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Item Open Access Changing practice in teacher education through inquiry-based learning(2012) Major, JaeThis case study outlines an initiative by a teacher educator that was aimed at engaging student teachers in a primary initial teacher education course with different ways of conceptualising knowledge and learning in the social studies learning area. It reports practitioner research that explored student teachers’ responses to the initiative and the nature of their shifting conceptualisations of knowledge, teaching and learning. Shifting epistemological understandings are theorised in relation to knowledge dimensions and realist and relativist perspectives. The initiative that forms the context of the research introduced, and involved student teachers in, inquiry-based learning as a pedagogical process to explore issues relating to teaching culturally and linguistically diverse learners. Findings suggest that student teachers developed clear understandings of inquiry learning as a dynamic, exploratory learning process that can support diverse students’ learning, and that the student teachers understood that the use of inquiry pedagogies challenged assumptions relating to the nature of knowledge and ways that students acquire knowledge. The findings also suggest that both the teacher educator and the student teachers experienced tensions as they attempted to reconcile disjunctions between their older and newer epistemological understandings, and between their ideas and their teaching practice.Item Open Access Exemplars of Practice for implementing culturally and linguistically sustaining SEL practices in Schools.(2023) Fickel, Letitia; Denston , Amanda; Martin , Rachel; O'Toole , VeronicaThis Exemplars of Practice Document serves as a companion to our final project report. The report provides an overview of the aims and outcomes of our project. The purpose of this document is to provide more insight into the specific tools and strategies we used, and that kaiako developed, to implement social-emotional learning (SEL) practices that are culturally and linguistically responsive and foster student social-emotional wellbeing (SEW). As a companion document, we draw only from the final project report to reaffirm the project context within which the exemplar tools and practices were developed.Item Open Access E Tū Tāngata 2022 Pilot Studies Research Summary(University of Canterbury, 2023) Friesen, Myron DeanSchools are complicated developmental contexts, and many different aspects of the school environment can influence how students experience school life, interact with others, and generally feel within that environment. This study had three aims: (a) to examine the psychometric properties of a retrospective survey of student experiences with ETT and hypothesised outcomes; (b) to examine how the school’s integration of the ETT mindsets is associated with students’ sense of belonging to the school, pressure to achieve, and responses to failure; and (c) to investigate how students reflect on the changes they have experienced personally and seen within their classroom and school.Item Open Access Co-constructing a culturally and Linguistically Sustaining, Te Tiriti –based Ako Framework for Socio-emotional Wellbeing in Education: A Collaborative Project Among Teachers, Whānau, Hapū and Iwi to Enable a Holistic Approach to Education Outcomes Poster(Teaching and Learning Research Initiative (TLRI), 2023) Fickel, Letitia; Martin , Rachel; Denston , Amanda; O'Toole, VeronicaItem Open Access Co-constructing a culturally and linguistically sustaining Te Tiriti–based Ako framework for socio-emotional wellbeing in education(TLRI, 2023) Fickel, Letitia; Denston , Amanda; Martin , Rachel; O'Toole, VeronicaAim 1: Develop a framework of SEW that is responsive to te Tiriti o Waitangi and the context of Aotearoa New Zealand. • Research question 1: How do kaiako, tamariki, whānau, iwi, and hapū perceive SEW? • Research question 2: How do these different perspectives inform the development of a culturally and linguistically sustaining construct of SEL? Aim 2: Develop culturally and linguistically responsive pedagogical practices for SEL within the classroom context. • Research question 3: What evidence-based, classroom-led, SEL-focused practices enhance the learning engagement of students of all ethnicities in the classroom and their self-perception of SEW at school? Aim 3: Develop exemplars of practice to support the implementation of culturally and linguistically responsive SEW & SEL by schools. • Research question 4: What research-informed concepts, processes, and procedures, that are mutually informed and supported by whānau, iwi, and hapū, support schools, and teachers, to enhance SEL and SEW in the classroom?Item Open Access The development of grade related criteria in sixth form certificate drama(1992) Bushnell, Paul R.With the co-operation of a number of teachers throughout the country, this project developed, trialled and evaluated two parallel sets of grade related criteria for use in the assessment of Sixth Form Certificate Drama. The writing of the criteria occurred in 1990, while 1991 was devoted to trialling the statements drafted, and evaluating their usefulness as a form of achievement based assessment. A questionnaire sent to all 25 teachers who had taken part in the trial elicited substantial support for this method of assessing drama, although reservations were expressed about the wording of the draft sets. Grade related criteria were seen by teachers as a valid and valuable tool in assessment, having positive effects for teachers and students alike on the