title: An exploration of issues for effective home-school communication strategies with Asian immigrant parents

authors: Gilby, Karen Lynette Douglas

subjects: home-school communication

abstract: The far-reaching effects of 21st century globalisation have meant that schools are facing an increasingly culturally and linguistically diverse parent community, a situation which presents educators with both opportunities and challenges. While international academic literature has recently begun to focus on the issues and challenges of cross-cultural communication with Asian immigrant parents in Western societies, New Zealand-based educational research has focused on independent international fee-paying students, as opposed to New Zealand-domiciled students and their parents. Post-modern influences, with the resultant emphasis on contextualisation of education, combined with increasing cultural and linguistic diversity in the parent community, has underscored the need for effective home-school communication practices.

This small-scale, exploratory, qualitative research project documents the personal home-school communication experiences of Asian immigrant parents. The study uses empirical data collected from semi-structured individual and group interviews with seven parents from Korea, Hong-Kong and Mainland China, who reside in Tauranga, a growing provincial city located in the Bay of Plenty region, New Zealand. By focusing on the implementation of the revised New Zealand Curriculum and the inaugural changes to the National Certificate in Educational Achievement (NCEA) Level 1 qualification in 2011, this research examines the extent of parental understanding and the effectiveness of current home-school communication practices.
 
The findings reveal that current home-school communication processes and practices are largely ineffective with this parent group, and highlight the disparity between high parental expectations and the rudimentary knowledge that they hold. A thematic analysis corroborates empirical data with academic rationale, and highlights an extensive language barrier, unrecognised cultural aspects of communication, inaccurate knowledge from alternative sources of information, and potentially conflicting worldviews of education.

A strategic leadership vision, along with a multifaceted commitment to action, is required to adopt approaches to home-school communication which facilitate effective communication, as well as the inclusion and integration of Asian immigrant parents as legitimate and recognised members of the school community. This study recommends the provision of multi-lingual resources for parents, ethnic-specific parent meetings, a formal liaison and advocacy role, and the development of ethnic community links to enhance home-school communication practices.
 
The discussion concludes with an epilogue, which outlines an ethnic-specific Korean parent meeting and demonstrates the practical application of recommendations contained within the study.

text: An exploration of issues for effective home-school communication strategies with Asian immigrant parents The far-reaching effects of 21st century globalisation have meant that schools are facing an increasingly culturally and linguistically diverse parent community, a situation which presents educators with both opportunities and challenges. While international academic literature has recently begun to focus on the issues and challenges of cross-cultural communication with Asian immigrant parents in Western societies, New Zealand-based educational research has focused on independent international fee-paying students, as opposed to New Zealand-domiciled students and their parents. Post-modern influences, with the resultant emphasis on contextualisation of education, combined with increasing cultural and linguistic diversity in the parent community, has underscored the need for effective home-school communication practices.

This small-scale, exploratory, qualitative research project documents the personal home-school communication experiences of Asian immigrant parents. The study uses empirical data collected from semi-structured individual and group interviews with seven parents from Korea, Hong-Kong and Mainland China, who reside in Tauranga, a growing provincial city located in the Bay of Plenty region, New Zealand. By focusing on the implementation of the revised New Zealand Curriculum and the inaugural changes to the National Certificate in Educational Achievement (NCEA) Level 1 qualification in 2011, this research examines the extent of parental understanding and the effectiveness of current home-school communication practices.
 
The findings reveal that current home-school communication processes and practices are largely ineffective with this parent group, and highlight the disparity between high parental expectations and the rudimentary knowledge that they hold. A thematic analysis corroborates empirical data with academic rationale, and highlights an extensive language barrier, unrecognised cultural aspects of communication, inaccurate knowledge from alternative sources of information, and potentially conflicting worldviews of education.

A strategic leadership vision, along with a multifaceted commitment to action, is required to adopt approaches to home-school communication which facilitate effective communication, as well as the inclusion and integration of Asian immigrant parents as legitimate and recognised members of the school community. This study recommends the provision of multi-lingual resources for parents, ethnic-specific parent meetings, a formal liaison and advocacy role, and the development of ethnic community links to enhance home-school communication practices.
 
The discussion concludes with an epilogue, which outlines an ethnic-specific Korean parent meeting and demonstrates the practical application of recommendations contained within the study.

year: 2012

title: Surgical tool datasets for machine learning research: A survey

authors: Rodrigues, Mark William

subjects: Science & Technology

abstract: This paper is a comprehensive survey of datasets for surgical tool detection and related surgical data science and machine learning techniques and algorithms. The survey offers a high level perspective of current research in this area, analyses the taxonomy of approaches adopted by researchers using surgical tool datasets, and addresses key areas of research, such as the datasets used, evaluation metrics applied and deep learning techniques utilised. Our presentation and taxonomy provides a framework that facilitates greater understanding of current work, and highlights the challenges and opportunities for further innovative and useful research.

text: Surgical tool datasets for machine learning research: A survey This paper is a comprehensive survey of datasets for surgical tool detection and related surgical data science and machine learning techniques and algorithms. The survey offers a high level perspective of current research in this area, analyses the taxonomy of approaches adopted by researchers using surgical tool datasets, and addresses key areas of research, such as the datasets used, evaluation metrics applied and deep learning techniques utilised. Our presentation and taxonomy provides a framework that facilitates greater understanding of current work, and highlights the challenges and opportunities for further innovative and useful research.

year: 2022

title: Closing geographical distances: The value of a New Zealand perspective on the admission policy of a Native Hawaiian School

authors: Hemi, Keakaokawai Varner

subjects: Racial discrimination

abstract: This article examines the legal narratives evident in the American federal court decision in Doe v Kamehameha Schools (Kamehameha).' The article first describes the historical development of everyone/ no-one, someone and Indigenous equality narratives and their particular impact on the narration of Indigenous peoples in the law. It then examines how the opinions of the United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in this case exhibit significant narrative confusion and distrust about the relationship between Indigenous identity and equality, with the Ninth Circuit interpreting the Native Hawaiian schools' preference for Native Hawaiian students as either reverse racial discrimination or an exception to the general rule of homogeneity and anonymity. For comparison, the article then examines similar equality narratives in New Zealand law, which reveal few legal challenges to admission policies which, either explicitly or implicitly, prefer Maori and demonstrate a narrative complementarity between equality and Indigenous identity. The article recognises that, while complementarity could clarify the narrative issues in Kamehameha for future American federal courts, it also provides the opportunity for New Zealand to pause and reflect. Ultimately, the article advocates a weaving of equality narratives across geographical distances.

text: Closing geographical distances: The value of a New Zealand perspective on the admission policy of a Native Hawaiian School This article examines the legal narratives evident in the American federal court decision in Doe v Kamehameha Schools (Kamehameha).' The article first describes the historical development of everyone/ no-one, someone and Indigenous equality narratives and their particular impact on the narration of Indigenous peoples in the law. It then examines how the opinions of the United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in this case exhibit significant narrative confusion and distrust about the relationship between Indigenous identity and equality, with the Ninth Circuit interpreting the Native Hawaiian schools' preference for Native Hawaiian students as either reverse racial discrimination or an exception to the general rule of homogeneity and anonymity. For comparison, the article then examines similar equality narratives in New Zealand law, which reveal few legal challenges to admission policies which, either explicitly or implicitly, prefer Maori and demonstrate a narrative complementarity between equality and Indigenous identity. The article recognises that, while complementarity could clarify the narrative issues in Kamehameha for future American federal courts, it also provides the opportunity for New Zealand to pause and reflect. Ultimately, the article advocates a weaving of equality narratives across geographical distances.

year: 2016