Sonja Macfarlane

Sonja Lee Macfarlane is a New Zealand education academic and an associate professor at the University of Canterbury. Macfarlane specialises in the development of cultural awareness in the New Zealand education system.

Academic career

After a PhD titled In Pursuit of Culturally Responsive Evidence Based Special Education Pathways in Aotearoa New Zealand: Whaia ki te ara tika at the University of Canterbury completed in 2012, Macfarlane moved to Te Kura o te Mātauranga Institute of Education at Massey University, and then to the University of Canterbury, rising to associate professor.

Awards In 2021 Macfarlane was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society Te Apārangi. Her nomination said "Sonja has played a key role in the advancement of alternative ways for educators and psychologists to improve cultural awareness and responsivity, leading to the implementation of practices that accrue benefits for Māori learners (education) and clients (psychology). Her culturally-grounded publications and applied practice models in these disciplines have established her as an authority on the ways professionals can engage authentically within their professional spaces." Also in 2021, Macfarlane was awarded the Dame Marie Clay Award by the New Zealand Psychological Society.

Personal life Macfarlane is affiliated with Ngāi Tahu and Ngāti Waewae iwi.

Selected works