title: Action-research in education: a narrative of a longitudinal case study

authors: Kelly, Martin

abstract: In recent years some academics have started to approach the study of Accounting from the perspective of social studies, and several journals have evolved to promote such an approach. These academics believe accounting practices are understood better when considered from a perspective which acknowledges the psychological, emotional and intuitive influences which impact upon individuals preparing and using accounting information. Many people no longer accept Accounting as an “objective and neutral”, “true and fair” record of financial transactions: it may be better understood from a social studies perspective. This will involve a change in accounting education towards a more holistic approach which goes beyond the ‘technical’. However, many university courses are still taught from this technical perspective.

Educational practice generally has developed in such a way that many students are encouraged to consider education to involve little more than the rote learning and regurgitation of ‘true’ facts. Such learning may enable students to become suitably qualified to gain employment within contemporary society, but I believe university students should obtain more than this. They should be encouraged to acquire attributes which will allow them to continue to develop throughout their lives, and to aid societal development.

This report provides a narrative concerning the development of a fourth year integrative course, which encourages students to approach Accounting from a social-studies perspective, and to challenge current practices where they deem it appropriate. The course is student-centred. It involves six modes of learning developed from ideas furnished by Rogers (1983). It provides an example of a longitudinal study, which describes the development of a course over five iterations. I attempt to provide holistic learning opportunities which will encourage students to develop attributes which I believe will benefit their ongoing development. I undertake an investigation into the immediate impact of the course, and into its longer term impact on graduates to ascertain if the graduates believe, after they have spent several years in the workplace, that the course did provide holistic learning opportunities and outcomes. I attempt to evaluate the use of an ‘action-research’ methodology in developing the course, and the use of ‘narrative’ for reporting on the design and implementation process.

text: Action-research in education: a narrative of a longitudinal case study In recent years some academics have started to approach the study of Accounting from the perspective of social studies, and several journals have evolved to promote such an approach. These academics believe accounting practices are understood better when considered from a perspective which acknowledges the psychological, emotional and intuitive influences which impact upon individuals preparing and using accounting information. Many people no longer accept Accounting as an “objective and neutral”, “true and fair” record of financial transactions: it may be better understood from a social studies perspective. This will involve a change in accounting education towards a more holistic approach which goes beyond the ‘technical’. However, many university courses are still taught from this technical perspective.

Educational practice generally has developed in such a way that many students are encouraged to consider education to involve little more than the rote learning and regurgitation of ‘true’ facts. Such learning may enable students to become suitably qualified to gain employment within contemporary society, but I believe university students should obtain more than this. They should be encouraged to acquire attributes which will allow them to continue to develop throughout their lives, and to aid societal development.

This report provides a narrative concerning the development of a fourth year integrative course, which encourages students to approach Accounting from a social-studies perspective, and to challenge current practices where they deem it appropriate. The course is student-centred. It involves six modes of learning developed from ideas furnished by Rogers (1983). It provides an example of a longitudinal study, which describes the development of a course over five iterations. I attempt to provide holistic learning opportunities which will encourage students to develop attributes which I believe will benefit their ongoing development. I undertake an investigation into the immediate impact of the course, and into its longer term impact on graduates to ascertain if the graduates believe, after they have spent several years in the workplace, that the course did provide holistic learning opportunities and outcomes. I attempt to evaluate the use of an ‘action-research’ methodology in developing the course, and the use of ‘narrative’ for reporting on the design and implementation process.

year: 1999

title: The middle Waikato Basin and hills

authors: Selby, Michael J.

abstract: The middle Waikato (or Hamilton) Basin is a roughly oval-shaped depression more than 80 km north to south and more than 40 km wide. The basin, except in the south, is almost completely surrounded by ranges up to 300 m high, broken by only a few gaps. In the south the basin floor rises gradually and merges with the dissected plateaux of the King Country.

text: The middle Waikato Basin and hills The middle Waikato (or Hamilton) Basin is a roughly oval-shaped depression more than 80 km north to south and more than 40 km wide. The basin, except in the south, is almost completely surrounded by ranges up to 300 m high, broken by only a few gaps. In the south the basin floor rises gradually and merges with the dissected plateaux of the King Country.

year: 1992-01-01

title: 'Entitled to a History': The World of Alice Tawhai's Short Stories and the Maori Literary Tradition

authors: Modlik, Kimberley

subjects: Alice Tawhai

abstract: New Zealand short story writer Alice Tawhai is one of the latest additions to the Maori literary tradition. Her three collections of short stories, Festival of Miracles, Luminous and Dark Jelly, deal with issues not entirely unique to New Zealand – from gang life, to domestic violence, to drug and alcohol abuse – and take as their primary subject an alienated, marginalized and disenfranchised underclass. This means she is likely to be read as speaking solely for the Maori experience.  This thesis will revise this misconception, which in effect ghettoizes or marginalizes Tawhai’s work.

