title: The ethics of fiction: Representations of New Zealand history in the poetry of Chris Tse and Airini Beautrais, and how an author's sense of self affects the story

authors: Mead, Olivia Frances

subjects: New Zealand poetry

abstract: The landscape of contemporary literature and film is saturated with interpretations of recorded histories and events. We have passed them down through generations—orally at first, written recordings when we had the comprehension and means to do so—each representation changed a little bit more by the time it reached us. But contemporary literature also draws from recent history, helping both reader and author to understand the contexts in which they exist. The resulting texts inform, and in turn are informed by, our cultures, ethnicities, religions, values, geography—all contributors to the sense of self with which we interpret fact and fiction.

This thesis looks at the representations of events within New Zealand history found in the poetry of Chris Tse and Airini Beautrais, considering these events through the specific lens of each author’s culture and identity. From the murder of Joe Kum Yung in 1905 and the death of anarchist Neil Roberts in 1982 to the multi-layered history of the Whanganui region, each collection illustrates how an author’s sense of self can alter history. Tse’s How to be Dead in a Year of Snakes and Beautrais’ Dear Neil Roberts and Flow: Whanganui River Poems are examples of the impact of an author’s voice on historical fact, and reinforce a need for accuracy in the poetry genre in the context of New Zealand history and literature. As poet James Brown asks: is verse the future of history?

text: The ethics of fiction: Representations of New Zealand history in the poetry of Chris Tse and Airini Beautrais, and how an author's sense of self affects the story The landscape of contemporary literature and film is saturated with interpretations of recorded histories and events. We have passed them down through generations—orally at first, written recordings when we had the comprehension and means to do so—each representation changed a little bit more by the time it reached us. But contemporary literature also draws from recent history, helping both reader and author to understand the contexts in which they exist. The resulting texts inform, and in turn are informed by, our cultures, ethnicities, religions, values, geography—all contributors to the sense of self with which we interpret fact and fiction.

This thesis looks at the representations of events within New Zealand history found in the poetry of Chris Tse and Airini Beautrais, considering these events through the specific lens of each author’s culture and identity. From the murder of Joe Kum Yung in 1905 and the death of anarchist Neil Roberts in 1982 to the multi-layered history of the Whanganui region, each collection illustrates how an author’s sense of self can alter history. Tse’s How to be Dead in a Year of Snakes and Beautrais’ Dear Neil Roberts and Flow: Whanganui River Poems are examples of the impact of an author’s voice on historical fact, and reinforce a need for accuracy in the poetry genre in the context of New Zealand history and literature. As poet James Brown asks: is verse the future of history?

year: 2020

title: Statutory intervention: perceptions of New Zealand primary school principals and their experiences

authors: Cook, Sheralyn F.

subjects: New Zealand

abstract: Each year, a small number of New Zealand schools are identified as underperforming and require external leadership assistance, usually from the Ministry of Education. This support is implemented through a statutory intervention mechanism aimed to address underpinning issues such as governance and leadership matters, low student academic achievement, issues of finance, and student and staff wellbeing (Ministry of Education, 2017).
While statutory interventions have been enacted in New Zealand since 1994 as a mechanism to ‘turn a school around’, there is little research about what this experience is like for educational leaders, or how it affects their professional and personal lives. Within the turnaround school literature, educational leaders are often positioned as heroic leaders who seek to address students’ low academic performance by changing the school climate and culture, or as servant leaders who devote their life to the school.  There is, however, an omission within this literature on the countervailing pressures school leaders experience while seeking to implement change, and how these pressures affect the professional and personal lives of leaders.
Using Dewey’s theory of experiences, I examined the personal and professional experiences of three state primary school principals who were leading a school in statutory intervention.  The participating principals’ knowledge was lived, contextualised, shaped, and embedded within the professional-knowledge landscape of New Zealand primary schools (Clandinin & Rosiek, 2007).  The stories told by the principals “express their personal understandings” (Elbaz-Luwisch, 2007, p. 367) of their experiences of leading and managing a school during a statutory intervention. 
The principals provided some key insights into their experiences of leading school change through complex, difficult situations. Working with statutory appointees provided a range of challenges for the principals, which included seeking to find common understandings of the issues within the school and the lack of contextual awareness from some appointees.  Complex and challenging issues relating to staff where highlight in the principals narratives.  Staff issues included a lack contextual and cultural awareness, deficit thinking with punitive classroom management systems, low teacher engagement with teaching and learning, resistant to change and traumatised staff.  
The principals also experienced issues professionally and personally.  Working in complex challenging schools resulted in the principals feeling isolated from other leaders. They felt no other principal had experienced nor understood their situation, therefore finding appropriate support and guidance was difficult.  Subsequently, the principals’ health and wellbeing began to suffer with significant consequences on their mental health and wellbeing.  
The principals involved in this study have been shaped and influenced by their experiences (Dewey, 1938). They are not the same principal who entered into a statutory intervention as the principal who emerged from it. Their experiences, the context of their schools and the interactions they had with their statutory appointee and school stakeholders, have influenced and shaped them personally and professionally.

