scholarly journals Preference, Passing and Fresh Perspectives: Text Selection by Secondary School English Teachers in Aotearoa New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Taylor Hughson
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Curriculum Design ◽  
English Teachers ◽  
Social Realism ◽  
Specific Content ◽  
International Trends ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand ◽  
Literary Experience ◽  
Realist Perspective

<p>The New Zealand Curriculum (NZC) and the national secondary school qualification, the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA), afford teachers an enormous degree of autonomy over what they teach in their classrooms. This is in line with international trends in curriculum design which shape curricula around generic, open-ended learning outcomes rather than specific content. However, as of yet there is very little research either in New Zealand or internationally into the ways teachers make decisions about what to teach within an environment of great curricular freedom. Accordingly, this thesis investigates how high school English teachers in Aotearoa New Zealand make decisions about which written texts to teach within the context of current curriculum and assessment frameworks. It conducts this investigation from what will be called a modified social realist perspective. This theoretical perspective adapts the classic social realism promoted in the work of Michael Young and others, in order to develop a version of social realism which has explanatory power for humanities subjects, and subject English in particular.  The thesis moves through three main sections: context, theory and findings. The first section details the context in which this study is located, with a focus on how the New Zealand Curriculum and NCEA are clear examples of what will be called the New Curriculum: a movement in curricular reform which advocates for the removal prescribed content and positions the teacher as a curriculum maker, rather than a curriculum implementer. This section also includes a literature review. The second section outlines the theoretical position of this thesis. It shows how classic social realism struggles to account for both the non-abstract and subjective nature of literary experience, and moves from this to advance a ‘modified social realism’ which incorporates these features of literary experience into its model. The methodology of the study is also included here. Finally, the third section outlines the study’s findings. It is shown that given the freedom to choose their own texts, teachers make decisions based on, in order of importance, students’ interests, the likelihood of a text succeeding in NCEA assessments, and whether the text will expose students to important perspectives and ideas. This thesis argues that such priorities are problematic, as, from a modified social realist perspective, focusing on student interests and assessment success can limit opportunities for students to be exposed to truly transformative literature. This thesis therefore ends by suggesting three potential reforms which would allow students to encounter such literature more frequently, including enhanced professional development, and a curriculum document with clearer guidelines around the types of texts that students should encounter.</p>

scholarly journals Preference, Passing and Fresh Perspectives: Text Selection by Secondary School English Teachers in Aotearoa New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Taylor Hughson
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Curriculum Design ◽  
English Teachers ◽  
Social Realism ◽  
Specific Content ◽  
International Trends ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand ◽  
Literary Experience ◽  
Realist Perspective

<p>The New Zealand Curriculum (NZC) and the national secondary school qualification, the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA), afford teachers an enormous degree of autonomy over what they teach in their classrooms. This is in line with international trends in curriculum design which shape curricula around generic, open-ended learning outcomes rather than specific content. However, as of yet there is very little research either in New Zealand or internationally into the ways teachers make decisions about what to teach within an environment of great curricular freedom. Accordingly, this thesis investigates how high school English teachers in Aotearoa New Zealand make decisions about which written texts to teach within the context of current curriculum and assessment frameworks. It conducts this investigation from what will be called a modified social realist perspective. This theoretical perspective adapts the classic social realism promoted in the work of Michael Young and others, in order to develop a version of social realism which has explanatory power for humanities subjects, and subject English in particular.  The thesis moves through three main sections: context, theory and findings. The first section details the context in which this study is located, with a focus on how the New Zealand Curriculum and NCEA are clear examples of what will be called the New Curriculum: a movement in curricular reform which advocates for the removal prescribed content and positions the teacher as a curriculum maker, rather than a curriculum implementer. This section also includes a literature review. The second section outlines the theoretical position of this thesis. It shows how classic social realism struggles to account for both the non-abstract and subjective nature of literary experience, and moves from this to advance a ‘modified social realism’ which incorporates these features of literary experience into its model. The methodology of the study is also included here. Finally, the third section outlines the study’s findings. It is shown that given the freedom to choose their own texts, teachers make decisions based on, in order of importance, students’ interests, the likelihood of a text succeeding in NCEA assessments, and whether the text will expose students to important perspectives and ideas. This thesis argues that such priorities are problematic, as, from a modified social realist perspective, focusing on student interests and assessment success can limit opportunities for students to be exposed to truly transformative literature. This thesis therefore ends by suggesting three potential reforms which would allow students to encounter such literature more frequently, including enhanced professional development, and a curriculum document with clearer guidelines around the types of texts that students should encounter.</p>

Health and well-being of young people who attend secondary school in Aotearoa, New Zealand: What has changed from 2001 to 2007?

