Schools In Auckland Research Articles

The Impact of External and Internal Sources of Motivation on Young Women’s Interest in Construction-Related Careers: An Exploratory Study

ABSTRACT In this paper, we explored the influence of sources of motivation on young women’s career choice in secondary schools in New Zealand and their interest in construction-related careers. We employed internal sources of motivation – Maslow’s hierarchy of needs; and external sources of motivations – individual in close association with young women and social media to achieve this aim. These factors were supported by past research in career choice and the construction industry. A questionnaire survey was carried out on young women in a secondary school in Auckland, New Zealand and statistical analysis using ANOVA and Pearson’s correlation was used to ascertain correlations and their level of significance. We found that mothers and self-actualization needs were the most important external and internal sources of motivation for young women to make a career choice. Concerning the construction-related careers investigated, we found that the perception of their friends, information circulated on social media and being safe (Security needs) influenced the young women’s interest in pursuing a quantity surveying career. On the other hand, the desire to be socially accepted (Social needs) deterred young women from choosing construction management as a future career. The result of this study showed that young women’s perception of construction-related careers depends on the career itself. It suggests that there may be careers that will be perceived positively by young women and therefore, should be explored. The results of this study are essential as they provide insights into a current issue for the construction industry. Recruitment programmes targetted on these sources of motivation are recommended to increase the interest of young women on construction-related careers.

‘Back to the south’: Cyril Knight and the modernisation of the Auckland School of Architecture

The School of Architecture at Auckland University College (now the University of Auckland) modernised in the 1950s and early 1960s. This in itself is not unusual. But the process was atypical in that it was led by a long-serving Chair and Dean rather than a newly appointed one, and indeed a person not known as a modernist. Cyril Roy Knight (1893–1972) was an Australian who graduated from the University of Liverpool in 1923 and served as New Zealand’s first Chair and Dean of Architecture from 1925 to 1958. This article explores Knight’s attitude to modernism, and the modernisation of the Auckland School. It shows that he was conscious of New Zealand’s geographic isolation and worked hard to understand international developments in architectural education before instituting change at the Auckland School. His approach was one of considered gradualism. It included the appointment of multiple new staff members in the postwar period. This had unintended but important effects for the School and for the direction of New Zealand architecture.

Bus Stops Near Schools Advertising Junk Food and Sugary Drinks.

Children rarely understand the full extent of the persuasive purpose of advertising on their eating behaviours. Addressing the obesogenic environments in which children live, through a quantification of outdoor advertising, is essential in informing policy changes and enforcing stricter regulations. This research explores the proportion of bus stop advertisements promoting non-core food and beverages within walking distance (500 m) from schools in Auckland, New Zealand while using Google Street View. Information was collected on: school type, decile, address, Walk Score®, and Transit Score for all 573 schools in the Auckland region. Ground-truthing was conducted on 10% of schools and showed an alignment of 87.8%. The majority of advertisements on bus shelters were for non-food items or services (n = 541, 64.3%). Of the advertisements that were for food and/or beverages, the majority were for non-core foods (n = 108, 50.2%). There was no statistically significant difference between the variables core and non-core food and beverages and School decile (tertiles), Walk Score (quintiles), and Transit Score (quintiles). 12.8% of all bus stop advertisements in this study promoted non-core dietary options; highlighting an opportunity for implementing stricter regulations and policies preventing advertising unhealthy food and drink to children in New Zealand.

Beyond awareness: Towards a critically conscious health promotion for rheumatic fever in Aotearoa, New Zealand

Since 2014, the Rheumatic Fever Prevention Programme has targeted communities in Aotearoa, New Zealand affected by high rates of rheumatic fever (RF): namely, Māori and Pacific families. Initiated with the aim of reducing ethnic health disparities, the Health Promotion Agency attempted to use culturally appropriate approaches by engaging in consultative processes with Māori and Pacific communities and health leaders in developing the intervention. However, these consultations largely focused on evaluating strategies for reaching “priority” audiences with the message to get sore throats checked and on changing health-seeking behaviours. There was little regard for what the structural roots of RF in Aotearoa might suggest about equitable interventions, nor for the potentially harmful effects of the messages and their presentation.The concept of structural violence can be a useful analytical tool to critically evaluate such interventions which attempt to address health disparities but do not meaningfully attend to equity. Drawing on three ethnographic studies with: 1) Northland Māori families (Anderson et al., 2015); 2) North Island Māori and Pacific families (Anderson et al., 2017); and 3) Māori and Pacific children at a South Auckland school (Spray, 2020), we show how recategorising RF disparities as expressions of violence reveals how, despite including cultural consultation, interventions may still inequitably distribute responsibility. In particular, by responsibilising communities affected with the highest rates of RF, the intervention creates collateral damage of stigma, internalised blame, emotional suffering and hypervigilance that reproduces structural violence. We suggest that attending to how families experience public health messaging in the context of their daily lives may guide a more critical and culturally safe health promotion that looks beyond awareness and behaviour and towards equity.

