title: 'Time on my side': Experiences of accelerated students who entered university early in Aotearoa New Zealand

authors: Easter, Ann Marie Davys

subjects: high-ability students

abstract: This qualitative study investigated the lived experiences of 10 young people who had been accelerated in their schooling and entered university at a much earlier age than is typical for students in Aotearoa New Zealand. Although the literature suggests that academic acceleration is an effective educational intervention for high-ability students, it is not a common form of provision in New Zealand schools and early admission to university is comparatively rare. A phenomenological methodology was adopted for this exploratory study to ensure that the individual voices of the participants were heard and acknowledged as an integral component of the research process. Consistent with this approach, in-depth semi-structured interviews were undertaken to explore the impact of acceleration and early entry to university, as perceived by the participants. Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) (Smith, Flowers, & Larkin, 2009) was selected as the most appropriate method of data analysis for this study because it has an explicit focus on the idiographic nature of lived experience. The findings were structured around three superordinate themes, each of which represents a distinct temporal phase of the participants’ lived experiences: (1) Pathways to University; (2) ‘Being at’ University; and (3) Critical Reflections. Analysis of the interview transcripts revealed that many of the young people in this study had endured years of boredom and frustration at school, as well as ongoing issues with bullying and social isolation. Although some participants found the initial transition from secondary school to university difficult, the findings suggest that most of the challenges they faced were relatively minor and tended to be short-lived. Ongoing support and encouragement from family/whānau and friends, as well as active involvement in extra-curricular activities, were viewed by the young people in this study as critical enabling factors for positive adjustment. Overall, the results of this study demonstrate that accelerated students who gain early admission to university can be very successful, not only in terms of their academic achievement but also in relation to their social and emotional development. With the benefit of hindsight, none of the participants regretted their decision to enter university early and most could identify significant advantages, such as being awarded prestigious international scholarships and having more time for early career exploration. The findings presented in this thesis highlight a need for parents/whānau and educators to be better informed about the potential benefits of academic acceleration and early admission to university as a legitimate pathway for high-ability students in New Zealand schools.

text: 'Time on my side': Experiences of accelerated students who entered university early in Aotearoa New Zealand This qualitative study investigated the lived experiences of 10 young people who had been accelerated in their schooling and entered university at a much earlier age than is typical for students in Aotearoa New Zealand. Although the literature suggests that academic acceleration is an effective educational intervention for high-ability students, it is not a common form of provision in New Zealand schools and early admission to university is comparatively rare. A phenomenological methodology was adopted for this exploratory study to ensure that the individual voices of the participants were heard and acknowledged as an integral component of the research process. Consistent with this approach, in-depth semi-structured interviews were undertaken to explore the impact of acceleration and early entry to university, as perceived by the participants. Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) (Smith, Flowers, & Larkin, 2009) was selected as the most appropriate method of data analysis for this study because it has an explicit focus on the idiographic nature of lived experience. The findings were structured around three superordinate themes, each of which represents a distinct temporal phase of the participants’ lived experiences: (1) Pathways to University; (2) ‘Being at’ University; and (3) Critical Reflections. Analysis of the interview transcripts revealed that many of the young people in this study had endured years of boredom and frustration at school, as well as ongoing issues with bullying and social isolation. Although some participants found the initial transition from secondary school to university difficult, the findings suggest that most of the challenges they faced were relatively minor and tended to be short-lived. Ongoing support and encouragement from family/whānau and friends, as well as active involvement in extra-curricular activities, were viewed by the young people in this study as critical enabling factors for positive adjustment. Overall, the results of this study demonstrate that accelerated students who gain early admission to university can be very successful, not only in terms of their academic achievement but also in relation to their social and emotional development. With the benefit of hindsight, none of the participants regretted their decision to enter university early and most could identify significant advantages, such as being awarded prestigious international scholarships and having more time for early career exploration. The findings presented in this thesis highlight a need for parents/whānau and educators to be better informed about the potential benefits of academic acceleration and early admission to university as a legitimate pathway for high-ability students in New Zealand schools.

