title: Student experiences of carrying out a practical science investigation under direction

authors: Hume, Anne Christine

subjects: education

abstract: This paper reports on the reality of classroom-based inquiry learning in science, from the perspectives of high school students and their teachers, under a national curriculum attempting to encourage authentic scientific inquiry (as practiced by scientists). A multiple case study approach was taken, utilising qualitative research methods of unobtrusive observation, semi-structured interviews and document analysis. The findings showed purposeful and focused learning occurring, but students were acquiring a narrow view of scientific inquiry where the thinking was characteristically rote and low-level. The nature of this learning was strongly influenced by curriculum decisions made by classroom teachers and science departments in response to the assessment requirements of a high stakes national qualification. As a consequence of these decisions, students experienced structured teaching programmes in which they were exposed to programme content that limited the range of methods that scientists use to fair testing and to pedagogies that were substantially didactic in nature. In addition, the use of planning templates and exemplar assessment schedules tended to reduce student learning about experimental design to an exercise in “following the rules” as they engaged in closed rather than open investigations. Thus, the resulting student learning was mechanistic and superficial rather than creative and critical, counter to the aims of the national curriculum policy that is intent on promoting students' knowledge and capabilities in authentic scientific inquiry.

text: Student experiences of carrying out a practical science investigation under direction This paper reports on the reality of classroom-based inquiry learning in science, from the perspectives of high school students and their teachers, under a national curriculum attempting to encourage authentic scientific inquiry (as practiced by scientists). A multiple case study approach was taken, utilising qualitative research methods of unobtrusive observation, semi-structured interviews and document analysis. The findings showed purposeful and focused learning occurring, but students were acquiring a narrow view of scientific inquiry where the thinking was characteristically rote and low-level. The nature of this learning was strongly influenced by curriculum decisions made by classroom teachers and science departments in response to the assessment requirements of a high stakes national qualification. As a consequence of these decisions, students experienced structured teaching programmes in which they were exposed to programme content that limited the range of methods that scientists use to fair testing and to pedagogies that were substantially didactic in nature. In addition, the use of planning templates and exemplar assessment schedules tended to reduce student learning about experimental design to an exercise in “following the rules” as they engaged in closed rather than open investigations. Thus, the resulting student learning was mechanistic and superficial rather than creative and critical, counter to the aims of the national curriculum policy that is intent on promoting students' knowledge and capabilities in authentic scientific inquiry.

year: 2008

title: Evaluating web mapping applications for visualising demographic diversity

authors: McHardie, Tristan James

subjects: Demography diversity

abstract: The use of maps on the World Wide Web is revolutionising how people access information. These web maps harness text, audio, video, animation, graphics and, most importantly, user interaction to improve the communication and interpretation of geographic phenomena. In this interactive and dynamic environment, web application developers have the opportunity to allow map readers to also be map producers; users can be enabled to query and analyse data and then assemble maps and other visualisations themselves, enhancing their understanding of the data and its geospatial relationships. This thesis focuses on what factors are important for the design of web mapping applications that provide visualisations of demographic diversity. Demographic information is inherently geospatial, making maps the ideal tool for visualising population statistics and their spatial relationships. An outcome of this research is a set of guidelines for reviewing web mapping applications that portray demographic diversity information. This thesis also provides an insight into the current standard for web mapping of demographic information and identifies the potential for improvement. A review of the literature, as well as a reflexive implementation, are the principal methods used to develop these guidelines. The essential components include the needs of demographers, and principles of cartography and human-computer interaction, as well as a consideration of open source and proprietary software. Five prominent, national demographic web mapping applications (two Australian, and one from New Zealand, the United States of America, and Canada) are used to develop these guidelines, as well as providing an insight into the current standard. The main conclusion of this research is that the guidelines developed provide a worthwhile structure but need to be kept broad. Also, there needs to be more emphasis on user data upload facilities, which is important for demographers, and cartographic communication needs to be given higher priority.

text: Evaluating web mapping applications for visualising demographic diversity The use of maps on the World Wide Web is revolutionising how people access information. These web maps harness text, audio, video, animation, graphics and, most importantly, user interaction to improve the communication and interpretation of geographic phenomena. In this interactive and dynamic environment, web application developers have the opportunity to allow map readers to also be map producers; users can be enabled to query and analyse data and then assemble maps and other visualisations themselves, enhancing their understanding of the data and its geospatial relationships. This thesis focuses on what factors are important for the design of web mapping applications that provide visualisations of demographic diversity. Demographic information is inherently geospatial, making maps the ideal tool for visualising population statistics and their spatial relationships. An outcome of this research is a set of guidelines for reviewing web mapping applications that portray demographic diversity information. This thesis also provides an insight into the current standard for web mapping of demographic information and identifies the potential for improvement. A review of the literature, as well as a reflexive implementation, are the principal methods used to develop these guidelines. The essential components include the needs of demographers, and principles of cartography and human-computer interaction, as well as a consideration of open source and proprietary software. Five prominent, national demographic web mapping applications (two Australian, and one from New Zealand, the United States of America, and Canada) are used to develop these guidelines, as well as providing an insight into the current standard. The main conclusion of this research is that the guidelines developed provide a worthwhile structure but need to be kept broad. Also, there needs to be more emphasis on user data upload facilities, which is important for demographers, and cartographic communication needs to be given higher priority.

