Ngā Puhi ki Wha(i)ngaroa, Te Aupōuri ki Te Kao & Ngāti Kurī ki Ngataki
Dr. Whitinui is an Associate Professor at the University of Otago College of Education – Te Kura Akau Taitoka in Dunedin, Aotearoa New Zealand. He is responsible for providing professional and strategic leadership in the area of Māori teacher education. Dr. Whitinui has a background in sport, physical education, health and teaching, and completed his doctorate in education at the University of Auckland in 2008. His research explored the perceptions and experiences of both Māori students and teachers about the educational benefits of kapa haka in mainstream secondary school settings. Before arriving at the University of Otago, he lectured in community health, physical activity, fitness and education at the University of Waikato (2007-2011) as well as, Māori and Indigenous health and development at the University of Canterbury (2011-2012). Dr. Whitinui currently lectures in Māori Studies within and across the Initial Teacher Education programme at the undergraduate level, and also delivers an on-line post-graduate course called: Living Indigenous Educational Leadership. His research interests are inter-disciplinary by nature, and broadly linked by relationships between Māori and Indigenous education and leadership, Indigenous knowledge moblisation, as well as well as the health and wellbeing of whānau, and their children in schools.