title: Feeling at home? Former Bhutanese refugee women and girls in New Zealand

authors: Basnet, Sunita

abstract: This article explores the meaning of home and homemaking practices for former Bhutanese refugees, especially women and girls living in Auckland, Christchurch, Nelson, and Palmerston North in New Zealand under the refugees’ quota programme. I examine how and in what ways these women and girls experience New Zealand as ‘home’ and explore their feelings of (not) belonging. The fieldwork is part of my PhD research and was conducted between February and September 2015. A total of 42 in-depth semi-structured interviews with former Bhutanese refugees were conducted. These were mainly with women and girls, but eight men were also interviewed. In addition to individual interviews, I used a focus group interview with four girls aged between 12-15 who sketched images of their actual or imagine home. The findings are that just providing a ‘house’ to refugees does not necessarily mean that they feel at home in New Zealand. Many participants reported that family is their home. Another finding is that strong neighborhood ties contributed to feeling at home (or not). Participants also discussed what it means to be a citizen in New Zealand. Finally, I argue that researching former refugees’ home and homemaking everyday practices is useful for understanding resettlement processes and senses of belonging in New Zealand.

text: Feeling at home? Former Bhutanese refugee women and girls in New Zealand This article explores the meaning of home and homemaking practices for former Bhutanese refugees, especially women and girls living in Auckland, Christchurch, Nelson, and Palmerston North in New Zealand under the refugees’ quota programme. I examine how and in what ways these women and girls experience New Zealand as ‘home’ and explore their feelings of (not) belonging. The fieldwork is part of my PhD research and was conducted between February and September 2015. A total of 42 in-depth semi-structured interviews with former Bhutanese refugees were conducted. These were mainly with women and girls, but eight men were also interviewed. In addition to individual interviews, I used a focus group interview with four girls aged between 12-15 who sketched images of their actual or imagine home. The findings are that just providing a ‘house’ to refugees does not necessarily mean that they feel at home in New Zealand. Many participants reported that family is their home. Another finding is that strong neighborhood ties contributed to feeling at home (or not). Participants also discussed what it means to be a citizen in New Zealand. Finally, I argue that researching former refugees’ home and homemaking everyday practices is useful for understanding resettlement processes and senses of belonging in New Zealand.

year: 2016

title: Investigating teachers’ lived experiences in teaching Literature in English in Ghana

authors: Adjei Baah, Eric

abstract: This thesis investigates the professional experiences of a group of Literature in English secondary school teachers in Ghanaian schools. At the secondary level, LiE is an elective (optional) subject, and so we could expect that those choosing it would probably do well. However, this thesis investigation arose from a concern about the persistent lack of quality of student achievement in this subject, as noted in the annual Chief Examiner’ Literature in English report. These reports outlined challenges students face in responding to West African Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) Literature in English questions. I was curious about understanding what might be behind this persistent issue.  

Though English is the official language and medium of instruction from the upper primary to the tertiary level in Ghana, English is a second language. This is important when considering the nature of texts mandated by the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) Ghana every five years.  

In order to investigate this Literature in English phenomenon, I recruited volunteer teachers from Ashanti Mampong Municipal, using phenomenology as the methodological framework. As part of the investigation, I reviewed teachers’ perspectives about their professional lives through the lens of PCK, since teachers’ knowledge is an important element in teaching specific subjects. I also sought to know more about their professional teaching conditions - both barriers and enablers.  

The findings revealed teachers’ great passion for the subject and what they thought it could provide for students’ learning in terms of reading, critical thinking and writing skills. However, major barriers interfered with their good intentions:  

- the unreliability of having mandated texts available in a timely manner  
- the cost of texts to students and teachers, who must purchase them  
- the language complexity and cultural, social and historical contexts of some set texts  
- class sizes.  