Influential women writers of the Maori literary tradition, such as J. C. Sturm, Patricia Grace and Keri Hulme, have taken a particular interest in the long legacy of colonialism in New Zealand, especially of the impact of that legacy on Maori women. This thesis demonstrates that while Tawhai’s work engages with these familiar notions, her gaze is not limited to these issues. This thesis therefore places Tawhai’s work within that tradition and matrilineal genealogy before going on to show how she moves the paradigm beyond the usual grievances of biculturalism and colonialism, orienting her work instead around the increasingly multicultural experience of contemporary life in New Zealand.

The first section of this thesis will establish a platform for reading Tawhai in regards to her literary legacy and in the context of contemporary thinking, drawing on cultural theorist Stuart Hall and his theory on identity formation and identity politics as well as indigenous writings experts Patrick Evans and Chadwick Allen. This thesis will then move into its second section, which is an analysis of some of the overarching themes that can be found in the short stories of Tawhai’s literary foremothers, Sturm, Grace and Hulme. These include, for example, racism and discrimination, loss of ancestral lands, problems to do with urbanization and family violence.

The third and final section of this thesis will then consider Tawhai’s representation of contemporary experience, taking a particular interest in her portrayals of contemporary multicultural ethnic identities as well as the flexible and provisional nature of gendered and sexual identities today. The final subsection will then analyze her representations of the new family and social structures that may have replaced the traditional family model.

Through a close reading of her short stories and an appreciation of the legacy that she bears, this thesis will show how Tawhai’s work is a larger lens of contemporary New Zealand society as well as a significant addition to the Maori literary tradition.

text: 'Entitled to a History': The World of Alice Tawhai's Short Stories and the Maori Literary Tradition New Zealand short story writer Alice Tawhai is one of the latest additions to the Maori literary tradition. Her three collections of short stories, Festival of Miracles, Luminous and Dark Jelly, deal with issues not entirely unique to New Zealand – from gang life, to domestic violence, to drug and alcohol abuse – and take as their primary subject an alienated, marginalized and disenfranchised underclass. This means she is likely to be read as speaking solely for the Maori experience.  This thesis will revise this misconception, which in effect ghettoizes or marginalizes Tawhai’s work.

Influential women writers of the Maori literary tradition, such as J. C. Sturm, Patricia Grace and Keri Hulme, have taken a particular interest in the long legacy of colonialism in New Zealand, especially of the impact of that legacy on Maori women. This thesis demonstrates that while Tawhai’s work engages with these familiar notions, her gaze is not limited to these issues. This thesis therefore places Tawhai’s work within that tradition and matrilineal genealogy before going on to show how she moves the paradigm beyond the usual grievances of biculturalism and colonialism, orienting her work instead around the increasingly multicultural experience of contemporary life in New Zealand.

The first section of this thesis will establish a platform for reading Tawhai in regards to her literary legacy and in the context of contemporary thinking, drawing on cultural theorist Stuart Hall and his theory on identity formation and identity politics as well as indigenous writings experts Patrick Evans and Chadwick Allen. This thesis will then move into its second section, which is an analysis of some of the overarching themes that can be found in the short stories of Tawhai’s literary foremothers, Sturm, Grace and Hulme. These include, for example, racism and discrimination, loss of ancestral lands, problems to do with urbanization and family violence.

The third and final section of this thesis will then consider Tawhai’s representation of contemporary experience, taking a particular interest in her portrayals of contemporary multicultural ethnic identities as well as the flexible and provisional nature of gendered and sexual identities today. The final subsection will then analyze her representations of the new family and social structures that may have replaced the traditional family model.

Through a close reading of her short stories and an appreciation of the legacy that she bears, this thesis will show how Tawhai’s work is a larger lens of contemporary New Zealand society as well as a significant addition to the Maori literary tradition.

year: 2014