title: Multimodal ways of eliciting students' voice.

authors: Cowie, Bronwen

subjects: student voice

abstract: For some time researchers have been exploring how students might best be supported to express their ideas, opinions and feelings and to demonstrate what they know and can do. In this paper, we discuss some of the implications of sociocultural view of learning for how classroom research is conducted and describe some of the approaches we have used to generate information on student classroom experiences. Over the course of our work we have found that the use of multiple and multimodal data generation methods allows student with different interests and abilities to take an active part in research. We then detail some of the challenges and rewards involved in working with students in these ways as part of a research agenda focused on enhancing teaching and learning.

text: Multimodal ways of eliciting students' voice. For some time researchers have been exploring how students might best be supported to express their ideas, opinions and feelings and to demonstrate what they know and can do. In this paper, we discuss some of the implications of sociocultural view of learning for how classroom research is conducted and describe some of the approaches we have used to generate information on student classroom experiences. Over the course of our work we have found that the use of multiple and multimodal data generation methods allows student with different interests and abilities to take an active part in research. We then detail some of the challenges and rewards involved in working with students in these ways as part of a research agenda focused on enhancing teaching and learning.

year: 2010

title: Navigating the waters: Swimming in Samoa; resistance, negotiation, acceptance and identity: a reflexive examination of the socio-cultural influences on competitive swimming participation in Samoa

authors: Schuster, Suzanne

subjects: Swimming

abstract: Swimming and water-based activities are replete within Polynesian history through missionary accounts, ethnographic writings and historical accounts. However, formal competitive swimming began in the Oceania region in 1963, with Samoa joining in 2003. For the past two decades, the sport has grown slowly and with little explanation. A growing corpus of research has found that Samoa’s historical landscape and its unique culture have influenced sport engagement, even though non-mainstream sports, such as swimming, have received less attention. 
This thesis examines the enablers and constraints on swimming participation in Samoa. The research used a Samoan conceptual framework, the Talanoa ile i’a, that has an inherent multiperspectival design. This proverbial expression, coupled with the talanoa method, was used to capture the voices of 32 participants living in Samoa who were affiliated with swimming, competitive swimming and sports development. The data were condensed into unique stories, vignettes, and poetry using thematic analysis and creative nonfiction practices to construct a multiperspectival window into the life of a swimmer in Samoa, traversing across a variety of periods, locales, geographical settings and experiences.
The stories of the participants were structured around several themes, including natural and built swimming environments, freedom, fear, and humour, disobedience and obedience, being seen but not heard, and becoming a swimmer. Written from the perspectives of the swimmer, parent, coach, swimming pool, and the code, the stories highlighted the challenges of negotiating traditional roles and expectations, infrastructure issues, rural and urban disparities, the parent-child divide, and sport-related conflict. 
There were three significant findings that could contribute to sports and swimming development in Samoa. The first discovery was the power and influence of the parent's voice, which directly supported or opposed the child's decision to become a swimmer which was hinged on the cultural value of time. Secondly, the challenges of being seen, metaphorically, geographically, and physically, in a new sport and context revealed novel evidence on gendered competitive swimming experiences, including the internationalisation of semi-nudity social norms. Lastly, the findings revealed that a young person's sense of agency and identity as a swimmer intersected and clashed with cultural elements, but through a process of resistance, negotiation, and self-acceptance within the family and community, a young person could successfully emerge as a contemporary competitive swimmer. 
Furthermore, the thesis provided new insights into the existing conceptual framework. The additional perspective of the shoreline represented the personal, historical, cultural, and sociopolitical legacies that hindered the growth of competitive swimming in Samoa. The study's findings shed light on the shifting practices and perceptions of the sport, the historical and cultural influences on swimming development and the complex role of Samoan youth participating in modern sports within a non-Western society.

