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Item Children’s participation in curriculum decision-making : supporting their rights to be self-determining : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education at Massey University, Manawatū, Aotearoa New Zealand(Massey University, 2025-05-30) Dacre, MariaArticle 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989; United Nations, n.d.) gives all children the right to participate in decisions on matters of interest to them. Although children spend a significant part of their childhood in school, research demonstrates that children’s participation rights in education are often approached in paternalistic or tokenistic ways by adults. This research study explored how children in a Year 5/6 classroom in Aotearoa New Zealand participated and influenced curriculum decision-making, and specifically how children influence their learning in the classroom. Instigating youth participatory action research (YPAR), I worked alongside children and their teacher in their classroom over three school terms. The children’s experiences were documented and analysed, resulting in a case study that includes three case narratives: (i) curriculum-based learning, (ii) teacher-initiated inquiry, and (iii) child-initiated inquiry. The findings showed the multiple roles children and teacher played in curriculum decision-making, and illustrated how children can be enabled to have active participation in their own learning within the classroom. Using Rogoff’s planes of analysis, the results demonstrated how children engaged in the learning and classroom life through the community, interpersonal, and personal planes. This showcased the role of classroom structures, routines, and peers in how children learn. Through these classroom interactions with peers and teachers, children appropriated new knowledge, skills, and understandings about themselves and their peers. This research demonstrates that children developed self-determining ways of being through their collaborations in learning. A key factor for children’s active participation and influence in curriculum decision-making was their sociocultural participation in classroom activities and events that fostered a collaborative community of practice, connecting to the children’s cultural identity, whānau, prior knowledge, and interests. Autonomy-supportive teaching as a pedagogical approach was evident, highlighting benefits for both children and teacher in supporting children to participate and influence curriculum decision-making. The research offers practical examples of how teachers can engage in a pedagogical partnership with children that gives children opportunities to be self-determining and active agents in their learning, relationships, and school life.Item Physical Education (PE) as a pathway to empowerment of young people in Rarotonga, Cook Islands : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand(Massey University, 2021) Greene, MichelleThe Cook Islands secondary school’s curriculum Oraanga e te Tupuanga Meitaki | The Health and Well-being Curriculum (OTM | HWC) derives from the New Zealand Curriculum (NZC). While a western education system is based on the concept of building human capital, which conflicts with Pacific Indigenous education values, The OTM | HWC has been adapted to include Cook Islands values and philosophies. Despite a well-intentioned curriculum, the implementation may face additional challenges, with resourcing and teacher recruitment. The design and delivery of the OTM | HWC has the potential to educate the whole person, but students experiences may differ from intended outcomes. With this in mind, the aim of this research is to understand the potential that a culturally relevant Physical Education (PE) curriculum has to empower young people. This research therefore asks: 1) How has the OTM | HWC been adapted and implemented in Rarotonga, Cook Islands? 2) How is culture utilised within the curriculum and how did this play out in schools? 3) What challenges might be present with respect to the design and delivery of PE programmes? As this thesis is grounded in Development Studies and draws from theories of Sport for Development and PE for Development, of particular interest is understanding from a gendered perspective how PE can facilitate empowerment in Rarotonga. This research is a qualitative case study. Fieldwork was undertaken in two secondary schools in Rarotonga, both of which follow an NZ model of education in the senior school, with students gaining the NZ qualification the National Certificate in Education Achievement (NCEA). Methods of data collection consisted of classroom observations, semi-structured interviews, informal conversations, focus groups and a fieldwork journal. In total 25 participants were interviewed. Through the application of a culturally relevant empowerment framework, which was the theoretical lens by which the findings were deliberated, this research contributes to new ways of understanding the experiences of young men and women within the PE classroom. The research found that several challenges exist including the recruitment of qualified teachers, difficulties with facilities and efforts needed to encourage students who were reluctant to participate. This research shows that social connections with friends and classmates were crucial in the enjoyment of physical activity. This is closely linked with tu akangateitei (respect), which students believed should be shown to the teacher and others when participating. Additionally, self-efficacy