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    Bringing the home into school: learning and connecting through mathematics education during the time of a pandemic
    (Springer Nature B.V, 2022-05-25) Hunter J; Hunter R; Tupouniua J; Leach G
    The COVID-19 pandemic brought with it a new way of being in a changed and uncertain world. Aotearoa/New Zealand took a well-being approach and in turn, we share the positive outcomes which resulted for some low socio-economic schools and communities in relation to teacher learning and relationships with families. In this article, we report on how teachers and schools connected with diverse students and their families during the period of remote learning. We draw on the responses from 20 teachers and school leaders who participated in interviews. Following the wider government focus, schools took a well-being first approach which led to increased connections and positive home/school relationships. The results highlight how a disruptive event such as COVID-19 can also be a time to focus on strengths of diverse communities and gain insights. We demonstrate that while focusing on mathematics, teachers and school leaders gained insights related to their students’ funds of knowledge and saw opportunities for learning for students, parents, and the teachers themselves.
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    A description and evaluation of special education for backward pupils at primary and intermediate schools in New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Applied Psychology at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1977) Glass, Marjorie
    The thesis begins with a brief account of why and how special classes for backward children were instituted in New Zealand schools. There follows an outline of how special classes are currently organized: policies and procedures for the admission of pupils to special classes: goals of special education for backward children: the recruitment and training of special class teachers: the special class curriculum: specialist services available to special class teachers and children. The literature survey focuses initially on early studies comparing academic achievement and social/emotional adjustment in mildly mentally retarded children assigned to special classes and those retained in regular classes, studies which, because of inadequate and inappropriate assessment methods and a variety of uncontrolled variables, show conflicting results. The writer then reviews more recent studies which have been concerned with two main issues: societal and educational inequalities which influence the selection of pupils for special class placement and the extent to which special education merits the description "special". These two themes underlie the series of questions compiled by the writer for distribution to a 20% random sample of special class teachers at primary and intermediate schools throughout New Zealand as described in the third segment of the thesis. The questionnaire is concerned with demographic data on special class teachers and pupils and a variety of data on curricula, parent/school relations and specialist services available to special class teachers and pupils. 96% of the teachers surveyed returned completed questionnaires. Analysis of the data thus collected leads the writer to the following conclusions: disproportionate numbers of special class children are male, Maori and/or of low socio-economic status: for the majority of pupils special class placement is permanent: the average special class teacher is a woman, under 36, trained and experienced in regular class teaching but with little training and relatively brief experience in teaching backward children: since there is no curriculum designed specifically for backward children at primary and intermediate schools, teachers must rely primarily on their own resources in adapting regular curricula to the special needs of their pupils with limited assistance from organisers of special classes and educational psychologists and virtually none from the advisory service: the integration of special and regular class children, as endorsed by the Department of Education, occurs primarily in the non-academic areas of the curriculum: special class teachers succeed in meeting most of their pupils' parents for the purpose of discussing the progress of individual pupils but opportunities for parental participation in school life are apparently limited: organisers of special classes constitute the major source of professional assistance for special class teachers however the demands made of them appear to be excessive in view of their limited training and numbers. In the final segment of the thesis the writer returns to the two issues which motivated her survey and concludes that, for many New Zealand children, special class placement represents confirmation of their inferior status within the larger society and that special education for backward children at primary and intermediate levels in New Zealand schools does not appear to merit the description "special".
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    Children's perceptions of their writing : the knowledge, strategies, attributions, and attitudes children bring to writing : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2002) Willcocks, Madelaine Ruth Armstrong
    Writing is a significant cognitive, educational, personal, and social activity. Children's perceptions of their writing impact significantly on their learning, and are clearly influenced by the instructional programmes and environments they encounter. Children's development as writers during their middle primary school years (years four to six) is significantly under- researched. Four key areas of children's perceptions are of interest to this study: knowledge, strategies, attributions, and attitudes. Consequently, this study seeks to understand children's perceptions of their writing, and the contexts within which these perceptions are developed. A six week ethnographic case study was undertaken, involving eight children and two teachers in one school. The data collection methods of participant observation, interviews, 'think alouds', and document analysis were used to gain a rich understanding of children's perceptions. Data was analysed and validated using qualitative methods. The findings show that children hold diverse and idiosyncratic global perceptions. Children demonstrate a range of knowledge and strategies that they bring to their writing. They are able to describe both common and novel attributions for their successes and failures. Children's attitudes are predictably diverse, and show a strong link with classroom programmes and environments. While children's perceptions are clearly influenced by the classroom programme and environment, this alone does not account for the uniqueness of children's perceptions. While the two teachers in this study offered different instructional experiences, both see metacognition and self-management as having an important role in children's learning. These findings suggest that knowledge and strategy use are of equal importance to middle primary children. Instructional practices loosely based on a cognitive apprenticeship model may be effective in making writing a knowledgeable, strategic, social, and authentic activity. The current curriculum inadequately conceptualises genre and pays only minimal attention to children's development of genre knowledge. This study recommends that longitudinal research into the development of writing expertise in the middle primary years is needed.
