Zealand Secondary School Research Articles

Adopting a Cultural Portfolio Project in Teaching German as a Foreign Language: Language Teacher Cognition as a Dynamic System

Intercultural language teaching and learning has increasingly been adopted in state school systems, yet studies have shown that language teachers struggle to include it in their practice. The aim of this study is to use dynamic systems theory to examine how a German as a foreign language teacher in a New Zealand secondary school adopted a project designed to promote intercultural communicative language teaching. It does this with data from a microgenetic analysis of a session in which the teacher was introduced to the project and a qualitatively analyzed interview in which the teacher reported her beliefs and practices for teaching culture. The findings show that the teacher adopted the project by conceptualizing it through the practical challenges involved in using it as a formal assessment. In an interview, she expressed her beliefs about culture in language teaching, and there was some evidence that they reflected the process of adopting the project to be an assessment. The implications focus on the project as a basis for further development of intercultural teaching.

Perspectives on Technology Education in New Zealand: Twenty years of progress?

This paper provides an historical review of the implementation of the technology learning area in New Zealand secondary schools with a view to identifying aspects which may, or may not, have enabled success. The intention here is to build on previous studies and to consider issues which may have been problematic to some teachers and other stakeholders. By reflecting on this process it may be possible to provide further understanding of present and future needs, which can guide the continuing development of both the technology learning area and its ongoing implementation.The paper draws significantly from the author's experience as a professional development facilitator and pre-service technology teacher educator over a twelve year period. Through this work there has been opportunity to gain considerable understanding of issues concerning technology education, implementation, and the facilitation of professional development for teachers of technology.

Unhealthy Gambling Amongst New Zealand Secondary School Students: An Exploration of Risk and Protective Factors.

This study sought to determine the prevalence of gambling and unhealthy gambling behaviour and describe risk and protective factors associated with these behaviours amongst a nationally representative sample of New Zealand secondary school students (n = 8,500). Factor analysis and item response theory were used to develop a model to provide a measure of ‘unhealthy gambling’. Logistic regressions and multiple logistic regression models were used to investigate associations between unhealthy gambling behaviour and selected outcomes. Approximately one-quarter (24.2 %) of students had gambled in the last year, and 4.8 % had two or more indicators of unhealthy gambling. Multivariate analyses found that unhealthy gambling was associated with four main factors: more accepting attitudes towards gambling (p < 0.0001); gambling via gambling machines/casinos/track betting (p = 0.0061); being worried about and/or trying to cut down on gambling (p < 0.0001); and, having attempted suicide (p = 0.0009). Unhealthy gambling is a significant health issue for young people in New Zealand. Ethnic and social inequalities were apparent and these disparities need to be addressed.

Examining the impediments to Indigenous strategy and approaches in mainstream secondary schools

Noted Māori scholar Russell Bishop identified three impediments to developing Indigenous principles and practices in schools within colonized countries. These include confusion about the culture of Indigenous children, uneven programme implementation and issues with measuring student achievement. In this article, we present results from a mixed method -research project that aimed to investigate the development of culturally responsive school leadership in 84 New Zealand secondary schools. Whilst analysed data revealed signs of raised awareness of Māori students and their achievement amongst school leaders, findings also aligned with Bishop’s assertions that the main impediments to successful implementation of important Maori principles and practices were symptomatic of a lack of partnership with Indigenous students and their communities.

Developing a Conceptual Framework for Considering the Complexities of Professional Learning and Development in the Secondary School Context

This paper discusses the development of a conceptual framework for scoping, provisioning and reporting the complexities of in-service Professional Learning and Development (PLD) in the New Zealand secondary school sector with a focus on middle leaders. Government-funded PLD in the New Zealand context is a research and evidence-based service provided to schools in response to high-level government policy. These PLD contracts aim to address inequalities for young people by enhancing the quality and effectiveness of leadership and teaching practices which result in increased student achievement, especially for priority students and those from minority backgrounds. The rationale for developing a conceptual framework for understanding government-funded, externally provided professional learning and development will be discussed. Recommendations for policy makers and researchers on the complex ways research evidence and policy come together in the delivery of in-service PLD for leaders and teachers in schools will be highlighted and opportunities for improvement examined.