was a large contributing factor to participation and enjoyment, with girls often perceiving they lacked in ability. A prevailing hegemonic masculinity influenced the behaviours of boys in the classroom, with some sports having the potential to threaten culturally defined masculinities. For empowerment to be culturally relevant within the PE classroom in Rarotonga, focusing on inclusion and support within activities that do not always focus on physical capability is essential. The inclusion of vaka and other cultural games in the curriculum is fundamental to ensuring local values are maintained and perpetuated.Item A genealogical examination of curriculum-assessment as governmentality in Aotearoa New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education at Massey University, Manawatū Campus New Zealand(Massey University, 2020) O'Neill, Anne-MarieThis doctoral thesis with four publications examines the implementation of curriculum and assessment, as globally-driven standards-based reform (SBR) in Aotearoa New Zealand (ANZ). Drawing on Michel Foucault’s ‘toolbox’ and his genealogical methodology, it traces and contextualises the discursive basis of curriculum-assessment as neoliberal governmentality policies. From 1989, a policy chronology spanning three governments, analyses how governmentality inserts economics into the management of people, society and governance. As a rationalisation regime, curriculum-assessment facilitated economic efficiencies and the achievement of official objectives by enabling ‘things’, people and the future to be steered in certain ways. Governmentality policies also nurture the making of particular kinds of people who will to support official objectives. Comprising four key chapters, the thesis details the discursive ‘beginnings’ and emergence of an assessment-driven curriculum intended to boost ANZ’s global competitiveness. The failure of teacher-implemented national standards to produce reliable measurement by 1999, enabled the implementation of highly interventionist policies during the 2000s. A standardised curriculum and data-driven teaching strengthened schools as centres of calculation. The genealogy then examines two curriculum programmes designed to increase achievement and make people more self-governing and responsible. A school-parent literacy partnership (2004) taught parent-teachers to boost children’s learning through home activities. Similarly, assessment change through National Standards (2011) nurtured responsible, future-focused and calculative learners and parents. Increasing the educational outcomes of the population was part of increasing its overall health, welfare and productivity. The study illustrates how personal responsibility is now the main technique for developing more enterprising, self-governing and calculative individuals under governmentality. These biopolitical programmes, nurture desire in people to ‘freely’ re-make their bodies, skills, aspirations, emotions and living practices aligned to preferred models of the individual, culture and social relations. This involves re-moralising one’s inner life, and changing relationships with selves, families and the state. The study maps how governmentality commodifies and economises bodies and minds in the service of economic government. It confirms the usefulness of genealogically examining governmentality through this deeper, multidimensional lens and its ‘interpretative analytics’. This approach enables the uncovering of the politico-economic and cultural-socio purposes of education policy under neoliberalism.Item A trial of the effective lifelong learning inventory (ELLI) : a case study : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education (EdD) at Massey University, Manawatū(Massey University, 2018) Hyett, Maureen MargaretThe purpose of education is to prepare learners for the world they are going to live in. Education should actively support learners to develop the capabilities they need to engage productively with the difficult and challenging problems that are part of today’s world. The Effective Lifelong Learning Inventory (ELLI) is a programme designed to assist in the development and measurement of the learning dispositions of: strategic awareness, changing and learning, meaning making, creativity, critical curiosity, learning relationships and resilience. This thesis has taken a case study approach to explore the process of the trial of ELLI within one urban secondary school. The introduction of the tool actively supported the developing learning culture of the students and the learning culture of the staff. Drawing on the perspectives of both staff and students and unpacking the difficulties associated with the implementation, this thesis analyses the process involved in trialling the tool. To document the trial process, data were collected from observations of all meetings and presentations, and interviews with both the teachers and students involved in the trial. The reasons the school undertook the trial were explored, through interviews with the principal and teachers, by examining the culture of learning and the professional learning history in the school. The GPILSEO model for sustainability of school change was used to examine the key factors of goals, pedagogy, institutions, leadership, spread, evidence and ownership of the trial process. The impact of the trial process on students was explored by examining their academic results, their ELLI profiles and listening to the students.Item The social context and the relevancy of nursing curricula : a thesis ... for the degree of M.A. (Soc. Sc.) in Nursing at Massey University(Massey University, 1981) Idour, Margaret GladysA study based on a perception of nursing as a socially prescribed service, initiated and developed to assist a society to care for members with some inability to maintain self-care. It is argued that, to fulfil its purpose, nursing has an ongoing need to identify and adapt to the changing social realities of a society. 