title: “She didn’t ask me about my grandma”. Using process drama to explore issues of cultural exclusion and educational leadership.

authors: Kana, Pare

subjects: dramatization

abstract: Purpose – This purpose of this paper is to describe a collaborative project from the University of Waikato, Hamilton New Zealand, in which the authors used process drama to engage final year teaching students with complex issues of cultural diversity, enabling them to “grow into” different kinds of leadership positions in an imagined educational setting. The paper describes the project and makes a case for process drama as a means of providing opportunities for leadership and as a potent tool for learning about issues of social justice. Design/methodology/approach – The drama was based on a fictional scenario described by Hall and Bishop, where a beginner teacher (of European descent) unwittingly diminishes the experiences of Maori and other non-European children in her class. Using a three-phase process planning model and with facilitators in role alongside the students, the drama explored the scenario from all points of view. Students were encouraged to build empathy for the beginner teacher and for the children and also to explore the dilemma faced by the teacher's tutor in deciding whether, and how, to confront the teacher on the issue. Findings – Through the drama, students built a sense of empathy for all sides of the issue and engaged in deep thinking about the experience of cultural exclusion. The safety and distance provided by the drama “frame” spurred students to take leadership roles and “stand up” for issues of social justice. The authors suggest that through such dramas students gain skills and perspectives that they may carry into their professional lives. Research limitations/implications – The paper describes a small project, over one lesson with a specific group of students. More research is needed into the effectiveness of process drama as a sustained strategy for teacher education. Originality/value – This scenario explored in the drama has currency in Aotearoa New Zealand, where the population is increasingly culturally diverse, where underachievement of Maori students continues to be of concern, and where research has shown the centrality of teacher-student relations in raising educational achievement for Maori. The authors believe this paper makes a compelling case for the value of drama as a tool for student teachers to encounter social justice issues in a meaningful way, and suggest that the paper is a valuable contribution to more than one discipline, as it straddles the fields of professional practice and drama as pedagogy.

text: “She didn’t ask me about my grandma”. Using process drama to explore issues of cultural exclusion and educational leadership. Purpose – This purpose of this paper is to describe a collaborative project from the University of Waikato, Hamilton New Zealand, in which the authors used process drama to engage final year teaching students with complex issues of cultural diversity, enabling them to “grow into” different kinds of leadership positions in an imagined educational setting. The paper describes the project and makes a case for process drama as a means of providing opportunities for leadership and as a potent tool for learning about issues of social justice. Design/methodology/approach – The drama was based on a fictional scenario described by Hall and Bishop, where a beginner teacher (of European descent) unwittingly diminishes the experiences of Maori and other non-European children in her class. Using a three-phase process planning model and with facilitators in role alongside the students, the drama explored the scenario from all points of view. Students were encouraged to build empathy for the beginner teacher and for the children and also to explore the dilemma faced by the teacher's tutor in deciding whether, and how, to confront the teacher on the issue. Findings – Through the drama, students built a sense of empathy for all sides of the issue and engaged in deep thinking about the experience of cultural exclusion. The safety and distance provided by the drama “frame” spurred students to take leadership roles and “stand up” for issues of social justice. The authors suggest that through such dramas students gain skills and perspectives that they may carry into their professional lives. Research limitations/implications – The paper describes a small project, over one lesson with a specific group of students. More research is needed into the effectiveness of process drama as a sustained strategy for teacher education. Originality/value – This scenario explored in the drama has currency in Aotearoa New Zealand, where the population is increasingly culturally diverse, where underachievement of Maori students continues to be of concern, and where research has shown the centrality of teacher-student relations in raising educational achievement for Maori. The authors believe this paper makes a compelling case for the value of drama as a tool for student teachers to encounter social justice issues in a meaningful way, and suggest that the paper is a valuable contribution to more than one discipline, as it straddles the fields of professional practice and drama as pedagogy.

year: 2007

title: He Taonga te Ta Moko ki Tauranga Moana: A survey of attitudes, opinions, whakāro noa iho, towards ta moko during the Tauranga Moana, Tauranga Tangata Festival (Labour Weekend 2002)

authors: Cairns, Puawai

subjects: Maori

abstract: During Labour Weekend (26 – 28 October 2002) in Tauranga, a celebration called
the Tauranga Moana, Tauranga Tangata Festival was held. The festival
represented the artists, kapa haka, lectures, sports, and personalities of Tauranga
Moana. It was during this festival that a ta moko survey was conducted, with the
support of the lead ta moko artist there, with the aim to canvass opinions and
attitudes towards ta moko. The basis of the survey was to broadly examine the
extent to which ta moko has become a form of inscribed identity for Māori. This is
a first stage in a wider research project to examine Māori attitudes towards ta
moko, but it happens that this initial step was taken in the author’s own rohe.

text: He Taonga te Ta Moko ki Tauranga Moana: A survey of attitudes, opinions, whakāro noa iho, towards ta moko during the Tauranga Moana, Tauranga Tangata Festival (Labour Weekend 2002) During Labour Weekend (26 – 28 October 2002) in Tauranga, a celebration called
the Tauranga Moana, Tauranga Tangata Festival was held. The festival
represented the artists, kapa haka, lectures, sports, and personalities of Tauranga
Moana. It was during this festival that a ta moko survey was conducted, with the
support of the lead ta moko artist there, with the aim to canvass opinions and
attitudes towards ta moko. The basis of the survey was to broadly examine the
extent to which ta moko has become a form of inscribed identity for Māori. This is
a first stage in a wider research project to examine Māori attitudes towards ta
moko, but it happens that this initial step was taken in the author’s own rohe.

year: 2003

title: A logic for schema-based program development

authors: Henson, Martin C.

subjects: program development; refinement; Z

abstract: We show how a theory of specification refinement and program development can be constructed as a conservative extension of our existing logic for Z. The resulting system can be set up as a development method for a Z-like specification language, or as a generalisation of a refinement calculus (with a novel semantics). In addition to the technical development we illustrate how the theory can be used in practice.

text: A logic for schema-based program development We show how a theory of specification refinement and program development can be constructed as a conservative extension of our existing logic for Z. The resulting system can be set up as a development method for a Z-like specification language, or as a generalisation of a refinement calculus (with a novel semantics). In addition to the technical development we illustrate how the theory can be used in practice.

year: 2003-07-01