title: Principal Professional Learning in New Zealand:  How does it happen?  Understanding the value of profound professional learning for experienced principals

authors: Graham, Arnna Rosa

subjects: lead learner

abstract: Profound professional learning for principals makes a difference to student achievement.  While indirect, the impact of effective principal practice has a ripple effect throughout the community of learners of a school.  The principal is, and should be, the lead learner of the school.  Authenticity in this action brings credibility.  This credibility establishes the principal as a significant role model.

This qualitative research provides some insight to the understanding and practices of experienced effective principals and their professional learning in a New Zealand context.  The findings suggest that there are measures of effectiveness for New Zealand principals, however ascertaining what to measure is somewhat difficult.  Knowledge of tools to support the identification of learning needs is limited and therefore not significant in the practice of these principals.  

Drivers and barriers to professional learning are identifiable.  Work/life balance is highlighted as both a measure of effectiveness and a filter for professional learning.  This is one of many filters explored.

Recognition is given to the positioning of New Zealand principalship in a post-modern paradigm and the conflict that arises when measures of neo-liberal accountabilities are employed.  

The significance of school context and culture are highlighted as conditions for profound professional learning.   The culture of traditional learning through principal clusters is challenged. Recommendations and considerations are offered to both principal colleagues and the Ministry of Education as a result of these findings.  These include the need for principal mentoring and secondment to external, national bodies as part of professional learning for all principals.  The value of professional learning is highlighted.  

More significantly principals are challenged to embrace and develop an authentic culture of professional learning.

text: Principal Professional Learning in New Zealand:  How does it happen?  Understanding the value of profound professional learning for experienced principals Profound professional learning for principals makes a difference to student achievement.  While indirect, the impact of effective principal practice has a ripple effect throughout the community of learners of a school.  The principal is, and should be, the lead learner of the school.  Authenticity in this action brings credibility.  This credibility establishes the principal as a significant role model.

This qualitative research provides some insight to the understanding and practices of experienced effective principals and their professional learning in a New Zealand context.  The findings suggest that there are measures of effectiveness for New Zealand principals, however ascertaining what to measure is somewhat difficult.  Knowledge of tools to support the identification of learning needs is limited and therefore not significant in the practice of these principals.  

Drivers and barriers to professional learning are identifiable.  Work/life balance is highlighted as both a measure of effectiveness and a filter for professional learning.  This is one of many filters explored.

Recognition is given to the positioning of New Zealand principalship in a post-modern paradigm and the conflict that arises when measures of neo-liberal accountabilities are employed.  

The significance of school context and culture are highlighted as conditions for profound professional learning.   The culture of traditional learning through principal clusters is challenged. Recommendations and considerations are offered to both principal colleagues and the Ministry of Education as a result of these findings.  These include the need for principal mentoring and secondment to external, national bodies as part of professional learning for all principals.  The value of professional learning is highlighted.  

More significantly principals are challenged to embrace and develop an authentic culture of professional learning.

year: 2010

title: Zero Waste Education: An evaluation of an environmental education programme

authors: Jones, Benjamin

subjects: environmental

abstract: The Ministry of Education's Guidelines for Environmental Education in New Zealand Schools (1999) names five aims of what environmental education should achieve in New Zealand. These aims are for students to develop: "awareness and sensitivity to the environment and related issues; knowledge and understanding of the environment and the impact of people on it; attitudes and values that reflect feelings of concern for the environment; skills involved in identifying, investigating, and problem solving associated with environmental issues; and a sense of responsibility through participation and action as individuals, or members of groups whanau, or iwi, in addressing environmental issues" (Ministry of Education, 1999, p. 9).
The research reported in this thesis describes the evaluation of the Zero Waste Education (ZWE) programme against these aims, as well as the goals of the programme itself. The ZWE programme is based in Tauranga and operates in primary schools around New Zealand delivering waste education to students. 
This research was conducted within the interpretivist paradigm. Data was collected using the case study method in one school in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand, through interviews, parent questionnaires, student questionnaires, observations, and a focus group. Participants in this case study were students who had gone through the ZWE programme, their teachers and other members of the school staff, the ZWE educator, and the parents of the students who went through the programme. Data was organised by initially transcribing interview data, entering student questionnaire and parent questionnaire data into MS Excel spreadsheets and typing observational data. The organised data was then coded in a deductive approach based on the desired outcomes of EE and ZWE, and analysed for common themes that emerged in relation to these outcomes. 
The findings of this study indicate that the ZWE programme appears to be meetingits desired goals in general terms, as well as those of environmental education as a whole. The findings appeared to show a raise in student’s knowledge of composting and worms, as well as a raise in attitudes and awareness towards the waste issue. The findings also appeared show a level of intergenerational transfer and action taking occurring, with a few participating households reporting a change in their waste management practices and teachers commenting on observed actions of the students.
One key recommendation to emerge from this study is for ZWE to further tighten its goals and discuss these with educators in order to enhance consistent achievement of the goals. Another recommendation discusses ways to further develop the action taking skills of participating students through the action competence approach and to ensure that these action taking skills have enough of an impact to last in the long term.

