title: Impact evaluation of the Kidscan Early Childhood Pilot Programmes - Final Report

authors: Peters, Sally

abstract: In 2018, KidsCan launched a pilot early childhood education [ECE] programme which provides children with nutritious lunches and snacks, head lice treatment, raincoats, shoes and socks. As a part of setting up this new programme, KidsCan commissioned the University of Waikato to conduct an independent evaluation to inform any further developments.
The purpose of this evaluation was to:
• determine the value of initiatives individually and as a package in supporting sustained participation in ECE, and contributing to health and wellbeing outcomes;
• build an understanding of the factors that contribute to any positive changes for families and children from their involvement in the KidsCan programme.
The research utilised a mixed methods approach (Creswell, 2008), incorporating both quantitative and qualitative data from two cohorts of children and whānau in 24 ECE services. Cohort 1 data were collected prior to the KidsCan programme starting in the ECE service. Cohort 2 data were gathered when children had received at least six months of the ECE KidsCan programme.
The participants identified the many challenges that families faced in getting their child to ECE. The child’s health, the health of family members and the impact of wet weather were the main barriers to ECE participation for both Cohort 1 and Cohort 2. Although the KidsCan programme could not address all the barriers that families faced, it was attributed with playing a key role in reducing absences due to financial difficulties and the children’s sickness.
The findings demonstrated that the KidsCan programme had a number of benefits for children, such as good nutrition and keeping them warm and dry. These positive impacts were particularly noticed if the children did not otherwise have access to the items provided. The benefits were also associated with reduced absences, engagement in learning, increased energy and attention span, and fewer small health issues, which all improved the quality of children’s participation in ECE. There were positive environmental changes too. For example, if early childhood centres had been investing a lot of money into the resources now provided by KidsCan, it allowed the centre to use their funds to enhance the learning environments through increased teacher time devoted to teaching and learning and/or more educational resources to stimulate and support children’s learning. Families reported that the KidsCan programme relieved some of the stress and financial pressures they were experiencing and the provision of the programme to all meant it was very favourably received and there was no stigma attached to receiving the support. Teachers and whānau reported this was also associated with an enhanced sense of belonging in the ECE community and improved social relationships. The range of beneficial changes for children and environments are shown in Figure 1.
Not every child experienced the same benefits and the evaluation highlighted the complex interactions of factors that help to explain the different outcomes. For example, reduced absences may not be possible if a child already had good attendance. However, that child may experience improved nutrition and associated learning and energy benefits. On the other hand, if reduced absences are not possible because sickness, transport difficulties, family work patterns or other barriers prevent the child from attending ECE they frequently miss out on both the programme provision and the other associated benefits.
Overall, the KidsCan programme had the most favourable impact when a number of positive changes for children and their environment(s) were experienced. An example of this is a child who has improved nutrition and is warm and dry is likely to experience better energy levels and be more engaged in learning. If this focus on learning interacts with enhanced learning resources and experiences, along with a strong sense of belonging and positive interactions with less stressed caregivers, this creates the possibility of beneficial changes to the developmental pathway. If the child’s heath improves and they attend ECE more often, this further strengthens these possibilities. Figure 1 illustrates how these processes, which will be shaped for each child through the interactions of different person characteristics and features of their environments, can set up potential long-term benefits such as enhanced cognitive, social and health outcomes that children take to new contexts such as school and beyond.
In terms of recommendations, whānau strongly supported all the elements being retained in future programmes. Allowing children to take any uneaten perishable food home to avoid it being wasted was really appreciated by teachers and families. A number of teachers recommended including opportunities for families to try to the food and share the recipes to support the healthy food extending to homes.
Overall, while the KidsCan ECE programme cannot address the larger problem of the very low incomes that are leading to poverty and disadvantage, this report provides strong evidence from whānau and teachers that the pilot KidsCan ECE programme is making a valuable positive difference to the wellbeing of participants.

