title: New stories of identity: Alternatives to suspension and exclusion from school

authors: McMenamin, Donald

subjects: School suspension

abstract: School suspension and exclusion practices are currently under the spotlight. Many schools go to great lengths before employing these disciplinary options. However even in the midst of practices of care for young people, very little attention is paid to the discursive conditions in which exclusion and suspension arise. In this thesis I theorise and research an alternative response to suspension and exclusion. I engage in post-structuralist discursive analysis to propose that young peoples’ actions, including unacceptable behaviours, are not so much evidence of a personality to be fixed, managed or disciplined, as they are the effect of prevailing discourses about how young people ought to act. Calling on narrative therapy practice I then propose that young people’s discursively shaped identity stories and reputations can be re-authored within communities of care. Such re-authoring produces a range of changes including in a young person’s actions at school.
In this study I use case examples from two New Zealand schools to demonstrate how prevailing discourses shape the language and responses of participants at times which may lead to suspension or exclusion from school being considered. I explore how the development of alternative identity stories and reputations for young people can lead to significant changes in young peoples’ actions and those of their teachers at school. To achieve this I analyse interview transcripts and school records concerning a situation which led to a suspension. I highlight the presence and effect of prevailing discourses (discursive analysis), and the way participants’ words intend a desired effect (performative language) and draw on familiar stories to enhance desired effect (intertextuality). In this thesis I offer a critique of rationalist interpretations of young peoples’ actions, and explore alternative discursive and narrative models of interpreting and responding to young peoples’ actions.
My research findings highlight: the effectiveness of discursive awareness and re-authoring as a response to young people at times of suspension and exclusion being considered; the need for on-going support for emerging alternative reputations; the need for cultural safety and awareness in providing a place for Pakeha researchers to work effectively with Māori young people and communities; and the need for discursive and narrative practices to be offered in dialogue with schools’ particular ethical purposes. I argue that the practices I research in this thesis offer a way for schools to further reduce the use of suspensions and exclusions at school.

text: New stories of identity: Alternatives to suspension and exclusion from school School suspension and exclusion practices are currently under the spotlight. Many schools go to great lengths before employing these disciplinary options. However even in the midst of practices of care for young people, very little attention is paid to the discursive conditions in which exclusion and suspension arise. In this thesis I theorise and research an alternative response to suspension and exclusion. I engage in post-structuralist discursive analysis to propose that young peoples’ actions, including unacceptable behaviours, are not so much evidence of a personality to be fixed, managed or disciplined, as they are the effect of prevailing discourses about how young people ought to act. Calling on narrative therapy practice I then propose that young people’s discursively shaped identity stories and reputations can be re-authored within communities of care. Such re-authoring produces a range of changes including in a young person’s actions at school.
In this study I use case examples from two New Zealand schools to demonstrate how prevailing discourses shape the language and responses of participants at times which may lead to suspension or exclusion from school being considered. I explore how the development of alternative identity stories and reputations for young people can lead to significant changes in young peoples’ actions and those of their teachers at school. To achieve this I analyse interview transcripts and school records concerning a situation which led to a suspension. I highlight the presence and effect of prevailing discourses (discursive analysis), and the way participants’ words intend a desired effect (performative language) and draw on familiar stories to enhance desired effect (intertextuality). In this thesis I offer a critique of rationalist interpretations of young peoples’ actions, and explore alternative discursive and narrative models of interpreting and responding to young peoples’ actions.
My research findings highlight: the effectiveness of discursive awareness and re-authoring as a response to young people at times of suspension and exclusion being considered; the need for on-going support for emerging alternative reputations; the need for cultural safety and awareness in providing a place for Pakeha researchers to work effectively with Māori young people and communities; and the need for discursive and narrative practices to be offered in dialogue with schools’ particular ethical purposes. I argue that the practices I research in this thesis offer a way for schools to further reduce the use of suspensions and exclusions at school.

