title: Ko Te Ika-a-Māui rānei?

authors: Takurua, Nātana

abstract: Tēnei au te noho nei me te kōroiroi o whakaaro i roto i a Hinengaro. He aha rā te take kāore i mau mai ai ngā ingoa Māori tūturu, whai mana nei i te taenga mai o te Pākehā ki Aotearoa nei? Nā wai i kī ka hurihia ngā ingoa kua tapaina noatia e ngā mātua tīpuna kia noho ko te North me te South
Island?

text: Ko Te Ika-a-Māui rānei? Tēnei au te noho nei me te kōroiroi o whakaaro i roto i a Hinengaro. He aha rā te take kāore i mau mai ai ngā ingoa Māori tūturu, whai mana nei i te taenga mai o te Pākehā ki Aotearoa nei? Nā wai i kī ka hurihia ngā ingoa kua tapaina noatia e ngā mātua tīpuna kia noho ko te North me te South
Island?

year: 2009

title: Kia tata mai te pae tāwhiti: Nurturing success in psychology for Māori and Pasifika

authors: Bidois, Devyn

abstract: Embarking on the university education journey is commonly perceived as a pathway to success and enhanced career prospects. However, for Māori and Pasifika students in psychology, this trajectory is distinctly burdened with challenges beyond their control, particularly concerning low clinician representation and educational achievement. This thesis thus explores the experiences, barriers, and aspirations of Māori and Pasifika students engaged in psychology studies in Tauranga Moana. Guided by the principles of Kaupapa Māori, the overarching goal of this thesis is to empower and advocate for students, shedding light on their unique journeys and fostering a platform for meaningful change within the academic landscape. Two group interviews with undergraduate students and two individual interviews with postgraduate students were conducted to explore the research topic. These were then analysed using inductive thematic analysis, and a social constructionist epistemology within a Kaupapa Māori paradigm, to contextualise participant experiences. Three core themes are identified in this analysis. The first theme, the Western Educational Environment, underscores the challenges students face within a system shaped by Western norms. A monocultural, individualistic approach to curriculum, assessments, and teaching methods impacts the diverse cultural perspectives of students, shaping their overall study experiences. The second theme, Pathways, explores the nuanced journeys of tauira navigating various options related to papers, qualifications, and future career prospects. The third theme, Equity, critically examines the (lack of) equity in relation to facilities and services at the Tauranga campus compared to those in Hamilton. Recommendations for the School of Psychology focus on improving discipline relevance for Māori and Pasifika students through methods integrating Kaupapa Māori content and strategies as well as addressing historical issues aims to empower, retain, and support students to higher positions in psychology.

text: Kia tata mai te pae tāwhiti: Nurturing success in psychology for Māori and Pasifika Embarking on the university education journey is commonly perceived as a pathway to success and enhanced career prospects. However, for Māori and Pasifika students in psychology, this trajectory is distinctly burdened with challenges beyond their control, particularly concerning low clinician representation and educational achievement. This thesis thus explores the experiences, barriers, and aspirations of Māori and Pasifika students engaged in psychology studies in Tauranga Moana. Guided by the principles of Kaupapa Māori, the overarching goal of this thesis is to empower and advocate for students, shedding light on their unique journeys and fostering a platform for meaningful change within the academic landscape. Two group interviews with undergraduate students and two individual interviews with postgraduate students were conducted to explore the research topic. These were then analysed using inductive thematic analysis, and a social constructionist epistemology within a Kaupapa Māori paradigm, to contextualise participant experiences. Three core themes are identified in this analysis. The first theme, the Western Educational Environment, underscores the challenges students face within a system shaped by Western norms. A monocultural, individualistic approach to curriculum, assessments, and teaching methods impacts the diverse cultural perspectives of students, shaping their overall study experiences. The second theme, Pathways, explores the nuanced journeys of tauira navigating various options related to papers, qualifications, and future career prospects. The third theme, Equity, critically examines the (lack of) equity in relation to facilities and services at the Tauranga campus compared to those in Hamilton. Recommendations for the School of Psychology focus on improving discipline relevance for Māori and Pasifika students through methods integrating Kaupapa Māori content and strategies as well as addressing historical issues aims to empower, retain, and support students to higher positions in psychology.