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    Rethinking assessment : the challenging issues for schools and teachers : a thesis submitted as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Educational Administration, Massey University, Albany
    (Massey University, 1998) Hill, Jan
    This thesis examines how four urban primary schools used changes to their assessment practices as a means to improve the learning opportunities and outcomes of their students. In 1993, a new national curriculum was introduced into New Zealand schools and this was accompanied by legislation and guidelines mandating new requirements in assessment. These reforms were occurring against a backdrop of burgeoning developments in assessment internationally. The study documents how the four schools responded to the new demands, to the challenges posed by alternative approaches to assessment and how they were able to incorporate and build on their previous assessment practices. Action research was selected as the methodology and was used both by the schools and the researcher on two distinct yet overlapping levels. lt gave the schools the opportunity to take ownership of the issues that emerged and greater control over the research process. The data gathering strategies woven into the programme included group discussions, individual interviews, observations, questionnaires, document analysis and a Help Desk which formalised contact with the schools between school-based visits and workshops and provided the researcher with valuable ongoing insights into the work of the schools. The thesis incorporates an analysis of methodological issues relating to collaboration, the tension between first and second order domains of action research and difficulties the schools experienced in relation to the action research process itself. The data revealed a number of emerging themes. Summative rather than formative assessment practices dominated the aspects of assessment the schools selected to work on as a result of their baseline data collection. All of the schools put new school-wide recording systems in place. This had the most impact on the practices of the teachers who, in the past, had assessed in an ad hoc way, often based on 'gut reaction'. For many teachers, it was first time they had investigated and understood assessment theory. The data also highlighted that many do not have a level of technical assessment expertise that allows then to design basic assessment tasks that they know to be valid measures or to analyse and use the results with confidence. Although the common orientation of the teachers was towards a learner-centred philosophy, there is a considerable gap between theory and practice. Rethinking assessment practices provided some of the teachers with a vehicle for shifting the locus of control in their classrooms. Traditional reporting practices were also challenged and possibilities emerged for new assessment partnerships with parents. For some teachers, giving honest feedback to students and parents, in particular, poses a dilemma. The transfer of assessment information both within and between schools remains a possible barrier to student achievement. The thesis concludes that, overall, the curriculum and assessment changes appear to have had a positive impact on the learning and teaching programmes in the four schools, but that much professional development work remains to be done if both contemporary assessment theory and policy are to translate into classroom practice.
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    School improvement : the route taken by an urban primary school in the Republic of Maldives : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2007) Didi, Ahmed Ali
    The primary and secondary schools in the Maldives serve over one third of the total population. Having achieved universalization of primary education, one of the challenges of the education system now is to improve the quality of primary education. Studies done in the past, to explore quality in primary education, have been quantitative in nature, telling only part of the story when it comes to describing improvement efforts. Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore in detail how a primary school in an urban setting of the Maldives deals with school improvement efforts. A qualitative case study, informed by the interpretivist research paradigm, was used to explore this issue. One of the primary schools in Male' was purposefully selected for this study and 48 participants took part, of whom thirteen were students. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, participant observations, document reviews and administering of questionnaires. The findings of this study suggest that there were three major dimensions or three interrelated, key concepts that together undergirded the improvement efforts in the school. They are change, leadership and culture. In action-oriented terms, these dimensions or concepts translated into managing change, attending to specific leader actions and influencing the school's culture, respectively, reflecting six themes of school improvement. They are: a focus on change, a focus on students, a teaching learning focus, investing in staff, strong leadership by the head and school culture. In addition to these, it was noted that these themes emerged as having significance to the school's improvement efforts against the backdrop of many stakeholder influences and contextual factors. In essence, the findings of this study portray the micro-level realities of the working of a school that is consciously and continuously striving for improving educational practice. In conclusion to the study, research implications and areas for further research have been identified that would inform educational policy and practice in the Republic of Maldives.