year: 2014

title: Āta whakarongo: Understanding whānau experiences of audiology early intervention

authors: Dargaville, Cynthia Michelle

subjects: Māori

abstract: For tamariki with hearing loss, early intervention is of critical importance in maximising speech and language, socio-emotional and academic development outcomes. Better hearing outcomes can be achieved by minimising diagnosis delays and initiating intervention treatment as soon as possible. Preliminary data from Waikato District Health Board indicated an equity gap at the point of diagnosis with persisting inequities for tamariki Māori during the delivery of early intervention services. High rates of appointment non-attendance within this group (27% Māori vs. 8% for non-Māori) are a cause for concern when approximately 50% of total appointments are for tamariki Māori. This research seeks to understand the experiences of Māori whānau accessing Waikato’s Audiology Early Intervention Service in order to identify changes the service can make to improve Māori engagement in the future. This study uses qualitative methodologies within a kaupapa Māori framework to investigate the access experiences of Māori whānau of tamariki identified with hearing loss. Interviews with six whānau from Hamilton city and rural Waikato provided rich narratives to inform changes to the Audiology Service to improve the hearing outcomes of tamariki Māori. Whānau shared systems and practical barriers that contributed to challenges with attending appointments including the location, appointment timing, travel and parking. From entering an unwelcoming waiting area, whānau described the added stress experienced to the depth of their emotional response to the hearing loss diagnosis. All shared positive interactions with staff and detailed what could have made their health experience better. After leaning into the kōrero and connecting to the whānau experience, a Manaaki-based pathway is proposed to support Māori ways of being, to ease whānau through the barriers and to combat the alienating experiences of engaging with the health system.

text: Āta whakarongo: Understanding whānau experiences of audiology early intervention For tamariki with hearing loss, early intervention is of critical importance in maximising speech and language, socio-emotional and academic development outcomes. Better hearing outcomes can be achieved by minimising diagnosis delays and initiating intervention treatment as soon as possible. Preliminary data from Waikato District Health Board indicated an equity gap at the point of diagnosis with persisting inequities for tamariki Māori during the delivery of early intervention services. High rates of appointment non-attendance within this group (27% Māori vs. 8% for non-Māori) are a cause for concern when approximately 50% of total appointments are for tamariki Māori. This research seeks to understand the experiences of Māori whānau accessing Waikato’s Audiology Early Intervention Service in order to identify changes the service can make to improve Māori engagement in the future. This study uses qualitative methodologies within a kaupapa Māori framework to investigate the access experiences of Māori whānau of tamariki identified with hearing loss. Interviews with six whānau from Hamilton city and rural Waikato provided rich narratives to inform changes to the Audiology Service to improve the hearing outcomes of tamariki Māori. Whānau shared systems and practical barriers that contributed to challenges with attending appointments including the location, appointment timing, travel and parking. From entering an unwelcoming waiting area, whānau described the added stress experienced to the depth of their emotional response to the hearing loss diagnosis. All shared positive interactions with staff and detailed what could have made their health experience better. After leaning into the kōrero and connecting to the whānau experience, a Manaaki-based pathway is proposed to support Māori ways of being, to ease whānau through the barriers and to combat the alienating experiences of engaging with the health system.

year: 2023

title: Crustal and mantle influences and U–Th–Ra disequilibrium in andesitic lavas of Ngauruhoe volcano, New Zealand

authors: Price, Richard C.

