| Bridgette Masters-Awatere | |
| Thesis1 Title: | "That's the price we pay": Kaupapa Māori Programme stakeholder experiences of external evaluation |
| Thesis1 Url: | https://hdl.handle.net/10289/9809 |
| Thesis1 Year: | 2015 |
Bridgette Masters-Awatere is a New Zealand academic and practising psychologist, and is a full professor at the University of Waikato, specialising in Māori psychology and health.
Masters-Awatere affiliates to Te Rarawa, Te Aupōuri, Tūwharetoa ki Kawerau, and Ngai te Rangi iwi.[1] She was educated at Auckland Girls' Grammar School, where she was a member of the whānau group Ngā Tūmanako o Kahurangi. Masters-Awatere originally planned to study te reo Māori and art history, but after attending a lecture by Moana Jackson she became interested in psychology. Masters-Awatere trained as a community psychologist and worked in private practice before continuing her studies. Masters-Awatere completed a PhD titled "That's the price we pay": Kaupapa Māori Programme stakeholder experiences of external evaluation at the University of Waikato. Her research was supervised by Linda Waimarie Nikora and Neville Robertson.[2]
Masters-Awatere joined the faculty of the University of Waikato, rising to full professor in 2024.[3] Since 2019, she is Director of the Māori and Psychology Research Unit, and leads the only Board-accredited community psychology training programme for professional practice in New Zealand.
Master-Awatere serves as the Director of Professional Development and Training for the New Zealand Psychological Society.[4] She is part of the New Zealand Policy Research Institute's research team on Low Literacy & Numeracy, funded by an MBIE Endeavour Grant.[5] Masters-Awatere also contributes to the Ngā Pae o Te Māramatanga Centre of Research Excellence, which aims to use research to address real world challenges facing Māori.[6] She is also a part of the Deep South National Science Challenge, which is focused on understanding and adapting to climate change.[7]
Masters-Awatere's research focuses on values-based research to address issues resulting from inequity in health and psychology.[8] She has worked on the experiences of low-vision Māori during the COVID-19 lockdowns, the inclusion of Mātauranga Māori in literacy and numeracy education, and how health, wellbeing and the environment are connected.[9]
Masters-Awatere was elected a Fellow of the New Zealand Psychological Society.