title: School-based placement in a distance intial teacher education programme

authors: Ussher, William (Bill) Grant

subjects: school-based placement

abstract: School-based experiences provide opportunities and challenges for student teachers and teacher-educators in initial teacher education (ITE). Researchers and ITE providers highlight school-based experiences as occasions for learning teaching in a supported environment, practising theory learned through study and theorising their own and others’ practice. School-based experiences in distance education require greater emphasis on the importance of partnerships and relationships. For students studying by distance effective communication, community building and professional agency are important in overcoming separation and enabling authentic experiences. This qualitative study uncovers new knowledge about distance school-based experiences using a combination of interpretive, naturalistic and case study methodologies. It offers a holistic view of the school-based experiences, seeking links and relationships between important factors. The individual and collective voices of nine student teachers, gathered through written narratives and focus group conversations, yielded rich data about their experiences and perspectives of placement in nine New Zealand primary schools. The multiple realities presented were collated to create four collective stories. The students’ collective stories were validated through semi-structured interviews with the coordinating teachers and university lecturers who worked with them. A conceptual framework, developed as a model, focused the analysis and interpretation of the data. While each school-based placement could have been a case study on its own, this investigation found six key factors common to the nine settings. Two findings were of particular significance. First, as earlier researchers reported, the relationship between student and the classroom teacher was critical, even more so for student teachers in a distance school-based experience. Second, student teachers who had the confidence and encouragement to engage with a wider range of professionals created more opportunities to learn teaching. For them the whole school became their ‘village’ for learning, where children and colleagues were an integral part of their learning community, creating opportunities to interact with a wider range of learners. This allowed them to view teaching and learning through various perspectives. Other findings were, third, that members of school-based communities who regarded students as committed, rewarded them with time, support and opportunities for teaching learning. Fourth, support and time provided to all partners in a school-based placement enabled them to better manage the demands of a placement. Fifth, being well-informed as placement leaders (teachers and lecturers) conveyed confidence and signified they understood relevant aspects of the placement, which enabled them to meet obligations in supporting the student teacher. Sixth, I uncovered mixed views on whether student teachers should be placed in a school where they had an earlier experience, for example as a teacher aide or parent helper. Most participants supported the idea of distance student teachers working in a familiar school, a significant issue for prospective student teachers living in small or remote communities in New Zealand. Finally, the conceptual framework was re-examined in light of the findings. It emerged as an appropriate theoretical model for the purpose of guiding review and development of school-based experiences, especially for those students studying by distance.

text: School-based placement in a distance intial teacher education programme School-based experiences provide opportunities and challenges for student teachers and teacher-educators in initial teacher education (ITE). Researchers and ITE providers highlight school-based experiences as occasions for learning teaching in a supported environment, practising theory learned through study and theorising their own and others’ practice. School-based experiences in distance education require greater emphasis on the importance of partnerships and relationships. For students studying by distance effective communication, community building and professional agency are important in overcoming separation and enabling authentic experiences. This qualitative study uncovers new knowledge about distance school-based experiences using a combination of interpretive, naturalistic and case study methodologies. It offers a holistic view of the school-based experiences, seeking links and relationships between important factors. The individual and collective voices of nine student teachers, gathered through written narratives and focus group conversations, yielded rich data about their experiences and perspectives of placement in nine New Zealand primary schools. The multiple realities presented were collated to create four collective stories. The students’ collective stories were validated through semi-structured interviews with the coordinating teachers and university lecturers who worked with them. A conceptual framework, developed as a model, focused the analysis and interpretation of the data. While each school-based placement could have been a case study on its own, this investigation found six key factors common to the nine settings. Two findings were of particular significance. First, as earlier researchers reported, the relationship between student and the classroom teacher was critical, even more so for student teachers in a distance school-based experience. Second, student teachers who had the confidence and encouragement to engage with a wider range of professionals created more opportunities to learn teaching. For them the whole school became their ‘village’ for learning, where children and colleagues were an integral part of their learning community, creating opportunities to interact with a wider range of learners. This allowed them to view teaching and learning through various perspectives. Other findings were, third, that members of school-based communities who regarded students as committed, rewarded them with time, support and opportunities for teaching learning. Fourth, support and time provided to all partners in a school-based placement enabled them to better manage the demands of a placement. Fifth, being well-informed as placement leaders (teachers and lecturers) conveyed confidence and signified they understood relevant aspects of the placement, which enabled them to meet obligations in supporting the student teacher. Sixth, I uncovered mixed views on whether student teachers should be placed in a school where they had an earlier experience, for example as a teacher aide or parent helper. Most participants supported the idea of distance student teachers working in a familiar school, a significant issue for prospective student teachers living in small or remote communities in New Zealand. Finally, the conceptual framework was re-examined in light of the findings. It emerged as an appropriate theoretical model for the purpose of guiding review and development of school-based experiences, especially for those students studying by distance.