Measuring the Vocabulary Size of Native Speakers of English in New Zealand Secondary Schools

The primary aim of this study was to examine the vocabulary size of native speakers of English in New Zealand secondary schools. Two equivalent forms of the 20,000 version of the vocabulary size test were used in this study. Two hundred and twenty-seven 13–18-year-old native speakers of English at secondary school took an individually administered version of the test. The data from this study fits with the vocabulary size estimates for younger native speakers of Biemiller and Slonim (J Educ Psychol 93:498–520, 2001). The results suggest that most native speakers at secondary school have enough general purpose vocabulary to cope with their reading at school, and any deliberate attention to vocabulary should focus on subject-specific vocabulary.

Maintaining the balance: New Zealand secondary school nurses' perceptions of skin infections in young people--a grounded theory.

The objective of this study was to explore the perceptions of New Zealand secondary school nurses regarding skin infections in young people aged 14-18 years. A constructivist grounded theory method was adopted. Ten non-structured interviews were conducted with secondary school nurses working in Auckland, New Zealand, between January and July 2013. Interviews were audiotaped, transcribed and analysed using all tenets of grounded theory that included writing memos, theoretical sampling and the constant comparative method. Analysis revealed the core category Maintaining the balance, which is presented as a grounded theory model. It represents the constant state of balancing the school nurse undergoes in trying to counter the risk to the student. The nurse attempts to tip the balance in favour of action, by reducing barriers to healthcare, providing youth-friendly, affordable and accessible healthcare, and following up until resolution is achieved. The nurse is aware that failing to monitor until resolution can again tip the fulcrum back to inaction, placing the young person at risk again. It is concluded that nurses are knowledgeable about the risks present in the communities they serve and are innovative in the methods they employ to ensure satisfactory outcomes for young people experiencing skin infections. School nursing is an evolving model for delivering primary healthcare to young people in New Zealand. The grounded theory model 'Maintaining the balance' describes a model of care where nursing services are delivered where young people spend time, and the nurse is immersed in the community. This model of care may be transferable to other healthcare situations.

Guidance and Counseling in Aotearoa, New Zealand, Secondary Schools: Revisiting the Issues

The changes in education policies in Aotearoa, New Zealand, since the 1980s have significantly affected guidance and counseling in secondary schools, leading to variations in provision and effectiveness. Issues being faced by school guidance counselors were identified in “Guidance and Counselling in New Zealand Secondary Schools: Exploring the Issues,” which represented a call for an external government authority who understood guidance and counseling and their value in schools to create national guidelines and standards for this work (Crowe, 2006). This 2014 article revisits the issues and reports on the findings and recommendations of a 2013 evaluation of guidance and counseling in Aotearoa, New Zealand secondary schools. The government requested the evaluation in response to the need to provide good guidance and counseling for young people at risk of developing mental health issues. The results and recommendations from the evaluation have highlighted the issues being faced by guidance counselors, other guidance staff, and their schools. The effectiveness of guidance and counseling in schools in Aotearoa, New Zealand will depend upon the implementation of the recommendations made in the report to the Ministry of Education, and, in particular, the review of the guidance staffing formula and the establishment of guidelines/expectations for schools/wharekura regarding the provision of guidance and counseling.

Developing an Historical Empathy Pathway with New Zealand Secondary School Students

Developing an Historical Empathy Pathway with New Zealand Secondary School Students

Curriculum integration in New Zealand secondary schools: Lessons learned from four "early adopter" schools

Curriculum integration in New Zealand secondary schools: Lessons learned from four "early adopter" schools

‘Oh they drink here harder I think’: young people and alcohol consumption at three New Zealand secondary school formals

