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    Enhancing Rangatahi Wellbeing in Secondary Education Through Implementation of the Meke Meter™
    (Springer Nature on behalf of the New Zealand Association for Research in Education, 2025-06-02) Armstrong D; Jagroop-Dearing A; Forrest RH
    Adolescent wellbeing is crucial, yet secondary schools face challenges in effectively addressing it. The Meke Meter™, an indigenous self-reflection tool, shows promise in promoting wellbeing, but its application in secondary schools remains unexplored. This study investigates the suitability and efficacy of the Meke Meter™ in capturing the self-evaluated wellbeing of rangatahi (adolescents) in Aotearoa New Zealand secondary schools. A qualitative multiple case study design was employed, involving two case studies: one in a mainstream co-educational school using the paper-based Meke Meter™, and another in an alternative education program using the online version. Data collection involved questionnaires for students and teachers, analysed through inductive thematic analysis and appreciative inquiry. Both students and teachers found the Meke Meter™ appealing and valuable for self-reflection and goal-setting. The tool’s ease of use, visual design, and alignment with the curriculum were highlighted. It facilitated pastoral care, student voice, and co-construction of learning. However, challenges in data tracking and the need for clearer explanations and additional resources were identified. The Meke Meter™ shows promise in promoting rangatahi wellbeing in secondary schools. Future development should focus on a mobile app with goal-setting, gamification, and notification features. Comprehensive consultation with stakeholders is crucial to ensure cultural safety and effectiveness.
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    Placemaking for tenant wellbeing: Exploring the decision-making of public and community housing providers in Aotearoa New Zealand
    (Elsevier Ltd, 2025-06) Witten K; Olin CV; Logan A; Chisholm E; Randal E; Howden-Chapman P; Leigh L
    In addition to housing tenants, many public and community housing providers engage in placemaking to foster tenants’ connections to people and place. This paper reports on the placemaking practices of four community housing providers and two urban regeneration programmes in Aotearoa New Zealand. Twenty-four semi-structured interviews were conducted with provider staff – including those leading strategy, community development, tenancy management, planning and design efforts – to investigate the placemaking strategies adopted by providers and the values, priorities and investment tensions that underpin their decision-making. Common placemaking strategies included site selection to secure tenants’ locational access to community services and amenities, and designing shared ‘bump spaces’ into housing complexes to encourage neighbourly encounters between tenants. Efforts to foster a sense of community through increased stability and diversity of households were hindered by a predominance of single-person units in older housing developments, and by funding and regulatory constraints. Māori, the Indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand, comprise approximately half of all public housing tenants and many have deep intergenerational connections to place. Where providers were engaging with Māori, early steps had been taken to incorporate cultural landscapes and values into placemaking initiatives; such practices were more evident in urban regeneration than community housing provider developments, enabled by longer-term planning horizons, broader development mandates and partnerships with iwi (Māori tribes) and local government. Nonetheless, placemaking aspirations of all providers were tethered to resource constraints and investment trade-offs, with any social infrastructure provision weighed up against the value of providing one more home instead.
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    Supporting wellbeing: Perspectives of university work-integrated learning students
    (Work-Integrated Learning New Zealand (WILNZ), 2025-03-01) Hay K; Fleming J; Fleming J; Hay K
    The health of students engaging in work-integrated learning (WIL) should be a key focus of universities. WIL students encounter various personal, social, and financial pressures which impact their wellbeing, which are often different from those of an on-campus student or a workplace employee. The aim of the research was to explore student perspectives of the impact of WIL on their wellbeing, and strategies for supporting wellbeing. Using a qualitative approach, data was collected from 16 students across four disciplines and three New Zealand universities. Wellbeing is a visible construct, and this was illustrated in the participants’ ability to articulate their understanding of wellbeing. Students also emphasized that WIL experiences impact wellbeing both positively and negatively. Multiple strategies contribute to enhancing their wellbeing and these are summarized as recommendations for students, host organizations, universities, and the government. Clearly, WIL wellbeing is the responsibility of all stakeholders in the WIL enterprise.