text: Navigating the waters: Swimming in Samoa; resistance, negotiation, acceptance and identity: a reflexive examination of the socio-cultural influences on competitive swimming participation in Samoa Swimming and water-based activities are replete within Polynesian history through missionary accounts, ethnographic writings and historical accounts. However, formal competitive swimming began in the Oceania region in 1963, with Samoa joining in 2003. For the past two decades, the sport has grown slowly and with little explanation. A growing corpus of research has found that Samoa’s historical landscape and its unique culture have influenced sport engagement, even though non-mainstream sports, such as swimming, have received less attention. 
This thesis examines the enablers and constraints on swimming participation in Samoa. The research used a Samoan conceptual framework, the Talanoa ile i’a, that has an inherent multiperspectival design. This proverbial expression, coupled with the talanoa method, was used to capture the voices of 32 participants living in Samoa who were affiliated with swimming, competitive swimming and sports development. The data were condensed into unique stories, vignettes, and poetry using thematic analysis and creative nonfiction practices to construct a multiperspectival window into the life of a swimmer in Samoa, traversing across a variety of periods, locales, geographical settings and experiences.
The stories of the participants were structured around several themes, including natural and built swimming environments, freedom, fear, and humour, disobedience and obedience, being seen but not heard, and becoming a swimmer. Written from the perspectives of the swimmer, parent, coach, swimming pool, and the code, the stories highlighted the challenges of negotiating traditional roles and expectations, infrastructure issues, rural and urban disparities, the parent-child divide, and sport-related conflict. 
There were three significant findings that could contribute to sports and swimming development in Samoa. The first discovery was the power and influence of the parent's voice, which directly supported or opposed the child's decision to become a swimmer which was hinged on the cultural value of time. Secondly, the challenges of being seen, metaphorically, geographically, and physically, in a new sport and context revealed novel evidence on gendered competitive swimming experiences, including the internationalisation of semi-nudity social norms. Lastly, the findings revealed that a young person's sense of agency and identity as a swimmer intersected and clashed with cultural elements, but through a process of resistance, negotiation, and self-acceptance within the family and community, a young person could successfully emerge as a contemporary competitive swimmer. 
Furthermore, the thesis provided new insights into the existing conceptual framework. The additional perspective of the shoreline represented the personal, historical, cultural, and sociopolitical legacies that hindered the growth of competitive swimming in Samoa. The study's findings shed light on the shifting practices and perceptions of the sport, the historical and cultural influences on swimming development and the complex role of Samoan youth participating in modern sports within a non-Western society.

year: 2023

title: Maori children and death: Views from parents

authors: Jacob, Juanita

subjects: Maori

abstract: Research about Maori children's experiences and perceptions of death and tangi (Maori death rituals) is sparse. What is available tends to be generalised and stems from Western paradigms of knowledge. In this study we explore Maori children's experiences of death and tangi through the eyes of Maori parents. Through semi-structured interviews with 17 Maori parents, five areas were explored: a) the childhood experiences of parents and how they learned about death and an afterlife; b) what their adult beliefs about these matters are; c) how they have communicated the death concept to their children; and d) whether their children are likely to do the same in the future. From this study we learn that death was not hidden from children, that parents talked with their children in very open and age relevant ways, and considered their children's participation in tangi an important way to grieve and ensure continuity with kinship networks and support. This study suggests that the challenge now is to ensure that these practices continue to persist between parents and their children, and future generations.

text: Maori children and death: Views from parents Research about Maori children's experiences and perceptions of death and tangi (Maori death rituals) is sparse. What is available tends to be generalised and stems from Western paradigms of knowledge. In this study we explore Maori children's experiences of death and tangi through the eyes of Maori parents. Through semi-structured interviews with 17 Maori parents, five areas were explored: a) the childhood experiences of parents and how they learned about death and an afterlife; b) what their adult beliefs about these matters are; c) how they have communicated the death concept to their children; and d) whether their children are likely to do the same in the future. From this study we learn that death was not hidden from children, that parents talked with their children in very open and age relevant ways, and considered their children's participation in tangi an important way to grieve and ensure continuity with kinship networks and support. This study suggests that the challenge now is to ensure that these practices continue to persist between parents and their children, and future generations.

year: 2011-12