curriculum and classroom practice. They were considered to provide more precise and transparent evaluation than norm-referenced assessment, and there was emphatic support among project participants for their future development. The need for further training in the use of grade related criteria was commonly felt, and most participants in the project made gains in their professional development as a result of their involvement with it. The project recommends that a single set of grade related criteria be developed and trialled on a national level, with adequate support provided by (a) teacher relief for inservice teacher training, (b) the development of suitable moderation procedures, and (c) the writing of a comprehensive resource book.Item Open Access Fourth formers learning to learn : an experiment in enhancing classroom learning strategies(1990) Johnson, Joseph Frederick CampbellRecent official support for learning to learn as a goal of education is discussed, and the research evidence for enhancing students' learning metacognition as the means to that end reviewed. Metacognition is defined. The research indicates that effective self-directed learning depends in large part upon the learner's perceptions of her/himself as a learner, of what learning is, and upon control of the learning processes in any given situation through the use of strategies. Metacognition delivers the strategies. Also supported is the view that such metacognition and strategic learning can be taught. In an intervention study, four classes of average fourth form students of comparable ability at two city co-educational high schools were taught the same subject topic within the same time frame. While an experimental group of two classes (one from each school) was taught both the topic and how to control and direct their learning within it, the control group made up of the other two classes was taught the topic content and skills without such facilitation. Pre- and post-treatment comparisons showed that while both groups made gains in knowledge and skills of the topic, the experimental group significantly out-performed their control counterparts. Also, - upon a measure of metacognitive learning skill, the experimental group had made considerable gains, whereas the control group remained static. The conclusion was reached that the facilitation of learning skill received by the experimental group produced their greater success upon the topic test. The implications of the study for schools, teachers as individuals, and the education system are discussed, and some recommendations made.Item Open Access Breakthrough – Building Awesome Matua Study 1 Evaluation: Pre- and Post-course Surveys(Parenting Place, 2020) Friesen, MyronThe first part of the evaluation process for Breakthrough was the creation of a theory of change model which was completed in March of 2018 and can be found here: Breakthrough Theory of Change. The theory of change helped guide both the development of the Building Awesome Matua curriculum as well as guide the evaluation planning by identifying the assumptions, change process, and short- and long-term outcomes that participants are hypothesized to experience. Two studies were planned, but due to the lengthy delay of finding the community partners to start implementing the program and facilitator training, the evaluation work was substantially delayed. The first study, and the focus of this report, is an outcome evaluation with a mixed-methods questionnaire completed by participants prior to and after completing the Building Awesome Matua course (pre- /post-course design). The goal is to assess participants on the same measures at both time points and then estimate change in the outcomes from pre- to post-course. More specifically, this study assessed change across six outcomes identified in the theory of change: Māori cultural identification, the quality of whānau relationships, parenting confidence, anger reactivity, need for control, and parental mentalizing (i.e., a parent’s effort to try and understand the mental states and unique perspectives of their child). The second study was a formative evaluation with a qualitative methodology and was led by a Child and Family Psychology Master’s student at the University of Canterbury and supervised by the current author. This project involved interviewing several Building Awesome Matua facilitators about their training, facilitation experiences, and perceptions about suitability and effectiveness of Building Awesome Matua. Data collection for Study 2 was completed, the results have been analysed, and the thesis submitted for examination. Unfortunately, due to the disruptions of the Coronavirus pandemic the public report for the facilitator study will be delayed and will be published in a separate summary.Item Open Access Experiences and reflections of teachers on the use of mixed reality technologies to foster cross-curricular learning opportunities(2022) MacCallum, KathrynThis study aimed to explore how the purposeful integration of new technology, specifically mixed reality (MR), can support learning across the curriculum through the development of digital artefacts. The study focused on exploring the experiences of teachers at two high schools who were supported by digital technologies teachers and the lead researcher to use digital technologies with students to create MR artefacts in different subject areas.Item Open Access Breakthrough – Building Awesome Matua Study 1 Evaluation: Pre- and Post-course Surveys(2022) Friesen, MyronThe first part of the evaluation process for Breakthrough was the creation of a theory of change model which was completed in March of 2018 and can