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    Women and training : a critical analysis : a thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1998) Battleday, Suzanne
    From the point of view of its implications for women, this thesis critically investigates the official discourse of training in New Zealand in the late 1980s and 1990s, and explores its effects within the Polytechnic sector. The more theoretical side of the project involves discussing the changing meanings of 'training' and its entangled relationship with 'education'. I then conduct a thorough examination of the key statement of the new training discourse - Education for the Twenty-first Century - and give a twofold account of its structure and meaning. One part of this discourse is oriented towards social pluralism and equity, but this strand is undercut by the dominant 'human capital' perspective which ultimately holds little prospect for real advance in women's training and labour market situation. The more empirical dimension of the thesis involves a quantitative analysis of enrolment statistics, a discourse analysis of Polytechnic reports, and a questionnaire/interview schedule with senior staff within one Polytechnic. Overall, there is little evidence that government strategy and ideology are contested within Polytechnics, and whilst women's participation rates may be buoyant, the content of their training courses and the consequent image of what sort of life women make for themselves could be seen as surprisingly traditional. At all levels of the work, I try to highlight important indications of progress or contradiction, where they exist. But on the whole, the sobering thought emerging from the thesis is that there is still a long way to go for a properly non-sexist training agenda.
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    Ideology and policy in the history of New Zealand technical education 1900-1930 : a thesis submitted to the Department of Education, Massey University ... for the degree of Master of Arts
    (Massey University, 1984) Gordon, Liz
    This thesis is a study of historical aspects of New Zealand state education policies. Within the neo-Marxist tradition of the sociology of education, there has recently been much debate over the need to re-interpret the historical development of state education policies. This trend stems from a perceived breakdown in the liberal foundations of education in the past decade. This work is concerned with developing a historically and sociologically adequate framework for analysing aspects of state policy in education, and using this framework to explore and re-interpret selected policies in particular periods.
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    Literacy and language skills in the new vocational training environment : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (Social Sciences) at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1996) Sutton, Alison Joy
    Significant numbers of New Zealanders do not have adequate literacy, numeracy and spoken English language skills for the demands made of them in the workplace, particularly where workplace reform initiatives have increased the quantity and sophistication of the skills required. Recent reforms in the national vocational education and training system are intended to increase participation in education and training, yet many adults with poor literacy skills never participate in post-school training and therefore may not be able to make use of these new opportunities. Industry Training Organisations (ITOs) are responsible for the design, management and delivery of training for their respective industries, and are national standards-setting bodies for the National Qualifications Framework. ITOs are therefore key stakeholders in the vocational training arena. This study evaluated the extent to which a sample of senior managers from 32 ITOs recognised literacy, numeracy and language skill levels as significant issues and the manner in which literacy skills are being incorporated into industry qualifications on the Framework. The evaluation used an enlightenment evaluation methodology to provide a policy focus to the research. Literacy, numeracy and language skills were regarded as significant by only a small of respondents, but this is likely to change when more workers participate in training and in particular when large numbers of learners are assessed against unit standards. Some ITOs have put strategies in place to support learners with limited literacy skills, but these are not adequate. There was some evidence of poor assessment practices. There was confusion about the most effective way to integrate literacy, numeracy and language skills into qualifications and the methods used were not in keeping with research on the transfer and integration of literacy skills from a training context to on-the-job performance. In order to improve the integration of these skills into the training system national policies and common definitions need to be established, supported by substantial research.
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    Technology education and industry links : an exploratory case study : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masterate in Education at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2001) O'Sullivan, Gary Christopher
    The purpose of this research is to provide an exemplar of one school's innovative approach to developing links with local industry in order to enrich its technology education programme. Investigation of the rationale and policy for having such a link is discussed and possible benefits and deficits are presented in a case study. The research has been undertaken in one school which has won national awards for its involvement in these links. This school is the focus of an exploratory and evaluative case study. A variety of procedures has been used including a document analysis, teacher and student interviews and a small questionnaire. The data has been gathered from the principal, the classroom teacher, the industry person and the fourteen children involved in the link. The technology curriculum was introduced as a compulsory part of the New Zealand curriculum framework for schools in January 1999. It was appropriate that this research should be carried out at the same time. This research also investigates the introduction of the new curriculum. Questions such as, what is technology education? and, where has it come from?, are addressed. Identified as important aspects of this new curriculum are the links to be developed with the local community which include business and industry, tertiary institutions, and local authorities. It is proposed that these links could work together to develop what is described as an "inclusive" technology curriculum. A case study of an existing school-industry link is reported. Interested parties are identified, their perceptions and the possible underlying principles behind their visions are discussed. This investigation explores the notion of an inclusive technology curriculum and discusses in the light of the case study whether it is feasible or even desirable.