3631 - DECOLONISATION AND ANTI-RACISM IN PSYCHOLOGY IN AOTEAROA: ADVANCING THE UN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

Session: 3551 - DECOLONIZING PSYCHOLOGY: GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES ON ANTI-RACISM, INDIGENIZATION, AND SYSTEMIC CHANGE
AUTHORS:
Waitoki Moana (University of Waikato ~ Hamilton ~ New Zealand) , Tan Kyle (University of Waikato ~ Hamilton ~ New Zealand)
Abstract text:
Psychology in Aotearoa New Zealand, as in other settler-colonial contexts, continues to grapple with the harms sustained through racism and the exclusion of Indigenous knowledge. Despite progress in challenging Eurocentric paradigms, systemic racism remains deeply embedded in the discipline, shaping the experiences of students, staff, and practitioners. These issues have been highlighted nationally through a claim of racism against psychology lodged with the Waitangi Tribunal, which investigates breaches of Te Tiriti o Waitangi—the Treaty of Waitangi. As part of the Working to End Racial Oppression (WERO) research programme, the Kia whakapapa pounamu te moana - may the seas be smooth as greenstone project examined the impacts of racism across psychology. A survey of programme directors (n = 15) revealed narratives that deferred responsibility for decolonisation, attributing inequities to the absence of Māori students and staff rather than to systemic barriers. A second survey of psychologists, academics, and students (n = 293) identified monocultural training practices, described through themes of the "gold standard of dominant knowledge," "bread and butter versus condiments," and "tokenism and afterthought."