Georgina Marjorie Stewart

Georgina was born in Auckland and was educated at Epsom Girls’ Grammar School and Mt Roskill Grammar School. She went to Auckland University and graduated with a B.Sc majoring in Chemistry and Biochemistry in 1981, and an M.Sc (First Class Hons) in 1982. She worked for six years in scientific areas. In 1991, she attended the Auckland College of Education and graduated with a DipTchg. She also completed the University of Auckland Certificate of Proficiency in Māori Studies language papers. Stewart taught at Onehunga High School for one year and was appointed as a founding teacher of the Kura Tuarua at Te Wharekura o Hoani Waititi Marae, Oratia, until September 1996. Stewart then took up the position of HOD Māori at Tikipunga High School, Whangarei, and in 1998 was appointed tutor at Te Puna o te Mātauranga, Tai Tokerau Wānanga/Northland Polytechnic in the Te Waoku programme (a three year diploma programme). From January 1999 – December 2001, Stewart was Assistant Principal at Tikipunga High School, and from October 2000 – September 2003, she was a member of the Northland Conservation Board and was elected to its chair in August 2002. In February 2002 she was contracted to develop materials for the National Exemplars project in Putaiao and Pāngarau, MOE, and since July 2000 has been an examiner and marker contractor for NZQA for Te Reo Māori. In January 2002, Stewart became a permanent teacher at te Kura Kaupapa Māori o te Rāwhiti Roa: Senior Putaiao and Pāngarau, and from June 2003 – June 2004 was a research assistant on Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga project "Māori language, knowledge and participation in mathematics and science education", a project directed by Dr Liz McKinley of the University of Waikato. Stewart was a member of the Tikanga Māori Sub-Committee of the Northland Polytechnic Academic Board in 1998, and from 1999-2000 was part of the Putaiao/Science expert panel of QDC, MOE. From 2000-2001, she was facilitator of the PD programme for NCEA, Te Kaupapa Māori (Auckland/Northland region). In June 2002, Stewart planned and facilitated one-day courses on teaching science to Māori students for TEAM Solutions Education Advisory Services in Whangarei and Kerikeri. In December 2004, she attended AARE/NZARE Conference in Auckland and co-presented a progress report on the CoRE project with Liz McKinley.

Stewart writes scientific papers, science education curriculum material and poetry. She was on the writing party for the Pūtaiao curriculum document (part of the new national curriculum), published in 1996. She has contributed four units of a sixteen unit book of teacher support material for implementing the Pūtaiao curriculum. The book is entitled Te Whakamahi i te Putaiao, and is published by Learning Media.

Biographical sources

• Phone conversations and correspondence with Georgina Stewart 14, 15 and 28 Aug. 1998, and 17 Sept. 2004.