School of Education

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https://hdl.handle.net/10292/3300
Research within the School of Education is driven by students working towards postgraduate qualifications, staff pursuing their own research interests, and contracts for funding agencies such as the Ministry of Education and other partners. Research interests in the School of Education include; Learning and teaching, theory and practice, Curriculum and development, Teacher education, Early childhood education, Adult and tertiary education and development, Schools, E-learning, Educational administration, and Professional inquiry and practice.

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    Islands apart: leadership studies in two island states
    (Taylor & Francis, 2005) Billot, J
    School leadership is situated within a context of social and political factors that work to distribute power while also holding it in check. There are connections between how societal political structures facilitate democratic participation and the operation of schools. Educational leadership straddles the interface between proactive agency and the politics of social control. This tension between holding and using authority, yet acceding to political and social practice, is one which many school leaders face. Research studies conducted in two island nations, Jersey (Channel Islands) and Tonga (Pacific Islands), in different hemispheres of the world, illustrated contrasting forms of educational service and different challenges for school principals. As island communities, the context was clearly definable and provided a set of variables that were manifested through sector processes. The principals held pivotal roles that were molded by the contextual factors which shaped the delivery of educational practice. School principals in Jersey and Tonga illustrated how leadership is complicated if the purposes leadership should serve are unclear or contested (O'Brien, Murphy, and Draper 2003).
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    'FetuiakiMalie, Talking Together': Pasifika in mainstream education
    (AUT University, 2006) Kepa, M; Manu'atu, L; Bruce, T; De Luca, R
    In the article, the development of a new qualification in ECE Pasifika is described. The authors present an indigenous Tongan and Maori critique that challenges the consultation process and methodological content of the new qualification. The notion of FetuiakiMalie is drawn upon to debunk the mainstream notion in education that culture is static, passionless, superior and universal.
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    Indigenous Maori and Tongan perspectives on the role of Tongan language and culture in the community and in the University in Aotearoa-New Zealand
    (University of Nebraska Press, 2006) Kepa, TMA; Manu'atu, L; Treuer, D
    No abstract
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    How principals manage ethnocultural diversity: learnings from three countries
    (Theopress Ltd for Commonwealth Council, 2007) Billot, J; Goddard, JT; Cranston, N
    Global movements of people are resulting in increasingly diverse societies and principals are encountering more complex and challenging school communities. This paper presents the results of a tri-national study that sought to identify how principals manage ethnocultural diversity in schools in New Zealand, Australia and Canada. The research context of the three cities is provided by describing their ethnocultural diversity, relevant literature is examined and the research methodology discussed. Two major themes of the study findings are identified. Firstly, there appear to be similarities in the ethnocultural diversity evident in contemporary high schools in all three locations and how principals identified the effect of such diversity on their school. The second identifies similarities in how principals perceived and managed the resultant challenges in the three ethnoculturally diverse locations. Implications and conclusions from the findings are discussed, with suggestions for further research in this domain.
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    Bringing others into us: school leadership meeting the politics of identity
    (Common Ground Publishing Pty Ltd, 2007) Billot, J
    How does a school maintain a sustainable identity within the rapidly changing society in which it is positioned?As a result of global migrations of people, the demographics of societies are changing and creating increasingly diverse communities, resulting in a challenging context for school leadership. The ‘research territory’ (Morrison, Lumby & Sood, 2006, p.281) of diversity has mainly been occupied by those outside the domains of educational management and leadership, so this paper aims to redress that imbalance. By examining the connections between diversity of population and school identity, I identify how inclusive practices aimed at social equity can be used to draw diverse groups into a larger unifie school community. There has been much debate about what constitutes ‘diversity’ in general terms and, given the multiplicity of meanings for this concept, in this paper I focus on ethno cultural diversity which Au refers to as encompassing ‘groups with shared histories and cultural knowledge’ (1995,p.85). I refer to research finding of an international study to identify strategies and practices developed and implemented by principals in New Zealand to address increasing ethnocultural diversity. Identity can be viewed as the ‘combination of the internal experience of place and external participation in world and society’ (Cockburn,1983,p.1). The principal holds a pivotal role in facilitating school identity and as leadership emerges from social constructions of the self, so the principal works recursively with the concept of identity in the agency of leadership. I identify the tension between efforts to value diversity and the achievement of social cohesion through consensus building and contend that espoused concentration on issues arising from the multi dimensional nature of diversity can divert focus from the pursuit of equity.
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    A Critical Review of Curriculum Mapping: Implications for the Development of an Ethical Teacher Professionality
    (Massey University, 2008) Benade, Leon
    Curriculum mapping, a curriculum design methodology popularised in America has found favour in New Zealand schools as they develop their own curricula in line with the recently introduced New Zealand Curriculum. This paper considers the implications of curriculum mapping for the development of an ethical teaching profession. Curriculum mapping is problematised because it reflects positivist theories of knowledge and leads to further technicisation of schooling. The requirement that schools develop their own curricula could however open the possibility to develop pedagogically and theoretically sound curricula and offers teachers and managers the opportunity to regain ownership of their work as they review their current curricula, leading to engagement in a genuinely ethical and collaborative dialogue.
