What do communities value about their local school? : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education (Educational Administration and Leadership) at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand
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Date
2020
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Massey University
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Abstract
Numerous schools in New Zealand have suffered, in terms of roll numbers and unbalanced demographic composition, since the introduction of Tomorrow’s Schools (1989) in 1990. Thirty years on schools serving low-income communities and with higher Māori and Pasifika students continue to suffer significant roll decline and a social, economic and even racial imbalance in the demographic of their students while students of more affluent neighbourhoods may be unable to attend their local schools due to full rolls (Wylie, 2012). The purpose of this research was to study what factors influenced the communities of three schools that after experiencing plummeting rolls along with disproportionate social, economic, and racial representation, recently reversed these trends by becoming the centre of their communities with growing rolls. Since 2013 the three schools have experienced consistent roll growth and a change in their student milieu that now represents the demographics of their communities. The findings of this research align with some of the literature around school choice, the action of parents choosing a school for their child/ren to attend, and the need for a culturally responsive curriculum. A curriculum that responds to the cultures of the students and their lived realities is set to address the marginalisation of students’ cultural backgrounds that differ from the dominant. Positive relationships within the school context, the teaching of te reo Māori and the importance of school values were shared by the parent and staff group. However, there is subtle divergence in each of these areas identified between whānau and teacher voice which needs to be researched further in order to inform school leadership in the future.