Search

Teachers constantly question their own practice. Often, their questions remain unexplored. Collegial observation provides one way to see teaching differently and understand the tensions involved in incorporating new theoretical understandings into practice. Gebhard (1999) argues that conversations preceding and following such observations are critical triggers for teacher development. The questions, conversations, and observations that are the focus of this article occurred within a larger case study with teachers who taught culturally and linguistically diverse classes comprising students who were native English speakers as well as students who spoke English as an additional language. Pairs of secondary content teachers (social studies, science, and mathematics) planned, implemented, and evaluated lesson sequences with a language focus in their content area. Each pair chose one principle from language learning research to guide the design of their sequence. This article investigates the mathematics pair's use of collegial observation to explore ways of incorporating opportunities for student interaction, particularly for English language learners, in their lesson sequence. Findings suggest that such observations and conversations contribute to understanding the tensions in questioning, seeing, reimagining, and reshaping practice. What makes this observation so unusual is that New Zealand secondary schools lack a systemic collegial culture. (Contains 1 footnote.)

This paper reports on two projects which investigated graded readers (GRs) as meaningful input for learners of Japanese as a foreign language (JFL). Project One examined the intentions of six writers of Japanese GRs. A focus group interview demonstrated that the writers had a genuine communicative intent in the writing process. Project Two investigated how fourteen learners of JFL responded to the GRs produced by these writers. Most participants welcomed lexical simplification in the GRs and their think-aloud protocols indicated that they experienced an effortless reading process with the GRs. This implies that GRs can be productive reading materials for JFL reading fluency development. In the affective domain, the less proficient participants tended to react favourably to the writers' communicative intent, whereas advanced participants demonstrated negative perceptions toward reading the GRs. The paper argues that the potential of GRs as meaningful input for learners of JFL is maximized when their efficacy is explicitly taught. (Contains 2 tables, 1 figure, and 3 notes.)

Modern organisations have become more complex, less mechanistic and increasingly sensitive to rapid changes in the external environment than in previous eras. Today, executives lead employees through a maze of complexity and changing contexts. However, another group of dedicated professionals, the human resource managers and practitioners, also play a big part in shaping business success. For human resource managers, learning how to cope with a diverse range of people-centred challenges has generated a succession of workplace development initiatives aimed at aligning education and training with business strategy (Anderson 2009). In the knowledge economy, the value of workplace education and training has become a mantra for business survival. Simultaneously, in response to a requirement for change, the human resource management (HRM) profession has engaged in frequent and often inward-looking processes to re-define its own contribution, not only to the effectiveness of an enterprise but also to the individual employee and wider community. Within this evolution, in some organisations, the traditional sub-areas of HRM, such as human resource development (HRD), have gradually become detached from mainstream HRM and assumed a role quite different in both purpose and approach to from the more hegemonic notion of resources management. This paper draws insights from a group of senior HRD professionals in New Zealand to review the significance of workplace learning in a strategic context and identify the challenges the profession faces in meeting the demands of complex workplaces. The paper focuses on how HRD professionals go about aligning learning activities with business objectives--often with mixed results.

This paper addresses the question: how can e-learning be embedded in traditional universities so that it contributes to the transformation of the university? The paper examines e-learning strategies in higher education, locating the institutional context within the broader framework of national and international policy drivers which link e-learning with the achievement of strategic goals such as widening access to lifelong learning, and upskilling for the knowledge and information society. The focus will be on traditional universities i.e. universities whose main form of teaching is on-campus and face-to-face, rather than on open and distance teaching universities, which face different strategic issues in implementing e-learning. Reports on the adoption of e-learning in traditional universities indicate extensive use of e-learning to improve the quality of learning for on-campus students, but this has not yet translated into a significant increase in opportunities for lifelong learners in the workforce and those unable to attend on-campus. One vision of the future of universities is that "Virtualisation and remote working technologies will enable us to study at any university in the world, from home". However, this paper will point out that realisation of this vision of ubiquitous and lifelong access to higher education requires that a fully articulated e-learning strategy aims to have a "transformative" rather than just a "sustaining" effect on teaching functions carried out in traditional universities. In order words, rather than just facilitating universities to improve their teaching, e-learning should transform how universities currently teach. However, to achieve this transformation, universities will have to introduce strategies and policies which implement flexible academic frameworks, innovative pedagogical approaches, new forms of assessments, cross-institutional accreditation and credit transfer agreements, institutional collaboration in development and delivery, and, most crucially, commitment to equivalence of access for students on and off-campus. The insights in this paper are drawn from an action research case study involving both qualitative and quantitative approaches, utilising interviews, surveys and focus groups with stakeholders, in addition to comparative research on international best practice. The paper will review the drivers and rationales at international, national and institutional level which are leading to the development of e-learning strategies, before outlining the outcomes of a case study of e-learning strategy development in a traditional Irish university. This study examined the drivers and barriers which increase or decrease motivation to engage in e-learning, and provides some insights into the challenges of embedding e-learning in higher education. While recognising the desirability of reaching out to new students and engaging in innovative pedagogical approaches, many academic staff continue to prefer traditional lectures, and are sceptical about the potential for student learning in online settings. Extrinsic factors in terms of lack of time and support serve to decrease motivation and there are also fears of loss of academic control to central administration. The paper concludes with some observations on how university e-learning strategies must address staff concerns through capacity building, awareness raising and the establishment of effective support structures for embedding e-learning.

