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    Parent-teacher relationships at a secondary school : parent and teacher perceptions of their own and each other's role in the functioning of the school : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education, Department of Education, Massey University
    (Massey University, 1991) Naidoo, Nadas Narismaloo
    This study compare the perceptions of parents and teachers on parent-teacher relationships at a secondary school. A random sample of 320 parents were drawn on the basis of their ethnic classification. All the teachers at the school participated in the study. The findings were analysed by comparing: (1) The total parent responses with the teacher responses. (2) Within the parent group according to ethnicity and (3) within the parent group according to socio-economic status. The results indicate that there was a general agreement between and within the groups but also some important differences concerning how they perceive their own and each others' role within the school. One of the most significant findings was that the teachers' willingness to participate in the specified school activities was lower than their actual involvement. The opposite result was obtained for the parents. The reason for this could be traced to the parents' and teachers' attitudes. A survey and analysis of their attitudes are also included. It was generally concluded that although the school structures are efficient there needs to be an evaluation of their effectiveness in realising the objectives they were designed to achieve.
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    The nature of engaged teaching in New Zealand secondary schools : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Educational Psychology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2014) Patterson, Camille
    The nature of engaged teaching in New Zealand, was examined by interviewing a selection of secondary school teachers working in New Zealand schools. Teachers’ perceptions about how they integrated social, emotional and academic learning into their practice to underpin engaged teaching and promote student wellbeing were explored. Fifteen teachers from suburban secondary schools were interviewed individually to investigate strategies for engaged teaching according to the foundations of the Engaged Teaching model (Weaver & Wilding, 2013). Statements collected from the interviews were recorded and organised around the four foundations of engaged teaching. The teachers prioritised interpersonal relationships and community, in addition to fostering connection, meaning and purpose. These teachers acknowledged cultural contexts to some extent, although this was an area for further development. In general, while many of the teachers emphasised the importance of integrating social, emotional and academic learning in engaged teaching, this terminology was unfamiliar for many of the teachers. It was concluded that overall, the foundations of engaged teaching according to the Weaver and Wilding model (2013) were useful in assisting the teachers to integrate social and emotional learning to promote student wellbeing, and this model was adapted for use in the New Zealand secondary context. Keywords: Social and emotional learning, engaged teaching, student wellbeing, secondary school
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    Improving the reading comprehension of struggling year nine and ten readers : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2012) Knowles, Hillary
    The objective of this project was to investigate to what extent metacognitive reading comprehension strategy training would influence the reading comprehension growth of a group of struggling Year Nine and Ten readers in a low decile New Zealand secondary school. The metacognitive comprehension strategy training framework Transactional Strategies Instruction (TSI) provided the theoretical basis of the project. TSI incorporates teacher-led explicit explanation and modelling of strategies as well as the guided practice of their use by students. The high levels of teacher involvement means that TSI potentially works within Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development and is therefore expected to help accelerate student comprehension growth. Developments in adolescent cognitive abilities also support comprehension growth within a TSI-style intervention. A ten week intervention which targeted four metacognitive comprehension strategies was carried out with a group of Year Nine and Ten students across two classes who had a history of reading comprehension under-achievement. The pre- and post-intervention comprehension test results demonstrated that above expected growth was achieved by many of the students as a result of the strategy training. The extent of the movement in student achievement data was significant in relation to national norms. Case study analysis of student think aloud transcriptions and class work revealed that students who accelerated their progress during the intervention were primarily aided by the explicit strategy instruction in that it transformed these students from passive decoders into active comprehenders. For students whom the intervention did not apparently work, factors which negated its success included negative attitudes towards the use of strategies and poor decoding skills. The intervention’s results suggest metacognitive reading comprehension strategy training has the potential to improve the comprehension of some underachieving adolescent readers significantly and, considering the duration of the intervention, relatively quickly.