Modifying status effects in diverse student groups in New Zealand tertiary institutions: Elizabeth Cohen’s legacy for teacher education

Abstract

New Zealand tertiary classrooms are a mix of New Zealand’s ethnically diverse domestic students and predominantly Asian international students. This multicultural diversity, while having potential to enhance educational experience, brings challenges for teachers in the use of cooperative learning. A major challenge is status inequality in diverse student groups. Elizabeth Cohen’s work on status is relevant to an understanding of status issues in New Zealand educational institutions as it gives educators the sociological framework and the practical tools to meet this challenge. This paper, based on a 12-year research study into cooperative learning resulting in a national teacher education programme run by the authors, examines Cohen’s ideas and their relevance to the New Zealand context. It identifies status activators and issues in New Zealand student groups and recommends actions and interventions to modify the activation of status effects. The aim is to give teachers tools to exploit the full range of expertise and experience in diverse tertiary student groups.