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    Bai shan xiao wei xian : filial piety, academic self-concept, and the academic achievement of students in New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master in Educational Psychology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2016) Wu, Cindy
    Research has long argued in favour of the influence of culture on students’ learning and achievement. New Zealand, with its recent influx of migrants and rich multicultural background, is no exception to the way in which culture can implicate how students see themselves as learners. For East Asian students, the Confucian virtue of filial piety (‘xiao’) can be a significant motivator in their academic success. Currently, there is a lack of research on the motivational qualities of filial piety in regard to the academic self-concept of students and their subsequent achievement. This study examines the relationship between filial piety, and students’ academic self-concept and academic achievement in a New Zealand intermediate school. A quantitative method of self-reporting survey was used to assess filial piety and academic self-concept from a cohort of 43 students, and was collated in conjunction with their academic achievements in Literacy (English) and Numeracy (mathematics). Regression analysis is used to examine the relationships across the variables. Results indicate that filial piety does not have a significant impact on students’ academic self-concept and their subsequent academic achievement. However, there is a consistent, positive, and significant correlation between participants’ academic self-concept across both achievement areas. These findings suggest that students’ academic self-concept can play a key role in their levels of academic achievement, and that school and home effort should focus more on encouraging the positive self-perceptions of students of all cultures within New Zealand. While filial piety does not have a statistically significant impact on students’ academic self concept and academic achievement in this study, future research is recommended with a larger sample in order to derive results that have greater representation of the New Zealand population.
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    Factors facilitating the engagement in learning of Pasifika students at intermediate school level : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education at Massey University, Albany Campus, Auckland, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2016) van Vuuren, Alet
    This study explores the engagement in learning of Pāsifika students at intermediate school level. Engagement was considered as a multi-layered, multidimensional construct, which is best viewed through an ecological, culturally based lens. The importance of teacher knowledge and understanding of critical cultural components, which are at the core of Pāsifika peoples’ values and belief systems, was highlighted. A case study was used to investigate behavioural and emotional engagement across three different ecological layers: personal, school and wider community. Participant interviews, surveys, whole class observations, and data from the school’s database illustrated the significance of shifting understandings of engagement from being uni-dimensional and within-person, to multidimensional and within communities of learning. The results of the study generated a ‘Feeding the Roots’ Model of Pasifika Student Engagement. This model illustrates how ‘static’ as opposed to ‘cyclic’ processes in a school’s ecology can act as barriers or enablers to engagement. ‘Static’ processes, identify barriers to engagement in learning, and are those communities where there is limited understanding of the value of incorporating critical cultural factors in teaching, learning and interacting with parents. In this context, Pāsifika students’ achieved lower levels of engagement in learning, and parents remained on the periphery of the school community. In contrast, ‘cyclic’ processes that facilitated engagement were environments where students and parents were included in collaborative, reciprocal communities in which critical cultural factors were a central focus. These communities were representative of teaching practices that valued collectivism, community, and reciprocity and generated higher student and parent engagement. The findings provide insights into the actions teachers can take to develop culturally appropriate and culturally responsive communities of learning. The ‘Feeding the Roots’ Model of Pasifika Student Engagement is an assessment and reflection tool teachers can use to determine whether their practices are creating higher levels of Pāsifika engagement at student, parent and school levels.
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    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, Iona
    This 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.
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    Student's conceptions of learning and self-assessment in context : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2000) Bourke, Roseanna
    This study investigates years 7 and 8 students' conceptions of learning and self-assessment and then examines these conceptions in a number of learning contexts. The study was undertaken in two phases within a sociocultural framework. The first phase used a phenomenographic approach which involved indepth phenomenographic interviews with 26 students from one school. The second phase used ethnographic methods to explore the learning and self-assessment experiences of seven students during learning activities in both school and out-of-school learning settings. Interviews and observations with these students took place over a school year period, and their teachers and parents were interviewed. The phenomenographic results indicate that students hold a range of conceptions of learning and self-assessment. The less sophisticated conceptions of learning involve learning as a process of gathering facts from the teacher or other sources (books, computers) in order to "fill up the brain". More sophisticated views of learning involve students seeing learning as understanding, identifying different ways of knowing and applying different perspectives when solving a problem. The less sophisticated conceptions of self-assessment involve learners requiring external sources such as teachers, grades, stars, stamps or stickers to confirm learning, while more sophisticated conceptions of self-assessment involve the recognition of learning through pre-established or own identified criteria, and students would measure their performance in relation to these criteria. The ethnographic phase of the study portrays how students learn and self-assess in a number of different learning contexts and settings. Specifically, the thesis identifies that both the context and the assessment practices associated with the context, play a major role in identifying how students viewed learning and, ultimately, how they approached learning tasks and the way they self-assessed their work. Out-of-school learning settings established clear guidelines for the activity, identified explicit goals for learning and encouraged a community of practice. School settings tended to encourage fragmented learning and adherence to teacher expectations, rather than students' personal goal setting. The results from this study offer insights into how students conceptualise learning and self-assessment, and how different settings and contexts impact on the learner. Learners assume different roles and responsibilities according both to the group in which they are participating and to the meaning they attribute to the task.