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    The experiences of becoming and being a nurse leader in Aotearoa New Zealand in the 21st century : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing, at Massey University, Manawatū, Aotearoa New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2025-11-27) Kerr, Dianne
    The Experiences of Becoming and Being a Nurse Leader in Aotearoa New Zealand in the 21st century This thesis explores the experiences of current registered nurses who have attained leadership positions in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ). A feminist deconstruction of gender framework serves as a lens to examine how masculine and feminine binaries affect the experiences of nurse leaders in a neoliberal environment that has commodified and devalued the act of caring. Particular attention was paid to the different challenges experienced by Māori nurses as the indigenous people of a post-colonialist Aotearoa. The research employed a qualitative design using an exploratory, descriptive survey, grounded in a pragmatic philosophical approach. It was conducted in two phases: an online questionnaire followed by two rounds of interviews. In total 49 participants completed the questionnaire and 13 participants were interviewed. All participants held NZ nurse registration and had been in leadership roles in healthcare for at least three years, during which time they were responsible for overseeing staff. Respondents represented diverse practice backgrounds and localities. The findings indicate that most participants achieved leadership roles primarily through chance and personal determination. In many cases, pursuing post-graduate education or serendipitous opportunities broadened their perspectives on nursing. The nurse leaders in this study realised they could have a significantly greater impact on the quality of care they wished to provide by stepping into leadership positions. However, they faced challenges related to nursing's strong association with femininity and often experienced subordination to the male-dominated fields of medicine and management. There is ample evidence linking empowered nurse leadership to effective care; however, nursing input in healthcare decisions is often overlooked due to the prevailing assumption that traditionally feminine traits do not significantly contribute to patient outcomes. Despite the proven value and significance of nurse leadership, this research indicates that leadership is not adequately planned for or supported in a way that reflects the size of the nursing workforce. Post-graduate education has been shown to raise nurse consciousness, yet NZ healthcare systems and academic institutions fail to invest in or value the critical thinking and awareness needed for nurse leaders to function and contribute effectively in the current neoliberalist environment. This research suggests that preparation for leadership in nursing should focus on helping nurses gain an awareness of their identity within a gendered profession before developing their leadership skills. Highlighting nurses who have succeeded in roles beyond bedside care and providing mentorship and networking opportunities for emerging leaders will cultivate future nurse leaders who can advance the profession. Key findings: • gendered socialisation continues to impact the career trajectories of nurse leaders, • neoliberalist environments create challenges for nursing autonomous practice • ongoing issues of colonialism, racism and sexism influence the career pathways of nurses in Aotearoa
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    Artists recreating our world with Rachmaninoff as a guide and partner
    (AccScience Publishing, 2024-03-04) Bathurst R
    This paper proposes that artists be at the forefront of community recovery in our post-COVID-19 world. To achieve this proposition, it delves into the early professional life of the renowned Russian composer and pianist Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873 – 1943), notably focusing on his sense of failure after the premiere of his first symphony and his subsequent recovery. It examines the importance of mentors who support professionals through early career mistakes, the significance of learning the limits of risk-taking, and the value of failure as guidance for development. Rachmaninoff’s contribution to humanity is profound, as evidenced by the enduring performance of his music in concert halls around the globe, making him an appropriate guide and partner in fulfilling the recovery agenda.
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    Pilot Career Progression in New Zealand
    (2018-11-30) Griffin D; Murrie A
    The “Pilot Career Progression Survey” was distributed via social media and email to NZALPA members, former students of New Zealand-based flight training organisations and other organisations in New Zealand in July 2018, Its focus was on identifying the motivations and interests of individuals pursuing a career as commercial pilots, the information they used to make decisions about their training and career, and training experiences and costs. In particular, the survey examined individuals’ employment history within the aviation industry, seeking to build a more detailed picture of the steps pilots take and the pitfalls they encounter in pursuit of an aviation career.