The New Zealand media sensationalises the issue of teenage drinking. It also frames school formals (balls or proms) and associated after parties as problematic sites, since young people may drink to excess at such events. This article explores the alcohol consumption patterns of a group of year 13 students on the night of their school formal. Adults' permissive attitudes towards their own and young people's alcohol consumption on the night are discussed to highlight how drinking is almost necessary for socialisation in a New Zealand context. The majority of student participants reported that they drank in moderation on the night and some were intolerant of intoxicated peers. This poses a challenge to New Zealand media depictions of the school formal and after party as ‘drunken affairs’. Some international students did drink to excess at unofficial after parties organised by students and/or parents in two of three participating schools. Rather than this reflecting negatively on the students concerned, such behaviour can be read as a reflection on New Zealand's binge drinking culture. This article concludes with suggestions for how schools can create safer after parties which may reduce the chances of young people engaging in ‘risky’ drinking behaviours at such events.

Current trends in economics enrolments at secondary and tertiary level

The number of students studying economics in New Zealand secondary schools and universities has declined sharply in recent years. The introduction of the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA), which resulted in a far wider choice of subjects mirrored the experience in Australian schools in the 1990s when a range of more vocational subjects were introduced. Of immediate concern for economics departments around New Zealand is the recent introduction of business studies NCEA achievement standards in secondary schools. If the New Zealand experience mirrors that of the Australian experience, the introduction of business studies into secondary schools will lead to a substantive decrease in the number of students studying economics at the tertiary level.

Inverting virginity, abstinence, and conquest: Sexual agency and subjectivity in classroom conversation

This study examines youth sexual agency during sexuality lessons in a New Zealand secondary school. Employing poststructuralist discourse analysis, examples are highlighted in which girls (and boys) gain access to sexual agency. Through conversation, girls are simultaneously positioned as ‘asked’ and ‘pursuer’ and boys as ‘asker’ and ‘pursued’ whilst abstinence and virginity are imbued with sexual agency for both sexes. This study demonstrates that it is discursive versions of agency which hold central importance in youth sexual development. Thus the capacities for sexual action that are fostered in classroom conversation cannot plausibly be separated from agentive sexual practices of young people beyond the classroom's walls.

The Centrality of Relationships for Pedagogy

Te Kotahitanga is a research and professional development project that seeks to reduce educational disparities between indigenous Māori students and their non-Māori peers in New Zealand secondary schools. While evidence of the impact of the project on teachers’ practice and the associated gains made by Māori students has been published previously, in order for the work of Te Kotahitanga to contribute to the broader educational research community, its pedagogical premises require empirical verification. To do so, we must first establish the validity of the pedagogical data by addressing two questions: (a) To what degree can the data gathered in the collaborative processes of Te Kotahitanga be used as a measure of pedagogical quality? and (b) Do these data support the foundational hypothesis of the project, that “extended family” relationships, as understood by Māori people when using the Māori term, whanaungatanga, are a central necessary component of overall pedagogical quality? This article provides an account of the context of this work then presents an analysis directed to these questions in turn. First, our analysis of the observational data gathered during the Te Kotahitanga professional development process is presented, followed by the measures that were developed for each of the main dimensions of pedagogy addressed in this work. Second, using these measures we present our analysis of the inter-relation among these dimensions of pedagogy to test the Whanaungatanga pedagogical thesis.

“Bisexuality Is Just Semantics…”: Young Bisexual Women's Experiences in New Zealand Secondary Schools

A literature search reveals minimal New Zealand and international research that has a specific focus on young bisexual women at school. This study addresses this paucity by gathering the experiences of young bisexual women being bisexual at a secondary school in New Zealand. The study focuses on ways in which young bisexual women experience teacher and student attitudes and practices at school, and the consequent negotiation of their own bisexual identities within their school environments. Evidence from these experiences frames two specific practices, the first being societal misrecognition of the nature of bisexuality. The second practice introduces the notion of bi-misogyny, a form of erasure specifically targeting young bisexual women. The study engages with bisexual theory and feminist qualitative methodology. Data are examined using thematic analysis. Consideration of young bisexual women's experiences in New Zealand secondary schools adds to the body of knowledge about this silenced minority.