be found here: Breakthrough Theory of Change. The theory of change helped guide both the development of the Building Awesome Matua curriculum as well as guide the evaluation planning by identifying the assumptions, change process, and short- and long-term outcomes that participants are hypothesized to experience. Two studies were planned, but due to the lengthy delay of finding the community partners to start implementing the program and facilitator training, the evaluation work was substantially delayed. The first study, and the focus of this report, is an outcome evaluation with a mixed-methods questionnaire completed by participants prior to and after completing the Building Awesome Matua course (pre-/post-course design). The goal is to assess participants on the same measures at both time points and then estimate change in the outcomes from pre- to post-course. More specifically, this study assessed change across six outcomes identified in the theory of change: Māori cultural identification, the quality of whānau relationships, parenting confidence, anger reactivity, need for control, and parental mentalizing (i.e., a parent’s effort to try and understand the mental states and unique perspectives of their child).Item Open Access Practice Research: Implications for Culturally Responsive Teaching and Learning(2020) Goldsmith M; Macfarlane A; Smith J; Ratima, Matiu TaiItem Open Access Evaluating the Toolbox Parenting Courses: A Retrospective Survey of Participants from 2013 to 2017(2018) Friesen, MyronParents in Aotearoa New Zealand have access to a wide variety of parenting resources to assist them with their parenting strategies, improve the social-emotional climate of their home, and manage challenging behaviours in their children. The suite of parenting courses offered by the Parenting Place (Toolbox Early Years, Middle Years, Tweens and Teens, and Building Awesome Whānau) are good examples of homegrown, community-lead parenting education that has broad reach and appeal, consistently attracting over 4000 participants each year. However, the Toolbox courses could also be criticised for lacking an evaluation track record. To address this need for better and more rigorous evaluation, Parenting Place began working with researchers at the University of Canterbury in 2017 and formalised a two-year research collaboration starting in January 2018.Item Open Access Can communicative language teaching help save indigenous languages?(2015) Aikman-Dodd P; Ratima, Matiu TaiItem Open Access Understanding the Alternative Education Workforce in Aotearoa/New Zealand(2021) Bruce JThe aim of this research project was to investigate the PLD needs and experiences of educators working in Alternative Education. This research will inform the sector and key stakeholders, by acting as a tool to facilitate sector-wide conversations and strategic planning toward the overall strengthening of the AE workforce.Item Open Access Item Open Access Dis/engagement in secondary schools: Toward truancy prevention(2014) Bruce JThis report presents the findings of a research project investigating the factors which lead to dis/engagement in secondary schooling for young people with a history of truancy. In 2013, Te Ora Hou Ōtautahi (a South Island Attendance Service provider) commissioned this research in order to better understand the complexities of factors leading to dis/engagement of young people in secondary schools. Data was collected and analysed from a range of sources including interviews with young people, whānau, and experienced practitioners working in the field of truancy and attendance; as well as published research. This approach to data collection is consistent with the model of Evidence-Based Practice which acknowledges the critical voice of young people in informing practice, in addition to other sources. A Model of Youth Development through Education is suggested here which draws together key themes from the findings of this research, along with existing research in the field. The model draws upon youth development research, and suggests that practitioners and schools need to be cognisant of a range of complex issues facing dis/engaged young people, and these may be grouped in to the following two categories: o Relational factors affecting dis/engagement in schooling (with a focus upon friendships and belonging, relationships with teachers, personal challenges including learning difficulties and/or stress, whānau challenges, and wider school support) o Learning factors affecting dis/engagement in schooling (with a focus on getting help with learning / learning difficulties, choice/autonomy, and pedagogical variation in the classroom). In many instances these factors are inter-connected. For example, where there are significant relational challenges, the need for learning support is likely to increase. Furthermore, in nearly all contexts, young people became disengaged in schooling because there were a number of challenging factors impacting upon their ability to connect, both within and outside of school. Not surprisingly then, this research found that effective practitioners recognised the need to work in collaborative, multi-systemic ways to support young people toward engagement. Consequently, the findings of this research indicate that there are a range of implications for practitioners and policy including the need to develop more robust approaches which incorporate: i. Culturally relevant practice, with a focus on Māori and Pasifika ii. Effective communication with families/whānau iii. Relating to young people iv. Collaborative, multi-agency practice v. Informed practice, with a focus on understanding the impact of