year: 2011

title: Navigating the waters: Swimming in Samoa; resistance, negotiation, acceptance and identity: a reflexive examination of the socio-cultural influences on competitive swimming participation in Samoa

authors: Schuster, Suzanne

subjects: Swimming

abstract: Swimming and water-based activities are replete within Polynesian history through missionary accounts, ethnographic writings and historical accounts. However, formal competitive swimming began in the Oceania region in 1963, with Samoa joining in 2003. For the past two decades, the sport has grown slowly and with little explanation. A growing corpus of research has found that Samoa’s historical landscape and its unique culture have influenced sport engagement, even though non-mainstream sports, such as swimming, have received less attention. 
This thesis examines the enablers and constraints on swimming participation in Samoa. The research used a Samoan conceptual framework, the Talanoa ile i’a, that has an inherent multiperspectival design. This proverbial expression, coupled with the talanoa method, was used to capture the voices of 32 participants living in Samoa who were affiliated with swimming, competitive swimming and sports development. The data were condensed into unique stories, vignettes, and poetry using thematic analysis and creative nonfiction practices to construct a multiperspectival window into the life of a swimmer in Samoa, traversing across a variety of periods, locales, geographical settings and experiences.
The stories of the participants were structured around several themes, including natural and built swimming environments, freedom, fear, and humour, disobedience and obedience, being seen but not heard, and becoming a swimmer. Written from the perspectives of the swimmer, parent, coach, swimming pool, and the code, the stories highlighted the challenges of negotiating traditional roles and expectations, infrastructure issues, rural and urban disparities, the parent-child divide, and sport-related conflict. 
There were three significant findings that could contribute to sports and swimming development in Samoa. The first discovery was the power and influence of the parent's voice, which directly supported or opposed the child's decision to become a swimmer which was hinged on the cultural value of time. Secondly, the challenges of being seen, metaphorically, geographically, and physically, in a new sport and context revealed novel evidence on gendered competitive swimming experiences, including the internationalisation of semi-nudity social norms. Lastly, the findings revealed that a young person's sense of agency and identity as a swimmer intersected and clashed with cultural elements, but through a process of resistance, negotiation, and self-acceptance within the family and community, a young person could successfully emerge as a contemporary competitive swimmer. 
Furthermore, the thesis provided new insights into the existing conceptual framework. The additional perspective of the shoreline represented the personal, historical, cultural, and sociopolitical legacies that hindered the growth of competitive swimming in Samoa. The study's findings shed light on the shifting practices and perceptions of the sport, the historical and cultural influences on swimming development and the complex role of Samoan youth participating in modern sports within a non-Western society.

text: Navigating the waters: Swimming in Samoa; resistance, negotiation, acceptance and identity: a reflexive examination of the socio-cultural influences on competitive swimming participation in Samoa Swimming and water-based activities are replete within Polynesian history through missionary accounts, ethnographic writings and historical accounts. However, formal competitive swimming began in the Oceania region in 1963, with Samoa joining in 2003. For the past two decades, the sport has grown slowly and with little explanation. A growing corpus of research has found that Samoa’s historical landscape and its unique culture have influenced sport engagement, even though non-mainstream sports, such as swimming, have received less attention. 
This thesis examines the enablers and constraints on swimming participation in Samoa. The research used a Samoan conceptual framework, the Talanoa ile i’a, that has an inherent multiperspectival design. This proverbial expression, coupled with the talanoa method, was used to capture the voices of 32 participants living in Samoa who were affiliated with swimming, competitive swimming and sports development. The data were condensed into unique stories, vignettes, and poetry using thematic analysis and creative nonfiction practices to construct a multiperspectival window into the life of a swimmer in Samoa, traversing across a variety of periods, locales, geographical settings and experiences.
The stories of the participants were structured around several themes, including natural and built swimming environments, freedom, fear, and humour, disobedience and obedience, being seen but not heard, and becoming a swimmer. Written from the perspectives of the swimmer, parent, coach, swimming pool, and the code, the stories highlighted the challenges of negotiating traditional roles and expectations, infrastructure issues, rural and urban disparities, the parent-child divide, and sport-related conflict. 
There were three significant findings that could contribute to sports and swimming development in Samoa. The first discovery was the power and influence of the parent's voice, which directly supported or opposed the child's decision to become a swimmer which was hinged on the cultural value of time. Secondly, the challenges of being seen, metaphorically, geographically, and physically, in a new sport and context revealed novel evidence on gendered competitive swimming experiences, including the internationalisation of semi-nudity social norms. Lastly, the findings revealed that a young person's sense of agency and identity as a swimmer intersected and clashed with cultural elements, but through a process of resistance, negotiation, and self-acceptance within the family and community, a young person could successfully emerge as a contemporary competitive swimmer. 
Furthermore, the thesis provided new insights into the existing conceptual framework. The additional perspective of the shoreline represented the personal, historical, cultural, and sociopolitical legacies that hindered the growth of competitive swimming in Samoa. The study's findings shed light on the shifting practices and perceptions of the sport, the historical and cultural influences on swimming development and the complex role of Samoan youth participating in modern sports within a non-Western society.

year: 2023

title: Kōkō Kehe

authors: Maxwell, Te Kahautu

abstract: This composition placed first in the Poi Composition section. Kōkō Kehe; this composition is about a fish species namely the Kehe. This composition talks about the appearance of this fish it has grennstone pounamu like colour and a moko tattoo pattern like that of a Māori male. It can only be caught on certain nights by a scoop net of kōkō. March is when the kehe is in its best condition to eat. The best relish for the kehe when eaten is a kūmara. This composition was performed by Ōpōtiki Mai Tawhiti at the Te Matatini World Championship Kapa Haka 2015.

text: Kōkō Kehe This composition placed first in the Poi Composition section. Kōkō Kehe; this composition is about a fish species namely the Kehe. This composition talks about the appearance of this fish it has grennstone pounamu like colour and a moko tattoo pattern like that of a Māori male. It can only be caught on certain nights by a scoop net of kōkō. March is when the kehe is in its best condition to eat. The best relish for the kehe when eaten is a kūmara. This composition was performed by Ōpōtiki Mai Tawhiti at the Te Matatini World Championship Kapa Haka 2015.

year: 2013-11-11