Arohia Ernestine Durie
Senior Lecturer, Department of Policy Studies in Education, Massey University, 1994.
Head of Te Uru Maraurau: Department of Māori and Multicultural Education, Massey University, 1997.
Professor of Māori Education and Head of Te Uru Maraurau: Department of Māori and Multicultural Education, Massey University, 2001.
QualificationsDiploma in Health Sciences, University of Otago.
BA, Massey University, 1984.
Diploma in Teaching, Palmerston North Teachers' College, 1985.
Diploma in Education, Massey University, 1986.
Master of Educational Administration, Massey University, 1993.
PhD in Education, Massey University, 2002About
Professor Arohia, Lady Durie is a distinguished Māori education scholar whose pioneering work in immersion education, indigenous research ethics, and Māori educational development has left an enduring legacy in Aotearoa New Zealand’s academic landscape. Her career at Massey University, spanning over two decades, helped shape the institutional recognition of Māori education as a distinct and important field of scholarship.
Born and raised on Rangiata Station on the East Cape, Arohia Durie affiliates with Ngāti Porou, Ngāi Tahu, and Rongowhakaata iwi. Her whakapapa reflects a commitment to education and land stewardship: her father Kākatārau Kōhere was the kaitiaki of their whenua and a skilled horseman and farmer, while her mother Lorraine, from the Sinclair and Pohio whānau of Te Waipounamu, was a schoolteacher who taught at East Cape School.
Durie began her academic journey at Massey University in 1979, initially enrolling in a Bachelor of Social Work before switching to a Bachelor of Arts in 1982, which she completed in 1984. She went on to earn a a Diploma in Teaching (1985) at the Palmerston North Teachers' College, and then a Diploma in Education (1986) and a Master of Education Administration (1993) at Massey University. Her commitment to Māori educational advancement culminated in a PhD in Education from Massey University in 2002. Her doctoral thesis, Te Rerenga o te Rā: Autonomy and Identity – Māori Educational Aspirations, explored the complex factors influencing Māori learners’ aspirations and identity formation.
Arohia Durie joined Massey University in May 1989 as a lecturer in the Department of Education, then led by Professor Ivan Snook. Her appointment followed that of her husband, Professor Mason Durie, who had joined the university the previous year to establish Te Pūtahi-a-Toi, the School of Māori Studies.
Following departmental restructuring in 1994, she transitioned to the newly formed Department of Policy Studies in Education. In 1997, Arohia Durie was appointed the founding Head of Te Uru Maraurau, the Department of Māori and Multicultural Education within the College of Education. Her leadership helped embed kaupapa Māori principles into teacher education and curriculum development.
In 1999, the New Zealand Association for Research in Education recognised her contributions with the Tohu Pae Tawhiti award for Māori and Indigenous Research. Two years later, in 2001, she was appointed Massey University’s first Professor of Māori Education. This was a landmark moment that affirmed Māori education as a distinct academic discipline and highlighted the university’s commitment to Māori advancement.
Throughout her tenure, Professor Durie secured significant research funding, including a 2001 contract from Skill New Zealand for the Ruakura – Skill New Zealand project. In 2004, she received FIET (Fund for Innovation and Excellence in Teaching) support for Te Waka Kawe Kōrero, an innovative initiative that blended e-learning technologies with second-language acquisition theory to deliver a high-quality Māori language immersion programme via WebCT.
Her scholarly output includes numerous publications on Māori educational development, identity in education, and indigenous ethics and methodologies. She has been a keynote speaker at international indigenous education forums, where she championed Māori perspectives and pedagogies.
Following her husband’s knighthood in 2010, she became styled as Professor Arohia, Lady Durie. She retired from Massey University in March 2010, leaving behind a legacy of academic excellence, institutional transformation, and dedication to Māori success. Together with Sir Mason Durie, she formed a formidable partnership committed to empowering Māori communities through education, research, and leadership.
Published itemsSome key publications:Pania Te Whāiti, Marie McCarthy and Arohia Durie.(1997) "Mai i Rangiatea" (Auckland, New Zealand: Auckland University Press: Bridget Williams Books, 1997).
Huia Tomlins-Jahnke and Arohia Durie, "Whanau socialisation through everyday talk. A pilot study". Blue Skies Report 22 (Wellington, New Zealand: Families Commission, 2008). Awards and honoursTohu Pae Tawhiti for Māori and Indigenous Research, New Zealand Association for Research in Education, 1999.
Invited to present the Herbison lecture, Te Hunga Rangahau Mātauranga o Aotearoa: New Zealand Association for Research in Education, 2002.Sources
"Māori mathematicians, scientist gather". Massey News, 37, 13 October 1997, p. 6. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
"New Chair of Māori Education". Massey News, 5, 9 April 2001, pp. 1, 3. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
"Educator build for future". Massey News. Graduation Special, 28 May 2001, p. 6. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
"The year in review, 2002". Massey News supplement. 16 December 2002, p. 4. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
Māori@Massey. "Whakapapa: Our history". Massey University. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
"Top Māori academic returns to Massey University". Massey University. 16 May 2017. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
Husband, Dale, "Meihana Durie: Education is a lifelong journey". E-Tangata. 4 November 2018. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
"Sir Mason Durie. Blake Medallist 2017". Blake. 2017. Retrieved 27 July 2025.
"Trailblazing women at Massey". Exhibitions. Tāmiro. Retrieved 9 July 2025.