text: Impact evaluation of the Kidscan Early Childhood Pilot Programmes - Final Report In 2018, KidsCan launched a pilot early childhood education [ECE] programme which provides children with nutritious lunches and snacks, head lice treatment, raincoats, shoes and socks. As a part of setting up this new programme, KidsCan commissioned the University of Waikato to conduct an independent evaluation to inform any further developments.
The purpose of this evaluation was to:
• determine the value of initiatives individually and as a package in supporting sustained participation in ECE, and contributing to health and wellbeing outcomes;
• build an understanding of the factors that contribute to any positive changes for families and children from their involvement in the KidsCan programme.
The research utilised a mixed methods approach (Creswell, 2008), incorporating both quantitative and qualitative data from two cohorts of children and whānau in 24 ECE services. Cohort 1 data were collected prior to the KidsCan programme starting in the ECE service. Cohort 2 data were gathered when children had received at least six months of the ECE KidsCan programme.
The participants identified the many challenges that families faced in getting their child to ECE. The child’s health, the health of family members and the impact of wet weather were the main barriers to ECE participation for both Cohort 1 and Cohort 2. Although the KidsCan programme could not address all the barriers that families faced, it was attributed with playing a key role in reducing absences due to financial difficulties and the children’s sickness.
The findings demonstrated that the KidsCan programme had a number of benefits for children, such as good nutrition and keeping them warm and dry. These positive impacts were particularly noticed if the children did not otherwise have access to the items provided. The benefits were also associated with reduced absences, engagement in learning, increased energy and attention span, and fewer small health issues, which all improved the quality of children’s participation in ECE. There were positive environmental changes too. For example, if early childhood centres had been investing a lot of money into the resources now provided by KidsCan, it allowed the centre to use their funds to enhance the learning environments through increased teacher time devoted to teaching and learning and/or more educational resources to stimulate and support children’s learning. Families reported that the KidsCan programme relieved some of the stress and financial pressures they were experiencing and the provision of the programme to all meant it was very favourably received and there was no stigma attached to receiving the support. Teachers and whānau reported this was also associated with an enhanced sense of belonging in the ECE community and improved social relationships. The range of beneficial changes for children and environments are shown in Figure 1.
Not every child experienced the same benefits and the evaluation highlighted the complex interactions of factors that help to explain the different outcomes. For example, reduced absences may not be possible if a child already had good attendance. However, that child may experience improved nutrition and associated learning and energy benefits. On the other hand, if reduced absences are not possible because sickness, transport difficulties, family work patterns or other barriers prevent the child from attending ECE they frequently miss out on both the programme provision and the other associated benefits.
Overall, the KidsCan programme had the most favourable impact when a number of positive changes for children and their environment(s) were experienced. An example of this is a child who has improved nutrition and is warm and dry is likely to experience better energy levels and be more engaged in learning. If this focus on learning interacts with enhanced learning resources and experiences, along with a strong sense of belonging and positive interactions with less stressed caregivers, this creates the possibility of beneficial changes to the developmental pathway. If the child’s heath improves and they attend ECE more often, this further strengthens these possibilities. Figure 1 illustrates how these processes, which will be shaped for each child through the interactions of different person characteristics and features of their environments, can set up potential long-term benefits such as enhanced cognitive, social and health outcomes that children take to new contexts such as school and beyond.
In terms of recommendations, whānau strongly supported all the elements being retained in future programmes. Allowing children to take any uneaten perishable food home to avoid it being wasted was really appreciated by teachers and families. A number of teachers recommended including opportunities for families to try to the food and share the recipes to support the healthy food extending to homes.
Overall, while the KidsCan ECE programme cannot address the larger problem of the very low incomes that are leading to poverty and disadvantage, this report provides strong evidence from whānau and teachers that the pilot KidsCan ECE programme is making a valuable positive difference to the wellbeing of participants.

year: 2020

title: Rights, reasons, and international norms

authors: Daya-Winterbottom, Trevor

abstract: This article focuses on access to environmental justice. In particular, the article focuses on the right to remedy and redress articulated in Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration 1992 and the effective transposition of the principle in domestic law by interrogating three recent decisions from the senior courts in England and Wales, Ireland, and New Zealand concerning the reasons given for environmental decisions. These decisions provide substantive justification for reasoned decisionmaking so that interested persons are given the human dignity of knowing what was decided and why, for viewing this question from the perspective of a person who did not participate in the proceedings, for avoiding judicial deference on appeal by requiring that original decisions should be objectively reasonable and based on sound evidence, and (as a matter of natural justice) focusing remedial discretion on quashing defective decisions.

