Nga Takepu and Ako

This chapter explores ngā takepū relationships that positively influence kaiako and ākonga engagement within Te Wānanga o Aotearoa. The focus is on the impact of whanaungatanga, wairuatanga, whakapono, kaitiakitanga, and āhurutanga within the ako process. The approach of being accountable and responsible through key performance indicators are compared to ngā takepū as hoa haere or kaitiaki that are markers of a softer approach. Ngā takepū advocacy of responsibility and accountability are explained as well as their gentle touch as constant reminders of what is just, fair, honorable, and right in the pursuit of mauri ora for all.

A Ki U

Relationships are everything! We fall in and out of love, we enter and exit partnerships of business, employment, and sports. Cultural partnerships are founded in treaties for which bi-culturalism is sought, hindered, pondered, and/or resisted by relationships. This chapter seeks to explain the science of processing such relationships from one Maori woman's perspective as an educator and practitioner of counselling and social work. A quality process is a social construction of interactions underpinned by quality principles. While relationships contribute much to the success of a process, the process must also be practice “friendly.” The test of an effective process like A Ki U is when it can be applied to a simple situation like a game of cards and still be effective in a complex situation, like relationships. Are most relationships not complex situations? This process for facilitation of well-being is called “A Ki U,” so named because of the five steps represented by each vowel of the Maori alphabet: A, E, I, O, U. The steps are simple, and simplicity is profound.

The Putaketanga Model

This chapter supports Māori practitioners, counsellors, educators, and social service providers to unpack societal issues that underpin sociological theories applied to Māori in mainstream New Zealand. It employs an indigenous model, specifically created from a traditional mātauranga Māori base for examining contributing factors not always evident in Western socially constructed systems that scrutinize Māori. The rationale for developing an indigenous model from a traditional mātauranga Māori perspective allows for a critique and analysis of Western ideologies through a Māori lens. This enables Māori practitioners, counsellors, educators, and social service providers space to articulate underlying themes and intergenerational links to Māori deficit statistics that Western socially constructed systems do not take into account.

Re-Contextualization of Ethical Values of Pashtun Tribe by the Educated Female Folk in Pakistan

It is believed that the economic participation of women in Pakistan has been intensively affected by an enduring male-capitalist social system. Moreover, the history of gender discrimination has been linked with the medieval cultural values that uplifted and empowered men over women in every sphere of life, especially in the economic realm. A typical case is believed to be the Pashtun culture. This chapter investigated indigenous values of Pashtun culture where women are underrepresented in the economy. Women did not see themselves as underprivileged. Rather, they perceived themselves as a vital and prestigious part of the family and the wider Pashtun society. For educated women in Pashtun society, the values system is guided by social structure, which is accounted for by stability and unity in society. Cultural values are operationalized as the mechanism of division of labor. The findings redefine female empowerment and propose a new paradigm in the global context. The indigenous value system guides the social structure which leads to stability and unity in the society.

A Theoretical Perspective Towards Social Inclusion of Fisher Community in Chennai Region, Tamil Nadu, India

India is the world's fourth largest fishing nation, accounting for over 4.39% of the global fisheries. The country with the long coastline of 8,118 km has an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) for the fisher folks who constitute nearly 0.6% of the total population. The fisheries sector of India is immensely contributing to the economy of the country. It contributes to the national income, exports, food and nutritional security, and in employment generation. India being a sub-continent surrounded on the three sides with waters has a greater chance for fishing and its allied activities. Fishing communities are socially, economically, and educationally disadvantaged. This chapter will highlight the effort of the state governmental initiatives to enhance social inclusion of fishermen community.

A Comparative Analysis of Land, Caste, and Gender in Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh With Reference to India

Land is a gift of nature and its supply is perfectly inelastic. The quality of land differs very much from one place to another. Land is an important productive asset in rural India. Land is the backbone of agriculture. It serves as the base for all living beings. Nearly two-thirds of the workforce directly or indirectly depends on agriculture for their livelihood. About one-fifth of national income is derived from agricultural sector. Agriculture is a risky and most uncertain economic activity, as it heavily depends upon the vagarious of monsoon. Land market is a significant economic activity and may be classified into land sale market and land lease market both in rural and urban areas. Land reform is one of the regulating mechanisms of the agrarian activity which may be classified into 1) reforms aimed at changing ownership pattern (re-distributive reform) or 2) reforms dealing with leasing of land (tenancy/tenure reform).

Biculturalism in Social Work Practice

Social work education and practice has primarily been dominated by a medical model worldview. Traditional social work frameworks and medical models have focused on deficits or psychopathology and limited wellness to bio-psycho-social dimensions. In 2005, Te Wānanga o Aotearoa (TWOA) introduced a social work degree that incorporates Māori holistic models of well-being and practice. The degree was further developed into a four-year degree in 2016. This chapter looks at the contribution made by this bicultural social work degree to social work education and practice. This innovative and bold initiative by TWOA accords privilege to Māori and other indigenous bodies of knowledge and practice frameworks equal to those of western theories and frameworks. The bicultural degree argues that an indigenous approach to social work education and practice frameworks are not in competition or antithesis to western frameworks but are complementary and complete the helping process.

Income Inequality in India

Social inequality means that certain individuals or groups have more material resources than others. Poverty implies some insufficiency in the material resources of an individual or group. The exploitation of the poor by the rich can be contained by reducing the level of inequality between the rich and the poor, which in turn depends upon reducing poverty through economic reforms. If economic reforms bring about steady and sustained growth in the economy, the poor could benefit in two ways. First, experience has shown that growth (particularly the agricultural growth) trickles down to the poor. Second, sustained growth creates an environment that is, on the whole, congenial for empowerment of the poor. The dependence of the poor on the groups dominating them becomes less precarious owing to expansion of opportunities for employment, education, occupational mobility, and for achieving higher social status.

Kaitiakitanga

The chapter draws from notions and experiences of kaitiakitanga (guardianship) in the context of a pūrākau (indigenous narrative) approach to understanding and developing a Kaupapa Māori conceptual framework. This approach acknowledges Mātauranga Māori (Maori bodies of knowledge) as the theoretical basis for Kaupapa Māori praxis, particularly in the field of health and social services. A pūrākau approach includes utilizing whakapapa kōrero (genealogical narratives) as it informs the use of traditional principles, beliefs, and practices (tikanga) in working alongside Māori whānau, hapū, and iwi. These purakau identify natural elements represented in the form of Ātua, or Gods. Through whakapapa (genealogical descent), Maori episteme positions tangata whenua within nature. The indigenous worldview recognizes the inter-connected relationships, obligations, and responsibilities that underpin the philosophical positioning of kaitiaki practices.

He Kakano Ahau Framework

The He Kākano Ahau Framework is a concept whose whakapapa (genealogy) stems from a traditional whakatauki (proverb). The whakatauki was later composed as a waiata Māori (Māori song). An underlying feature behind He Kākano Ahau expresses that I am a seed born of greatness descended from a line of chiefs. The He Kākano Ahau Framework as a strategy addresses historical trauma through a Māori lens. A major feature of the He Kākano Ahau framework investigates whānau (family) history alongside the intergenerational ripple effects of colonization, which confiscated land resources and assets and also stripped away traditional ways of knowing and practicing, causing the loss of the Māori language, Māori cultural identity, and Māori cultural heritage.