Editors’ biographies
Dr. Angus Hikairo Macfarlane (Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Rangiwewehi) is a professor (pouhere) in the Child Well-being Research Institute at the University of Canterbury (UC). He was founding director of Te Rū Rangahau/Māori Research Laboratory and for over a decade served as Senior Māori Advisor (Kaihautū) of the New Zealand Psychological Society. His research focuses on exploring Indigenous and socio-cultural imperatives that influence education, psychology and mātauranga Māori. Angus’s prolific volume of work was recognised in 2010 with the New Zealand Association for Research in Education Tohu Pae Tawhiti Award – the award acknowledges his significant contribution to Māori education by conducting high-quality research over an extended period of time. In 2013 Angus was awarded the UC Research Medal – the highest honour that the UC Council can extend to its academic staff. In 2015 he received the National Ako Aotearoa Tertiary Teaching Excellence Award for specialist services in the field of kaupapa Māori. In 2017 the UC Students’ Association awarded him the title of Supervisor of the Year for his exceptional mentoring of postgraduate scholars. The ‘grand slam’ of academia (research, teaching, service) was accomplished when the UC research team Angus headed was awarded the 2022 UC Innovation Medal. He was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi in 2018 and in ensuing years assumed leadership roles within that prestigious organisation. In 2021 he was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to education, psychology and Māori.
Dr. Melissa Derby (Ngāti Ranginui) is a senior lecturer in the School of Education at the University of Waikato. She is co-director of the Early Years Research Centre, hosted by the Wilf Malcolm Institute of Educational Research. Her primary area of research is early literacy, and she has a particular focus on the role families play in fostering foundational literacy skills. More generally, she has an interest in Māori education and success. In 2016 she was awarded the Brownlie Scholarship by the University of Canterbury (UC) – an award made to the single highest-ranked recipient of a UC Core Doctoral Scholarship. In 2017 she received a SAGE Publishing Young Writers Award, as well as the Royal Commonwealth Society Award for research that benefits humanity. In the same year, she was also the recipient of the Claude McCarthy Fellowship, hosted by the New Zealand Vice-Chancellors’ Committee. In 2018 she was awarded the prestigious Fulbright-Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga Graduate Award, and in 2019 she received a Falling Walls Award from the Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi. Her outstanding research career to date was recognised in 2022 by the Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi when she was awarded the Te Kōpūnui Māori Research Award, which recognises innovative Māori research with a high standard of excellence. Melissa serves on several boards, and is on a number of expert advisory groups for government-funded national projects.
Dr. Sonja Macfarlane (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Waewae) is an associate professor in the Institute of Education at Massey University. The focus of her research, writing and teaching is on culturally responsive evidence- based approaches in education, psychology, counselling and health. Her work has been widely published, both nationally and internationally, and she has been the recipient of several national awards in recognition of her contributions to Māori research over many years. In 2014 Sonja received the University of Canterbury (UC) Research Excellence Award, and in 2015 she was a co-recipient of the Copyright Licencing New Zealand Education Award ‘Best Resource in Higher Education’. In 2017 she was the recipient of the New Zealand Association for Research in Education Te Tohu Pae Tawhiti Award, and in that same year she was a member of a team that received the UC College of Education, Health and Human Development Research Team Award. In 2019 Sonja was made a Fellow of the New Zealand Psychological Society, and in 2021 she not only received the New Zealand Psychological Society’s Dame Marie Clay Award but was also accepted as a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi. Sonja is also an advisory board member on several ministerial-funded national projects.