Evaluation research focusing on educational initiatives that impact on the learning and lives of young people must be challenged to incorporate 'student voice'. In a context of conventional evaluation models of government-led initiatives, student voice is a compelling addition, and challenges the nature of traditional forms of evaluation. It requires a student-first approach where young people actively report on their experiences, rather than being represented by others. This paper presents an evaluation that draws on large-scale 'student voice' contribution. Using the context of a mental health programme that was piloted in secondary schools in Aotearoa New Zealand, this paper explores the importance of a student voice agenda in evaluations. More than 2500 students participated through national surveys and an in-depth case study across five school sites. By foregrounding student voice as an evaluation tool, the ethics of student involvement becomes complex. When authentic student 'data' can change or challenge official thinking, students' voice(s) can either be foregrounded or silenced. Commissioned evaluations are often fraught with wider political agendas, but evaluation researchers have a duty to ensure student voice is represented if it is to inform ongoing government policy that impacts on the lives and learning of young people.

Learning to plan for teaching mathematics is the focus of an extended research project in initial teacher education. This paper discusses one early part of this project, based on a focus group interview where ten first year primary student teachers reported their planning experiences at the end of their first school practicum. Their one mathematics education course had provided a process for analysing tasks and other planning tools. Findings relate to different phases of planning during practicum, as well as how they accessed tools from course content, and the ways some used internal scripts in analysing, selecting, appropriating and adapting resources for teaching. Implications for initial teacher education are to consider how planning is decomposed within course experiences.

This paper describes students' perspectives of a one-off flipped lecture in a large undergraduate mathematics service course. The focus was on calculating matrix determinants and was designed specifically to introduce debate and argumentation into a mathematics lecture. The intention was to promote a deeper learning and understanding through engagement with the added hope of instilling some passion for the subject. During the lecture, students were asked to vote with their feet, literally moving around the lecture theatre to form groups according to their shared favourite technique for calculating matrix determinants. Group discussions were then followed by a whole class debate facilitated by the lecturers, before they wrapped up the lecture by resolving the professional disagreements that had come to light during the debate. Following the lecture, data on student perspectives was gathered using both surveys and focus groups. Within this paper, we share the data and reveal the interesting results that emerged from our analysis. Despite remaining unconvinced as to whether flipped lectures are better for learning, students reported greater engagement and increased understanding of the material covered.

The rising cost of textbooks is influencing students' choice of courses, as well as the quality of their learning experience once they are enrolled in a course, according to recent studies. This paper builds on those studies by exploring the possible effects that textbook costs may be having on study behaviours of students at one New Zealand tertiary institution: University of Otago. Perceptions of undergraduate students (n-811) about cost of, and access to, textbooks and possible influences on their study behaviours were gathered through a questionnaire. Results showed that students: are more likely to buy textbooks than access them through libraries; experienced purchasing expensive textbooks that were rarely used; questioned the value of textbooks; described alternative resource-seeking behaviours; and are heavily reliant on alternatives suggested by lecturers. Perceptions about affordability and academic value, access issues and consequential influences on study-related behaviours and attitudes are discussed.

In taking heed of the so-called "spatial turn" in social theory this paper explores how the spatial intersects with boys' performances of gender and (dis)pleasures in school physical education (PE). In particular, the paper aims to contribute to our understanding of how the organisation and implementation of physical and social spaces in PE can be seen as enabling or restricting boys' participation and enjoyment in this subject. The research setting was a multicultural single-sex boys' secondary school in Auckland, New Zealand which is widely known for its strong focus on sports and especially rugby. The data was generated through a participatory visual research approach involving video recordings, focus groups and individual interviews. In order to interpret the data I draw on Foucault's theorising of the disciplinary use of space, what he calls "the art of distributions", to examine the co-construction of gender, space and (dis)pleasures within boys' PE. I demonstrate how through their performances of gender, as shaped by discourses and relations of power associated with sport and masculinity, the boys capitalise on the spaces of PE to highlight them as productive and pleasurable spaces.

The connection between fieldwork and development of graduate attributes is explored in this paper. Digital technologies present opportunities to potentially enhance the learning experience of students undertaking fieldwork, and develop core digital attributes and competencies required by Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and employers. This paper reports the success of adopting digital video capture in technology-rich field experiments that form part of final year undergraduate courses in Physical Geography at an HEI in New Zealand. Student perceptions were obtained via a range of approaches. Results suggest that deployment of digital video reinforces student learning and connects with core graduate attributes.