'Social realities' have been defined as the actual conditions, pressures, disabilities and abilities, limitations and resources that exist in the lifespace of people and form the environment within which nursing practises. A system approach was adopted since it provides for the identification as well as the solution of problems. As a first step a theoretical framework, the 'triadic nursing model' was developed to delineate the key issues nursing has to contend with in contemporary societies. Next, from the operative component of the triadic nursing model an educational tool, with a system approach, named the 'curriculum relevancy process' (CRT) was developed. CRP, defined as an information-seeking, problem solving, and evaluative process, has three phases. Only the first or information-seeking phase of CRP has been activated, and, moreover, further elaborated to form an information system or process. Two main activities were undertaken to gain information about contemporary social realities and resultant disorders. To define the social context in which nursing practises an examination was made of: - dominant trends and problems; - the effects of contemporary social realities on social institutions, particularly the family; - changing patterns of ill-health; - the management of technology; and the clarification of values in an age of degenerative and man-made disease. From this review it was noted that major issues of today included the problems of rapid and persistent change, and its effects on social institutions and individuals. As well, diseases associated with increasing urbanisation, industrial and technological developments, mobile populations, and the hazards of pollution were found to be prominent. The rapidly escalating costs of health care was also emphasised, and the need to clarify values in order to make optimal choices in the use of available resources. The need for individuals, groups, and societies to have their self-care abilities promoted was also stressed. The second, and more specific activity, was the use of the information system to focus on the social context in which nursing functions in NZ. For this purpose, information was sought from both voluntary and official sources. The need for broader information about a society's socio-health and nursing needs and problems has been stressed as a basic requirement for maximizing curricular choices. Particular emphasis has been given to the collection of information from the 'mass media' since it provides perceptions of socio-health needs closer to the grass-roots of society. Characteristics of data collected from the mass media showed that 33% of items were related to specific health problems. Problems of most concern were alcoholism, mental ill-health, inadequate health care knowledge, chronic disorders associated with genetic, pathological, and traumatic incidents, drug addiction, and increasing sexually transmitted disease. Twenty-six percent of items related to family issues including delinquency in children and adolescents, stress due to psychosocio-economic issues, children-at-risk through abuse, accidents, and marital issues, assaults in the family, and stress due to weakened kinship ties and communication problems. Twenty-eight and one half % of items affected the community in general. Over 52% of this class related to some concern about inadequate and/or inappropriate health services. Alienation, reduced social exchange, particularly for the elderly, and suicide incidents were also of considerable concern. Twelve and one half % of items dealt with environmental problems such as exploitation of natural resources, industrial/technological hazards, traffic congestion and accidents. Based on the priority of socio-health needs shown above relevant curricula for NZ nurses would be concerned with: - the degenerative disorders of an ageing population in an increasingly industrial society; - behavioural disorders such as alcoholism, drug dependency, smoking, wrong dietary habits, and trauma associated with behavioural and other 'life-style disease; - the problems of the basic social unit, the family; - the care of the frail elderly; the physically/mentally disabled (genetic and pathological). - and the changing social patterns of relationships. For the consumers of nursing curricula - clients, students, and society-one implication drawn is that there is urgent need to increase the level of responsibility for health care. And amongst the recommendations it is stressed that, as the use of the 'self' in relating to and caring for others is so vital, the development of good interpersonal skills is essential.Item Improving a playcentre science programme through action research : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the degree of Master of Educational Administration at Massey University(Massey University, 1993) Jordan, Barbara JeanetteThis is a study of the process of improvement of a science programme provided in a playcentre. In a project using action research methodology with one third of the adults staffing the playcentre, during one term, the science programme in the centre was considerably improved, on