title: The development of a middle school

authors: Ward, Richard

abstract: One of the effects of the 1989 Education Act in New Zealand was to allow schools to broaden their client base. This had the most significant impact in the area of schooling where there was the greatest possibility for change, particularly for the classes either side of the transition between primary and secondary schooling; the middle years. Under the Act, primary schools had the option of recapitating to retain their older pupils. Secondary schools were now able to extend downwards and offer a junior high school structure. So, the greatest potential for school restructuring was associated with the intermediate schools. Traditionally, intermediate schools had provided a two-year transition at Years 7 and 8 between primary and secondary education. The 1989 Education Act allowed them to extend this to include Years 9 and 10 and the development of three or four-year middle schools. 

In their traditional role of providing a transitional stage between primary and secondary education, the intermediate schools were characterised by aspects of both institutions. While programmes were largely home-room based and under the care of one teacher, some subject specialisation was also characteristic of intermediate schools. That this structure could be extended into the lower secondary classes offered a new perspective on the role of middle schooling. 

It was the extension of a Year 7 and 8 intermediate school into a four-year middle school and thereby encroaching on the traditional preserve of secondary schools, that became the focus of this study. It monitored the expansion of a two-year school as Years 9 and 10 classes were added and the transition of the first Year 10 class into Year 11 at secondary schools.

From this focus, the study hypothesised three main concerns relating to change: that the development of a two-year institution into a four year one would offer significant challenges to both the school organisation and the delivery of the curriculum, whether the students who chose to stay at the Middle School viewed the experience as worthwhile and that a current theory on institutional change would be useful in observing and analysing the data. 

The methodology for the study was largely qualitative. It was based on interviews with the Years 9 and 10 pupils, their teachers and parents and the school principal. The interviews covered the time in which the Middle School expanded to accommodate the additional two years, 1995 and 1996, and also followed the pupils into the first term of their secondary schools in 1997. During the transition to secondary schools, the interview data was supported with observations and pre-transition and post-transition surveys, using Q-Sorts and Picture Interpretation methods. In addition, parents’ views were sought on their children’s experiences at the Middle School and their transition to secondary schools. 

The research confirmed that a Year 7 to 10 school offered a viable alternative for the pupils in this study to the traditional path of transition from intermediate school to secondary school at the end of Year 8. It suggested that a school organisation, based on home-room teaching and interdisciplinary staffing arrangements, provided a useful basis for the social and educational development of preadolescents, although quite what would comprise a suitable balance between generalist and specialist teaching proved challenging. Nevertheless, curriculum delivery for Years 7 to 10 was facilitated by a flexible form of organisation. Parents of the Year 9 and 10 pupils endorsed the practices of the Middle School and confirmed that delaying transition to secondary schools was worthwhile. 

The development of the Middle School from a two-year to a four-year institution was viewed from a Perspectives theory of change. The theory was found to present a useful focus for viewing school change, but some modifications to it are offered.

text: The development of a middle school One of the effects of the 1989 Education Act in New Zealand was to allow schools to broaden their client base. This had the most significant impact in the area of schooling where there was the greatest possibility for change, particularly for the classes either side of the transition between primary and secondary schooling; the middle years. Under the Act, primary schools had the option of recapitating to retain their older pupils. Secondary schools were now able to extend downwards and offer a junior high school structure. So, the greatest potential for school restructuring was associated with the intermediate schools. Traditionally, intermediate schools had provided a two-year transition at Years 7 and 8 between primary and secondary education. The 1989 Education Act allowed them to extend this to include Years 9 and 10 and the development of three or four-year middle schools. 

In their traditional role of providing a transitional stage between primary and secondary education, the intermediate schools were characterised by aspects of both institutions. While programmes were largely home-room based and under the care of one teacher, some subject specialisation was also characteristic of intermediate schools. That this structure could be extended into the lower secondary classes offered a new perspective on the role of middle schooling. 