The purposes of professional experience within initial teacher education programs are varied (Russell, 2005). However, there is limited literature explaining (a) university-based teacher educators' beliefs about its purposes and (b) how these purposes are reflected in practice. This study investigated these themes. A pragmatic mixed-method research design (Tashakkori & Teddlie, 2010) was developed to survey teacher educators from two Australian and New Zealand universities (n = 56). Participants were anonymously surveyed using a diamond ranking activity (requiring placement of 9 of 11 professional experience purpose statement cards, pre-determined from literature) and open response items seeking explanations of placement determining criteria and statement elimination. Following analysis of questionnaire data, focus groups were utilised to further explore the aggregated findings. Survey data were analysed by weighting frequencies of each statement. Analysis of the data indicated significant variation of perspectives amongst the teacher educators and resulted in the clustering of purposes into four groups. This paper presents these data from the Australian university cohort (n = 26). This study, the first of a series designed to elucidate understandings of teacher educators' purposes for professional experience, reinforces the importance of professional experience as authentic workplace learning within initial teacher education. The findings also reveal the complex beliefs that underpin teacher educators' practices when preparing, mentoring and supervising preservice teachers for and within professional experience.

A priority toward creating "active" citizens has been a feature of curricula reforms in many income-rich nations in recent years. However, the normative, one-size-fits-all conceptions of citizenship often presented within such curricula obscure the significant differences in how some young people experience and express citizenship. This paper reports on research that explored the citizenship perceptions and practices of New Zealand social studies teachers and students from four diverse geographic and socio-economic school communities. Attention was drawn to the scale of their citizenship orientations and participation (local/global). Drawing on Bourdieu's conceptual triad and his species of capital in particular, the author posits that the differences observed between school communities can be usefully explained by a concept of "participatory capital." The paper concludes with some reflections on the implications for young people who fail to access the "symbolic" global participatory capital associated with much contemporary citizenship education.

This paper reports on a research study which drew attention to the constitutive nature of the everyday world in young people's subjectivities and practices of citizenship. Central to the aim of this research was a need for alignment between the focus of the research ("everyday" citizenship), with methods which could illuminate the day-to-day experiences of being a citizen. In this paper, I re-examine some of the "everyday" data generated by two research methods which were initially discounted as rambling or divergent. This data characteristically had frequent interjections, incomplete sentences, questions and queries, or a sense of ambiguity and uncertainty. Through a re-analysis of this data, I consider the potential it offers to contribute conceptual and theoretical insights into young people's citizenship dispositions and practices. The research revealed the diverse, complex and contested understandings of citizenship that young people were forming in the context of day-to-day social and spatial interactions.

If feedback is to be framed as purposeful dialogue then both students and teachers have significant roles to play. Students must be willing and able to provide feedback to teachers not only about their learning needs but also about the teaching they experience. In turn, teachers must create the conditions that support active student learning and disclosure. It is against this backdrop that the current interpretive, qualitative research was carried out. Set within the final year of secondary schooling in New Zealand (Year 13) this paper draws on data generated from two semi-structured, focus group interviews. It provides insights into 14 students' perspectives about the role feedback plays in the enhancement of their learning, the kinds of experiences and interactions needed to support their disclosure of learning needs and the dispositions teachers need to exhibit to create a trustful, mutually respectful environment.

This paper reports on the findings of a reconceptualised Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programme where a collaborative relationship between the university and partner schools saw the shared responsibility for the first year ITE programme. Findings from this study suggests that ongoing, authentic teaching experiences in collaboration with school-based university tutorials provided a strong foundation for the early development of teacher identity. Wenger's (1998) social theory of learning provides a theoretical framework for understanding why this community of practice has been particularly effective in planting the seed of teacher identity at such an early stage of the ITE programme.

In this paper, we explore the relationship between student success in acquiring software literacy and students' broader engagement and understanding of knowledge across different disciplines. We report on the first phase of a project that examines software literacies associated with Microsoft PowerPoint as a common software package encountered and used by most students at tertiary level. Student data was collected through an online survey and focus-group interviews. One hundred and seventy-nine first-year Engineering and Media Studies students from a New Zealand university responded to the survey. A majority of students considered themselves to be confident and comfortable in engaging with new technologies, had access to mobile-based technologies or laptops, and relied on this hardware and related software for electronic forms of communication and information access in their university courses. On the whole, students expressed a preference for informal strategies (including trial and error) when learning about PowerPoint, expected it to be used in their university coursework, and could identify its related affordances and constraints, and how those affected their learning. Despite their familiarity with PowerPoint, students fell short in their ability to critique the ways the software shaped their understanding of disciplinary knowledge. Implications are discussed in terms of university teaching, including the nature of support services.

Migrants and refugees settling permanently in a new country face significant social, linguistic and cultural challenges. However, they also bring intercultural strengths and skills which, if acknowledged and enhanced, can support successful settlement and inclusion in a pluralistic society. This paper describes the underpinning rationale and salient features of an intercultural settlement programme piloted in New Zealand with a group of recently arrived settlers from refugee backgrounds. The programme was designed to enhance the settlement process for newcomers through the development of critical thinking, problem-solving and intercultural skills. The pedagogical approach was rights-based and incorporated facilitated discussions within an environment of power-sharing, inclusiveness and critical enquiry. This paper discusses the implementation of the programme as well as findings from a preliminary research project which sought to explore the effectiveness and the extent to which the programme achieved its aims. The findings indicate that this approach can constitute good practice in an education programme designed to support interculturalism and successful integration.