The findings implied that if texts were supplied in a timely manner, and offered for students and teachers to borrow rather than purchase outright, then teachers would not need to find their own workarounds to manage the lack of texts. Also if the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) chose more contemporary and local texts, students might be more familiar with the language and contexts of the literature, and thus be more able to offer original perspectives. Teachers also had to manage large classes, making it difficult to meet students’ specific learning needs. Such barriers are likely to mitigate against teachers using the kinds of co-constructive, student-centred pedagogical practices known to enhance learning and leverage teachers’ PCK. Instead, they resorted to a range of teacher-centred pedagogies, especially when neither students nor teachers could access copies of the set texts.  

Revealing these barriers to learning can inform WAEC as it makes the next set of mandated literature choices for the next five year term. Should the government also review the status of the subject and how learning materials are provided in a timely manner, this might also benefit both learners and teachers.  

For participant teachers themselves, knowing their experiences - both positive and negative - are shared, may help them develop networks of professional support to mitigate the effects of access, class size, and text difficulty. In the end, these relatively small changes may be significant in positively altering the experiences of students and teachers in classes of Literature in English.

text: Investigating teachers’ lived experiences in teaching Literature in English in Ghana This thesis investigates the professional experiences of a group of Literature in English secondary school teachers in Ghanaian schools. At the secondary level, LiE is an elective (optional) subject, and so we could expect that those choosing it would probably do well. However, this thesis investigation arose from a concern about the persistent lack of quality of student achievement in this subject, as noted in the annual Chief Examiner’ Literature in English report. These reports outlined challenges students face in responding to West African Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) Literature in English questions. I was curious about understanding what might be behind this persistent issue.  

Though English is the official language and medium of instruction from the upper primary to the tertiary level in Ghana, English is a second language. This is important when considering the nature of texts mandated by the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) Ghana every five years.  

In order to investigate this Literature in English phenomenon, I recruited volunteer teachers from Ashanti Mampong Municipal, using phenomenology as the methodological framework. As part of the investigation, I reviewed teachers’ perspectives about their professional lives through the lens of PCK, since teachers’ knowledge is an important element in teaching specific subjects. I also sought to know more about their professional teaching conditions - both barriers and enablers.  

The findings revealed teachers’ great passion for the subject and what they thought it could provide for students’ learning in terms of reading, critical thinking and writing skills. However, major barriers interfered with their good intentions:  

- the unreliability of having mandated texts available in a timely manner  
- the cost of texts to students and teachers, who must purchase them  
- the language complexity and cultural, social and historical contexts of some set texts  
- class sizes.  

The findings implied that if texts were supplied in a timely manner, and offered for students and teachers to borrow rather than purchase outright, then teachers would not need to find their own workarounds to manage the lack of texts. Also if the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) chose more contemporary and local texts, students might be more familiar with the language and contexts of the literature, and thus be more able to offer original perspectives. Teachers also had to manage large classes, making it difficult to meet students’ specific learning needs. Such barriers are likely to mitigate against teachers using the kinds of co-constructive, student-centred pedagogical practices known to enhance learning and leverage teachers’ PCK. Instead, they resorted to a range of teacher-centred pedagogies, especially when neither students nor teachers could access copies of the set texts.  

Revealing these barriers to learning can inform WAEC as it makes the next set of mandated literature choices for the next five year term. Should the government also review the status of the subject and how learning materials are provided in a timely manner, this might also benefit both learners and teachers.  

For participant teachers themselves, knowing their experiences - both positive and negative - are shared, may help them develop networks of professional support to mitigate the effects of access, class size, and text difficulty. In the end, these relatively small changes may be significant in positively altering the experiences of students and teachers in classes of Literature in English.

