Associate Professor Bridgette Masters-Awatere

Community Psychology Graduate Programme Convenor & Director of MPRU

Qualifications: BSocSc, MSocSc, PGDipPsych(Comm), PhD

Personal Website: http://www.waikato.ac.nz/staff-profiles/people/bridge

Iwi: Te Rarawa, Tuwharetoa ki Kawerau, Ngai Te Rangi

About Bridgette

I did all my tertiary training at Waikato. Since 2000 I have been registered and practicing as a Community Psychologist. In 2015 I completed my PhD in Psychology focused on indigenous evaluation. My research focuses on generating information that is useful and is targetted towards making change in the context of existing inequality.  In addition to my research I teach evaluation theory and skills through two graduate evaluation papers. Within the context of Indigenous Psychology, my research engages Kaupapa Māori methodologies and are primarily qualitative nature. My research is always values-based and driven and more often includes consideration of a collective experience and therefore engages multiple voices - eg whānau, hapū, iwi, agency, community - in the context of individual descriptions of experiences. I like to take an ecological approach, which often includes systems and multilevel analysis.

Papers Taught

Research Interests

Iwi: Te Rarawa, Ngāi te Rangi, Tūwharetoa ki Kawerau

Position: Senior Lecturer, Director Māori & Psychology Research Unit (MPRU), School of Psychology, University of Waikato

Bio: Dr Masters-Awatere is a Faculty member in the School of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Waikato. In addition to her role as Convenor of the Community Psychology postgraduate programme for registration as a psychologist, she is the Director of the Māori & Psychology Research Unit situated within the School of Psychology Bridgette trained as a psychologist, with a special interest in community and indigenous wellbeing. Before joining the academy she managed a successful private practice that refined her evaluation research skills within Indigenous contexts. She teaches some of these skills to postgraduate students at Waikato. Bridgette is currently involved in leading three major health projects: ‘He Pikinga Waiora’ within the Healthier Lives challenge of the National Science Challenges , ‘Harti Hauora Tamariki’, funded by the Health Research Council of New Zealand and the ‘Hospital Transfers’ project of the Tertiary Education Commission Māori Centre of Excellence (Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga) research programme

Research Interests: My research often includes Indigenous evaluation, Kaupapa Māori and narrative inquiry. Recently completed and current projects are in the health area (public health, admissions and transfers, pediatrics, diabetes & pre-diabetes,cardiovascular disease). Upcoming projects look at 1) connections between the health and well being of people and the environment and 2) the ability of the health system and policies to meet the needs of vulnerable groups in the context of climate change.

Keywords

Culture; Health; Maori; Maori Development and Education; Psychology

Evaluation of Māori service programmes that contribute to Māori health and development.

Contact Details