The dramatic advancements in technology over the last 5 years have created an environment that could support learning that surpasses anything we would have seen, experienced or imagined before. While new technologies offer considerable opportunities for improved learning, their use however has remained as a plug-on to traditional teaching methods. In this article, we discuss the impact of reinvigorating two courses where the use of Mobile Web 2.0 (MW2.0) tools was embedded within the learning process with an aim of enabling learner-generated content and context. Students and staff in this collaborative project, from two different courses, were equipped with iPhone 4s and iPad 2s for the duration of the course (n = 36, 16-week semester). A participatory action research method was used to evaluate the project and to scaffold the staff into learning and teaching in the twenty-first century. The pedagogical approach underpinning this project and the design for use of MW2.0 tools are discussed. Examples of artefacts created by the students in the project are outlined and provide an overview of the different contexts students interacted in. (Contains 1 table and 4 figures.) [This paper was published in the ALT-C 2012 Conference Proceedings.]

This paper examines the use of portfolios as pedagogical tools for developing academic writing. In particular, it considers the value of multi-drafting, where learners reflect on the learning of a text type as well as focusing on micro and macro aspects. The paper outlines a situated pedagogical approach, where students come to understand their improvement across three portfolio drafts and evaluate their learning reflectively. A multicultural group of 41 learners enrolled in the degree-level course "Academic Writing" at a tertiary institution in New Zealand participated in a study evaluating the portfolio approach to building awareness of their own writing. Focus group interviews provided qualitative data, analysed using a grounded theory approach. Triangulating data came from student reflective memoranda written in response to each drafting process. We conclude that a multi-draft portfolio is an effective assessment tool, not only because it provides a feedback loop but also because it enhances learners' understanding of writing as a recursive process. This provides them with aspects of academic writing literacy such as self-editing and the insight to reorganise academic texts by applying target genre and discourse knowledge.

International studies and theorists have posited that digital technologies play an important role in students' lives and that students display a broad range of literacy skills when using them. The New Zealand Curriculum (2007) states that students should be literate, critical thinkers who actively seek, use and create knowledge. This paper reports on findings from a New Zealand investigation of the extent to which students exhibited and teachers promoted critical information technology literacy skills. Using survey, diary and focus groups, the investigation explored teachers' beliefs about students' online information literacy and students' self-reported research strategies. Results from the investigation show students possess limited online information and critical evaluation skills and teacher pedagogical practice is not addressing this. The paper makes a case for teachers to develop both familiarity and confidence with online text types, alongside professional learning in online and offline information literacy pedagogical strategies. (Contains 4 tables.)

Purpose: The New Zealand Ministry of Education has constructed a wide-ranging "Professional Development Plan" providing a four-stage national pathway for progression to principalship; the first stage has been the conduction of the National Aspiring Principals Pilot (NAPP) programme in five regional locations. The purpose of this paper is to outline the evaluation of the programme. Design/methodology/approach: A mixed method approach for evaluation was employed where qualitative and quantitative data were collected almost simultaneously, and compared and contrasted. Findings: Key findings indicated overall sound programme delivery, curriculum coherence, high relevancy to stakeholders and good rates of principal appointments. Greater emphasis is placed on distinctive findings that have not been reported elsewhere. These included: primary-sector participants rating course facilitation, online learning, and "relevancy of the course for principal development" more positively than their secondary counterparts; aspirants who had partial or full completion of a relevant post-graduate leadership qualification rating eight aspects of NAPP lower than those without such qualifications; and aspirants who were approached and encouraged to apply for NAPP by their principal and subsequently supported by them, finding the programme more relevant and applicable. Research limitations/implications: The multiple positive outcomes reported reveal short-term programme adequacy and effectiveness against a range of indicators. Long-term impact (including capacity to change leadership practice, student learning and school improvement) evaluation is required to determine sustained effectiveness. Originality/value: The paper provides distinctive findings that have not been reported previously for principal development and more general findings that should inform such development programmes. (Contains 7 tables and 1 figure.)

Although very little research has been done on cooperative learning (CL) in New Zealand, international research is positive about the educational benefits of working in culturally diverse groups. This paper presents the findings of a research project examining New Zealand experiences with CL in multicultural groups. Data were collected via surveys and focus groups with domestic and international students and with New Zealand tertiary lecturers who use CL techniques in their programmes. The findings indicate a strong cultural conflict in the conceptualization of CL between international students with little prior experience of CL and New Zealand lecturers who are often not trained to help international students to bridge the gaps between their past educational experiences and typical education practices in New Zealand. This conflict reinforces the importance of understanding cultural differences and their impact on student patterns of classroom behaviour. The authors recommend that domestic and international students be prepared more effectively for CL and that lecturers be trained in designing curricula and assessment programmes that are pedagogically sound and culturally accommodating. The paper proposes a model to assist lecturers to achieve this aim. (Contains 1 table.)