SPRING into Maths: Working Collaboratively to Implement a Tier 2 Support System that Improves Student Achievement in Mathematics

Research into the effectiveness of SPRING into Maths as a Tier 2 intervention is limited. This article aims to extend the evidence base for SPRING into Maths through reflective practice that links practitioner voice with theory. The article applies a theoreticallens to SPRING into Maths and provides insights into the journey of a group of practitioners who worked collaboratively to implement SPRING into Maths as a Tier 2 support system at Tamaki Primary School in Auckland.

Critical Perspective Taking: Promoting and Assessing Online Written Argumentation for Dialogic Focus

In this article, we consider the impact of classroom instruction and an online argumentation tool (AT) on students' written argumentation and 21st century skill development. Drawing on a wider study of 1:1 digital schools in Auckland, New Zealand, we examine the three-way relationship between argumentation teaching, student use of an online discussion board, and evidence of perspective taking. Longitudinal data from six elementary schools are analyzed, including 17 observations (in which the teaching focus was a nominated 21st century skill) and 253 student-written posts. Developmental profiles of student argumentation were determined using Kuhn and Crowell's (2011) taxonomy of argumentation function demonstrating potential for (1) instructional focus and (2) practice or dosage effects. Integrated student argumentation profiles acknowledging the benefits of other perspectives were found to co-occur with a higher focus on argumentation instruction, but without increases in students' critical reasoning. In addition to focus effects, repeated use of the AT suggests that stronger dosages positively influence student perspective integration. The implications for perspective taking and critical thinking through argumentation are discussed in relation to citizenship and resilience in 21st century digital contexts.

Observing the Delivery of a Curriculum-Integrated Dance Programme Across Four New Zealand Primary Schools

This paper explains the design, development and delivery of a curriculum-integrated dance programme across four primary schools in Auckland, New Zealand. Four teachers and their respective classes (101 children in total) were part of the programme. Each class participated in 18 dance sessions at their schools during school hours. The dance educator delivered the dance programme and collaborated with each class teacher for planning and implementation. Various topics related to science, mathematics, English and Māori culture were covered in accordance with the term focus of each class teacher. The core values from the New Zealand primary school curriculum and New Zealand arts curriculum were embedded in the dance programme. The applicability, transferability (to other participant groups), challenges (such as time and venue) and evaluation design associated with the dance programme are discussed. Teachers’ reflections are embedded with researcher observations as they describe the significance of the dance programme.

Understanding children’s neighbourhood destinations: presenting the Kids-PoND framework

ABSTRACT Children interact with and are greatly affected by their neighbourhoods. This research aims to understand the places children go in their neighbourhood and their perceptions of them. A child-centred approach was used to map destinations and ask open-ended survey questions, using Maptionnaire (a public participation geographic information system (PPGIS) mapping software). Overall, 1102 children aged 7–13 years, from 19 schools in Auckland, New Zealand participated. PPGIS destinations were mapped with parks, unhealthy food outlets and advertising to contextualise children’s neighbourhood destinations. We developed and present here the Kids-PoND (Kids- Perceptions of Neighbourhood Destinations) framework for understanding children’s perceptions and use of neighbourhood destinations. We found parks with a variety of options for active play and socialisation are important to children as are shops where children consumed unhealthy food and drink. Our findings have implications for public health, town planning, children and their parents and schools.

Assessment of direct and indirect associations between children active school travel and environmental, household and child factors using structural equation modelling

