title: Teachers as action researchers: Towards a model of induction

authors: Locke, Terry

subjects: action research

abstract: Towards the end of 2006, a group of secondary and primary teachers, in collaboration with university researchers based at the University of Waikato, began a two-year journey where they researched their own practice as teachers of literature in multicultural classrooms in Auckland, New Zealand. This presentation briefly outlines the Teaching and Learning Research Initiative (TLRI), which initially provided a vision of teachers, working in partnership with university researchers, researching their own practice with the aim of enhancing the practice of the teaching profession as a whole. Through the eyes of one of the university-based researchers, but drawing on the experiences of four of the teacher participants, this presentation reflects on factors that had a bearing

text: Teachers as action researchers: Towards a model of induction Towards the end of 2006, a group of secondary and primary teachers, in collaboration with university researchers based at the University of Waikato, began a two-year journey where they researched their own practice as teachers of literature in multicultural classrooms in Auckland, New Zealand. This presentation briefly outlines the Teaching and Learning Research Initiative (TLRI), which initially provided a vision of teachers, working in partnership with university researchers, researching their own practice with the aim of enhancing the practice of the teaching profession as a whole. Through the eyes of one of the university-based researchers, but drawing on the experiences of four of the teacher participants, this presentation reflects on factors that had a bearing

year: 2010

title: Defamiliarizing heavy-contact sports: A critical examination of rugby, discipline, and pleasure

authors: Pringle, Richard

subjects: sports

abstract: Pleasure can be regarded as a productive force in the constitution of the social sig-nificance of sport and desiring sport subjects. The organization and use of sport plea-sure has been a relatively marginalized topic of examination. To promote and examine sport pleasure, I conducted semistructured interviews with seven passionate rugby players. Transcripts were analyzed via Foucauldian theorizing and revealed the inter-twined workings of technologies of dominance and self in the constitution of rugby pleasures. As a strategy to defamiliarize and disrupt habitual and uncritical accep-tance of rugby aggression, I argued that rugby pleasures were akin to sadomasochism. Rugby can be understood as a taboo-breaking game associated with transparent rela-tions of power connected with the pleasure induced from physical domination and the fear of pain.

text: Defamiliarizing heavy-contact sports: A critical examination of rugby, discipline, and pleasure Pleasure can be regarded as a productive force in the constitution of the social sig-nificance of sport and desiring sport subjects. The organization and use of sport plea-sure has been a relatively marginalized topic of examination. To promote and examine sport pleasure, I conducted semistructured interviews with seven passionate rugby players. Transcripts were analyzed via Foucauldian theorizing and revealed the inter-twined workings of technologies of dominance and self in the constitution of rugby pleasures. As a strategy to defamiliarize and disrupt habitual and uncritical accep-tance of rugby aggression, I argued that rugby pleasures were akin to sadomasochism. Rugby can be understood as a taboo-breaking game associated with transparent rela-tions of power connected with the pleasure induced from physical domination and the fear of pain.

year: 2009

title: A life-history analysis of achievement of Māori and Pacific Island students at the Church College of New Zealand

authors: Solomon, Tereapii Elinora

subjects: Church College

abstract: The Church College of New Zealand is a private co-educational secondary school located near Hamilton, New Zealand and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Since its opening in 1958, it has hosted a large population of Polynesian students, in particular Māori.  The questions that this thesis addresses centre on the nature, history and reasons for what seems to be a disproportionately higher level of achievement amongst Māori and Pacific Island students at Church College than in New Zealand more broadly.  Through a life-history approach to research, this thesis provides an overview of the rich history behind the building of the Church College, and highlights the experiences of successful graduates over three particular timeframes - 1951-1969, 1970-1989 and the 1990s.  

A major contributing factor to the success of the students at Church College is an environment where both religious and cultural values of students are reaffirmed and considered normal.  For some students, Church College provided an environment that validated what students were being taught in their own homes.  For others, it provided a refuge from a conflicted home.  With the growing pressures of social problems within the wider community for many Māori and Pacific Island families, the school environment of  the Church College was a key factor in providing stability  and security for some students at the College.

On June 29 2006, an announcement was made by leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints of the phased out closure of Church College beginning in the year 2007 and eventually closing at the end of the year 2009. With Māori and Pacific Island students so under-represented in achievement and participation in education settings in New Zealand, the announcement of the closure provided an opportunity to highlight some of the successes experienced at the Church College of New Zealand.

text: A life-history analysis of achievement of Māori and Pacific Island students at the Church College of New Zealand The Church College of New Zealand is a private co-educational secondary school located near Hamilton, New Zealand and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Since its opening in 1958, it has hosted a large population of Polynesian students, in particular Māori.  The questions that this thesis addresses centre on the nature, history and reasons for what seems to be a disproportionately higher level of achievement amongst Māori and Pacific Island students at Church College than in New Zealand more broadly.  Through a life-history approach to research, this thesis provides an overview of the rich history behind the building of the Church College, and highlights the experiences of successful graduates over three particular timeframes - 1951-1969, 1970-1989 and the 1990s.  

A major contributing factor to the success of the students at Church College is an environment where both religious and cultural values of students are reaffirmed and considered normal.  For some students, Church College provided an environment that validated what students were being taught in their own homes.  For others, it provided a refuge from a conflicted home.  With the growing pressures of social problems within the wider community for many Māori and Pacific Island families, the school environment of  the Church College was a key factor in providing stability  and security for some students at the College.

On June 29 2006, an announcement was made by leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints of the phased out closure of Church College beginning in the year 2007 and eventually closing at the end of the year 2009. With Māori and Pacific Island students so under-represented in achievement and participation in education settings in New Zealand, the announcement of the closure provided an opportunity to highlight some of the successes experienced at the Church College of New Zealand.

year: 2008