As New Zealand has become increasingly pluralistic, the teaching profession has become progressively less reflective of the wider population. This paper reviews the literature on impediments to teaching for minority students, and reports on a case study exploring factors that deter Asian New Zealanders from pursuing teaching as a career. The findings indicate that although the salary of an occupation is an important consideration, many other factors interact to deter Asian New Zealanders from teaching. Many of the reported barriers align with those identified for North American studies. The paper offers suggestions for short-term measures to attract Asian New Zealanders into teacher education programmes, and highlights the need for further research to inform a longer term resolution of the ethnic disparity in New Zealand's education sector. (Contains 6 notes, 1 table, and 1 figure.)

One of the challenges in in-service teacher education is how teachers can be given professional development (PD) that enables them to respond to national curriculum and policy change. In recent years primary teachers in New Zealand have been inundated with Ministry of Education-funded professional development programmes to help them implement a plethora of curriculum policy and reform initiatives. This paper explores how the design and delivery of one PD programme, the Physical Activity Initiative (PAI), positioned and supported teachers as learners. An evaluation of the programme sought data from 25 teachers and 14 advisers to schools. The focus was the impact of the PD on how and what teachers learnt about teaching physical education and how their learning impacted upon their classroom practices. The data highlight the difficulty of accommodating the teacher as a learner, within a "one size fits all" PD model. Little attention was paid to the learning differences among the teachers. It is argued that providers of PD need to understand the unique complex web of contextual factors that impacted upon each teacher, and that each teacher's learning needs and learning approaches vary and this needs to be accounted for in the design and the delivery of PD. (Contains 1 figure.)

This paper reports on a qualitative case study of a teacher and her students in a postgraduate Tourism course in New Zealand in which a learning management system, discussion forums, and wikis were used to facilitate student engagement and deeper learning of course content. Although the teacher was experienced in face-to-face teaching contexts, she was a novice in the design and delivery of online learning. However, she believed that technology could foster deeper and more meaningful critical collaborative inquiry among course participants and was keen to explore how this could be facilitated. Evaluative data were gathered from teacher interviews, student focus groups, and an online student survey. Findings indicate that the use of different online tools was effective for engaging students and helped them develop critical insights into key course concepts. However, careful planning and reflection on different pedagogical approaches were needed so that student learning could be supported in meaningful and relevant ways. Implications for supporting educators and students in blended, online learning in Tourism education are offered.

The current paper examines the design process that led to an unusually successful interactive tutorial for older people. The paper describes the issues that make designing for older people different. These include differences between the designer and the target population and the difficulty that older people have in interacting with low-fidelity prototypes. Ways of altering the design process to address these issues and to obtain useful design contributions from older participants are described. (Contains 3 figures and 1 table.)

In response to recent social, economic, and pedagogical challenges to tertiary-level teaching and learning, universities are increasingly investigating and adopting eLearning as a way to engage and motivate students. This paper reports on the first of a two-year (2009-2010) qualitative case study research project in New Zealand. A snapshot of each of the four 2009 cases and some focused findings are provided, followed by a discussion of implications for researchers investigating technology implementation in tertiary settings.

This study explores learner experiences regarding skills acquisition of a cohort of engineering doctoral students enrolled in a New Zealand university. Employing a qualitative methodology, we interviewed 28 PhD students about the range of experiences and exchanges that comprised their pathways to skill acquisition. Students reported that research projects with application enabled the development of "real world problem solving" by drawing on bonding and bridging network ties. Indeed, informal structures and disciplinary norms operating in the culture of postgraduate engineering research are principle contributors to successful progression, degree completion and outputs. Research practices emphasising repetition and doability establish productive environments for postgraduates, enhancing support for collective endeavours and increased outputs. In the absence of formalised skills development programmes, the approaches discussed in this paper contribute to postgraduates' timely acquisition of skills. This research can assist supervisors, academic developers and administrators from a range of disciplines in improving postgraduate research environments.

During 2008 and 2009, a group of nine Resource Teachers: Learning and Behaviour (RTLB) from Canterbury met as a Community of Practice to investigate the way that play in the school playground contributes to the social competence of students. While the original concern was around the needs of students who were unable to manage their behaviour in the playground, the focus shifted to question how the school playground can be viewed as an important learning environment for all children. The RTLB Playground Focus Group, as they were known, began by discussing the differences between play, games and sport. They collected advertisements and considered the impact that the marketing of toys and equipment has had on choices for play, including the demise of traditional games. Some members of the Focus Group informally surveyed their schools' reasons for changing break times, the role of duty teachers, student voice, choices in the playground and strategies for the successful inclusion of all students in their playground. Survey participants were advised that the findings would both inform RTLB work in the region, and were intended to be published. It was soon found that there is an enormous body of research around bullying and physical violence and play in early childhood, but very little concerned with the design or physical structure of playgrounds or the role of adults in the playground. Some researchers like Hickman (2009) and Leff, Power, Costigan, and Manz (2003) have explored children's perceptions and playground experiences in an attempt to assess the climate and school environment, and the balance of power between adults and children. This paper was born out of the work of the Playground Focus Group, but also reports on issues confronting schools in relation to play and school playgrounds. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)

This paper examines an information literacy collaborative research project at the University of Otago between a sociology lecturer and a subject specialist librarian, The research project was undertaken to implement and evaluate the effectiveness of embedding information literacy skills into academic assessment requirements in a first and a third year sociology course. Using focus group interviews and whole class surveys the research team generated both qualitative and quantitative data relating to students acquisition of information literacy skills and to their evaluation of the embedding approach. This paper discusses the initial stages of the project and concludes with a brief outline of preliminary analysis of data from the first year course. (Contains 2 figures and 44 notes.)