text: Statutory intervention: perceptions of New Zealand primary school principals and their experiences Each year, a small number of New Zealand schools are identified as underperforming and require external leadership assistance, usually from the Ministry of Education. This support is implemented through a statutory intervention mechanism aimed to address underpinning issues such as governance and leadership matters, low student academic achievement, issues of finance, and student and staff wellbeing (Ministry of Education, 2017).
While statutory interventions have been enacted in New Zealand since 1994 as a mechanism to ‘turn a school around’, there is little research about what this experience is like for educational leaders, or how it affects their professional and personal lives. Within the turnaround school literature, educational leaders are often positioned as heroic leaders who seek to address students’ low academic performance by changing the school climate and culture, or as servant leaders who devote their life to the school.  There is, however, an omission within this literature on the countervailing pressures school leaders experience while seeking to implement change, and how these pressures affect the professional and personal lives of leaders.
Using Dewey’s theory of experiences, I examined the personal and professional experiences of three state primary school principals who were leading a school in statutory intervention.  The participating principals’ knowledge was lived, contextualised, shaped, and embedded within the professional-knowledge landscape of New Zealand primary schools (Clandinin & Rosiek, 2007).  The stories told by the principals “express their personal understandings” (Elbaz-Luwisch, 2007, p. 367) of their experiences of leading and managing a school during a statutory intervention. 
The principals provided some key insights into their experiences of leading school change through complex, difficult situations. Working with statutory appointees provided a range of challenges for the principals, which included seeking to find common understandings of the issues within the school and the lack of contextual awareness from some appointees.  Complex and challenging issues relating to staff where highlight in the principals narratives.  Staff issues included a lack contextual and cultural awareness, deficit thinking with punitive classroom management systems, low teacher engagement with teaching and learning, resistant to change and traumatised staff.  
The principals also experienced issues professionally and personally.  Working in complex challenging schools resulted in the principals feeling isolated from other leaders. They felt no other principal had experienced nor understood their situation, therefore finding appropriate support and guidance was difficult.  Subsequently, the principals’ health and wellbeing began to suffer with significant consequences on their mental health and wellbeing.  
The principals involved in this study have been shaped and influenced by their experiences (Dewey, 1938). They are not the same principal who entered into a statutory intervention as the principal who emerged from it. Their experiences, the context of their schools and the interactions they had with their statutory appointee and school stakeholders, have influenced and shaped them personally and professionally.

year: 2021

title: Kia Maanu, Kia Ora: Stay Afloat, Stay Alive – Acknowledging the significance of tikanga Māori in formulating and communicating water safety policies and practices

authors: Haimona, Mark

subjects: New Zealand

abstract: The traditional beliefs and practices of Māori demonstrate great respect for water, for its dangers as well as its life-giving properties, and Māori have, along with other Polynesian peoples, been known for their skill in swimming, fishing and canoeing. However, Māori now outnumber others in New Zealand in terms of the proportion involved in drowning and water-related injury. In seeking to promote water safety among Māori, Water Safety New Zealand has enlisted the help of Māori communities. Its message - Kia Maanu, Kia Ora (Stay Afloat, Stay Alive) - is underpinned by an acknowledgment of the need to reinforce the traditional respect for water that permeates the Māori worldview.

text: Kia Maanu, Kia Ora: Stay Afloat, Stay Alive – Acknowledging the significance of tikanga Māori in formulating and communicating water safety policies and practices The traditional beliefs and practices of Māori demonstrate great respect for water, for its dangers as well as its life-giving properties, and Māori have, along with other Polynesian peoples, been known for their skill in swimming, fishing and canoeing. However, Māori now outnumber others in New Zealand in terms of the proportion involved in drowning and water-related injury. In seeking to promote water safety among Māori, Water Safety New Zealand has enlisted the help of Māori communities. Its message - Kia Maanu, Kia Ora (Stay Afloat, Stay Alive) - is underpinned by an acknowledgment of the need to reinforce the traditional respect for water that permeates the Māori worldview.

year: 2007