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    Mathematics anxiety and primary school teachers : the histories, impacts, and influences : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2022) Whyte, Julie Margaret
    Maths anxiety is understood to be a pervasive and global phenomenon. What is not so well understood is primary teachers’ experience of this anxiety. This study sought to provide a clearer understanding of teachers’ maths anxiety. Drawing on an interpretivist epistemology, framed by a sociocultural theoretical perspective, and using qualitative semi-structured interviews, the study provides a rich description of the personal histories and professional lives of 12 primary teacher participants who self-reported as experiencing maths anxiety. Each participant offered a unique, personal history of the development of maths anxiety. It was found to develop from a jumble of interactions from multiple sources and with multiple consequences. The teachers’ responses to anxiety around mathematics were wide ranging and included cognitive, affective, physiological, and neural reactions. In attempts to manage their anxiety, participants created specific strategies for particular situations. Amongst these management strategies were distraction and avoidance, eliciting support from trusted individuals, choosing to confine their teaching to lower year-level classes, and lengthy preparation to ensure they, themselves, understood the mathematics. Participants attempted to keep their anxiety hidden from others during their professional roles. Professional development was found to be a context in which the anxiety intensified. In professional development contexts, rather than focusing on new learnings and understandings, the participants focused on their anxiety. As a result, they failed to enhance their mathematical knowledge and failed to develop understanding of how mathematics might be taught. Their lack of confidence in their own knowledge impacted on their classroom teaching to the extent that, where possible, they scheduled less time for mathematics than other subject areas. Since such anxiety management strategies are not conducive to teacher growth and are likely to have negative consequences for students, this study has demonstrated that a carefully paced and sensitive approach needs to be taken by schools and providers of mathematics professional development courses.
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    Career pathways of New Zealand veterinary graduates : influences, experiences, and decisions : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Veterinary Science at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2021) King, Natalie
    As local and international concern about a shortage of veterinarians grows, developing an understanding of veterinarians’ career pathways and the factors that influence their career decisions is of increasing importance. The aim of this research was to explore the patterns that exist among the career pathways of two cohorts of New Zealand veterinary graduates, 10- and 20-years post-graduation, and to identify the factors that had been influential in shaping their career trajectories. A mixed methods approach provided a means to develop a detailed understanding of veterinarians’ career pathways through integration of survey (n=109) and interview (n=25) data. Perceptions of why people cease veterinary work were documented alongside the lived career experiences of these two cohorts of Massey University veterinary graduates. Cohort members’ career pathways were varied. Most (83%) held a clinical veterinary role 10 years after graduation. However, after 20 years, fewer (57%) held clinical veterinary roles. Almost one-quarter of the 20-year cohort worked in non-veterinary roles, and a further 14% held non-clinical veterinary roles. Some aspects of career patterns differed between the men and women and between the two cohorts, but there were also similarities. Veterinarians’ career decisions were multifaceted, and six key themes were developed to describe the factors that influenced them. Considering the cohort members’ material, social, and cognitive work values provided a useful lens through which to explore how their work environments and personal characteristics and aspirations influenced their career decisions. Veterinarians’ workplace experiences and the degree of fit between their personal characteristics and aspirations, and the workplace environment, influenced their feelings towards their work and their state of wellbeing, which in turn influenced their career decisions. However, these factors alone were insufficient to fully describe the influences on veterinarians’ career decision-making. Opportunities, professional networks, and non-work factors also played a key role in shaping cohort members’ career trajectories. The findings of this research provide insight into the career patterns and decision-making of New Zealand veterinarians which will be useful for future workforce planning, and in developing initiatives to enhance veterinarians’ career fulfilment and retention within clinical practice and the New Zealand veterinary profession.