stress on learning, and the importance of mental wellbeing for young people, and vi. Early intervention Policy implications were raised by practitioners around two of the themes: (1) the need for early intervention as in many cases disengaged young people present with difficulties in primary and intermediate school years, and; (2) the need for increased policy direction around more effective collaborative, multi-agency work. Further research and professional development in these areas may enhance the opportunities for young people to engage in education further. The findings from this research are published in a resource for practitioners titled: Positive Youth Development through Education: Addressing Issues of (Dis)Engagement in Aotearoa / New Zealand Schools.Item Open Access Young people and caregivers’ perspectives on truancy and non-enrolment(Te Ora Hou Otautahi, 2018) Bruce J; McCormack AWithin the Christchurch region, Māori young people are more likely to be non-enrolled (NE), than young people from other ethnic backgrounds. The Attendance Service operating in this region (Te Ora Hou Ōtautahi, K3 Service) identified this as an area of concern, and was granted research funding by the Ministry of Education to investigate the possible reasons why Māori young people are more likely to become NE. A qualitative research project was undertaken during 2016. Over a period of several months, K3 staff (kaiāwhina) conducted 40 interviews with 10 NE young people who identified as Māori, and 10 young people who identified as non-Māori. A caregiver of each of the young person interviewed was also interviewed by kaiāwhina. Kaiāwhina conducted interviews with participants who were known to them as part of their regular caseload. The young people interviewed were either currently identified as NE, or had been NE within the last 12 months. Interviews were analysed thematically, and themes between the four groups were compared and contrasted. Young people and caregivers expressed a number of similar ideas about schooling and experiences of truancy and being NE. These included a desire to connect and engage with learning, the need for effective communication and positive relationships at school with teachers and other students, and the related theme of bullying. Regarding young people specifically, perhaps the most significant theme to emerge was relationships (whanaungatanga). Relationships with teachers, other students (particularly bullying), caregivers, and pastoral care personnel were all important in determining the extent to which young people felt connected at school. More non-Māori than Māori young people indicated that they accessed pastoral care support. Many young people indicated that bullying was a significant issue and they felt that schools weren’t doing enough to address this. It was also clear from the findings that most young people wanted to engage in learning. Some young people struggled to receive the help they needed, and this led to disengagement in classes. Caregivers from both groups wanted young people in their care to attend school and experience success. They felt schools could make some curriculum changes to become more relevant and practical; and both Māori and non-Māori caregivers commented on a desire for schools to become more culturally relevant to different ethnic groups. Many caregivers wanted schools to communicate more regularly with them; interestingly, Māori caregivers reported more support from key personnel compared with non-Māori. Some caregivers expressed concern about the possibility of prosecution. In some cases where bullying was an issue they felt that schools had failed to create a safe place, yet they were the ones who could be prosecuted for not being able to keep a young person at school. A number of caregivers expressed concerns around bullying and the ways in which this prevented young people from attending school. The caregivers interviewed for this study raised some significant issues regarding access of support for themselves and young people in their care. It is recommended that further research be undertaken to explore caregivers’ perspectives in greater detail. The second area requiring further investigation is bullying intervention and prevention strategies, particularly links to truancy and non-enrolment. This research suggests that where bullying wasn’t addressed in schools, young people became disengaged. It is also recommended that schools reconsider the ways in which they are communicating with caregivers in order to meet their requirements in this area, and to increase the likelihood of productive engagement.Item Open Access Item Open Access Framing ethical relationality in teacher education : possibilities and challenges for global citizenship and service-learning in the physical education curriculum in Aotearoa/New Zealand(2014) Bruce JKnowledge society and neoliberal discourses have recently supplanted modern humanistic projects in Aotearoa/New Zealand education. Knowledge society discourses include conceptual shifts in knowledge and learning. In this doctoral report (which also includes four published articles) I argue that both neoliberal knowledge society practices and modern humanistic perspectives present significant challenges as epistemic violence toward the Other pervade education settings. As Mouffe (2005) and others (Mignolo, 2011; Todd, 2009) have pointed out, neoliberal and humanistic projects have failed spectacularly on multi-systemic levels. There is a consequential need to educate, to think, and to see Otherwise: To do this requires the ability to learn Otherwise. Challenging limitations of critical humanism that I encountered in my