year: 2016

title: Shifting tectonic plates of key discourses in New Zealand early childhood education policy (1989-2017):  A critical discourse analysis at the dawn of change

authors: Westbrook, Fiona

subjects: New Zealand

abstract: This thesis analysed the presence of neoliberalism, socialism and te Ao Māori in fundamental policy documents that frame New Zealand early childhood practice. It did so to critically engage with, and thus make sense of, neoliberalism’s application and potential growth in New Zealand early childhood policies from 1989 to 2017. The research additionally focused on the interplay of socialist and te Ao Māori discourses in these texts, in conjunction with neoliberalism. It employed a poststructuralist conceptual framework that utilised Kristeva’s intertextuality and Foucault’s discourse, governmentality, and power/knowledge. The philosophical framework facilitated an appreciation of the early childhood education (ECE) sector and government discourses, via policies that exhibited discursive power, truths, and knowledges. This thesis’ approach was employed through a critical discourse analysis, incorporating Kristeva’s intertextuality, Fairclough’s manifest intertextuality and interdiscursivity, as well as a keyword search. This form of document analysis was selected because it enabled me as the researcher to gain a deeper more developed understanding of the policy texts, eliciting meaning and recognition of the discourses often naturalised within them. 
 
Contrary to the dominant claims in ECE literature concerning contemporary discourse, the analysis did not discover the neoliberal discourse’s predominance within the selected policies and documents, as was expected. The neoliberal discourse did exist within government endorsed texts, such as the foreword of Te Whāriki (Ministry of Education, 2017b) and Four Year Plan 2016-2020 (Ministry of Education, 2016). However, when the texts came closest to the sector, such as Te Whāraki (Ministry of Education, 1996; 2017b) and the Licensing Criteria Early Childhood Education and Care (Ministry of Education, 2008), the discourses of socialism, te Ao Māori and neoliberalism, nullified, transformed and modified one another. These findings were exemplified in the updated Te Whāraki (Ministry of Education, 2017b), that limited the neoliberal use of individualism from the original, while also upgrading children’s future potential. ‘Future’ within this text, however, was constructed through a modification of te Ao Māori by absorbing and embodying it in incomplete ways.  
 
This thesis analysed the presence of neoliberalism, socialism and te Ao Māori in fundamental policy documents that frame New Zealand early childhood practice. It did so to critically engage with, and thus make sense of, neoliberalism’s application and potential growth in New Zealand early childhood policies from 1989 to 2017. The research additionally focused on the interplay of socialist and te Ao Māori discourses in these texts, in conjunction with neoliberalism. It employed a poststructuralist conceptual framework that utilised Kristeva’s intertextuality and Foucault’s discourse, governmentality, and power/knowledge. The philosophical framework facilitated an appreciation of the early childhood education (ECE) sector and government discourses, via policies that exhibited discursive power, truths, and knowledges. This thesis’ approach was employed through a critical discourse analysis, incorporating Kristeva’s intertextuality, Fairclough’s manifest intertextuality and interdiscursivity, as well as a keyword search. This form of document analysis was selected because it enabled me as the researcher to gain a deeper more developed understanding of the policy texts, eliciting meaning and recognition of the discourses often naturalised within them. 
 
Contrary to the dominant claims in ECE literature concerning contemporary discourse, the analysis did not discover the neoliberal discourse’s predominance within the selected policies and documents, as was expected. The neoliberal discourse did exist within government endorsed texts, such as the foreword of Te Whāriki (Ministry of Education, 2017b) and Four Year Plan 2016-2020 (Ministry of Education, 2016). However, when the texts came closest to the sector, such as Te Whāraki (Ministry of Education, 1996; 2017b) and the Licensing Criteria Early Childhood Education and Care (Ministry of Education, 2008), the discourses of socialism, te Ao Māori and neoliberalism, nullified, transformed and modified one another. These findings were exemplified in the updated Te Whāraki (Ministry of Education, 2017b), that limited the neoliberal use of individualism from the original, while also upgrading children’s future potential. ‘Future’ within this text, however, was constructed through a modification of te Ao Māori by absorbing and embodying it in incomplete ways.  
 