year: 2019

title: From the drawing board into schools: An analysis of the development and implementation of a new physics curriculum in New Zealand secondary schools

authors: Fernandez, Teresa Sushama

subjects: Educational Change

abstract: This thesis explored the introduction of a new physics curriculum in New Zealand secondary schools. It was part of a nationwide overhaul of the whole school curriculum from primary to secondary schools, initiated in the early 1990s. The study of curriculum change is inextricably woven with teacher change, as the teacher is seen as central to any real change in curricula in the classroom. Some theories of teacher change are reviewed here and synthesised into a list of criteria relevant to bringing about effective change in teachers and their practices. A sociocultural perspective emerged as being a useful theoretical approach in analysing and explaining these processes of curriculum change and teacher change because it takes a holistic approach that deals with 'people, places and things' and the discourses involved therein. In particular, Wenger's sociocultural theory was used to study the introduction of a new senior physics curriculum. His terms 'reification' and 'participation' were seen to apply to this research: the curriculum document was taken to be a reified communication artifact, and 'participation' is involved in every stage of its development and implementation. In the context of this theorising, data was procured from in-depth interviews with the three curriculum writers and ten physics teachers in and around a provincial city in New Zealand. The teachers were interviewed three times over a period of three years: before, during and after the first year of implementation; namely 1996 to 1998. The interviews showed that most of these ten physics teachers did not undergo any significant change in their teaching because of the introduction of 'Physics in the New Zealand Curriculum'. The reasons or barriers identified, such as lack of guidelines and clarity, and contentment with their own existing practice, were aligned with factors that have been identified by other researchers as important influences on teachers undergoing change, such as clarity of change and need for change. Three key elements were identified from these issues emerging from the data as necessary conditions or resources for teacher change: knowledge, support and time. In the present study, there was very limited knowledge held by the teachers about 'what', 'how' and 'why' changes were being implemented. Secondly, there was little social and system support for the curriculum change. Finally, teachers had little time to focus on and reflect on the change. A model of curriculum change, incorporating Wenger's notions of 'reification' and 'participation', but extended to include 'dereification' emerged from the data. 'Dereification' highlighted an important stage whereby the curriculum document as an artifact, needed to be incorporated into the plane of lived experiences of teachers. The introduction of the term 'dereification' supported the development of this model of curriculum change incorporating teacher change whereby the model outlined processes of reification and dereification involved in a mandated curriculum change. The model of curriculum change developed here also contained a screen that symbolises the lack of intersubjective linkage between teachers and the designers of the new curriculum. There was no follow-up teachers' guide, not enough explanation of the curriculum document, no direct communication between the writers and the teachers, and insufficient professional development for the teachers using it. The research findings led to three propositions: the curriculum document as a key artifact was not sufficient to effect a curriculum change; the lack of transparency of the curriculum document development was a constraint on teachers' commitment to the curriculum change; and the lack of support for teachers in their dereification of the curriculum document impacted negatively on curriculum change. The key elements of knowledge, support and time identified as crucial for teachers to effect any real change in their practice are critical at different points in the model of curriculum change. It is suggested that using such an interplay between the factors underlying teacher change and the sociocultural analysis of curriculum change, might enable more pro-active intervention at the various stages of the process of a curriculum change to effect a real change.