own teaching practice, and challenging liberal humanism so evident among the pre-service teachers with whom I work, in this thesis I provisionally suggest postcritical strategies which may offer possibilities for ethical relationality toward the Other. Motivated by social justice possibilities for teacher education, and for physical education teacher education (PETE) and service-learning (S-L) specifically, the aim of this study was to critically examine how varying conceptualisations of S-L and PETE are interpreted across a range of different theoretical and pedagogical perspectives. I was particularly interested in understanding how ethical relationality with the Other (where the Other is defined as one radically different to oneself) may be enabled through different theoretical and pedagogical perspectives in order to advance possibilities for social justice within community and education contexts. Interrelated contexts shaped and informed this study and these include: (a) shifting conceptualisations of knowledge and learning in contemporary educational thinking; (b) theoretical and pedagogical possibilities and limitations of global citizenship education (GCE); and (c) curriculum implications for Physical Education (PE), PETE and S-L. A central theme of this study that connected these interrelated concepts together was difference and diversity, specifically ethical relationality with the Other. The two main research questions guiding this study were: What types of engagement with difference are enabled and constrained by different discourses in PE and PETE? And what possibilities and difficulties emerge in critical and postcritical frameworks of S-L? There were two phases to this study. During phase one I used a self-study research methodology to critically analyse my own teaching practice within the Aotearoa/New Zealand PETE context where I work. I was particularly interested in exploring the ways in which shifting conceptualisations of knowledge and learning could impact upon PETE and S-L curriculum and pedagogy formations, with a specific focus on varying understandings of ethical relationality with the Other. The findings of the self-study led to the development of a theoretical framework which situated different discourses of engagement with difference, and with the Other, by applying technicist (neo-liberal, knowledge society discourses), liberal and critical humanistic, and postcritical perspectives. This framework, developed in large part by drawing upon GCE literature, included the early development of a postcritical theoretical and pedagogical possibility for teacher education, specifically PETE and S-L contexts. During phase two, I applied this theoretical framework to a mixed methods research study which utilized survey and interview data collection methods. I collected and analysed data from first year PETE students in the Aotearoa/New Zealand university context where I work. The purpose of this phase was to investigate PETE students’ understandings of global citizenship, with a particular focus on the ways in which their understandings of the Other were interpreted across a range of theoretical perspectives. Findings from this study indicated that the majority of participants came from monocultural backgrounds. Findings also indicated that participants overwhelmingly drew upon liberal humanism perspectives when considering relationality with the Other, and this included patterns of ethnocentrism, salvationism and paternalism, and universalist desires for sameness. By synthesising and integrating data from phase one and two of this study, I was able to consider the varied ways in which ethical relationality with the Other is understood within the PETE context in which I work. Consequently, I developed a postcritical theoretical and pedagogical possibility that may address some of the limitations inherent within humanist perspectives. Finally, I explored the implications of a postcritical practice for PETE and S-L contexts, including some of the challenges and limitations that such a practice may present.Item Open Access Positive youth development through education: Addressing issues of dis/engagement in Aotearoa/New Zealand schools(Te Ora Hou Aotearoa, 2014) Bruce J; Clelland T; Macfarlane S; Mikaere-Wallis N; Ruddenklau K; Taula J; Taula IYoung people disengage from schooling for a range of complex reasons, and steps toward re-engagement are also often complex. This resource provides insight into factors leading to dis/engagement, and suggests a range of possible strategies for practitioners (including teachers) when supporting young people. Both the reasons for disengagement and re-engagement in schooling suggested in this resource come from a range of sources including the stories of young people with a history of truancy, their parents, and expert practitioners working in the field, as well as international and national research. This resource is the culmination of a research project: Dis/Engagement in secondary schools: Toward truancy prevention1. This resource is aligned to the Positive Youth Development Aotearoa2 resource which provides a framework for practitioners working in the field of youth development. Positive Youth Development Aotearoa calls for a reimagining of practice toward the development of the whole person and connected communities through an approach which fosters respectful relationships, strengths based practice, and ownership and empowerment. In this education-focused document, we suggest an approach which is cognisant of effective youth development practice, and the Positive Youth Development Aotearoa resource provides a useful framework for such considerations.