text: Rights, reasons, and international norms This article focuses on access to environmental justice. In particular, the article focuses on the right to remedy and redress articulated in Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration 1992 and the effective transposition of the principle in domestic law by interrogating three recent decisions from the senior courts in England and Wales, Ireland, and New Zealand concerning the reasons given for environmental decisions. These decisions provide substantive justification for reasoned decisionmaking so that interested persons are given the human dignity of knowing what was decided and why, for viewing this question from the perspective of a person who did not participate in the proceedings, for avoiding judicial deference on appeal by requiring that original decisions should be objectively reasonable and based on sound evidence, and (as a matter of natural justice) focusing remedial discretion on quashing defective decisions.

year: 2020

title: Decolonising Pākehā ways of being: Revealing third space Pākehā experiences

authors: Brown, Micheal William

subjects: Pakeha

abstract: This thesis asks two central questions. First, what kinds of experiences occur when Pākehā become interested and involved in te ao Māori (the Māori world)? Second, how might sharing of these experiences help other Pākehā better understand their relationship with Māori? The account is grounded in concepts of colonisation and the coloniser/colonised relation, Othering, Whiteness, hybridity and the third space, biculturalism, theories of movement between groups, and decolonisation. It particularly drew on Homi Bhabha’s notions of the third space to theorise and explain the process of change that occurred for 13 Pākehā involved in te ao Māori. Utilising a qualitative design based on grounded theory and in-depth interviewing the research investigated their “lived” experiences and their choice to encounter then engage with te ao Māori. It is their experiences that I interpret in this thesis as “third space Pākehā experiences”. Through my employment of grounded theory methodology to analyse the korero (stories) I collected, I argue that a transformative process of change occurred for the 13 participants because they became interested and engaged more in ongoing experiences of te ao Māori. I interpreted this process as “Pākehā decolonisation”. In my analysis I found that at the individual level decolonisation helped these Pākehā bridge gaps that emerged as “differences” between te ao Māori and te ao Pākehā which led them to develop a new and enriched understanding of themselves. Their engagement with te ao Māori produced exciting and rewarding experiences, the richness of these is revealed in the storylines. Also, their ongoing experiences moved towards effective strategies to engage in discussions with other Pākehā about te ao Māori, which were respectful to both Māori and Pākehā cultures. I interpreted this development as the “Pākehā educating Pākehā” strategy. My analysis also suggested that five key thematic elements - or what I call five “occurrences” of Pākehā decolonisation, existed within each participant’s third space experiences. They were: 1) all participants chose to engage in many diverse encounters with te ao Māori, 2) this led the individual to their discovery of ngā wairua o te ao Māori (values of the Māori world), 3) as well as to experiencing Othering experiences from Pākehā, 4) the ongoing choice to engage with te ao Māori developed into awareness and experience of sites/locations where equality between Māori and Pākehā existed and, 5) and it was through confrontational experiences that these Pākehā began to learn successful Pākehā educating Pākehā strategies which they employed when engaging with other Pākehā about te ao Māori. These five occurrences happened frequently and infrequently across participants and they occurred in multiple settings as well as during different decades of their lives. Nonetheless, the choice to enter into these experience(s), whether at the time of occurrence - or on reflection at a later stage - emerged as a defining of their “journey” into te ao Māori; a journey of enriched, insightful and meaningful experiences that helped these Pākehā develop a more sophisticated understanding of te ao Māori and their relationship to Māori within that world. Thus, these Pākehā discovered that exploration into te ao Māori was a benefit to themselves as individual Pākehā. This thesis is an applied research study that draws from Homi Bhabha’s (1994) theory/concept of hybridity and movement between groups. I employed this approach because I was concerned with movement by a group member (Pākehā) toward another group (Māori). The research conceptualises Bhabha’s (1994) “third space” as an “experience” rather than a permanent positioning and explores ways in which change occurs for non hybrid group members who engage in the third space experience and, that a third space vocabulary exists for talking about shared experiences that does not put one’s own identity at risk. The main contributions of this research are threefold. Firstly, when Pākehā enter into te ao Māori they encounter third space experiences that reveal new and enriched ways to experience te ao Māori, and they develop a more sophisticated view of the Māori and Pākehā coloniser/colonial relation, its history, as well as present relations and pathways for future equal engagement. Secondly, third space experiences offer a “way forward” for Māori and Pākehā relationships that suggests an alternative to contestation and confrontation. Third, third space experiences provide a pathway toward a Pākehā educating Pākehā strategy; an accessible and practical outcome of a positive and rewarding alternative decolonisation process which helps other Pākehā discover a deeper understanding of their place in New Zealand. I argue that decolonisation and the Pākehā educating Pākehā strategy helps Pākehā learn from their lived experiences of “being Pākehā” - a phrase coined by historian Michael King (1985, 1999b).