Facebook in the classroom: blended audiences and multiple front-stages

In New Zealand, the use of social media for educational purposes is being encouraged (Ministry of Education, 2013). Yet, while educators focus on the educational advantages of using social media, there is little research available on the effects on students. This paper explores the way a small group of senior students from one New Zealand secondary school negotiated their identities on a class’ Facebook page. This qualitative study uses Goffman’s dramaturgical metaphor and poststructuralist conceptualisations of discourses and fluidity of identity. The findings offer an insight into the tensions faced by this group of students as they negotiated their identity presentations to blended audiences when the boundaries between public and private are blurred. The students’ identity performance and participation on the page was influenced by power differentials, the structure of the page, and an awareness of audience. This has implications for the way educators use social media in classrooms.

Effective Pakeha teachers of Māori students

To teach in primary schools in Aotearoa-New Zealand means to encounter students from diverse backgrounds. A significant proportion of those students are M a ori and a significant proportion of M a ori students are not achieving to their potential in school. There are several reasons for this under-achievement, which this thesis explores, and there is substantial research evidence as to what will turn this situation around, which is also explored. Some argue that the answer is for M a ori learners to be taught by M a ori teachers, and in M a ori medium contexts. This approach has achieved considerable success for a small number of M a ori learners; however, the demographic data tell us that for now, the significant majority of M a ori learners are in English language medium classrooms, taught by non-M a ori teachers. At present, there are not enough M a ori teachers to teach all M a ori learners. The New Zealand Ministry of Education has goals for improving the achievement of M a ori learners through providing “high-quality, culturally responsive education that incorporates the identity, language and culture of M a ori students, and engages their parents, families and wh a nau” (Ministry of Education, 2008). The Ministry and the New Zealand Teachers Council expect all teachers to be ‘culturally competent’, that is, to teach in culturally responsive ways. The Ministry of Education’s research and development project, Te K o tahitanga, continues to provide evidence of ‘what works’ for M a ori learners in New Zealand secondary schools. The effective teaching profile that was developed as part of this project informs this thesis. The thesis describes qualitative, social justice-based case study research undertaken between late 2004 and 2006 with four effective P a keh a primary teachers of M a ori children, and with children from those classes and their parents/wh a nau. The study sought to glean insights about what characterises effective P a keh a primary teachers of M a ori students.

Mathematics in student-centred inquiry learning: Student engagement

This paper examines how mathematical understandings might be facilitated through student-centred inquiry. Data is drawn from a research project on student-centred inquiry learning that situated mathematics within authentic problem-solving contexts and involved students in a collaboratively constructed curriculum. A contemporary interpretive frame was utilised and mixed methods were used to collect data. The project took place with a Year 10 class in a purpose-built New Zealand secondary school. The findings indicated that mathematics centred on real-life learning was highly engaging, with student choice and the co-construction of their research questions central to that engagement.

The Complexity of Scientific Literacy: The development and use of a data analysis matrix

Data were gathered from 95 Year 10 students in a New Zealand secondary school to explore how the indicators of scientific literacy are expressed in student responses. These students completed an activity based around the two contexts of lighting and health. A matrix, which incorporated descriptive indicators, was developed to analyse the student responses and revealed levels of expression of scientific literacy. Use of this matrix enabled a fine-grained analysis of both group and individual student expressions of scientific literacy. It was found that students' express scientific literacy in complex ways and that they can exhibit multiple levels simultaneously, both within and between contexts.

A Deconstructive Approach to Class Meetings: Managing Conflict and Building Learning Communities

When the quality of teacher-student and student-student relationships is undermined by conflicts, classrooms can become unwelcoming environments that are not conducive to teaching and learning. Circle conversations are widely utilized in response to such conflicts as well as for academic and community-building purposes. In this article, we introduce a form of circle conversation, which we have termed deconstructive class meeting. We developed this specific meeting format in a New Zealand secondary school drawing on local, indigenous processes of community conversation, discourse theory and narrative therapy. The structure of our meeting is deliberately designed to support the simultaneous achievement of two, seemingly contradictory objectives: conflict resolution and community building. We argue that when teachers and students collaboratively examine the power of ideas or discourses of learning not only alternatives to problematic practices become available, but learning communities and relationships are strengthened also.