text: Zero Waste Education: An evaluation of an environmental education programme The Ministry of Education's Guidelines for Environmental Education in New Zealand Schools (1999) names five aims of what environmental education should achieve in New Zealand. These aims are for students to develop: "awareness and sensitivity to the environment and related issues; knowledge and understanding of the environment and the impact of people on it; attitudes and values that reflect feelings of concern for the environment; skills involved in identifying, investigating, and problem solving associated with environmental issues; and a sense of responsibility through participation and action as individuals, or members of groups whanau, or iwi, in addressing environmental issues" (Ministry of Education, 1999, p. 9).
The research reported in this thesis describes the evaluation of the Zero Waste Education (ZWE) programme against these aims, as well as the goals of the programme itself. The ZWE programme is based in Tauranga and operates in primary schools around New Zealand delivering waste education to students. 
This research was conducted within the interpretivist paradigm. Data was collected using the case study method in one school in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand, through interviews, parent questionnaires, student questionnaires, observations, and a focus group. Participants in this case study were students who had gone through the ZWE programme, their teachers and other members of the school staff, the ZWE educator, and the parents of the students who went through the programme. Data was organised by initially transcribing interview data, entering student questionnaire and parent questionnaire data into MS Excel spreadsheets and typing observational data. The organised data was then coded in a deductive approach based on the desired outcomes of EE and ZWE, and analysed for common themes that emerged in relation to these outcomes. 
The findings of this study indicate that the ZWE programme appears to be meetingits desired goals in general terms, as well as those of environmental education as a whole. The findings appeared to show a raise in student’s knowledge of composting and worms, as well as a raise in attitudes and awareness towards the waste issue. The findings also appeared show a level of intergenerational transfer and action taking occurring, with a few participating households reporting a change in their waste management practices and teachers commenting on observed actions of the students.
One key recommendation to emerge from this study is for ZWE to further tighten its goals and discuss these with educators in order to enhance consistent achievement of the goals. Another recommendation discusses ways to further develop the action taking skills of participating students through the action competence approach and to ensure that these action taking skills have enough of an impact to last in the long term.

year: 2014

title: Breaking the browsing barrier for historic search of newspaper texts

authors: Keegan, Te Taka Adrian Gregory

subjects: computer science

abstract: Traditionally, to find information in a newspaper collection it has been necessary to painstakingly browse through the individual issues hoping that relevant words will catch your eye. Researchers of New Zealand’s encounter history received a boost when, in 1996, the Alexander Turnbull Library produced a collection on microfiche totaling almost 18,000 pages and covering a printing period from 1842 to 1933. While having all the newspapers in a single collection was a large step forward, browsing or searching for information in this microfiche collection was still time consuming.
By incorporating the collection into a digital library with an Internet interface, and by enabling full-text search, we have broken this browsing barrier. Making the information available this way is even more significant as the majority of the collection is written in the Māori language; we have created a Māori language resource that is sorely needed by education and research institutes, and one that provides quick and accurate access to the previously obscure source. The process involved in developing this unique digital library collection, the advantages of traditional newspaper stored in this medium, and the possibilities that we intend to investigate in the future, will be discussed in this paper.

text: Breaking the browsing barrier for historic search of newspaper texts Traditionally, to find information in a newspaper collection it has been necessary to painstakingly browse through the individual issues hoping that relevant words will catch your eye. Researchers of New Zealand’s encounter history received a boost when, in 1996, the Alexander Turnbull Library produced a collection on microfiche totaling almost 18,000 pages and covering a printing period from 1842 to 1933. While having all the newspapers in a single collection was a large step forward, browsing or searching for information in this microfiche collection was still time consuming.
By incorporating the collection into a digital library with an Internet interface, and by enabling full-text search, we have broken this browsing barrier. Making the information available this way is even more significant as the majority of the collection is written in the Māori language; we have created a Māori language resource that is sorely needed by education and research institutes, and one that provides quick and accurate access to the previously obscure source. The process involved in developing this unique digital library collection, the advantages of traditional newspaper stored in this medium, and the possibilities that we intend to investigate in the future, will be discussed in this paper.

year: 2001