BackgroundActive school travel (AST) is influenced by multiple factors including built and social environments, households and individual variables. A holistic theory such as Mitra’s Behavioural Model of School Transportation (BMST) is vital to comprehensively understand these complex interrelationships. This study aimed to assess direct and indirect associations between children’s AST and environmental, household and child factors based on the BMST using structural equation modelling (SEM).MethodsData were drawn from Neighbourhoods for Active Kids (NfAK), a cross-sectional study of 1102 children aged 8–13 years (school years 5–8) and their parents from nine intermediate and 10 primary schools in Auckland, New Zealand between February 2015 and December 2016. Data were collected using an online participatory mapping survey (softGIS) with children, a computer-assisted telephone interviewing survey (CATI) with parents, and ArcGIS for built environment attributes. Based on the BMST a conceptual model of children’s school travel behaviour was specified for SEM analyses (‘hypothesised SEM’), and model modification was made to improve the model (‘modified SEM’). SEM analyses using Mplus were performed to test the hypothesised/modified SEM and to assess direct and indirect relationships among variables.ResultsThe overall fit of the modified SEM was acceptable (N = 542; Root mean square error of approximation = 0.04, Comparative fit index = 0.94, Tucker-Lewis index = 0.92). AST was positively associated with child independent mobility, child-perceived neighbourhood safety, and parent-perceived importance of social interaction and neighbourhood social environment. Distance to school, and parental perceptions of convenience and concerns about traffic safety were negatively associated with AST. Parental fears of stranger danger were indirectly related to AST through those of traffic safety. Distance to school and child independent mobility mediated relationships between AST and child school year and sex.ConclusionsIncreasing children’s AST requires action on multiple fronts including communities that support independent mobility by providing child friendly social and built environments, safety from traffic, and policies that promote local schools and safe vehicle-free zones around school.

Visualising Combined Time Use Patterns of Children's Activities and Their Association with Weight Status and Neighbourhood Context.

Compositional data techniques are an emerging method in physical activity research. These techniques account for the complexities of, and interrelationships between, behaviours that occur throughout a day (e.g., physical activity, sitting, and sleep). The field of health geography research is also developing rapidly. Novel spatial techniques and data visualisation approaches are increasingly being recognised for their utility in understanding health from a socio-ecological perspective. Linking compositional data approaches with geospatial datasets can yield insights into the role of environments in promoting or hindering the health implications of the daily time-use composition of behaviours. The 7-day behaviour data used in this study were derived from accelerometer data for 882 Auckland school children and linked to weight status and neighbourhood deprivation. We developed novel geospatial visualisation techniques to explore activity composition over a day and generated new insights into links between environments and child health behaviours and outcomes. Visualisation strategies that integrate compositional activities, time of day, weight status, and neighbourhood deprivation information were devised. They include a ringmap overview, small-multiple ringmaps, and individual and aggregated time–activity diagrams. Simultaneous visualisation of geospatial and compositional behaviour data can be useful for triangulating data from diverse disciplines, making sense of complex issues, and for effective knowledge translation.

‘The right to aspire to achieve’: performing gendered and class privilege at elite private schools in Auckland, New Zealand

The aspirations of young people provide a lens to examine the performance of gendered and classed privilege. While current research tends to focus on working class men, the role of privilege in shaping aspirations, understood as a socially and economically mediated navigational capacity, often remains unmarked. Drawing on aspirations articulated by boys attending elite private schools in Auckland, New Zealand, this paper explores narratives of young people’s aspirations for the future in terms of education, employment, and social networks. A belief in a right to aspire to achieve emerges, revealing how the performance of gender and class norms contributes to the reproduction of privilege. The intersectional nature of privilege is also highlighted, as while discourses of masculinity pervade understandings of being and becoming, class is an overriding factor influencing the performance of privilege through aspirations. The paper concludes by outlining a notion of nascent elite masculinity. It is contended that examining the performance of nascent elite masculinity at elite private schools is a means to expose the operation and reproduction of systems of privilege.

Peter George Reed Dawe

Peter George Reed Dawe was born in Bangalore, India, where his father was serving in the Indian Army. On his father’s retirement, the family moved to Tauranga, New Zealand. Peter...

Auckland School of Architecture and Planning Centenary, 2017 PHOTOGRAPHIC RECORD

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Persisting Beaux-Arts Practices in Architectural Education: History and Theory Teaching at the Auckland School of Architecture, 1927–1969

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Viewing obesogenic advertising in children's neighbourhoods using Google Street View

AbstractThe advertising of unhealthy food and beverages forms an important component of obesogenic environments. Such marketing to children is a key health determinant because of its impact on dietary preference and food purchasing behaviour. The location of outdoor advertising is important in exploring obesogenic environments and children's neighbourhoods. The aim of this study is to explore issues involved in the use of Google Street View to examine outdoor food and beverage advertising. The implications for using Google Street View in the context of neighbourhood built environment research and grass‐roots advocacy are discussed. The study was conducted within walkable distances from 19 primary and intermediate schools in Auckland, New Zealand, where “walkable” was defined as limited by 800 m road network boundaries, which are equivalent to school buffer boundaries. Google Street View allows for centrality of data collection, coding, and storage. However, challenges exist with the method because 727 (29.4%) of a total of 2,474 outdoor advertisements that were identified were not able to be categorised because images were unclear, not in English, blocked, or at angles where detail cannot be deciphered. Specific to outdoor advertising for food and beverages, the results presented here show that children are exposed to a significantly greater number of unhealthy advertising than other advertising, P=0.001, eta‐squared statistic (0.45) indicates a large effect size. Overall, the results show promise for the use of Google Street View in the study of obesogenic environments.