year: 2024

title: The role of existing knowledge in reading comprehension and conceptual change in science education

authors: Bell, Beverley

abstract: Recent research in science education has illustrated that students, prior to formal science teaching, have constructed for themselves interpretations of and explanations for many natural phenomena, and that these beliefs may persist despite up to five years of science tuition. The research has also demonstrated that these beliefs, which are part of a student’s existing knowledge, are an important factor in determining what learning, if any, will occur. This has led to the development of a view of learning in science as conceptual change, rather than concept acquisition, and as an active, constructive process rather than a passive, absorptive one. This view (and in particular the generative learning model) has been adopted in this study. 
A parallel development in reading research has also emphasised the role of existing knowledge in reading comprehension and a view of reading comprehension as the active construction of meaning.
The current research spanned both these two related fields of reading comprehension and conceptual change in science education and focused on the role of existing knowledge in both processes. In particular, it investigated the role of existing knowledge (for example, the everyday meaning of ‘animal’) of some 13-year-old students in comprehending a text about the scientific concept of animal, and in what ways this influenced conceptual change.
Three different methodologies were used - one in each of the three phases of the research programme. These were the qualitative interview techniques (the ‘spot-the-mistake’ and ‘reading-to-learn’ interviews) and quantitative survey measures.
The findings gave further support to a constructivist view of reading comprehension and conceptual change, and a strong interactionist view of reading comprehension was suggested, as existing knowledge not only contributed to the constructed meanings, but influenced what constructions were made.
The main finding was that existing knowledge was used not only to construct a meaning but to evaluate it in terms of whether to accept or reject the construction. Learning in science, therefore, involves not only the construction of the intended meaning, but accepting it as well. Learning difficulties may occur at either the construction or acceptance stage. The results suggested that in science education, students’ difficulties in accepting a scientific construction may be as great as, if not greater than, those in constructing the scientific conception itself.
The implications of the findings for teaching and learning, the curriculum, reading in science classrooms and textbook authors are discussed in the final chapter.

text: The role of existing knowledge in reading comprehension and conceptual change in science education Recent research in science education has illustrated that students, prior to formal science teaching, have constructed for themselves interpretations of and explanations for many natural phenomena, and that these beliefs may persist despite up to five years of science tuition. The research has also demonstrated that these beliefs, which are part of a student’s existing knowledge, are an important factor in determining what learning, if any, will occur. This has led to the development of a view of learning in science as conceptual change, rather than concept acquisition, and as an active, constructive process rather than a passive, absorptive one. This view (and in particular the generative learning model) has been adopted in this study. 
A parallel development in reading research has also emphasised the role of existing knowledge in reading comprehension and a view of reading comprehension as the active construction of meaning.
The current research spanned both these two related fields of reading comprehension and conceptual change in science education and focused on the role of existing knowledge in both processes. In particular, it investigated the role of existing knowledge (for example, the everyday meaning of ‘animal’) of some 13-year-old students in comprehending a text about the scientific concept of animal, and in what ways this influenced conceptual change.
Three different methodologies were used - one in each of the three phases of the research programme. These were the qualitative interview techniques (the ‘spot-the-mistake’ and ‘reading-to-learn’ interviews) and quantitative survey measures.
The findings gave further support to a constructivist view of reading comprehension and conceptual change, and a strong interactionist view of reading comprehension was suggested, as existing knowledge not only contributed to the constructed meanings, but influenced what constructions were made.
The main finding was that existing knowledge was used not only to construct a meaning but to evaluate it in terms of whether to accept or reject the construction. Learning in science, therefore, involves not only the construction of the intended meaning, but accepting it as well. Learning difficulties may occur at either the construction or acceptance stage. The results suggested that in science education, students’ difficulties in accepting a scientific construction may be as great as, if not greater than, those in constructing the scientific conception itself.
The implications of the findings for teaching and learning, the curriculum, reading in science classrooms and textbook authors are discussed in the final chapter.

year: 1984