Universities have several approaches for attracting student feedback, both qualitative and quantitative, and this paper describes three processes as they affect postgraduate students. The paper considers whether the issues that postgraduate students state need improvement are consistent with those issues contained in the recommendations made by academic auditors. Auditors are concerned with the overall management, policy and processes of a university, whereas postgraduate students are very much focused on issues of support and resources. The challenge for each university is to use a multi-method approach to quality assurance by triangulating the results from its student surveys with the reports of the academic auditors. Further triangulation should then be done with student focus groups, anecdotal feedback, government directives and policy, and with research and data from other sources. Finally, the information gained must be used to benefit students. The principal focus of this paper is on three primary data sources. First, the recommendations contained in the eight reports of the New Zealand Universities Academic Audit Unit, second, a satisfaction survey of Masters and PhD postgraduate students at Lincoln University and, third, unstructured interviews with postgraduate students at Lincoln University.

This paper is targeted primarily at doctoral students and others considering hermeneutics as a research strategy. Research using hermeneutics was carried out with occupational therapy educators and clinicians in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the UK. A total of 53 participants engaged in focus groups and individual interviews over a one-year. The paper explores hermeneutics as a credible, rigorous and creative strategy to address aspects of professional practice that similarly need to be flexible, adaptable to particular needs, and justifiable in the contexts of evidence-based as well as client-centred practice. The hermeneutic study produced A Model of Professional Practice Judgment Artistry (Paterson, 2003) which is briefly described and the connections. (Contains 2 tables, 2 figures, and 1 footnote.)

The introduction of computers, the Internet, and other Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) into the school context has proved challenging for many schools and teachers. In meeting these challenges, professional development for teachers has been seen traditionally as a formal process conducted by an expert from outside the school. Situated and sociocultural views of teacher learning challenge the efficacy of this model and, recently, the notion of professional learning communities has gained traction. Such an approach emphasises collegiality and collaboration both within and across schools. This paper examines the nature of professional learning opportunities experienced by New Zealand teachers following their receipt of government subsidised laptops for their personal use. It also discusses the challenges to teachers and school communities in fostering and supporting teachers learning more about ICT use.

Within self-regulated learning, learners exercise agency by setting targets, formatively monitoring progress, and evaluating results in ways which inform their own goal attainment. However, in real-world classroom situations, assessment processes can elicit behaviours that are more ego-protective than growth-oriented. Resistance to teacher expectations in assessment can arise from the individual's need to protect his or her own identity or ego within the psychosocial context of the classroom. In addition, resistance can arise from strategic choices learners make to cope with competing demands on their time and resources. Thus, students may exercise their agency by not following assessment expectations or protocols (e.g. lying, cheating, or failing to give their best effort). These choices seem to undermine assessment validity. This paper shares student voice data from the Measuring Teachers' Assessment Practices (MTAP) project (n = 46 students in seven focus groups) in New Zealand and the Supporting Student-assessment Success (SSAS) Project (n = 108 first-year university students) in Australia. Both highlight the different ways students resist, subvert, or act in contention with assessment. These data show that students in both sectors do not always act in the growth-oriented ways that educators envision. Students reported exercising potentially maladaptive assessment agency via "Assessment dishonesty," "Purposeful underperformance," and "Doing it alone." These categories were underpinned by three differing rationales: "Protection," "Strategic prioritisation," and "Mini-max." Educators must be mindful of these potential student actions and motives, working to establish psychological safety within the learning environment, and making sure links between learning and assessment are clear.

This paper considers curriculum integration in the secondary school context and investigates the claims made that it can enhance learning outcomes for students. I argue that curriculum integration should be utilized not as a main means of curricular delivery but as a supplementary opportunity to put disciplinary knowledge to use in certain, well-planned contexts. In other words, disciplinary learning comes first and is then deepened through application in an interdisciplinary context. This argument is illustrated through a case study of a new "21st Century" secondary school where interdisciplinarity is a cornerstone of the school's philosophy. Methods for the study included weekly observations, interviews, focus groups and a survey. I conclude by suggesting that teachers require further time and assistance to develop programmes and evaluative criteria to ensure learning moves beyond thematically generated common sense knowledge, towards interdisciplinary insights.