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    Editorial: Wellbeing and work-integrated learning
    (Work-Integrated Learning New Zealand, 2025-02-28) Hay K; Fleming J; Fleming J; Hay K
    Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have important responsibilities for the duty of care of their students, and to ensure the wellbeing of students is kept front and center of curriculum and institutional developments. While the focus has primarily been on physical campuses, it is critical that these responsibilities extend to off campus activities, such as work-integrated learning (WIL). This special issue includes 11 articles focusing on the wellbeing of WIL students, with many authors drawing on empirical research. Key themes include students’ understanding of WIL wellbeing; students’ experiences of WIL and wellbeing; strategies for preparing WIL students to support wellbeing; understanding the wellbeing needs of diverse WIL students; and the important role of workplace supervisors in supporting WIL wellbeing. Several authors amplify the voices of students and all share thought-provoking teaching and curriculum strategies. All WIL stakeholders have a responsibility to support the learning success and wellbeing of students.
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    The impact of Covid-19 on employee job insecurity andwellbeing: a conservation of resources theory approach
    (Taylor and Francis Group on behalf of the Royal Society of New Zealand, 2025-02-10) Haar J; Brougham D; Ghafoor A
    Job insecurity is detrimental to employee wellbeing. However, we understand little about how unforeseen external shocks, such as Covid-19, might shape these perceptions. We explore how job changes during the Covid-19 lockdown notification period impacted New Zealand employees’ wellbeing (anxiety, depression, life satisfaction, happiness), hypothesising that these changes heightened job insecurity, leading to poorer wellbeing, using Conservation of Resources (COR) theory. Using data from 628 employees, we explore differences in outcomes between pre- and post-lockdown notification respondents and find non-significant differences in wellbeing and job insecurity, but significant increases in Covid-19 job changes. We then used a follow-up survey on N = 323 employees and compared relationships one month later into lockdown using change-over-time analysis. Here, we find relatively stable wellbeing with only life satisfaction dropping significantly, with Covid-19 job changes increasing significantly. Structural equation modelling shows that Covid-19 job changes influence job insecurity, which, in turn, influences wellbeing, and this holds for both data sets, including the change-over-time data. Using COR Principles, we discuss that in such uncontrollable and unforeseeable external events, employees adopt a defensive mode, acknowledging job changes due to Covid-19 but resisting job insecurity perceptions.
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    Subjective well-being in New Zealand teachers : an examination of the role of psychological capital : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Educational Psychology, Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2015) Soykan, Andrea
    This study examines the relationship between psychological capital and well-being in a sample of 1,502 teachers. Teaching has been consistently identified as one of the most stressful occupations, a situation that inherently raises questions about teacher wellbeing. This study explores the extent to which psychological capital can act as a protective factor against stress and also examines the role of appraisal and coping in the stress-strain relationship. Teachers across New Zealand and from a range of teaching levels completed surveys measuring psychological capital, challenge and threat appraisal, task-focussed and emotion-focussed coping, affect, perceived stress, and life satisfaction. Data analysis identified direct and indirect effects of psychological capital on outcome measures of wellbeing and stress. Teachers with higher levels of psychological capital reported higher levels of well-being and lower levels of stress. Psychological capital was positively related to life satisfaction (r = .47, p <.01) and positive affect (r = .63, p <.01), and negatively related to perceived stress (r = -.66, p <.01) and negative affect (r = -.61, p <.01). In addition, psychological capital was a significant predictor of outcome measures. Psychological capital was also positively related to challenge appraisal and task-focussed coping, and negatively related to threat appraisal and emotion-focussed coping. Task-focussed coping was found to mediate the relationship between challenge appraisal and measures of well-being. Teachers high in psychological capital were more likely to appraise a situation as a challenge than a threat, and as a partial mediator, task-focussed coping explained some of the relationship between challenge appraisal and well-being.