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    Journeys begin on the back road: journey of 'career' for Maori
    (ANZAM, 2008) Reid, Lynette Anne
    No abstract.
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    Pedagogical decolonization: impacts of the European/Pakeha society on the education of Tongan people in Aotearoa, New Zealand
    (SAGE, 2008) Kepa, M; Manu'atu, L
    This article is an invitation to engage critically in the discussion of indigenous languages and cultures and the implications for pedagogical decolonization. Among the isses raised are questions of the impacts of the beliefs, values, and attitudes of the prevailing Anglo Saxon and Christian culture or New Zealand European/Pakeha society on the aspirations and education of Tongan students in the secondary sector of the education system. Therefore, the article draws attention to the social and cultural contestations in affirming the place of Tongan people in secondary schooling in Aotearoa New Zealand.
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    Capacity building for school improvement: a case study of a New Zealand primary school
    (Asia-Pacific Educational Research Association (APERA), 2008-11-28) Stringer, P; Edwards, W
    Capacity building is now mentioned synonymously with school improvement in much of the literature with an absence of debate on the implications of political, social and economic trends. The paper explores capacity building in one low decile, multicultural, New Zealand primary school. From an interpretivist paradigm, a case study and grounded theory approach are used to explore four aspects: 1. the processes that enhance improvement; 2. the internal and external influences on capacity building; 3. the wider societal factors that influence the development of capacity; and 4. the links between capacity building and improvement that were evident. The paper will suggest that capacity building for school improvement is time and context dependent and is unique to the setting. It occurs in response to individual, collective and systemic needs in ways that sustain equilibrium while moving towards improvement. The paper will further explore key attributes: vision, stakeholders as change agents, school culture and professional development. Practices that are examined include knowledge production and utilisation, division of roles and responsibilities and a switching-on mentality. Both groups of factors will be examined as four important themes in the capacity building and school improvement process: situated activity; connectedness; leadership, governance and management; and outcomes. The paper will conclude that the confluence of these contributing factors enables tensions and needs to be managed while ensuring the equilibrium of people, school and system necessary for moving in the direction of improvement.
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    Self-funded leave and life role development
    (American Counseling Association, 2009) Furbish, D
    Self-funded leave is an employee benefit that provides a time resource to those who wish to develop interests and other life roles. Semistructured interviews were used for this qualitative study to explore the motivations for enrolling in the self-funded leave program, how the leave contributed to work-life balance through development of other life roles, and the difficulties that arose during the program. Adult transition theory is used to conceptualize the process of participating in self-funded leave programs and to suggest how employees who undertake self-funded leave can be best supported by career counselors.
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    Capacity building for school improvement: a case study of a New Zealand school
    (Springer, 2009-08-05) Stringer, P
    Capacity building is now mentioned synonymously with school improvement in much of the literature with an absence of debate on the implications of political, social and economic trends. This article explores capacity building in one low decile, multicultural, New Zealand primary school. The research, positioned within an interpretivist paradigm, utilizes a case study and grounded theory approach to explore four aspects: 1. processes that enhance improvement; 2. internal and external influences on capacity building; 3. wider societal factors that influence the development of capacity; 4. links between capacity building and improvement. This article suggests that capacity building for school improvement is time and context dependent and is unique to setting. It occurs in response to individual, collective and systemic need in ways that sustain equilibrium while moving towards improvement. The paper explores key attributes of capacity building: vision; stakeholders as change agents; school culture; professional development. Practices that are examined include knowledge production and utilization; division of labor: roles and responsibilities; and a 'switching-on' mentality. These groups of factors lend themselves to a discussion of four important themes in the capacity building for school improvement process: situated activity; connectedness; leadership, governance and management; and outcomes. This article concludes that the confluence of the contributing factors enables tensions and needs of context to be managed in ways that ensure equilibrium of people, school and system while moving in the direction of improvement.
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    Capacity building for school improvement: knowledge production and utilization
    (Athens Institute for Education and Research, 2010-05-27) Stringer, P; Papanikos, GT
    Educational reform, focused on promoting student learning, depends on schools’ capacity to improve. Building capacity for school improvement is critical. This paper explores capacity building in one low decile, multicultural New Zealand primary school from the perspective of teacher (individual and collective) and systemic knowledge production and utilization. The research, positioned within an interpretivist paradigm, utilizes a case study and grounded theory approach to explore knowledge production and utilization that is situated, connected, involves leadership and management and is outcomes based. Knowledge production and utilization is time and context dependent and is unique to setting. It occurs in response to individual and systemic need. It is a critical factor in sustaining school capacity building. Capacity building for school improvement is defined as maintaining equilibrium while generating movement in the direction of improvement. The paper explores key attributes of knowledge production and utilization within a framework of: school vision that secures a sense of direction and purpose; school culture which provides a suitable platform for enacting performance; professional development that facilitates individual, collective and systemic learning; and school stakeholder activity that promotes knowledge acquisition, distribution, adaption and usage systems and processes. The individual, collective and systemic dimensions of knowledge production and utilization serve a predictive purpose. Predictive purpose is defined as the ability to determine future pathways for improvement based on evidential data processed, analyzed and modified to site specification. Knowledge production and utilization holds considerable promise for school improvement and, as such, requires deeper investigation.