Background: Pleasure is often a key feature of school physical education (PE) and, indeed, a lot of students find pleasure in and through PE while others do not. However, pleasure is rarely considered to be of educational value in the subject [Pringle, R. (2010). "Finding Pleasure in Physical Education: A Critical Examination of the Educative Value of Positive Movement Affects." "Quest" 62: 119-134]. Further, since pleasure is linked to power [Foucault, M. (1980). "Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writings," 1972-1977. New York: Pantheon; Gerdin, G., and R. Pringle (2015). "The Politics of Pleasure: An Ethnographic Examination Exploring the Dominance of the Multi-Activity Sport-Based Physical Education Model." "Sport, Education and Society." doi:10.1080/13573322.2015.1019448] it is in fact not entirely straightforward to legitimise the educational value of PE in relation to pleasure. Purpose: In this paper, we explore how a group of boys derive pleasures from their involvement in PE, but also how these power-induced pleasures are integral to gender normalisation processes. The findings presented are particularly discussed in terms of inclusive/exclusive pedagogical practices related to gender, bodies and pleasures. Research setting and participants: The research setting was a single-sex, boys' secondary school in Auckland, New Zealand. Participants in this study were 60 Year 10 (age 14-15) students from two PE classes. Data collection and analysis: Using a visual ethnographic approach [Pink, S. (2007). "Doing Visual Ethnography." London: Sage] involving observations and video recordings of boys participating in PE, the boys' representations and interpretations of the visual data were explored during both focus groups and individual interviews. The data were analysed using (a visually oriented) discourse analysis [Foucault, M. (1998). "Foucault." In "Michel Foucault. Aesthetics, Method and Epistemology," edited by J. D. Faubion, 459-463. New York: The New Press; Rose, G. (2007). "Visual Methodologies: An Introduction to the Interpretation of Visual Materials." London: Sage]. Findings: By elucidating the discursive practices of PE in this setting and employing (Butler, J. (1993). "Bodies that Matter: On the Discursive Limits of 'Sex'." New York: Routledge] concept of "materialisation," we suggest that boy's bodies materialise as productive and pleasurable or displeasurable bodies through submitting/subjecting to certain bodily regimes, developing embodied mastery when it comes to certain sports, and displaying bodies in particular ways. The analysis indicate that the discursive practices of PE contribute to boys' bodies materialising as pleasurable or displeasurable and the (re)production of gender in the subject as shaped by discourse and the productive effect of power. Discussion and conclusions: In line with [Gard, M. (2008). "When a Boy's Gotta Dance: New Masculinities, Old Pleasures." "Sport, Education and Society" 13 (2): 181-193], we conclude that the focus on certain discursively constructed bodily practices at the same time continues to restrict the production of a diversity of bodily movement pleasures. Hence, traditional gender patterns are reproduced through a selection of particular sports/physical activities that all the students are expected to participate in. We propose that the ongoing constitution of privileged forms of masculinity, masculine bodies and masculine pleasures as related to fitness, health and sport and (certain) boys' subsequent exercise of power in PE needs further critical examination.

A professional development initiative in writing provided a context in which teachers could be researchers their own knowledge about writing, writing assessment and writing instruction. Through close attention to student writing samples, and debate in ascertaining writing levels using the English Exemplars, teachers articulated growing confidence in their knowledge of language and the writing process. This was reflected in an increased confidence in, and ability to articulate beliefs about, writing instruction. The moderation process for ascribing levels to the student samples took place within professional learning communities. The paper identifies some problems in establishing these as productive and positive contexts for teachers as researchers. (Contains 3 tables.)

We propose the use of an ontological perspective to shift current thinking about the phenomenon of home/school partnerships, particularly through an examination of school leaders (leadership team)--community relationships that seek to better serve Indigenous students and their communities. We reanalysed focus group interviews of indigenous Maori students and their whanau/families from a wider New Zealand study that investigated the development of culturally responsive leadership in 84 secondary schools. The aim of the leadership intervention was to improve school practices and enable Indigenous Maori students to achieve and enjoy educational success as Maori. Reanalysis of interview material revealed categories related to relational being that highlight both opportunities and impediments to authentic relationships between schools and communities and the development of culturally responsive leadership. This paper attempts to create a framework in regards to relational ontology within a broader struggle for transformative praxis and to provide direction for further theoretical and practical investigation within schools.

Young people may face conflicting and confusing messages about what it means to respond well in relation to homophobia and transphobia. Consequently, we ask--What might it mean to respond well to homophobia and transphobia? This strategy, inspired by Anika Thiem and Judith Butler, is recognition of the ambivalent conditions which structure attempts to respond well to bullying related to gender and sexuality. Such an approach is counter to educational responses that suggest a remedy in advance of the enactment of perceived bullying. Our paper draws on research conducted by the authors in four such schools, two in Australia and two in Aotearoa/New Zealand. It is a deliberate turn away from focusing on who should be held to account for homophobia and transphobia.