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    Wairua and wellbeing : exploratory perspectives from wahine Maori : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for a Master of Science in Psychology at Massey University, Albany Campus, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2015) Ripikoi, Paulette
    There are significant health disparities between Māori (Indigenous people of New Zealand) and non-Māori in Aotearoa (New Zealand). Initiatives to address these issues include (re)connection to Te Ao Māori (Māori world view) and the integration of Māori health perspectives within the New Zealand health system. Although wairua (Māori spirituality) is recognised as being crucial to the oranga (wellbeing) of Māori, it is not very well understood and there is little research on how wairua is manifested within this context. The aim of this research was to enhance the understanding of wairua and highlight its importance to the wellbeing of Māori wāhine (Māori women). Guided by a kaupapa Māori (Māori cultural ideologies) approach, this research utilises narrative inquiry to explore the perspectives of eight wāhine Māori about what wairua means to them and their wellbeing, and how it is actualised in their daily lives in contemporary Aotearoa. These wāhine have all participated in a mana wahine (Māori feminist discourse, authority, influence, power of women) programme designed to enhance the wairua of wāhine by (re) connecting them to Te Ao Māori. Thematic analysis was employed identifying three key themes; wairua, oranga and mana wahine. Further analysis revealed that these three main themes can be understood as the connection to: Wairua, Tāngata (people), Whenua (land), Tūpuna (ancestors) and Atua (God/deities). This connection was described by the participants as vital to their wellbeing through providing a sense of belonging, strength, self-determination, support, resilience, stability, empowerment, cultural identity, self-respect, motivation, guidance, and self-efficacy. Wairua was described as a spiritual essence, an intuitive knowing, a higher power or Atua. Access to wairua was through cosmology narratives and tikanga (customs) such as karakia (prayer), karanga (ceremonial call), raranga (weaving) and waiata (singing). The purpose of this research was to explore Māori perspectives of wellbeing and enhance cultural understanding. Implications for the findings advocate (re)connection to Te Ao Māori and the integration of traditional knowledge with medical science within Māori mental health services as pathways to positive health outcomes for tāngata whaiora (Māori mental health service users). While recognising the diversity of Māori in their desire to participate in Te Ao Māori, the choice to accessing it should still be made available.
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    A two part story : the impact of a culturally responsive working environment on wellbeing; and the job attitudes and factors of retention for indigenous employees : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management in Human Resource Management at Massey University, Turitea campus, Aotearoa-New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2015) Hooker, Raiha Rachael Joy
    The purpose of this research is twofold. (1) to highlight the influence a culturally responsive working environment has on Maori employees in New Zealand/Aotearoa and how this culturally-based environment can influence the wellbeing of employees; and (2) investigates how support from their supervisor and employee satisfaction with multiple work factors influences their job attitudes, job search behaviours and related factors in their intention to quit that organisation. A particular focus is on how having support for cultural values such as whanaungatanga (reciprocal relationships), manaakitanga (respect, prestige, status), and mauri (life principle, essential quality and vitality of a being) impacts Maori employees’ mental health and cultural wellbeing. An online survey was sent to a wide network of working Maori requesting consideration, as well as asking participants to forward the survey on to their own contacts. Data was collected in two waves with a second survey sent a week or two after the first survey was completed. Overall 113 participants completed both surveys (matching survey one and two responses). Results of this study suggests that support from the supervisor help form an organisational culture that in turn creates a culturally responsive working environment, which then has a beneficial influence on the mental health and cultural wellbeing of Maori employees. Additionally, support from the supervisor was found to be positively related to all four satisfaction dimensions (supervisor, co-worker, job and pay) which in turn related to search behaviours and ultimately intentions to leave their organisation. Ultimately, supervisor and job satisfaction were found to be key predictors of turnover intentions.
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    Ageing well at different standards of living : experiences of older people : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2015) Moynahan, Zoë
    Current approaches to ageing are concerned with promoting positive ageing, and messages around how best to age are prominent in contemporary society. However, there has been debate regarding whether these models foster a positive experience in later life or serve to discriminate and disempower those older people who are unable to meet the standards of positive ageing. One criticism is that promoting positive ageing ignores the many inequalities within society that impact on older people’s ability to age in these socially acceptable ways. In addition, these models may fail to capture what is important to older people themselves, instead emphasising characteristics which are more concerned with the economic implications of an ageing population. The present study addressed these criticisms by examining what older people themselves value as important in order to age well, within the material conditions they are situated. Using an interpretative phenomenological approach, transcripts from eight participants over the age of 79 were analysed. The participants in this study valued continuity, having a sense of security, being able to engage in reciprocal relationships, and being able to live within their means. While some of these aspects of later life were valued by all the participants in similar ways, others were clearly impacted by the participant’s standards of living. This finding highlights the need to take into account inequalities in society when focusing on older peoples experiences of later life.