It was the extension of a Year 7 and 8 intermediate school into a four-year middle school and thereby encroaching on the traditional preserve of secondary schools, that became the focus of this study. It monitored the expansion of a two-year school as Years 9 and 10 classes were added and the transition of the first Year 10 class into Year 11 at secondary schools.

From this focus, the study hypothesised three main concerns relating to change: that the development of a two-year institution into a four year one would offer significant challenges to both the school organisation and the delivery of the curriculum, whether the students who chose to stay at the Middle School viewed the experience as worthwhile and that a current theory on institutional change would be useful in observing and analysing the data. 

The methodology for the study was largely qualitative. It was based on interviews with the Years 9 and 10 pupils, their teachers and parents and the school principal. The interviews covered the time in which the Middle School expanded to accommodate the additional two years, 1995 and 1996, and also followed the pupils into the first term of their secondary schools in 1997. During the transition to secondary schools, the interview data was supported with observations and pre-transition and post-transition surveys, using Q-Sorts and Picture Interpretation methods. In addition, parents’ views were sought on their children’s experiences at the Middle School and their transition to secondary schools. 

The research confirmed that a Year 7 to 10 school offered a viable alternative for the pupils in this study to the traditional path of transition from intermediate school to secondary school at the end of Year 8. It suggested that a school organisation, based on home-room teaching and interdisciplinary staffing arrangements, provided a useful basis for the social and educational development of preadolescents, although quite what would comprise a suitable balance between generalist and specialist teaching proved challenging. Nevertheless, curriculum delivery for Years 7 to 10 was facilitated by a flexible form of organisation. Parents of the Year 9 and 10 pupils endorsed the practices of the Middle School and confirmed that delaying transition to secondary schools was worthwhile. 

The development of the Middle School from a two-year to a four-year institution was viewed from a Perspectives theory of change. The theory was found to present a useful focus for viewing school change, but some modifications to it are offered.

year: 2001

title: Appendix: The GL(n) pack Manual

authors: Broughan, Kevin A.

subjects: mathematics

abstract: This appendix is the manual for a set of functions written to assist the reader to understand and apply the theorems on GL(n, R) set out in the main part of the book. The software for the package is provided over the World Wide Web at http://www.math.waikato.ac.nz/~kab  and is in the form of a standard Mathematica add-on package. To use the functions in the package you will need to have a version of Mathematica at level 4.0 or higher.

text: Appendix: The GL(n) pack Manual This appendix is the manual for a set of functions written to assist the reader to understand and apply the theorems on GL(n, R) set out in the main part of the book. The software for the package is provided over the World Wide Web at http://www.math.waikato.ac.nz/~kab  and is in the form of a standard Mathematica add-on package. To use the functions in the package you will need to have a version of Mathematica at level 4.0 or higher.

year: 2006

title: Mana Wahine reworking the power to name taonga

authors: Ringham, Sandra Lee

abstract: The capacity of Indigenous peoples to officially name taonga species (flora and fauna) within taxonomy signifies resilience and a reworking of western scientific processes and institutions. This article explores the ways in which Ngāti Kuri women contribute to environmental justice through the naming of taonga species. Ngāti Kuri were the first tribe in the world to install a tribal name into the co-authorship of a nomenclature. The article explores the ways in which Ngāti Kuri women, both past and present, rework environmental relationships and knowledge in both tribal and non-tribal spaces in Aotearoa's most northern region.

text: Mana Wahine reworking the power to name taonga The capacity of Indigenous peoples to officially name taonga species (flora and fauna) within taxonomy signifies resilience and a reworking of western scientific processes and institutions. This article explores the ways in which Ngāti Kuri women contribute to environmental justice through the naming of taonga species. Ngāti Kuri were the first tribe in the world to install a tribal name into the co-authorship of a nomenclature. The article explores the ways in which Ngāti Kuri women, both past and present, rework environmental relationships and knowledge in both tribal and non-tribal spaces in Aotearoa's most northern region.

year: 2023-01-01