title: The purpose of doing practical science activities in urban and rural secondary schools in Solomon Islands

authors: Giano, Ellison

subjects: practical science activities

abstract: Internationally many science educators have argued that science teachers should ensure that their students have opportunities to engage with and take part in practical work, in order to better understand natural phenomena and learn how science tries to understand and explain these. However, there is ongoing debate about the specific purpose of carrying out practical science activities. Some research suggests that if practical investigations are not prepared well enough, they may not have much impact on improving students’ learning about science. This research study involved two secondary science teachers teaching Form 2 science in urban secondary schools and two from rural. The overarching aim was to explore the science teachers’ perceptions about the purpose of doing practical science activities in secondary schools. The study was conducted in two phases. First, based on the interpretive paradigm qualitative data was generated using semi-structured interview of each teacher. In the second phase the teachers involved in a photo elicitation process where each teacher took photographs of examples of practical science activities they organized for their students. This was followed by a second round of interviews where the teachers told the stories about the photographs they have taken. The data was then analyzed using the grounded theory method. The findings suggest that these teachers saw the purposes of doing practical science activities was to apply theoretical knowledge they learned about in class, develop thinking and process skills, motivate students and raise their interest in science. However, the teachers were not able to articulate the rationale behind doing practical science activities and did not identify it as an important aspect of science. The findings also noted the science syllabus and assessment, impact of access to science resources, training, time and class size as enablers and constraints which science teachers encounter in planning and organizing practical science activities. The findings also showed that there were differences between science teachers in urban and rural secondary schools on how they plan and organize practical science activities. The differences in how schools and science departments were equipped meant that teachers were resourceful and made use of their immediate environment when materials were scarce however they felt that ‘lab’ is best.

text: The purpose of doing practical science activities in urban and rural secondary schools in Solomon Islands Internationally many science educators have argued that science teachers should ensure that their students have opportunities to engage with and take part in practical work, in order to better understand natural phenomena and learn how science tries to understand and explain these. However, there is ongoing debate about the specific purpose of carrying out practical science activities. Some research suggests that if practical investigations are not prepared well enough, they may not have much impact on improving students’ learning about science. This research study involved two secondary science teachers teaching Form 2 science in urban secondary schools and two from rural. The overarching aim was to explore the science teachers’ perceptions about the purpose of doing practical science activities in secondary schools. The study was conducted in two phases. First, based on the interpretive paradigm qualitative data was generated using semi-structured interview of each teacher. In the second phase the teachers involved in a photo elicitation process where each teacher took photographs of examples of practical science activities they organized for their students. This was followed by a second round of interviews where the teachers told the stories about the photographs they have taken. The data was then analyzed using the grounded theory method. The findings suggest that these teachers saw the purposes of doing practical science activities was to apply theoretical knowledge they learned about in class, develop thinking and process skills, motivate students and raise their interest in science. However, the teachers were not able to articulate the rationale behind doing practical science activities and did not identify it as an important aspect of science. The findings also noted the science syllabus and assessment, impact of access to science resources, training, time and class size as enablers and constraints which science teachers encounter in planning and organizing practical science activities. The findings also showed that there were differences between science teachers in urban and rural secondary schools on how they plan and organize practical science activities. The differences in how schools and science departments were equipped meant that teachers were resourceful and made use of their immediate environment when materials were scarce however they felt that ‘lab’ is best.

year: 2011

title: Intimate Geographies: Bodies, Underwear and Space in Hamilton, New Zealand