International knowledge markets rely heavily on a ready supply of highly mobile doctoral students, many of whom are from the global South, to bring in revenue. The supervision of these PhD students, however, can reproduce neo-colonial knowledge relations, often in subtle ways. In settler nations, international PhD students may find that they are assigned subaltern status in their university departments and this can have a significant impact on their learning. This paper explores the experiences of a group of international PhD students in a social science faculty in a New Zealand university during the first two years of their doctoral studies. It examines how they responded to the displacement of their cultural values and priorities, the way they navigated intercultural engagements with supervisors, and their ensuing relationships with indigenous and ethnic allies in the faculty. Despite considerable pressure to conform to the dominant modes of academic knowledge production that characterise universities in settler nations, it is concluded that international students find ways of speaking out, often in highly coded forms, that complicate their subaltern academic status.

In an educational landscape of primary teachers' underdeveloped professional knowledge and low feelings of self-efficacy around science teaching, the prospects for science losing status in the primary school curriculum seems grim. This paper reports positive findings from a New Zealand research project designed to support and enhance primary science education in ways that can "buck the trend". While the opportunity for the project arose out of an existing professional collaboration between a university and a cluster of local primary schools in the New Zealand context, the findings are applicable to most international primary schooling systems.

This paper reports how New Zealand teachers used digital videos from an educational website in science classrooms and how teachers and students viewed the use of videos. The study involved lesson observations in nine different classrooms, student and teacher interviews, and teacher focus group discussions. Multiple qualitative data were analysed using inductive content analysis. Findings indicate three major affordances for pedagogies to support student science learning: Support for discussion and developing concepts, informing hands-on activities, and an additional source of knowledge in the classroom. Implications for science teachers' use of digital videos have been proposed.

The paper presents a reconceptualisation of trades tutors drawn from tutors themselves. Trade educators here are seen as multidisciplinary, multi-dimensional practitioners with an occupational milieu that goes beyond the reductionist and instrumentalist views of teaching with which vocational education is often beset. Trade-tutor perspectives on their increasingly complex world of work as they navigate the often competing goals of industry and institution provide an insight into teaching in a new vocational environment. The research presented considers the identities of vocational and trade educators at the centre of Vocational Education and Training (VET) in polytechnics and provides their insights, as tradespeople and educators working for a new generation of skilled trade-based practitioners.

In 2002 Parlo Singh outlined Bernstein's theory of the pedagogic device, elaborating the potential in Bernstein's complex theoretical framework for empirical research. In particular, Singh suggests that Bernstein's concepts provide the means of making explicit the macro and micro structuring of knowledge into pedagogic communication. More recently, Power has noted that use of Bernstein's ideas remains relatively unrepresented in the literature. This paper makes a case for the use of Bernstein's ideas as a particularly rich resource for educational researchers. It provides illustrations of a number of concepts as part of a methodological procedure in a research project examining the approaches to curriculum and pedagogy of six secondary school music teachers within the dialectic of western art music and popular music. Through utilisation of Bernstein's concepts of knowledge discourses, recontextualisation, and regionalisation, the study is able to identify, describe, and shed light on a key problem for music education and education generally: developing the pedagogical means for the utilisation of informal knowledge as a pedagogic resource within the secondary school curriculum. In turn, the music context suggests a number of extensions to Bernstein's concepts.

The powerful learning that occurs outdoors has been well documented in this journal, as has an array of barriers teachers typically face in providing outdoor learning experiences. This paper draws on findings from a collaborative, practice-based research project examining the reconceptualisation of outdoor education in two Year 4 classes in a primary school in Aotearoa New Zealand. Teachers note four factors to be integral to supporting the transformation of curriculum and pedagogical practice. The first two, "(Re)establishing what we stand for" and "a willingness to let go of control," underscore the importance of teachers' ongoing critical analysis of their philosophies and of the impact adopting inquiry approaches had on establishing and sustaining pedagogical change. The third, "local places" matter points to the significance of the innovation itself of adopting place-responsive approaches to sustaining change. The final factor, "a climate of support," examines the key roles that senior teachers, colleagues, and students' families have in supporting teachers' endeavours to transform practice.

Gard [(2008). "When a Boy's Gotta Dance: New Masculinities, Old Pleasures." "Sport, Education and Society," 13(2), 181-193], Booth [(2009). "Politics and Pleasure: The Philosophy of Physical Education Revisited." "Quest," 61(2), 133-153] and Pringle [(2010). "Finding Pleasure in Physical Education: A Critical Examination of the Educative Value of Positive Movement Affects." "Quest," 62, 119-134] argue that if critical physical education (PE) scholars want to change the social influence associated with dominated discourses of gender, which have previously been subject to sustained critique, there is a need to examine the discourses of PE pleasure. By drawing on visual ethnographic data from an all-boys' secondary school this paper employs Foucault's [(1985). "The Use of Pleasure: The History of Sexuality: Volume 2." London: Penguin Books] discourse/power/ pleasure combination to make meanings and understand the boys as gendered subjects. The findings from this study demonstrate how some boys derived pleasures from merely participating in PE whereas others seemed to relate their pleasures to instrumental/developmental goals based on discourses of fitness, health and sport. It is argued that PE teachers need to be aware that they not only enable students' experiences of pleasures, but that they can also be influential in (re)producing gendered understandings about the pleasures (and displeasures) of learning in, through and about movement in PE.