Neville Robertson, Program Director
(647) 838-4466 phone
scorpio@waikato.ac.nz e-mail
(647) 856-2158 fax

Community psychology at Waikato University rests on a rejection of the basic assumptions of positivist science: that is science is value-free and that there is an objective truth which can be uncovered by rigorous scientific research. Rather we acknowledge that our views of the world are inevitably shaped by our various histories, ethnicities, genders, and social classes. Our practice of psychology is founded in an acceptance and affirmation of this multiplicity of realities and perspectives, and in the knowledge that all our actions as both psychologists and as members the community are inevitably shaped by our differing values and beliefs.

Within the social and political context outlined above, honouring the Treaty of Waitanfgi has wide reaching implications for all New Zealanders, and community psychology has actively attempted to promote and support a number of initiatives towards greater power equity for Maori and an acknowledgement of our diverse cultural and ethnic heritage.

It is necessary to recognize also the power relations within which we operate. Within a right-wing country governed by (mostly) middle-class white men certain groups have far greater access to power than other, and certain views are privileged, and accorded higher status. Community psychology as a discipline founded within the mainstream academy (and psychology in particular) has had to struggle to gain acceptance since it rejects the dominant paradigm of mainstream psychology (positivism) and has favored qualitative research methods over quantitative. Nevertheless it needs to continue to use its position of relative privilege, within universities and society at large, to enhance community well-being through collaborative working relationships with grass-roots community organizers. Although more Maori are entering universities, they remain under-represented, especially among staff and graduate students.

Community psychologists in Aotearoa have typically taught from a perspective of empowerment, equality, cultural pluralism and social justice. Given the position of community psychology in mainstream universities, such an approach is insufficient by itself to bring about extensive social change to enhance the well-being of powerless groups within the New Aealand context. We have done fairly well promoting empowerment and working with community groups to evaluate and improve their services, but we still need to address more directly the redistribution of resources in a genuinely equitable fashion. Realizing this, we have looked towards the Treaty of Waitangi to inform, shape and interpret those fundamental values and approaches typical of community psychology.

We have found the Treaty of Waitangi, with its emphasis on the fundamental right of peoples to self-determination, and on values of active protection, participation, partnership, and reciprocal obligations, to provide an effective framework for organizing and managing power and for guiding the practice of community psychology in Aotearoa. The result has been a small step towards "localizing" community psychology in Aotearoa/New Zealand.

The community psychology program at Waikato University attracts many more women than men students. An explicit agenda in recent years has been to increase the focus on issues in the community relevant to women's lives and experience. Having feminist psychologists on the community psychology team has facilitated a more participatory and egalitarian approach to learning and supervision, and wider opportunities for students to undertake course work and research on feminist topics, which affect them personally, and which have led to social action. Research topics have included: teenage pregnancy, mothers in prison, women and depression, empowerment in child birth, women's unpaid work, and health issues for young lesbian women.