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    How policewomen's experiences of 'male construct' interact with sustainability of career development and promotion practices : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2019) Mace, Stephanie Jane
    Women in today’s New Zealand Police organisation work across almost all roles and ranks, including 14 percent representation at commissioned and non-commissioned officer level. Disparities relating to women and men’s access to senior and high-level roles and workgroups continue to challenge police, despite new policy and performance initiatives for cultural reform. Understanding how policewomen’s experiences of police as a gendered organisation interact with sustainability of career development and promotion practices exposes the rules of formation that permit the conditions and outcomes of structural processes and practices that engender women in police as they negotiate their career progression strategies. 28 policewomen at commissioned and non-commissioned officer ranks were interviewed in a semi-structured conversational style about their experiences. A Foucauldian discourse analysis was applied, attending to the gendered social power relations that define and delimit social practice and the governance of women, both within and outside the workplace. The analysis showed that dominant heteronormative discourses regulate policewomen’s practices of gender coherence within a hegemonic socio-cultural discourse of masculinist rationalisation that differentiates male / female, masculine /feminine as contingent subject positions and investments in compliance and/or resistance to social institutions of work and family. Furthermore, women were positioned within and through discourse as neoliberal active gendering agents whose subjection to, and mastery of, masculinist ideals for leadership shape career progression as the strategic navigation of work and family commitments in accordance with a duplicitous and inegalitarian system. Alternate realities were also presented as reproducing and re-producing masculine values and the gender order for progression in the police hierarchy. This research contributes to the paucity of scholarship attending to the career progression experiences of senior-ranking policewomen in a gendered organisation that function to reproduce dominant discourses as social power relations that intervene in the practices of women and men in police. It may also provide understanding for what may be required to transform and/or vanquish relations of power in order to effect meaningful long-term organisational transformation.
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    Rethinking sponsoring : evidencing and conceptualising sponsorship as a relational practice for women's career development : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, School of Management, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2019) Rao, Vasudha
    Sponsoring has been heralded as the means to redressing women’s underrepresentation in senior leadership positions, given that mentoring has not fixed this long standing problem. Sponsors are said to influence promotion decisions, give access to those in power, and provide other support for women’s career progression. However, despite the bold claims made for its efficacy, remarkably little is known about the experiences of those involved in sponsoring relationships, resulting in limited understanding of the sponsoring process, and its benefits, challenges and wider outcomes. This research adopted a qualitative research design with a phenomenological orientation to explore the experiences of sponsoring and provides insights into the nature of the sponsoring relationship through in-depth interviews with 16 people (15 women, 1 man) in New Zealand, from different professions, background and ethnicities and at different stages of their career. Findings reveal three key dynamics shaping the character of the sponsoring relationship. Firstly, rather than an instrumental focus on career advancement, the relationship is marked by perceptions of sponsors as benevolent and giving. Secondly, nurturing, caring and friendship are central features of the relationship, with different expectations held of male and female sponsors. Finally, sponsees’ ethnic and migrant identity also shaped their experience of sponsoring, indicating that the relationship is mediated by factors other than gender alone. These findings extend scholarly and practitioner knowledge about sponsoring and its positive influence upon women’s career advancement, with important implications for sponsorship research, policy and practice. They challenge the dominant understanding of sponsoring as an instrumental exchange and enable its re-conceptualisation as a relational practice of sponsorship that is oriented to fostering the sponsee’s development. They also indicate that sponsorship is experienced as a meaningful connection that extends beyond the workplace and offers broader benefits than presently recognised. From a policy and practice perspective, the findings indicate that attention to issues of gender and ethnic discrimination, and the obligations invoked in sponsees, arising from their perception of sponsor generosity, giving, nurturing and caring’, all warrant attention in organisations seeking to implement, encourage or support sponsorship programmes. Overall, the potential of sponsoring to support women’s advancement is both more personally meaningful and more complex than current research has identified.
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    Career attitudes and values of professional men and women : a life stage and career stage comparison : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1994) Martin, Fiona
    The present study was designed to compare the work attitudes and values of professional men and women and to relate these to two theoretical models. The intention was to determine if Levinson's (1978) and Super's (1957) models of life and career stage could account for the experiences of a sample of New Zealand professional people. Each model was tested by separate MANOVAs for any significant differences between the sexes as well as variance within respondent's work attitudes within each formulation of stages. The results indicated that there were no significant differences between the work attitudes of men and women in the research sample. Levinson's model accounted for some differences between stages on the work attitudes; "willingness to relocate", "intention to leave", and "desire for promotion". Super's model accounted for more differences between stages on the work attitudes; "intention to leave", "desire for promotion", "preferred timing for promotion", "organisational commitment", and "job involvement". There were some differences between men and women on the importance placed on certain work values across career and life stages. However, there were more similarities than differences. Across both sexes, and both life and career stages, the following work values were deemed to be important; "Intellectual Stimulation", "Achievement", "Way of Life", and "Supervisory Relations". The implications of these results are discussed in relation to previous research as well as practical implications for organisations and human resource practitioners.
