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There is a dearth of empirical evidence that examines the impact of teacher professional development for culturally responsive pedagogies, particularly on Indigenous student achievement and teacher practices. Te Kotahitanga was a large-scale professional development initiative for culturally responsive practices for secondary teachers in New Zealand. To study its impact, we used a mixed-methods research approach to gather and analyze data on student achievement outcomes, classroom practices, and perceptions of teachers and students. While results suggested positive changes associated with the program, findings also highlighted ongoing challenges associated with transforming practice for Indigenous Maori students. Specific challenges of analysis are highlighted, along with recommendations for further research and development work in secondary schools.

This article presents the developmental stages of a nationwide whole-school strengths-based behavioural intervention by Maori and centring on Maori interests; an initiative that has the potential to transform educational success and opportunities. The initial phase involved a cycle of data collection. This was conducted via a series of focus groups held with Maori specialists, practitioners, families and students, to support the development of a kaupapa Maori approach to school-wide positive behaviour. The evidence that was gathered indicated that a systems framework needed to emanate out of a Maori worldview, be inclusive of family and community, and support the notion that Maori children are able to learn as Maori--to enjoy positive cultural and identity development throughout their schooling. The findings in this article describe the core features that underscore how behaviour should be shaped and supported within schools, from a Maori perspective.

This article presents a case study of a unique New Zealand professional development programme, Te Kotahitanga, for mainstream secondary school teachers. Findings discussed are drawn from an independent evaluation of the programme across 22 secondary schools. The professional development approach attempted to reposition the relationship between teachers and Indigenous Maori students, and enhance Maori student outcomes. Interviews with 150 teachers across participating schools investigated teacher perceptions of impact on classroom practice and student outcomes across subjects. The professional development programme was associated with shifts in teachers' understandings of their positioning within classrooms and relationships with and expectations for Maori students. Results also highlight ongoing challenges in teachers' repositioning and the development of new relationship-based approaches. The implications for teaching practice and professional learning programmes and recommendations for further research are discussed.

There is agreement that teaching practices should be responsive to the cultural identities of their students, but less clarity regarding both the specifics of culturally responsive pedagogies and effective strategies for implementing them in classrooms across the curriculum. A mixed-methods research approach evaluated the impact of teacher professional development to instil culturally responsive pedagogies in secondary classrooms. Results are reported based on systematic observations of over 400 classrooms at 32 mainstream schools across different subjects and interviews with 214 indigenous Maori students. The majority of teachers showed evidence of culturally responsive practices, and students were able to describe examples of teachers caring for them as culturally located individuals. Implications are discussed for teacher professional development designed to impact student achievement including the limitations of relying on teacher change alone for school reform to make a difference for students. (Contains 1 table, 1 figure, and 1 note.)

The possibility that a moderate earthquake may be followed by an equal or larger one (foreshock probability) increases the hazard in its immediate vicinity for a short time by an order of magnitude or more. Thus, foreshock probabilities are of interest for time-dependent seismic hazard forecasts. We calculate the probability of an initial earthquake (a foreshock) being followed by a mainshock in New Zealand, considering the parameters of elapsed time and distance and magnitude differences between foreshock and mainshock. We use nonaftershock events between 1964 and 2007, with magnitude =4:0 and shallower than 40 km, separating the catalog into events within and outside the Taupo volcanic zone (TVZ). We provide a model for the probability P(t, r, δM) that at time t after a potential foreshock (FS) of magnitude MFS and at distance r, a mainshock with magnitude MFS + δM will occur: P(t, r, δM) = P0 x 10(-BδM)(t + ct)-pt(r + cr)-pr , where P0, B, pt, ct, pr, and cr are constants to be determined. We find that (1) binning data using fixed intervals of time or space before fitting the parameters returns different values than a more robust approach of fitting directly the entire range, (2) foreshock probabilities decrease with increasing interevent time as described by a modified Omori law with an exponent pt close to 1 (0.9 7plusmn; 0.2 [TVZ] and 0.8 ± 0.1 elsewhere--uncertainty estimates are 95% confidence intervals throughout this study), (3) foreshock probabilities decrease with increasing epicentral distance also following a modified Omori type decay with exponent pr of 0.9 7plusmn; 0.2 (non-TVZ) and 1.7 ± 0.6 (TVZ), and (4) the mainshock magnitude distribution follows the Gutenberg--Richter relationship (B = 1.0 ± 0.17 [non-TVZ] and 1.5 ± 0.5 [TVZ]). The differences between the TVZ and the rest of New Zealand are consistent with higher attenuation in the region, deduced from previous studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two cases are described of young persons of rather inadequate personality who became dependent upon aspirin (acetylsalicyclic acid) in a manner reminiscent of the commoner agents of addiction, suggesting that the personality is more important than the drug in addiction and abuse. Both belong to non-urban communities, and to New Zealand in days when the European-U.S. drug taking pattern was unknown in New Zealand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]