measures of dialogues with the children, and of planning activities specifically for science. The staff members, mothers in the playcentre, reported increased confidence in talking with children about science topics, and a significant change in their interaction patterns both with their own families and with other children in the playcentre science programme. The action research methodology was found to be a particularly helpful one in supporting the group of parents in improving their centre's science programme.Item Middle school students' experiences and perceptions of educational decision making : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master in Education at Massey University, New Zealand(Massey University, 2016) Bonney, IonaThis descriptive case study investigated student perceptions and experience of choosing option subjects in a stand-alone middle school environment. The focus was on students making subject-choice decisions in preparation for their following year of school. A review of recent literature relevant to adolescent educational decision making was undertaken and a gap in research using student voice in the middle school years was identified. Students in Years 8, 9 and 10 were surveyed to gain an overview of subject choice experiences at the school, and more in depth insights were shared in focus group interviews. Parents/caregivers of interviewed students, and school staff were surveyed to triangulate data from students. Reviews of relevant school and government documents contextualised the students’ subject choice environment. Quantitative data were analysed using SPSS software to identify response trends and relationships between variables. Qualitative data were analysed using a priori codes derived from research literature and emerging in initial data analysis. Findings were consistent with established research indicating both individual and school structural factors influence subject-choice decision making. New issues emerged related to the provision of advice and support for students making subject choices and developing future study plans. Implications for supporting students in subject-choice decision making and how parents/caregivers, school staff and school systems can be assisted to better respond to student needs in a middle school setting are delineated.Item Subject content knowledge in early childhood curriculum and pedagogy : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education (Early Years) at Massey University(Massey University, 2002) Hedges, HelenIn primary and secondary teaching, subject knowledge is deemed a critical aspect of teachers' knowledge base and curricula documents. However, a common feature of early childhood education is an underemphasis of the subject content knowledge of teachers and children. Teacher beliefs have been established as perhaps the most important determinant of quality teaching and learning interactions and teacher professional growth (Kagan, 1992a). Underpinned by contemporary sociocultural theory and an interpretivist methodology, this thesis explores the beliefs of teachers, parents and four-year-old children in one public kindergarten about subject knowledge, and the influence of these beliefs on the curriculum and pedagogy children experience. The beliefs held are explored through the mechanism of a shared social and cultural event, an excursion, as a framework for the study. Teachers and parents expressed clear beliefs about the importance of subject content knowledge. Children's beliefs were also revealed implicitly through their interactions, and supported the adults' views. However, subject knowledge was underemphasised in the majority of teaching interactions unrelated to the excursion and in curriculum documentation within the kindergarten. Yet the evidence supports that children's thirst for subject content knowledge was a motivational linchpin in their socially-constructed and inquiry-based learning experiences. The meaningful responses of the teachers were crucial to positive learning outcomes and were based on their own professional knowledge of subject content, pedagogical approaches consistent with early childhood philosophy, and the children as learners. The study's findings are analysed from two perspectives. Firstly, using four themes as a conceptual framework, categories of teacher knowledge are explored for their construct validity in early childhood education. Secondly, the findings of the study are interpreted in relation to sociocultural theory. The conclusion argues for enhanced awareness of subject knowledge in early childhood learning, teaching and curriculum in Aotearoa/New Zealand. While maintaining a play-based and integrated philosophy, the subject knowledge of both teachers and children requires more explicit attention. Teachers' subject knowledge is crucial for extending children's learning. There is potential for inquiry and reflection on beliefs and practices with regard to subject knowledge within sociocultural notions of learning communities.Item 'Mat weaving' : factors influencing the implementation of Te Whāriki : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education at Massey University(Massey University, 2000) Lidington, TraceyThis study investigates the kinds of professional development delivery appropriate to the early childhood sector in New Zealand. The study centres around 15 educators from kindergarten, childcare, playcentre, and Barnardos family daycare who participated in a professional development programme to assist them to implement the national curriculum