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    Re-thinking assessment : a dynamic approach to assessment for practitioners working in education : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education, Massey University, Aotearoa New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2021) Terry, Ann
    Understanding learners, determining how they learn, what hinders their learning, and how to bring about change are critical aspects of practitioners’ assessments when supporting young people who access learning support. Practitioners working for the Ministry of Education continually evaluate current and new assessment approaches to improve their ability to understand and effect change for learners. This research introduced a group of practitioners to a structured dynamic approach to assessment, using the REThink framework through a professional learning and development workshop. Such an approach to assessment is principled, ethically responsible and culturally responsive, and one that enables practitioners to investigate change in a young person’s learning in context. The methodology of this research takes a socio-constructivist approach, grounded in qualitative inquiry. The theoretical and analytical framework of cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) was used for its responsiveness to the multi-dimensional and situatedness of the research activity, for exploring individual practices of assessment and investigating the challenge of changing or adapting assessment practice. The results foreground the essence of change within and across practitioners’ assessment practices and the systems within which they work. It highlights how a dynamic approach to assessment has the potential to build educator capability, manipulate the activity through analysis, develop a young person’s cognitive and metacognitive skills using games, and increase practitioner knowledge of the cognitive and metacognitive skills embedded within the key competencies of the New Zealand Curriculum. This research points to the importance of developing practitioners’ assessment literacy to enable them to make informed decisions about their assessment practice, to move beyond given and ‘typical’ assessment tools, and afford them the opportunity to grow their competence and confidence to advocate for alternative options. This study concludes that a dynamic approach to assessment is an alternative or complementary approach, and has the potential to be transformative for practitioners, educators, and young people in Aotearoa New Zealand.
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    Ability, effort and control : can attribution theory be valid in the New Zealand classroom? : a thesis submitted to the Education Department, Massey University in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy (Education)
    (Massey University, 1993) Watson, Sue Anne
    The validity of basic assumptions of attribution theory, that ability is conceptualised as an internal, stable and uncontrollable cause of success and failure in achievement situations, and effort is an internal, unstable and controllable cause, was investigated in relation to New Zealand school students. Two groups of students, Form One (11 years) and Form Four (14 years) responded within the classroom on three occasions in different school subjects to questionnaires about their ability and effort in regard to the tasks they had just been engaged in. Their achievement, ability and effort levels were rated by their teachers. A subset of students was also interviewed. Both age groups perceive ability (intelligence) as unstable, capable of being increased by schoolwork, yet rated their ability the same in the three different subject areas. In both age groups most students rated their specific and general effort as stable within subject areas but as unstable over three subject areas. Their general effort ratings correlated significantly with the teachers' ratings for effort. So, students perceive their effort as unstable but their relative effort level was stable. The controllability dimension was measured by the number of cognitive strategies given to improve ability and to demonstrate effort. The "controllability of ability" variable was a significant contributor for achievement for Form One students and the "controllability of effort" to achievement for the older students. The lowest achievement group had significantly fewer metacognitive statements than the other two groups which suggests that for them effort is not controllable. The findings suggest that some key principles of attribution theory may not be appropriate for New Zealand school children because their conceptualisations of ability and effort do not fit the constructs of attribution theory.
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    Cognitive structure and development in the education of poetic appreciation : a theoretical and clinical investigation : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1980) Codd, John Albert
    The development of poetic appreciation is investigated by combining philosophical analysis with Piagetian-type interviews in order to argue a general case for the fundamental importance of knowledge and the emergence of cognitive abilities in the education of artistic appreciation. Coleridge's poem, "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" is used as the object of appreciation for a series of clinical interviews involving 30 subjects, 10 at each of three different age-levels: 9 1/2 - 10 year olds; 11 1/2 - 12 year olds; 13 1/2 - 14 1/2 year olds. Illuminative protocols are drawn from these interviews to illustrate various aspects of the educational theory that is advanced. This theory draws upon recent research and writings in the philosophy of art, literary criticism and developmental psychology as these relate to curriculum problems in the appreciation of art and literature. The educational implications of the argument are then synthesized into a tentative theoretical framework for the teaching of poetic appreciation. The rejection of positivism and recent moves towards epistemological pluralism are used to support the claim that artistic appreciation, no less than science, is a domain of public knowledge characterized by critical enquiry, objective canons, and concepts shared within a socio-cultural tradition. It is contended that because appreciation presupposes an interpretation which entails "seeing" works of art and literature under an appropriate aspect and in correct relationship to their context, artistic appreciation is not the result of merely subjective or idiosyncratic responses to artistic experience but requires an initiation into the understanding of relevant concepts, the knowledge of publicly identifiable criteria, and a gradual induction into the interpretive mode of reasoning. It is argued, moreover, that emotional responses to art are not "inner" subjective states but are themselves structured by cognitive appraisals of the aesthetic object. Hence, there is an important distinction between an affective response to the experience of art and an appreciation in which emotion is controlled by valid interpretation. Because this control presupposes public norms and the knowledge necessary to apply them, the education of the emotions through the appreciation of art and literature is necessarily cognitive. Thus, it is argued that the education of poetic appreciation, as with other forms of art, requires the development of interpretive reasoning ability and specific cognitive capacities such as metaphoric competence and perceptual discrimination. The development of these capacities involves the progressive equilibration of cognitive structures exhibiting features of wholeness, transformation and self-regulation. The task of the teacher in the education of poetic appreciation, therefore, is to provide the experiences of poetry necessary to the understanding of poetic meaning, and to make available the knowledge necessary to an educated and mature appreciation. The key to such appreciation, it is claimed, lies in developing the ability to construct valid, comprehensive and consistent interpretations on the basis of relevant contextual knowledge. Only when this ability has been developed can evaluation, or the critical appreciation of poetry become a central focus for education.
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    Children and natural disasters : an investigation of cognitions, knowledge and emotions in Wellington year 5 students : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Sciences in Psychology at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2012) King, Teresa
    The aim of the present study was to examine children’s cognitions (thoughts, expectations, beliefs and values), knowledge (education and experience), and emotions (feelings) regarding natural disasters. The sample consisted of 30 Year 5 students (9-10 years) from four primary schools in the Wellington Region. Schools were ethnically, socioeconomically and geographically diverse. Students participated in a 60 minute focus group, consisting of three to five students in each group. Focus groups used open ended questions to facilitate conversation, guided by the interviewer. Thematic analysis was used to explore the data and identify key themes, based on guidelines suggested by Braun and Clarke (2003). The analysis identified that many students believe an earthquake to be the most likely disaster to occur in Wellington, and many of the students discussed having serious fears about this. Students also identified a number of positive coping methods for use when experiencing fears about disasters, suggesting some ability to protect themselves from negative emotions. Students displayed pride in preparation and were able to clearly identify a number of positive preparatory behaviours, as well as behaviours during and after a disaster. Students were held a great deal of general knowledge about disasters, such as different types, as well as the causes of some disasters, and had knowledge of a large number of current events, which they had largely viewed on television and discussed in classes. Participants discussed having been involved in emergency management classes and drills within their schools, and had an interest in improving these classes to make themselves feel better prepared for a disaster. Overall, students had considerable interest in disasters, which provides an opportunity to foster preparedness in young New Zealanders.