wānanga

A form of wananga — A school in New Zealand that teaches native Maori knowledge, instituted by the Education Act of 1990.

Meanings

nounwānanga (plural wānanga or wānangas)

plural wānangas

  1. alternativeAlternative form of wananga.
    3 more examples

    Most of the recent tertiary education growth has occurred through accredited tribal learning centres, wānanga, which increased enrolments from 26,000 students in 2001 to 45,500 in 2002. Wānanga were formally recognised as tertiary educational institutes in the 1989 Education Amendment Act and they are eligible for funding in the same way as other tertiary institutions.

    2011, Mason Durie, “From Indigenous Exclusion towards Full Participation: The Māori Experience”, in Ngā Tini Whetū: Navigating Māori Futures, Wellington: Huia Publishers, →ISBN

    The wānangas are largely oriented to Māori people, who represent 16 per cent of the New Zealand population. The three operating wānangas incorporate Māori philosophies, principles and approaches into their learning programmes, and also provide certificates and diplomas and confer degree qualifications.

    2018, Shantha Liyanage, Antonio Díaz Andrade, “Changing role of research and innovation in New Zealand universities”, in V. V. Krishna, editor, Universities in the National Innovation Systems: Experiences from the Asia-Pacific, Abingdon, Oxfordshire; New York, N.Y.: Routledge, →ISBN, part I (Japan, Australia and New Zealand)

    Policy on international students excludes the wānanga from offering domestic fees to international students because of an original perception that wānanga are not “internationally” focused (because they are Māori institutions), even though Awanuiārangi has operated in the international (Indigenous) arena for a number of years, has numerous memorandum^([sic]) of understanding with Indigenous and traditional universities globally, and a cohort of First Nation students in Washington State.

    2019, Patricia Maringi G. Johnston, “Is ‘Space’ the Final Frontier? Talking Forward Indigenous Frameworks in Education”, in Huia Tomlins-Jahnke, Sandra Styres, Spencer Lilley, Dawn Zinga, editors, Indigenous Education: New Directions in Theory and Practice, Edmonton, Alta.: University of Alberta Press, →ISBN, part IV (New Directions in Indigenous Education), page 499
Cite this entry
APA

wānanga. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/w%C4%81nanga

MLA

“wānanga.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/w%C4%81nanga. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “wānanga,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/w%C4%81nanga.

Source: wānanga on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.