Partner Spotlight: Pam O'Connell, Tātai Aho Rau Core Education

We recently caught up with Pam to learn more about what makes her tick.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background.

Tēnā koutou katoa.  I was born in Palmerston – that’s South, not North.  My Dad was a postmaster after coming back from WWII. He saw a lot of action in North Africa and then was taken prisoner of war to Italy, where he worked on rice farms in the north. His family back home knew he was missing and believed him dead for at least six months.  However, he escaped the work camp with the help of the Italian underground and climbed three mountains into Switzerland. This experience shaped his life and mine too.  I went to almost every ANZAC dawn service and parade with him and came to know his story. My older brother and I have pieced together his wartime action and his POW experience, even visiting the village where he was held and going up one of the mountains by cable car.

I am so grateful for his courage and his commitment to his family He supported our aspirations in our sport endeavours and in our education. I inherited his strong sense of justice and his humour. My Mum was a creative, setting up a business as a designer of knitwear with over 100 knitters. I think I got her outgoing character and drive for perfection, not to mention a love for clothing design!

How did you get into the area of work you’re in?

I was always going to be a teacher. There were fewer professional choices back then but I’m glad that I followed that pathway.  I was a secondary teacher at Aranui High School for 16 years where I taught history and social studies.  With other colleagues, I began to write textbooks  and I think this lead me to other opportunities. My career was serendipitous really. From teaching, I moved to working in professional learning, continuing to write and learn, including a PhD along the way.

I have worked with Whanganui Iwi for over 13 years now, another turning point that occurred as a result of a cup of coffee.  This started my equity journey,  with amazing matua to guide me.  I was supported to be critically conscious of the decisions being made in education, recognising where power and privilege impact, and then how tino rangatiratanga could be achieved in local curriculum design.

What motivates you to do what you do?

I love learning …with people. As a researcher this is a daily opportunity. As a community-led researcher, my motivation is stengthened by the courage, commitment and resilence of those that experience educational inequities.  I can combine a love of history with the narratives they share. Tātai Aho Rau | Core Education was another one of those unplanned steps, but it has fed my interest in how to be a person of the treaty, Tangata Tiriti.

What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

Be generous, in your thinking and actions.

Knowing what you know now, what is one thing you would do differently if you were to start again?

I am not sure I would do anything differently actually. While unplanned, my various roles as a teacher, curriculum adviser, senior manager, chief adviser and now research lead have enabled me to build many valued relationships, as well as understand the education system , policy to practice, at many levels.