document Te Whāriki: Draft Guidelines for Developmentally Appropriate Programmes in Early Childhood Services (Ministry of Education, 1993). The importance of such a study rests in the need for government funding for professional development to be used to benefit all stakeholders. Three delivery models using a consultancy approach to professional development were compared in this study. The delivery models were particular to this study and originated from overseas research and a small amount of anecdotal information about past early childhood professional development methodology in New Zealand. The researcher's knowledge of the diverse needs within the early childhood sector also contributed to the development of the delivery models. The delivery models used for this study were as follows: 1. An in-centre based delivery model consisting of representatives from the same-service-type. Participants were involved in a combination of in-service courses and external support opportunities; 2. An individual based delivery model consisting of representatives from mixed-service-types involving in-service courses only; 3. An individual based delivery model consisting of representatives from mixed-service-types involving participants in a combination of in-service courses and external support opportunities. The study compares the effectiveness of the three delivery models as revealed through the journal recordings of 15 participants, and interviews involving three journal writers. Delivery models with external support were found to be effective however, the study's findings suggest that participant reflection did not always lead to implementation. A model was therefore developed to demonstrate the change process for educators as a consequence of professional development. Particular note was taken regarding the influence of two variables (a) participant qualifications, and (b) service-type, on participants' ability to move through the model sequence and to produce outcomes. In addition to these variables, other variables were also found to have a strong influence. These were: (a) service support; (b) prior knowledge of Te Whāriki; (c) existing systems for observation, planning and evaluation; and (d) participant motivation.Item Pre-service education in teaching children with special abilities at primary school level : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education at Massey University(Massey University, 1995) Taylor, ShirleyThis study explored a variety of ways in which student teachers were being educated to teach children with special abilities (CWSA) in primary schools. It also considered factors and rationales which guided or limited the provision of courses in regard to these children. A survey of current provisions in New Zealand was carried out. Questionnaires were sent to six Colleges/Schools of Education and follow-up interviews were conducted at three of them. A search of the literature combined with personal correspondence sought specific examples of provisions overseas. Information was gathered on: • New Zealand courses which educated students about CWSA • rationales guiding these courses • factors limiting the provision of courses on CWSA • specific examples of overseas courses The study found that individual Colleges/Schools of Education in New Zealand teach students about children with special abilities in differing ways. Some staff considered it appropriate that students learn about this topic in the context of discussing individual differences. Others believed in the need to focus more specifically on children with special abilities. Rationales guiding the provision of courses mainly centred on the need for student teachers to learn how to cater for children with special abilities in mixed ability classrooms. Limitations to how much time could be devoted to doing this were mainly attributed to ever-increasing demands to include new areas of content, in primary pre-service programmes. CWSA courses in New Zealand had much in common with courses provided overseas. They were generally short-term and optional, were similar in content and placed near the end of training programmes. Practical teaching components featured more in the overseas courses. Information from this study was combined with information from the literature review in order to critically evaluate how, and to what degree, pre-service education on children with special abilities could be delivered to students. Principles of sound practice were formulated. These principles related to programme structure, course content and delivery and the importance of including a consideration of the needs of children with special abilites in pre-service programmes. Based on these principles, recommendations were made for future practice and further research. They included ongoing professional development, evaluation of the effects of differing pre-service provisions on classroom practice, and the need for research to ascertain how teachers can best be trained in recognising and catering for Maori children with special abilities. The conclusion drawn from the research was that all students should receive education about teaching children with special abilities. Presently in New Zealand the amount they receive is small. In particular, emphasis on practical experience with children with special abilities is limited. However, there are encouraging signs such as increasing interest shown by students in undertaking CWSA courses and enthusiasm of some staff members within Colleges/Schools of Education to provide further courses on the topic.