title: Fostering a capacity for connectedness: The contribution of “humanness” in hybrid early childhood initial teacher education programmes

authors: Archard, Sara

subjects: online human connectedness

abstract: This thesis provides an in-depth understanding of human connections between lecturers and ECE student teachers in one hybrid early childhood initial teacher education programme in Aotearoa New Zealand. More specifically, the focus of the research is the ECE student teachers’ perspective of their experiences of human connections with their lecturers in the online component of the programme, and the role that digital technologies play in enabling or constraining the human connection.
This research is informed by socio-cultural theory and adopts a phenomenographic approach to gather qualitative data. Data were collected from nine ECE student teachers by means of semi-structured interviews, focus groups and the ECE student teacher contributions to asynchronous online discussions. By analysing data from three different sources, I was able to gain a more in-depth understanding of ECE student teachers’ experience of human connections in the online learning environment with their lecturers and the ways that digital technologies mediated a connection.
Key findings from this study suggest ECE student teachers can experience human connections with their lecturers in the online learning environment, which are mediated by the pedagogical use of digital technologies. The four main themes generated from the data analysis that were useful in nurturing a human connection between ECE student teacher and their lecturers were: knowing their lecturer as a real person, informal communication, lecturers’ feedback and feedforward and a sense of community. However, ECE student teachers had different perceptions of the human connections they experienced, how they experienced them, the value of those connections and the place digital technologies played in mediating such connections. Therefore, lecturers need time and space to employ a range of socio-cultural pedagogical strategies that align with the use of appropriate digital technologies to ensure that they respond to the diverse preferences of ECE student teachers when nurturing human connections. 
This thesis contributes new understanding to the growing body of scholarship advocating for community focussed online learning design and practice, particularly in relational qualifications such as hybrid initial teacher education in Aotearoa New Zealand. The new information from this study supports the argument that policy and practice for hybrid initial teacher education programmes in Aotearoa New Zealand should be grounded in relational, socio-cultural theory challenging the neo-liberal standardisation of hybrid learning.

text: Fostering a capacity for connectedness: The contribution of “humanness” in hybrid early childhood initial teacher education programmes This thesis provides an in-depth understanding of human connections between lecturers and ECE student teachers in one hybrid early childhood initial teacher education programme in Aotearoa New Zealand. More specifically, the focus of the research is the ECE student teachers’ perspective of their experiences of human connections with their lecturers in the online component of the programme, and the role that digital technologies play in enabling or constraining the human connection.
This research is informed by socio-cultural theory and adopts a phenomenographic approach to gather qualitative data. Data were collected from nine ECE student teachers by means of semi-structured interviews, focus groups and the ECE student teacher contributions to asynchronous online discussions. By analysing data from three different sources, I was able to gain a more in-depth understanding of ECE student teachers’ experience of human connections in the online learning environment with their lecturers and the ways that digital technologies mediated a connection.
Key findings from this study suggest ECE student teachers can experience human connections with their lecturers in the online learning environment, which are mediated by the pedagogical use of digital technologies. The four main themes generated from the data analysis that were useful in nurturing a human connection between ECE student teacher and their lecturers were: knowing their lecturer as a real person, informal communication, lecturers’ feedback and feedforward and a sense of community. However, ECE student teachers had different perceptions of the human connections they experienced, how they experienced them, the value of those connections and the place digital technologies played in mediating such connections. Therefore, lecturers need time and space to employ a range of socio-cultural pedagogical strategies that align with the use of appropriate digital technologies to ensure that they respond to the diverse preferences of ECE student teachers when nurturing human connections. 
This thesis contributes new understanding to the growing body of scholarship advocating for community focussed online learning design and practice, particularly in relational qualifications such as hybrid initial teacher education in Aotearoa New Zealand. The new information from this study supports the argument that policy and practice for hybrid initial teacher education programmes in Aotearoa New Zealand should be grounded in relational, socio-cultural theory challenging the neo-liberal standardisation of hybrid learning.

year: 2025-10-12

title: Community resilience: A multidisciplinary exploration for inclusive strategies and scalable solutions

authors: Boston, Megan

abstract: This paper evaluates literature across multiple disciplines and stakeholder types to identify commonalities and contradictions in definitions for community resilience. It aims to support cross-disciplinary discourse to build an interdisciplinary understanding of community resilience. This work identifies the differences between mono-, multi-, inter-, and cross-disciplinary approaches to inform community resilience strategies in academic and practice-based contexts. Four themes for community resilience were identified through a review of cross-disciplinary literature. These include (1) diverse yet convergent definitions of community resilience and the evolution from equilibrium to adaptation to transformation; (2) equitable and inclusive strategies for the development of community resilience initiatives; (3) when and at what scale strategies should be implemented; and (4) community resilience as a process or an outcome. This work is valuable to those seeking to familiarise themselves with the concept of community resilience, including educators who deliver courses on community resilience and policy-makers. It is novel in that it presents an interdisciplinary framework for navigating the community resilience discourse beyond individual professional boundaries.