2011 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 191-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon J Denny ◽  
Sue Grant ◽  
Jennifer Utter ◽  
Elizabeth M Robinson ◽  
Theresa M Fleming ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Young People ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand ◽  
Health And Well Being

Putting assemblage to work to explore pedagogical practices in health education in Aotearoa New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Vol 121 (2) ◽  
pp. 174-188
Author(s):  
Rachael Dixon ◽  
Gillian Abel ◽  
Lisette Burrows
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Health Education ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Qualitative Approach ◽  
Pedagogical Practices ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Senior Secondary

PurposeIn Aotearoa New Zealand, Health Education is socio-critical in orientation and is offered as a subject that can offer credits towards the national secondary school qualification. The purpose of this paper is to explore the learning experiences of people who studied Health Education to the final level of secondary schooling in Aotearoa New Zealand. The authors focus specifically on how the subject is taught; or the pedagogical practices that are “put to work” in the Health Education learning environment.Design/methodology/approachUsing in-depth interviews as the authors’ method of data production, they experiment with a post-qualitative approach to analysis while traversing the theoretical terrain of new materialism. In doing so, they explicate the non-human and human elements that are arranged in a pedagogical assemblage – and explore what these elements can do.FindingsThe authors found that an array of pedagogical practices were put to work in the senior secondary school Health Education classroom: Student-centred approaches, a non-judgemental and energetic tone to teaching, deployment of human and non-human resources, and students connecting with the community. The authors argue that these practices open up possibilities for a critical Health Education.Practical implicationsThis research addresses an empirical gap in the literature by focusing on Health Education in the senior secondary levels of schooling. The findings in this paper may provide readers who are Health Education teachers with ideas that could be of material use to them in their teaching practice. In terms of implications for researchers, the authors demonstrate how putting “new” theory and methodological approaches to work in the area of school-based Health Education can produce novel ways of thinking about the subject and what it can do.Originality/valueThe shifting nature of the pedagogical assemblage can ignite new ways of thinking about teaching practice in the Health Education classroom and the capacities that result for learners. In combination with a post-qualitative approach to analysis, the paper provides a novel approach to exploring Health Education.

scholarly journals Serendipity – Surprises in critical reflection on supervision

2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 53-61
Author(s):  
Helen Simmons ◽  
Charmaine Wheeler
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Learning Styles ◽  
Critical Reflection ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand ◽  
Zealand Secondary School ◽  
Model Of Practice ◽  
Work Student

This paper was presented at the April 2010 supervision conference in Auckland and is a sequel to ‘Loitering with intent – a model of practice for working in a New Zealand secondary school’, Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work 2009 Vol 21(3).Do we know what happens in supervision and how it matters? Through the process of preparing a conference presentation on another kaupapa, a fieldwork supervisor discovers a story that her supervisee wants to tell. This paper contributes to the growing body of knowledge about fieldwork supervision from a supervisee perspective. It highlights the effects of using learning styles to encourage the integration of practice and theory with a social work student. The presentation utilises a dialogue format to mirror what unfolded when the supervisor asked her supervisee ‘What was it about supervision that was so important to the success of the placement?’

Aotearoa/New Zealand

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirstine Moffat
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Cultural Change ◽  
Social Protest ◽  
Social Realism ◽  
Boundary Crossing ◽  
Cultural Changes ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand ◽  
Local Literature ◽  
Asian Identity ◽  
Shifting Identities

The post-1950 novel in New Zealand can be described in terms of transition and innovation, as writers were energized by a sense of ferment, excitement, and shifting identities. This reflects the profound social, political, and cultural changes of the period. In the 1950s and 1960s, literary novelists were driven by two desires: to create a genuine local literature that was not derivative of British models and to awaken society from its socially conservative and ethnically homogeneous complacency. The chapter considers how the New Zealand novel has been shaped by postcolonial and feminist sensibilities since the 1970s together with a wider sense of its Pacific and Asian identity. It also discusses the authors' exploration of shifting identities, which can be divided into four broadly chronological, overlapping phases: social realism and social protest; the Maōri Renaissance; cultural change and stylistic experimentation; and boundary-crossing.

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