text: Decolonising Pākehā ways of being: Revealing third space Pākehā experiences This thesis asks two central questions. First, what kinds of experiences occur when Pākehā become interested and involved in te ao Māori (the Māori world)? Second, how might sharing of these experiences help other Pākehā better understand their relationship with Māori? The account is grounded in concepts of colonisation and the coloniser/colonised relation, Othering, Whiteness, hybridity and the third space, biculturalism, theories of movement between groups, and decolonisation. It particularly drew on Homi Bhabha’s notions of the third space to theorise and explain the process of change that occurred for 13 Pākehā involved in te ao Māori. Utilising a qualitative design based on grounded theory and in-depth interviewing the research investigated their “lived” experiences and their choice to encounter then engage with te ao Māori. It is their experiences that I interpret in this thesis as “third space Pākehā experiences”. Through my employment of grounded theory methodology to analyse the korero (stories) I collected, I argue that a transformative process of change occurred for the 13 participants because they became interested and engaged more in ongoing experiences of te ao Māori. I interpreted this process as “Pākehā decolonisation”. In my analysis I found that at the individual level decolonisation helped these Pākehā bridge gaps that emerged as “differences” between te ao Māori and te ao Pākehā which led them to develop a new and enriched understanding of themselves. Their engagement with te ao Māori produced exciting and rewarding experiences, the richness of these is revealed in the storylines. Also, their ongoing experiences moved towards effective strategies to engage in discussions with other Pākehā about te ao Māori, which were respectful to both Māori and Pākehā cultures. I interpreted this development as the “Pākehā educating Pākehā” strategy. My analysis also suggested that five key thematic elements - or what I call five “occurrences” of Pākehā decolonisation, existed within each participant’s third space experiences. They were: 1) all participants chose to engage in many diverse encounters with te ao Māori, 2) this led the individual to their discovery of ngā wairua o te ao Māori (values of the Māori world), 3) as well as to experiencing Othering experiences from Pākehā, 4) the ongoing choice to engage with te ao Māori developed into awareness and experience of sites/locations where equality between Māori and Pākehā existed and, 5) and it was through confrontational experiences that these Pākehā began to learn successful Pākehā educating Pākehā strategies which they employed when engaging with other Pākehā about te ao Māori. These five occurrences happened frequently and infrequently across participants and they occurred in multiple settings as well as during different decades of their lives. Nonetheless, the choice to enter into these experience(s), whether at the time of occurrence - or on reflection at a later stage - emerged as a defining of their “journey” into te ao Māori; a journey of enriched, insightful and meaningful experiences that helped these Pākehā develop a more sophisticated understanding of te ao Māori and their relationship to Māori within that world. Thus, these Pākehā discovered that exploration into te ao Māori was a benefit to themselves as individual Pākehā. This thesis is an applied research study that draws from Homi Bhabha’s (1994) theory/concept of hybridity and movement between groups. I employed this approach because I was concerned with movement by a group member (Pākehā) toward another group (Māori). The research conceptualises Bhabha’s (1994) “third space” as an “experience” rather than a permanent positioning and explores ways in which change occurs for non hybrid group members who engage in the third space experience and, that a third space vocabulary exists for talking about shared experiences that does not put one’s own identity at risk. The main contributions of this research are threefold. Firstly, when Pākehā enter into te ao Māori they encounter third space experiences that reveal new and enriched ways to experience te ao Māori, and they develop a more sophisticated view of the Māori and Pākehā coloniser/colonial relation, its history, as well as present relations and pathways for future equal engagement. Secondly, third space experiences offer a “way forward” for Māori and Pākehā relationships that suggests an alternative to contestation and confrontation. Third, third space experiences provide a pathway toward a Pākehā educating Pākehā strategy; an accessible and practical outcome of a positive and rewarding alternative decolonisation process which helps other Pākehā discover a deeper understanding of their place in New Zealand. I argue that decolonisation and the Pākehā educating Pākehā strategy helps Pākehā learn from their lived experiences of “being Pākehā” - a phrase coined by historian Michael King (1985, 1999b).

year: 2011