text: From the drawing board into schools: An analysis of the development and implementation of a new physics curriculum in New Zealand secondary schools This thesis explored the introduction of a new physics curriculum in New Zealand secondary schools. It was part of a nationwide overhaul of the whole school curriculum from primary to secondary schools, initiated in the early 1990s. The study of curriculum change is inextricably woven with teacher change, as the teacher is seen as central to any real change in curricula in the classroom. Some theories of teacher change are reviewed here and synthesised into a list of criteria relevant to bringing about effective change in teachers and their practices. A sociocultural perspective emerged as being a useful theoretical approach in analysing and explaining these processes of curriculum change and teacher change because it takes a holistic approach that deals with 'people, places and things' and the discourses involved therein. In particular, Wenger's sociocultural theory was used to study the introduction of a new senior physics curriculum. His terms 'reification' and 'participation' were seen to apply to this research: the curriculum document was taken to be a reified communication artifact, and 'participation' is involved in every stage of its development and implementation. In the context of this theorising, data was procured from in-depth interviews with the three curriculum writers and ten physics teachers in and around a provincial city in New Zealand. The teachers were interviewed three times over a period of three years: before, during and after the first year of implementation; namely 1996 to 1998. The interviews showed that most of these ten physics teachers did not undergo any significant change in their teaching because of the introduction of 'Physics in the New Zealand Curriculum'. The reasons or barriers identified, such as lack of guidelines and clarity, and contentment with their own existing practice, were aligned with factors that have been identified by other researchers as important influences on teachers undergoing change, such as clarity of change and need for change. Three key elements were identified from these issues emerging from the data as necessary conditions or resources for teacher change: knowledge, support and time. In the present study, there was very limited knowledge held by the teachers about 'what', 'how' and 'why' changes were being implemented. Secondly, there was little social and system support for the curriculum change. Finally, teachers had little time to focus on and reflect on the change. A model of curriculum change, incorporating Wenger's notions of 'reification' and 'participation', but extended to include 'dereification' emerged from the data. 'Dereification' highlighted an important stage whereby the curriculum document as an artifact, needed to be incorporated into the plane of lived experiences of teachers. The introduction of the term 'dereification' supported the development of this model of curriculum change incorporating teacher change whereby the model outlined processes of reification and dereification involved in a mandated curriculum change. The model of curriculum change developed here also contained a screen that symbolises the lack of intersubjective linkage between teachers and the designers of the new curriculum. There was no follow-up teachers' guide, not enough explanation of the curriculum document, no direct communication between the writers and the teachers, and insufficient professional development for the teachers using it. The research findings led to three propositions: the curriculum document as a key artifact was not sufficient to effect a curriculum change; the lack of transparency of the curriculum document development was a constraint on teachers' commitment to the curriculum change; and the lack of support for teachers in their dereification of the curriculum document impacted negatively on curriculum change. The key elements of knowledge, support and time identified as crucial for teachers to effect any real change in their practice are critical at different points in the model of curriculum change. It is suggested that using such an interplay between the factors underlying teacher change and the sociocultural analysis of curriculum change, might enable more pro-active intervention at the various stages of the process of a curriculum change to effect a real change.

year: 2007

title: The Critical Juncture in Aotearoa New Zealand and The Collective Future: Policy Issues in Settler/Invader Colonial Zombiism Found in “Biculturalism”

authors: Simon, Hemopereki

abstract: This theoretical Kaupapa Māori writing inquiry study seeks to explore the settler colonial nature of Aotearoa New Zealand. The research finds that biculturalism, as a neo-liberal and settler-colonial construct does not provide for either tino rangatiratanga or mana motuhake. Indeed, biculturalism fails to provide for indigenous inclusion and actively suppresses the recognition of mana motuhake. Biculturalism is found to fit Beck’s definition of Zombie Concepts. These are social concepts that are dead and yet kept alive in their use by scholars and society to describe the growing fiction of traditional social institutions and in being kept alive maintain, in this case, settler colonial and colonial power structures. The main argument is that Biculturalism is neoliberal and settler colonial public discourse, that needs to be unpacked and then discarded because it does not provide for tino rangatiranga or mana motuhake.

text: The Critical Juncture in Aotearoa New Zealand and The Collective Future: Policy Issues in Settler/Invader Colonial Zombiism Found in “Biculturalism” This theoretical Kaupapa Māori writing inquiry study seeks to explore the settler colonial nature of Aotearoa New Zealand. The research finds that biculturalism, as a neo-liberal and settler-colonial construct does not provide for either tino rangatiratanga or mana motuhake. Indeed, biculturalism fails to provide for indigenous inclusion and actively suppresses the recognition of mana motuhake. Biculturalism is found to fit Beck’s definition of Zombie Concepts. These are social concepts that are dead and yet kept alive in their use by scholars and society to describe the growing fiction of traditional social institutions and in being kept alive maintain, in this case, settler colonial and colonial power structures. The main argument is that Biculturalism is neoliberal and settler colonial public discourse, that needs to be unpacked and then discarded because it does not provide for tino rangatiranga or mana motuhake.

year: 2022