaching (Early Childhood), University of Waikato 

Iwi: Ngāti Raukawa ki Ōtaki and Rangitane