authors: Morrison, Carey-Ann

subjects: Female bodies

abstract: This thesis examines the ways in which a small group of young Pākehā women use underwear to construct a range of complex gendered subjectivities. I explore how these subjectivities are influenced by both material and discursive spaces. Three underwear shops in Hamilton, New Zealand - Bendon Lingerie Outlet, Bras N Things and Farmers, and various visual representations depicting contemporary notions of normative femininity, are under investigation
Feminist poststructuralist theories and methodologies provide the framework for this research. One focus group and three semi-structured interviews were conducted with young women who purchase and wear underwear. Participant observations of shoppers in Bendon Lingerie Outlet, Hamilton and autobiographical journal entries of my experiences as a retailer and consumer of underwear continued throughout the research. Advertising and promotional material in underwear shops and a DVD of a Victoria's Secret lingerie show are also examined.
Three points frame the analysis. First, I argue that underwear consumption spaces are discursively constructed as feminine. The socio-political structures governing these spaces construct particular types of bodies. These bodies are positioned as either 'in' place or 'out' of place. Second, underwear shops can be understood as feminised, young and thin embodied spaces. Bodies that fit this description are hence positioned as 'in' place. However, female bodies that are 'fat' and/or old and male bodies are marginalised within the space and thus positioned as 'out' of place. Third, I consider particular forms of normative femininity by examining the ways in which underwear disciplines and contains the body. Women's underwear moulds and shapes flesh to fit contemporary feminine norms.
Examining the specific relationship between the body, underwear and space provides a means to re-theorise geography and makes new ground for understanding how clothed bodies are constituted in and through space.

text: Intimate Geographies: Bodies, Underwear and Space in Hamilton, New Zealand This thesis examines the ways in which a small group of young Pākehā women use underwear to construct a range of complex gendered subjectivities. I explore how these subjectivities are influenced by both material and discursive spaces. Three underwear shops in Hamilton, New Zealand - Bendon Lingerie Outlet, Bras N Things and Farmers, and various visual representations depicting contemporary notions of normative femininity, are under investigation
Feminist poststructuralist theories and methodologies provide the framework for this research. One focus group and three semi-structured interviews were conducted with young women who purchase and wear underwear. Participant observations of shoppers in Bendon Lingerie Outlet, Hamilton and autobiographical journal entries of my experiences as a retailer and consumer of underwear continued throughout the research. Advertising and promotional material in underwear shops and a DVD of a Victoria's Secret lingerie show are also examined.
Three points frame the analysis. First, I argue that underwear consumption spaces are discursively constructed as feminine. The socio-political structures governing these spaces construct particular types of bodies. These bodies are positioned as either 'in' place or 'out' of place. Second, underwear shops can be understood as feminised, young and thin embodied spaces. Bodies that fit this description are hence positioned as 'in' place. However, female bodies that are 'fat' and/or old and male bodies are marginalised within the space and thus positioned as 'out' of place. Third, I consider particular forms of normative femininity by examining the ways in which underwear disciplines and contains the body. Women's underwear moulds and shapes flesh to fit contemporary feminine norms.
Examining the specific relationship between the body, underwear and space provides a means to re-theorise geography and makes new ground for understanding how clothed bodies are constituted in and through space.

year: 2007

title: Listening and Learning from Rangatahi Māori: the Voices of Māori Youth

authors: Berryman, Mere

subjects: student self-determination

abstract: This paper presents three stories-over-time of the secondary schooling experiences of New Zealand’s rangatahi Māori–or Māori youth. The stories span fifteen years of New Zealand schooling and are told from three perspectives: the experiences of the students as told in their own words; the voices of youth within the prevailing political contexts of government policy; and, the reframing and repositioning of researchers listening to the experiences of rangatahi Māori who believe they have succeeded as Māori. In reality, the stories are interwoven, however, in an effort to make sense of the various methodological dilemmas, risks, and entanglements across the three points of learning, we have endeavored to disentangle these different threads from the whole and follow these independent of each other. We then weave these threads together again, as we sense-make across this complexity to identify implications for other educators, policy makers and researchers.

text: Listening and Learning from Rangatahi Māori: the Voices of Māori Youth This paper presents three stories-over-time of the secondary schooling experiences of New Zealand’s rangatahi Māori–or Māori youth. The stories span fifteen years of New Zealand schooling and are told from three perspectives: the experiences of the students as told in their own words; the voices of youth within the prevailing political contexts of government policy; and, the reframing and repositioning of researchers listening to the experiences of rangatahi Māori who believe they have succeeded as Māori. In reality, the stories are interwoven, however, in an effort to make sense of the various methodological dilemmas, risks, and entanglements across the three points of learning, we have endeavored to disentangle these different threads from the whole and follow these independent of each other. We then weave these threads together again, as we sense-make across this complexity to identify implications for other educators, policy makers and researchers.

year: 2017