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    "Teacher, what do you want to be when you grow up? : a case study of career development in a New Zealand primary school : a thesis [i.e. research report] submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Educational Administration at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2002) Bathurst, Maree Grace
    With the introduction of Tomorrow's Schools (New Zealand Government, 1988), a national appointments structure for teachers was removed by the Ministry of Education. The researcher was interested in investigating how teachers planned their careers, in the post 1988 era, and if there were any significant differences in career patterns between genders. Factors influencing teachers' initial choice of vocation, as well as positive and negative career motivations were also identified. The research methodology selected by the researcher was that of case study, and was conducted in my current school. Questionnaires provided the initial source of quantitative data. Interviews and field notes provided a wealth of qualitative data. The researcher was a participant observer and as Associate Principal had considerable tacit knowledge about the staff and current school policies. The research results identified four central themes; positive motivators for teaching, negative factors impacting on teachers, gender issues, and career planning methods. Positive motivators were all intrinsic in nature. A desire to work with children was the main reason respondents identified as the most important reason for choosing teaching as their first career. Significant positive career motivators included the teachers' own confidence and ability, desire for involvement in decision-making, and the need for change or greater motivation. External motivators such as salary or qualifications ranked the least important. The overriding importance of balancing home and school, family commitments, location and travel factors, and significance of holidays were key factors identified as negative influences on career planning or potential career barriers. A surprising factor in the study was the lack of significant differences in the career planning between male and female. In comparison the more relevant dimensions of differing career motivations based on women's age, generation, and family commitments were of far greater significance to the final research. Career planning is occurring in a variety of ways, the most significant identified by teachers was the support given by a role model or mentor, and career planning conducted at appraisal interviews. Issues identified in the discussion also address the importance of career planning, and whose responsibility it should be.
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    It's all about relationships : women managing women and the impact on their careers : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Management at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2017) Hurst, Jane Ann
    Women represent nearly half of New Zealand’s workforce, making it likely that a woman will, at some stage during her working life, have a woman manager. She may also manage women employees. However, despite this likelihood, very little is known about the nature of women’s hierarchical workplace relationships and even less about the impact these relationships have on women’s careers. This research used narrative inquiry, relational cultural theory and the Kaleidoscope Career Model (KCM) to explore the relational experiences of 15 New Zealand women and the impact of these hierarchical relationships on career decisions. It was undertaken in two phases. Phase One used a combination of creative methods and semi-structured interviews to explore the participants’ experiences. Phase Two brought the participants together in workshops to develop personal and organisational strategies aimed at strengthening workplace relationships. Phase One found that most of the participants had experienced a negative relationship with a women manager and/or employee. Many of those participants subsequently left the organisation they worked for as a direct or indirect result of that relationship. Conversely, nearly half of the participants spoke of a positive relationship and while these were beneficial, they were not linked to a subsequent career decision. These findings suggest that negative relationships affect a woman’s career decisions to a greater extent than positive relationships. The research also extends the KCM by adding the impact of women’s hierarchical relationships to the career parameters of balance and challenge. Phase Two delved further into these findings to determine that women have gender-based expectations of women managers, such as an expectation of a higher degree of emotional understanding and support from a woman manager than would be expected from a man. In addition, while the participants look to women managers for some form of career support, most were not striving for senior management positions. They were instead motivated by a desire to make a difference and live a balanced life, with the demands of senior organisational roles seen as being in conflict with their relationships and family responsibilities. This raises a dilemma from a gender equity perspective, with research suggesting that a critical mass of women at the senior leadership level reduces the gender pay gap and increases the promotional opportunities of women at all organisational levels. Phase Two identified a number of personal and organisational strategies to better support women’s hierarchical relationships, as one way of enhancing women’s careers. Taking a relational approach, an holistic gendered framework is proposed that situates relationships within the broader personal, organisational, societal and temporal context. Strategies are recommended to enhance personal and organisational relational awareness and acceptance, development of relational skills and support, as well as structural change to better align career paths to senior management with women’s career aspirations and realities. In doing so, this thesis aims to progress the discussion on the ways in which organisations and women can better support each other to promote workplace gender equity.