Cross-sector perspectives: how teachers are responding to the ethnic and cultural diversity of young people in New Zealand through visual arts

In 2015, cross-sector perspectives were sought on how teachers of visual arts in a sample of early childhood centres, primary schools and secondary schools in Auckland were responding to the increasing ethnic and cultural diversity of young people in New Zealand. The research was contextualised within national curricula, demographic statistics and literature on multiple approaches to pedagogy that foreground engagement with culture(s). The findings, presented through the voices of teachers and art works by children and students, provide insightful perspectives about the place of visual arts across these three sectors, and how teachers are responding in differing ways to the diversity of the young people they teach. This research provides a starting point for conversations within, and beyond New Zealand, about the role of visual arts education for equity and inclusion.

‘I use any pronouns, and I’m questioning everything else’: transgender youth and the issue of gender pronouns

The nature of sex/ualities, genders and schooling has changed considerably over the last 20 years, with global political, social and cultural shifts bringing the lives of queer youth to the fore. Trans youth are now more visible and various kinds of support groups in schools (such as diversity support groups, queer groups and gay–straight alliances) have emerged. This article reports on a critical ethnographic study conducted with queer youth in a co-educational secondary school in Auckland, Aotearoa/New Zealand. The focus of the research was on exploring how LGBTQ students actively negotiate their identities in school. A particular issue of interest was how gendered pronouns (s/he, him, her) are used (both in and outside of schools). We consider how the naming of pronouns both disrupts the articulation between sex, gender and sexuality and also reinforces stable gender identities and binaries. This opens up new possibilities for the trans students to identify but also works to reinforce hierarchies and power relations. We employ the theoretical tools of Foucault (power and resistance) and Butler (the heterosexual matrix, intelligible subjects and performativity) to conceptualise and interpret the power relations evident in trans students’ experiences of using gender pronouns.

Being barefoot. Prevalence at home, in school and during sport: a cross-sectional survey of 714 New Zealand secondary school boys

BackgroundIt may be assumed that a combination of culture, climate and economic resource are the major reasons that non-industrialised countries have a higher prevalence of barefoot activity. New Zealand is an industrialised country with comparable resources to that of many European countries; however, it seems to remain socially acceptable to carry out barefoot activities. A chance observation of students competing barefoot on a tartan track, prompted us to determine the prevalence of barefoot activity in an all-boys secondary school in Auckland New Zealand.MethodAn 11-question survey was administered at an Auckland boys secondary school, of high socioeconomic status, to determine the footwear habits of students (n = 714) during: a) daily life b) school life (c) physical education class and (d) sport. To classify students as habitually barefoot or shod, students were asked to select whether they were barefoot most of the time (2-points), half of the time (1-point) or none of the time (0-points) in three settings: around the house, during sport and during school. A score of ≥3 was required to be considered habitually barefoot. Participants were also asked to specify, when running at their most recent athletics event (100 m – 3000 m) on a track, whether they ran barefoot, in shoes, in spikes or another type of footwear. Finally, participants were asked to indicate if leg pain had interrupted running during the previous 12-months. Analysis was conducted using IBM SPSS.Results45% (95% CI: 41.5–49.5%) of the participants in our sample were classified as habitually barefoot. More than half of the sample reported being barefoot most of the time at home (n = 404, 56.6%) and during PE class (n = 420, 58.8%). Over 50% of the sample reported being barefoot half of the time or more during sport (n = 380, 53.2%). A smaller amount went to the supermarket (n = 140, 19.6%) or took the bus (n = 59, 8.3%) whilst barefoot around half of the time or more. The percentage of barefoot competitors declined with increasing distance: 100 m (46.5%), 200 m (41.8%), 400 m (38%), 800 m (31%), 1500 m (31%) and 3000 m (20%). The prevalence of leg pain interfering with running was 23.5%. There was no difference in the prevalence of leg pain between those classified as habitually barefoot and shod (Χ2(1, N = 603) = 0.005, p = 0.946).ConclusionThe results of this survey demonstrate that over 50% of students at an all-boys secondary school in Auckland, of high socioeconomic status, are barefoot at home, during physical education and sport half of the time or more. These results may point towards a cultural difference between New Zealand and other modern industrialised countries.

The Auckland School: Celebrating the centenary of the University of Auckland School of Architecture and Planning

EXHIBITION REVIEW

The Auckland School: 100 years of architecture and planning. Edited by Julia Gatley and Lucy Treep

Book Review