text: Community resilience: A multidisciplinary exploration for inclusive strategies and scalable solutions This paper evaluates literature across multiple disciplines and stakeholder types to identify commonalities and contradictions in definitions for community resilience. It aims to support cross-disciplinary discourse to build an interdisciplinary understanding of community resilience. This work identifies the differences between mono-, multi-, inter-, and cross-disciplinary approaches to inform community resilience strategies in academic and practice-based contexts. Four themes for community resilience were identified through a review of cross-disciplinary literature. These include (1) diverse yet convergent definitions of community resilience and the evolution from equilibrium to adaptation to transformation; (2) equitable and inclusive strategies for the development of community resilience initiatives; (3) when and at what scale strategies should be implemented; and (4) community resilience as a process or an outcome. This work is valuable to those seeking to familiarise themselves with the concept of community resilience, including educators who deliver courses on community resilience and policy-makers. It is novel in that it presents an interdisciplinary framework for navigating the community resilience discourse beyond individual professional boundaries.

year: 2024-03

title: Context counts : leading educational reform in New Zealand secondary schools

authors: Morrison, Michele

subjects: context

abstract: Educational leadership and organisational literature is replete with syntheses of effective leader behaviours, change sequences and reform models, yet few studies explore the nuanced manner in which individual leaders make sense of and respond to the dynamic influences shaping their thinking and practice over time. In posing the question, how do principals experience leadership during periods of intentional educational change, this study gains insight into the lived experience of five New Zealand secondary school principals as they lead school wide implementation of Phase 5 Te Kotahitanga, a reform initiative designed to reduce disparities in the educational achievement of indigenous Māori students through the introduction of a culturally responsive pedagogy of relations. The case narratives arising from a three year dialogue with participants examine the genesis of each principal’s commitment to equity in educational access, opportunity and outcome; their evolving thinking and practice; and the manner in which people and structures within each school field enable and constrain their leadership endeavours. Findings demonstrate that leading counter-hegemonic change is a situated, complex and demanding undertaking, the intensity of which eludes much of the leadership and change literature. Hermeneutic reading of these rich qualitative accounts of lived experience suggests that, far from being detached observers, leaders both embody and are embedded in context. This exposes the shortcomings of literature that dichotomises the two and makes Bourdieu’s lens on practice as a temporal, embodied, discursive and social activity an important heuristic through which to view the holism of change leadership. The implications arising from this study are fourfold: leadership narratives open windows to natural and vicarious meaning making, personal biography is of central rather than peripheral importance, emotional and micropolitical literacy crucial, and professional mentoring a potentially powerful catalyst in building practice wisdom.

text: Context counts : leading educational reform in New Zealand secondary schools Educational leadership and organisational literature is replete with syntheses of effective leader behaviours, change sequences and reform models, yet few studies explore the nuanced manner in which individual leaders make sense of and respond to the dynamic influences shaping their thinking and practice over time. In posing the question, how do principals experience leadership during periods of intentional educational change, this study gains insight into the lived experience of five New Zealand secondary school principals as they lead school wide implementation of Phase 5 Te Kotahitanga, a reform initiative designed to reduce disparities in the educational achievement of indigenous Māori students through the introduction of a culturally responsive pedagogy of relations. The case narratives arising from a three year dialogue with participants examine the genesis of each principal’s commitment to equity in educational access, opportunity and outcome; their evolving thinking and practice; and the manner in which people and structures within each school field enable and constrain their leadership endeavours. Findings demonstrate that leading counter-hegemonic change is a situated, complex and demanding undertaking, the intensity of which eludes much of the leadership and change literature. Hermeneutic reading of these rich qualitative accounts of lived experience suggests that, far from being detached observers, leaders both embody and are embedded in context. This exposes the shortcomings of literature that dichotomises the two and makes Bourdieu’s lens on practice as a temporal, embodied, discursive and social activity an important heuristic through which to view the holism of change leadership. The implications arising from this study are fourfold: leadership narratives open windows to natural and vicarious meaning making, personal biography is of central rather than peripheral importance, emotional and micropolitical literacy crucial, and professional mentoring a potentially powerful catalyst in building practice wisdom.

year: 2019