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    An account of one self
    (School of Education, AUT University, 2011) Nugent, D
    No abstract.
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    Shaping the responsible, successful and contributing citizen of the future: 'values' in the New Zealand Curriculum and its challenge to the development of ethical teacher professionality
    (Symposium Journals Ltd, 2011) Benade, L
    The revised New Zealand Curriculum became mandatory for use in New Zealand schools in February 2010. The ongoing reform agenda in education in New Zealand since 1989 and elsewhere internationally has had corrosive effects on teacher professionality. State-driven neo-liberal policy and education reforms are deeply damaging to the mental and moral conceptions teachers have of their work. This article contemplates one aspect of The New Zealand Curriculum – its focus on values – and the way it challenges the development of ethical teacher professionality. It also considers the prospect of reclaiming some of that lost moral ground through critical implementation of the 2007 New Zealand Curriculum, a claim that rests on an argument that this policy breaks with neo-liberal reform by its identification with third way political ideology.
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    Lost in translation: aligning strategies for research
    (OECD Publishing, 2011) Billot, JM; Codling, A
    In New Zealand, the funding of higher education research has been influenced by revised policy-driven imperatives. Amidst the institutional reactions to newer criteria for governmental funding, individual academics are being asked to increase their productivity in order for their employing institution to access public funding. For this to occur, these three essential stakeholders, namely the government, the institution and the individual academic, need to have a reasonable understanding of one another’s core research objectives, and reasonable alignment of the strategies they employ to achieve them. This alignment of effort is not without challenges, for inevitably ambiguity occurs when interactions are not effectively dovetailed and clearly communicated. In addition, individual academics may perceive a lack of support within an environment of increased pressure to perform. Ambivalence as one form of disengagement may result as staff resort to behaviours that contest institutional powers over their changing roles and responsibilities. We contend that in order to address these challenges, there needs to be further reflection on how the efforts of all parties can be better aligned and collaboratively integrated. While our point of reference for this paper is New Zealand, similar issues are evident in higher education institutions internationally and so strategies for overcoming them can be applicable across varied contexts.
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    "People who need people... are the luckiest people in the world." Views of "career" by Maori
    (AUT University, 2011-02) Reid, Lynette Anne
    No abstract.
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    Immigrant students in the classroom: a spiral-threads-of-transition model
    (School of Education, AUT University, 2012) Jhagroo, J
    In this paper I present my rationale for the development and use of a spiral-threads-of-transition model in the doctoral study that I completed this year. Using a hermeneutic phenomenological approach I examined the lived experiences of ten immigrant students in their mathematics classrooms at an Auckland secondary school. The study focused on these students' perceptions of their experiences rather than how their experiences might have been theorised. This approach gained its impetus from the notion that for teaching and learning, our most valuable resources are not abstract theories and principles but the untapped experiences of real students in the classroom (Sanchez, 2007).
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    Pondering a curriculum of inquiry into wisdom
    (School of Education, AUT University, 2012) Nugent, D
    No abstract.
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    Locating my own teaching of gender in early childhood education within the wider discourse of feminism and post-structuralist theory
    (Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE), 2012) Hogan, V
    Much has been written on teaching student teachers from a feminist poststructuralist pedagogy (Middleton 1993, Taguchi 2005, Robinson & Diaz, 2006 and Lather,1991) and through the teaching of feminist and poststructuralist theory (MacNaughton, 2005, McCleod 2010, Blaise and Andrew 2005, Fleer 1995). In this paper I investigate my own teaching of gender to student teachers studying early childhood education. As I reflect on my teaching I wanted to challenge the students’ perceptions of gender in relation to early childhood education. From this experience of teaching I have found that many student teachers assume that gender in early childhood education is unproblematic. They also tend to be gender ‘blind’ and are often openly resistant to exploring gender in a more critical way. According to Middeleton (1993) teaching from a feminist pedagogy ‘requires us as teachers to make visible and explore with our students the aspects of our own life histories that impact on our teaching’(p17). In my teaching I have felt it important to articulate and critically engage with my own feminist discourses as I work to discover (as Lenz Taguchi challenges) what poststructuralist feminist teaching can ‘do to you’ (Taguchi, 2005 p244). Through my reading of Lenz Taguchi’s ideas (2005) about teaching it was apparent to me that I was often guilty of teaching from a perspective of wanting to ‘emancipate’ the students in front of me without acknowledging their own identities and experiences. Through my own journaling and exploration of the theory of feminism and poststructuralism I attempt to answer some of the questions that Taguchi poses when she asks ‘if and how contemporary feminist pedagogical methods differ? And For whom is feminist pedagogy emancipative and how? (2005).
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