year: 2024

title: Rebel discourses: Colonial violence, Pai Marire resistance and land allocation at Tauranga

authors: Kahotea, Des Tatana

abstract: This thesis is a study of resistance and power in a colonial situation, based on the ethnography of a confiscated-land claim of three hapu who had been Kingitanga supporters and Pai Marire adherents in the 19th century. It draws on archival material and insider ethnography and is arranged into four parts. The first part looks at the relationship between anthropology and colonialism, particularly the role of Sir George Grey, a Governor who used anthropological knowledge to facilitate colonial domination of Maori. Grey instigated the establishment of learned societies which introduced the use of ethnology and anthropology to study Maori. This led to the development of colonial anthropology and its emphasis on salvage anthropology in the late nineteenth century, which in turn gave rise to an intellectual tradition of Maori anthropology. The first proponents of Maori anthropology, Te Rangihiroa and Apirana Ngata, emphasised the role of anthropology for cultural recovery and 'insider' ethnographer. The second part examines the Kingitanga and Pai Marire political and religious expressions of resistance. Political resistance to colonialism was met by legislation by the settler colonial government to punish 'rebellion', a system of collaboration or cultivation of 'loyalty' amongst 'friendly' Maori, and other policies directed at suppressing indigenous expressions of rebel consciousness. This programme had a major bearing on the ongoing existence of these hapu into the twentieth century. Pai Marire was a rebel religious phenomenon that became the object of a campaign of coercion, surveillance, and violence by the settler colonial government. The adherents were subject to policies of exclusion from the redistribution and allocation of confiscated land by local government officials and civil commissioners. The government supported, instead, the land claims of 'friendly' and 'surrendered rebel' chiefs. The third part is hapu ethnography. Key transformations in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries related to changing political and kin alliances for one hapu, Ngati Kahu, while another hapu, Ngati Pango which was involved with Pai Marire, suffered from claims on their traditional lands leading to the undermining of its identity and existence as a socially operating hapu. The fourth part uses historical and ethnographic fragments to consider what Pai Marire meant to its adherents. The colonial construct of Pai Marire and Hauhau was forms of savagery and a mix of Christian syncretism, an image that has little changed from the nineteenth century.

text: Rebel discourses: Colonial violence, Pai Marire resistance and land allocation at Tauranga This thesis is a study of resistance and power in a colonial situation, based on the ethnography of a confiscated-land claim of three hapu who had been Kingitanga supporters and Pai Marire adherents in the 19th century. It draws on archival material and insider ethnography and is arranged into four parts. The first part looks at the relationship between anthropology and colonialism, particularly the role of Sir George Grey, a Governor who used anthropological knowledge to facilitate colonial domination of Maori. Grey instigated the establishment of learned societies which introduced the use of ethnology and anthropology to study Maori. This led to the development of colonial anthropology and its emphasis on salvage anthropology in the late nineteenth century, which in turn gave rise to an intellectual tradition of Maori anthropology. The first proponents of Maori anthropology, Te Rangihiroa and Apirana Ngata, emphasised the role of anthropology for cultural recovery and 'insider' ethnographer. The second part examines the Kingitanga and Pai Marire political and religious expressions of resistance. Political resistance to colonialism was met by legislation by the settler colonial government to punish 'rebellion', a system of collaboration or cultivation of 'loyalty' amongst 'friendly' Maori, and other policies directed at suppressing indigenous expressions of rebel consciousness. This programme had a major bearing on the ongoing existence of these hapu into the twentieth century. Pai Marire was a rebel religious phenomenon that became the object of a campaign of coercion, surveillance, and violence by the settler colonial government. The adherents were subject to policies of exclusion from the redistribution and allocation of confiscated land by local government officials and civil commissioners. The government supported, instead, the land claims of 'friendly' and 'surrendered rebel' chiefs. The third part is hapu ethnography. Key transformations in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries related to changing political and kin alliances for one hapu, Ngati Kahu, while another hapu, Ngati Pango which was involved with Pai Marire, suffered from claims on their traditional lands leading to the undermining of its identity and existence as a socially operating hapu. The fourth part uses historical and ethnographic fragments to consider what Pai Marire meant to its adherents. The colonial construct of Pai Marire and Hauhau was forms of savagery and a mix of Christian syncretism, an image that has little changed from the nineteenth century.

year: 2005