subjects: andesite

abstract: The andesitic volcano Ngauruhoe, which is located within the Tongariro Volcanic Complex at the southern end of the Taupo Volcanic Zone in North Island, New Zealand, has been constructed over the past 5 ka and last erupted in 1975. Nearby Ruapehu volcano has a much longer eruptive history extending back beyond 230 ka B.P. The magmas erupted at both volcanoes have been predominantly medium-K basaltic andesites and andesites, which evolved through polybaric crystal fractionation and assimilation processes that took place within complex, dispersed magmatic storage systems. Despite their close spatial proximity, the two volcanoes show geochemical contrasts suggesting that in each case both the mantle-derived parental magmas and the crustal assimilants were different.
Variations in major and trace element data for Ngauruhoe lavas indicate control by crystal fractionation and assimilation (AFC) but the data are difficult to reconcile with derivation from a single batch of compositionally unique, mantle-derived parental basalt. Geochemical variation can be approximated by generalised AFC models using average basement or crustal xenolith compositions but precise mathematical modelling is limited because of the sensitivity of models to the selection of a particular parental composition and the difficulty of determining the exact nature of the crustal assimilant compositions that might have been involved in each specific case.
U–Th isotopic data for Ngauruhoe volcanic rocks show disequilibrium that defines a positively inclined array lying to the right of the equiline on a ²³⁰Th/²³²Th versus ²³⁸U/²³² Th diagram. U-series data for Ngauruhoe and post 1945 AD Ruapehu eruptives show similar patterns of disequilibrium but the Ngauruhoe data define an array with a different slope and a different intercept on the equiline. ²³⁰Th/²³⁸ U ratios in Ngauruhoe lavas range from close to secular equilibrium (0.979) to 0.864 with the youngest (post 1870 AD) eruptives showing the least disequilibrium. ²³⁰Th/²³⁸U and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios are correlated; the samples with the highest ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values show the least disequilibrium. There is also a correlation between eruption age and Nd and Pb isotopic composition; the oldest samples tend to show the least radiogenic isotopic ratios. These data, in combination with major and trace element abundance data indicate that Ngauruhoe U–Th disequilibrium is determined by variations in parental magmatic compositions and AFC. Unlike the mature, long-lived Ruapehu system, Ngauruhoe's eruptive cycles can be directly connected to periodic magma recharge from the lower crust and mantle. For Ngauruhoe eruptives, ²²⁶Ra/²³⁰Th varies from 1.218 to 1.492. This compares with a range of 0.972 to 1.186 for Ruapehu lavas erupted between 1945 and 1996. Reconciling the ²²⁶Ra/²³⁰Th data with decay during fractional crystallisation requires relatively low rates of fractionation (1–5 × 10⁻⁵/year) and short (1000–2000 years) fractionation times.

text: Crustal and mantle influences and U–Th–Ra disequilibrium in andesitic lavas of Ngauruhoe volcano, New Zealand The andesitic volcano Ngauruhoe, which is located within the Tongariro Volcanic Complex at the southern end of the Taupo Volcanic Zone in North Island, New Zealand, has been constructed over the past 5 ka and last erupted in 1975. Nearby Ruapehu volcano has a much longer eruptive history extending back beyond 230 ka B.P. The magmas erupted at both volcanoes have been predominantly medium-K basaltic andesites and andesites, which evolved through polybaric crystal fractionation and assimilation processes that took place within complex, dispersed magmatic storage systems. Despite their close spatial proximity, the two volcanoes show geochemical contrasts suggesting that in each case both the mantle-derived parental magmas and the crustal assimilants were different.
Variations in major and trace element data for Ngauruhoe lavas indicate control by crystal fractionation and assimilation (AFC) but the data are difficult to reconcile with derivation from a single batch of compositionally unique, mantle-derived parental basalt. Geochemical variation can be approximated by generalised AFC models using average basement or crustal xenolith compositions but precise mathematical modelling is limited because of the sensitivity of models to the selection of a particular parental composition and the difficulty of determining the exact nature of the crustal assimilant compositions that might have been involved in each specific case.
U–Th isotopic data for Ngauruhoe volcanic rocks show disequilibrium that defines a positively inclined array lying to the right of the equiline on a ²³⁰Th/²³²Th versus ²³⁸U/²³² Th diagram. U-series data for Ngauruhoe and post 1945 AD Ruapehu eruptives show similar patterns of disequilibrium but the Ngauruhoe data define an array with a different slope and a different intercept on the equiline. ²³⁰Th/²³⁸ U ratios in Ngauruhoe lavas range from close to secular equilibrium (0.979) to 0.864 with the youngest (post 1870 AD) eruptives showing the least disequilibrium. ²³⁰Th/²³⁸U and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios are correlated; the samples with the highest ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values show the least disequilibrium. There is also a correlation between eruption age and Nd and Pb isotopic composition; the oldest samples tend to show the least radiogenic isotopic ratios. These data, in combination with major and trace element abundance data indicate that Ngauruhoe U–Th disequilibrium is determined by variations in parental magmatic compositions and AFC. Unlike the mature, long-lived Ruapehu system, Ngauruhoe's eruptive cycles can be directly connected to periodic magma recharge from the lower crust and mantle. For Ngauruhoe eruptives, ²²⁶Ra/²³⁰Th varies from 1.218 to 1.492. This compares with a range of 0.972 to 1.186 for Ruapehu lavas erupted between 1945 and 1996. Reconciling the ²²⁶Ra/²³⁰Th data with decay during fractional crystallisation requires relatively low rates of fractionation (1–5 × 10⁻⁵/year) and short (1000–2000 years) fractionation times.

year: 2010