This thesis analysed the presence of neoliberalism, socialism and te Ao Māori in fundamental policy documents that frame New Zealand early childhood practice. It did so to critically engage with, and thus make sense of, neoliberalism’s application and potential growth in New Zealand early childhood policies from 1989 to 2017. The research additionally focused on the interplay of socialist and te Ao Māori discourses in these texts, in conjunction with neoliberalism. It employed a poststructuralist conceptual framework that utilised Kristeva’s intertextuality and Foucault’s discourse, governmentality, and power/knowledge. The philosophical framework facilitated an appreciation of the early childhood education (ECE) sector and government discourses, via policies that exhibited discursive power, truths, and knowledges. This thesis’ approach was employed through a critical discourse analysis, incorporating Kristeva’s intertextuality, Fairclough’s manifest intertextuality and interdiscursivity, as well as a keyword search. This form of document analysis was selected because it enabled me as the researcher to gain a deeper more developed understanding of the policy texts, eliciting meaning and recognition of the discourses often naturalised within them. 
 
Contrary to the dominant claims in ECE literature concerning contemporary discourse, the analysis did not discover the neoliberal discourse’s predominance within the selected policies and documents, as was expected. The neoliberal discourse did exist within government endorsed texts, such as the foreword of Te Whāriki (Ministry of Education, 2017b) and Four Year Plan 2016-2020 (Ministry of Education, 2016). However, when the texts came closest to the sector, such as Te Whāraki (Ministry of Education, 1996; 2017b) and the Licensing Criteria Early Childhood Education and Care (Ministry of Education, 2008), the discourses of socialism, te Ao Māori and neoliberalism, nullified, transformed and modified one another. These findings were exemplified in the updated Te Whāraki (Ministry of Education, 2017b), that limited the neoliberal use of individualism from the original, while also upgrading children’s future potential. ‘Future’ within this text, however, was constructed through a modification of te Ao Māori by absorbing and embodying it in incomplete ways.  
 
The findings of this thesis imply socialism, te Ao Māori and neoliberalism are constantly competing with one another in the analysed policies that construct New Zealand ECE discourses and, as a consequence, influence practice. This plurality has the potential to hinder one discourse from gaining domination over the others. Their joint consumption's and conflicts appear to periodically lessen and strengthen neoliberalism’s power/knowledges across eras, administrations, policies and paragraphs, as exemplified in the updated curriculum. These findings imply that the ‘drivers’ of power are pivotal, hindering and strengthening these discourses which are both complementary and competing. Additionally, the thesis establishes implications regarding the rich complexities of discourses, which can conceal themselves in other discourses, calling for deeper critical reflection if some power/knowledges are to be reduced.

text: Shifting tectonic plates of key discourses in New Zealand early childhood education policy (1989-2017):  A critical discourse analysis at the dawn of change This thesis analysed the presence of neoliberalism, socialism and te Ao Māori in fundamental policy documents that frame New Zealand early childhood practice. It did so to critically engage with, and thus make sense of, neoliberalism’s application and potential growth in New Zealand early childhood policies from 1989 to 2017. The research additionally focused on the interplay of socialist and te Ao Māori discourses in these texts, in conjunction with neoliberalism. It employed a poststructuralist conceptual framework that utilised Kristeva’s intertextuality and Foucault’s discourse, governmentality, and power/knowledge. The philosophical framework facilitated an appreciation of the early childhood education (ECE) sector and government discourses, via policies that exhibited discursive power, truths, and knowledges. This thesis’ approach was employed through a critical discourse analysis, incorporating Kristeva’s intertextuality, Fairclough’s manifest intertextuality and interdiscursivity, as well as a keyword search. This form of document analysis was selected because it enabled me as the researcher to gain a deeper more developed understanding of the policy texts, eliciting meaning and recognition of the discourses often naturalised within them. 
 
Contrary to the dominant claims in ECE literature concerning contemporary discourse, the analysis did not discover the neoliberal discourse’s predominance within the selected policies and documents, as was expected. The neoliberal discourse did exist within government endorsed texts, such as the foreword of Te Whāriki (Ministry of Education, 2017b) and Four Year Plan 2016-2020 (Ministry of Education, 2016). However, when the texts came closest to the sector, such as Te Whāraki (Ministry of Education, 1996; 2017b) and the Licensing Criteria Early Childhood Education and Care (Ministry of Education, 2008), the discourses of socialism, te Ao Māori and neoliberalism, nullified, transformed and modified one another. These findings were exemplified in the updated Te Whāraki (Ministry of Education, 2017b), that limited the neoliberal use of individualism from the original, while also upgrading children’s future potential. ‘Future’ within this text, however, was constructed through a modification of te Ao Māori by absorbing and embodying it in incomplete ways.  
 
