Kaupapa Māori early years provision (KM-EYP) has underpinned efforts to revitalise Māori language and culture throughout Aotearoa New Zealand. Although many tamariki and whānau have benefited from engagement in KM-EYP, less than 20% of tamariki Māori currently participate. Kaupapa Māori psychological research is needed to better understand what facilitates participation among whānau who attend KM-EYP. This article describes findings from a study that aimed to understand whānau engagement in KM-EYP. An online survey was developed to test findings of an earlier qualitative phase of an overall study.

The importance of early childhood education programmes has been widely established by researchers, but there has been little research on the outcomes of early childhood Kaupapa Māori educational initiatives in Aotearoa New Zealand. The aim of the research project reported here, He Piki Raukura, was to define Māori child behaviour constructs that may underlie positive Māori child development. We conducted in-depth interviews with two experts and 21 whānau participating in a Kaupapa Māori early years programme in Taranaki.

Kaupapa Māori early years provision (KM-EYP) is often understood as a critical site for Māori cultural revitalisation, where a foundation for the educational success and lifelong wellbeing of tamariki Māori is laid. Given its importance, the Tangi te Kawekaweā study sought to identify and examine barriers and facilitators of whānau engagement in KM-EYP. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with individual whānau members (n = 19) and whānau groups (n = 5) enrolled in one centre for KM-EYP, and with expert informants (n = 10). This paper reports on the insights gained.

Lifecourse research examines people’s trajectories through life and factors that influence those trajectories. It has the potential to build an evidence base around programmes that are effective for Māori. This paper describes the development and initial stages of Te Kura Mai i Tawhiti (TKMT), an innovative long-term research programme run as a collaboration between Taranaki Māori community organisation Te Pou Tiringa and the University of Otago’s National Centre for Lifecourse Research. The research aim is to examine the transformative power that quality Kaupapa Mäori early life and whänau programmes have on whānau health, wellbeing and educational outcomes.