Biography
Role
Geraldine manages and leads a high-performing team of 11 regional education leaders based in Te Rito Maioha s’ regional education centres across Aotearoa New Zealand.
Education background
Geraldine began her career in education with Te Kōhanga Reo. She then worked with Youth Justice tamariki, teaching life skills and support with home schooling. She returned to early childhood education as a supervisor for under-twos for many years. Geraldine became a lecturer for Te Tari Puna Ora (now Te Rito Maioha) in 2011 and has worked in a range of teaching and leadership roles.
Research background
Geraldine is passionate about Māori education and wanted to draw from the experiences children faced transitioning from kaupapa Māori to mainstream educational contexts. She has sought to identify the educational challenges that exist for Māori students in a secondary school context, bringing to the fore the voices of current and former Māori students about their experiences and realities in their learning environments at school.
Teaching interests
Geraldine’s personal, teaching, and mahi philosophy is driven by a high sense of fairness. She believes it is important to have inclusive and culturally rich takiwā environments that are conducive to the wellbeing of teams, tauira, and stakeholders.
Recent publications
- Koopu, G. (2020). A default language and culture prioritised over one’s own heritage language and culture. In A. Card & J. Carroll-Lind (Eds.), Tōku anō reo Māori: My very own language. Occasional Paper Series 3 (pp. 31-35). Te Rito Maioha Early Childhood New Zealand.
- Mihaka, R., & Koopu, G. (2020). Taura whiri a whanaungatanga Manaakitanga me kotahitanga kia awhi te tamaiti. In S. Hemphill & P. Towl (Eds.). Safe, supportive and inclusive settings for children and young people in crisis and trauma: Plaiting the rope (pp. 97-108). Routledge.