This thesis analysed the presence of neoliberalism, socialism and te Ao Māori in fundamental policy documents that frame New Zealand early childhood practice. It did so to critically engage with, and thus make sense of, neoliberalism’s application and potential growth in New Zealand early childhood policies from 1989 to 2017. The research additionally focused on the interplay of socialist and te Ao Māori discourses in these texts, in conjunction with neoliberalism. It employed a poststructuralist conceptual framework that utilised Kristeva’s intertextuality and Foucault’s discourse, governmentality, and power/knowledge. The philosophical framework facilitated an appreciation of the early childhood education (ECE) sector and government discourses, via policies that exhibited discursive power, truths, and knowledges. This thesis’ approach was employed through a critical discourse analysis, incorporating Kristeva’s intertextuality, Fairclough’s manifest intertextuality and interdiscursivity, as well as a keyword search. This form of document analysis was selected because it enabled me as the researcher to gain a deeper more developed understanding of the policy texts, eliciting meaning and recognition of the discourses often naturalised within them. 
 
Contrary to the dominant claims in ECE literature concerning contemporary discourse, the analysis did not discover the neoliberal discourse’s predominance within the selected policies and documents, as was expected. The neoliberal discourse did exist within government endorsed texts, such as the foreword of Te Whāriki (Ministry of Education, 2017b) and Four Year Plan 2016-2020 (Ministry of Education, 2016). However, when the texts came closest to the sector, such as Te Whāraki (Ministry of Education, 1996; 2017b) and the Licensing Criteria Early Childhood Education and Care (Ministry of Education, 2008), the discourses of socialism, te Ao Māori and neoliberalism, nullified, transformed and modified one another. These findings were exemplified in the updated Te Whāraki (Ministry of Education, 2017b), that limited the neoliberal use of individualism from the original, while also upgrading children’s future potential. ‘Future’ within this text, however, was constructed through a modification of te Ao Māori by absorbing and embodying it in incomplete ways.  
 
This thesis analysed the presence of neoliberalism, socialism and te Ao Māori in fundamental policy documents that frame New Zealand early childhood practice. It did so to critically engage with, and thus make sense of, neoliberalism’s application and potential growth in New Zealand early childhood policies from 1989 to 2017. The research additionally focused on the interplay of socialist and te Ao Māori discourses in these texts, in conjunction with neoliberalism. It employed a poststructuralist conceptual framework that utilised Kristeva’s intertextuality and Foucault’s discourse, governmentality, and power/knowledge. The philosophical framework facilitated an appreciation of the early childhood education (ECE) sector and government discourses, via policies that exhibited discursive power, truths, and knowledges. This thesis’ approach was employed through a critical discourse analysis, incorporating Kristeva’s intertextuality, Fairclough’s manifest intertextuality and interdiscursivity, as well as a keyword search. This form of document analysis was selected because it enabled me as the researcher to gain a deeper more developed understanding of the policy texts, eliciting meaning and recognition of the discourses often naturalised within them. 
 
Contrary to the dominant claims in ECE literature concerning contemporary discourse, the analysis did not discover the neoliberal discourse’s predominance within the selected policies and documents, as was expected. The neoliberal discourse did exist within government endorsed texts, such as the foreword of Te Whāriki (Ministry of Education, 2017b) and Four Year Plan 2016-2020 (Ministry of Education, 2016). However, when the texts came closest to the sector, such as Te Whāraki (Ministry of Education, 1996; 2017b) and the Licensing Criteria Early Childhood Education and Care (Ministry of Education, 2008), the discourses of socialism, te Ao Māori and neoliberalism, nullified, transformed and modified one another. These findings were exemplified in the updated Te Whāraki (Ministry of Education, 2017b), that limited the neoliberal use of individualism from the original, while also upgrading children’s future potential. ‘Future’ within this text, however, was constructed through a modification of te Ao Māori by absorbing and embodying it in incomplete ways.  
 
The findings of this thesis imply socialism, te Ao Māori and neoliberalism are constantly competing with one another in the analysed policies that construct New Zealand ECE discourses and, as a consequence, influence practice. This plurality has the potential to hinder one discourse from gaining domination over the others. Their joint consumption's and conflicts appear to periodically lessen and strengthen neoliberalism’s power/knowledges across eras, administrations, policies and paragraphs, as exemplified in the updated curriculum. These findings imply that the ‘drivers’ of power are pivotal, hindering and strengthening these discourses which are both complementary and competing. Additionally, the thesis establishes implications regarding the rich complexities of discourses, which can conceal themselves in other discourses, calling for deeper critical reflection if some power/knowledges are to be reduced.

year: 2018