Abstract
"In 2014, the New Zealand Ministry of Education presented a Summary Report of the
research conducted by the NZCER on the potential measurement of a New Zealand student’s
International Capabilities in their two final years of secondary schooling. As with most
educational reform proposals (Alghamdi, 2014; Claxton, Chambers, Powell & Lucas, 2013), the
need for an International Capabilities Framework, was justified from a national economic
standpoint, with the argument that it would enhance New Zealand’s productivity on a global
scale.
The concept of International Capabilities is not new to educational reform, however,
consensus on a concrete definition of what constitutes this term is wide and varied, using abstract
terms that are hard to quantify and measure in the classroom (Hunter, 2006; Lambert, 1996;
Reimers, 2013; Swiss Consulting Group, 2002; Shields; 2012). These definitions are often
constructed by policy makers with an economic objective, and while the aim of the educational
reform is described as facilitating a positive outcome for the student in terms of academic and
personal development, the student experience of these reforms is often sorely lacking (Sands,
Lydia, Laura & Alison, 2007). As long as student perspectives are left out of educational reforms,
these efforts will be “based on an incomplete picture of life in classrooms and schools, as well as
how that life could be improved” (Cook-Sather, 2002, p.3).
In the context of the International Capabilities Framework (NZCER, 2014) in New Zealand,
whilst student, teacher and business focus groups were consulted initially on how an
internationally capable student could present themselves, there has not been an opportunity for
students to experience the Framework, with its concrete criteria based around the New Zealand
Curriculum’s Key Competencies of Thinking; Language Symbol & Text; Managing Self; Relating to
Others; Participating and Contributing, and to give their feedback on this experience. As student
voice has not been collected, it is impossible for policy makers to know if in fact the educational
reform they are proposing is effective and relevant. Likewise, without student voice on the
experiences of International Capabilities in the classroom, teachers can neither gain a complete
picture of the needs of the students nor the strategies that best support student learning and
eventual academic success (Alghamdi, 2014).
The purpose of this thesis is to examine students’ lived experiences of a unit on
international capabilities in a Learning Languages classroom in NZ. The study aimed to gather
the lived experience of a group of Year 12 and 13 students who were learning French. The choice
of the Learning Languages curriculum as the area in which to collect student voice is appropriate,
as the literature acknowledges that learning a second or foreign language is one of the most
effective ways for students to develop cross-cultural communicative competence and an
awareness of other cultures and worldviews (Fantini, 2001; NZCER, 2014; The Royal Society of
New Zealand, 2013). Having experienced the International Capabilities Framework in the process
of a unit of work in the French classroom, the students were able to act as “expert witnesses”
(Alghamdi, 2014) in identifying effective instructional practices to help teachers adapt their
practice and context to the Framework. Likewise, the collection of student voice will help bridge
the gaps in the reform proposed, with particular reference to the debate on how students should
be measured for their International Capabilities in the future"--Introduction
Date
2017
Rights
The Author
Publisher
Massey University
Description
Abstract not supplied