title: Exploring the Acceptability, Appropriateness, and Utility of a Digital Single-Session Intervention (Project SOLVE-NZ) for Adolescent Mental Health in New Zealand: Interview Study Among Students and Teachers

authors: Blind, Morgan Taylor

subjects: adolescent

abstract: Background:
Globally, we face a significant treatment gap in mental health care, with extensive wait times, exorbitant prices, and concerns about appropriateness for non-Western clients. Digital single-session interventions (SSIs) may offer a promising alternative. SSIs target particular mechanisms that underlie broad-ranging psychopathology, including deficits in problem-solving skills.

Objective:
Developed in the United States, Project SOLVE is a digital SSI that teaches problem-solving skills to adolescents. This study evaluated the acceptability, appropriateness, and utility of an adapted version, Project SOLVE-NZ, among rangatahi (young people) in Aotearoa New Zealand. Additionally, we evaluated a comparable online activity, Project Success-NZ, as a potential active control condition in a future randomized controlled trial of Project SOLVE-NZ.

Methods:
A sample of school students and teachers completed Project SOLVE-NZ and Project Success-NZ. Feedback on the interventions was collected through focus groups and semistructured interviews. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis.

Results:
In total, 12 students (aged between 13 and 14 years; female students: n=6, 50%) participated in a focus group, and 8 teachers (teaching experience: mean 8.75, SD 7.96 years; female teachers: n=5, 62.5%) participated in individual interviews. Participants endorsed the sociocultural relevance of Project SOLVE-NZ and Project Success-NZ to rangatahi in Aotearoa New Zealand and viewed all existing adaptations favorably. Participants felt that the interventions would be valuable to a wide range of rangatahi, helping to fill gaps in students’ learning and providing benefits to mental health. Participants also believed that the interventions may be particularly relevant for youths experiencing economic hardship. Interestingly, most participants had no preference for either Project SOLVE-NZ or Project Success-NZ, and they believed that both interventions could provide ongoing support to rangatahi throughout the school year. Teachers provided some suggestions on increasing student engagement with the interventions, namely, through increased cultural and gender representation, visual and literacy aids, whakawhanaungatanga (relationship building), and teacher guidance. Overall, interviews revealed that both interventions were perceived as acceptable, appropriate, and useful for rangatahi in New Zealand and highlighted further adaptations that could be made prior to a randomized controlled trial of Project SOLVE-NZ across schools nationwide.

Conclusions:
Digital SSIs show promise in addressing the mental health treatment gap for adolescents. Both Project SOLVE-NZ and Project Success-NZ were well-received by students and teachers in Aotearoa New Zealand and may provide benefits to youth mental health. We make the following recommendations for others interested in designing digital SSIs or similar tools for young people: involve rangatahi and relevant stakeholders in the design process, consider how the intervention will be implemented, ensure that the intervention accommodates a range of cognitive abilities, and ensure that the intervention reflects the diversity of rangatahi today.

text: Exploring the Acceptability, Appropriateness, and Utility of a Digital Single-Session Intervention (Project SOLVE-NZ) for Adolescent Mental Health in New Zealand: Interview Study Among Students and Teachers Background:
Globally, we face a significant treatment gap in mental health care, with extensive wait times, exorbitant prices, and concerns about appropriateness for non-Western clients. Digital single-session interventions (SSIs) may offer a promising alternative. SSIs target particular mechanisms that underlie broad-ranging psychopathology, including deficits in problem-solving skills.

Objective:
Developed in the United States, Project SOLVE is a digital SSI that teaches problem-solving skills to adolescents. This study evaluated the acceptability, appropriateness, and utility of an adapted version, Project SOLVE-NZ, among rangatahi (young people) in Aotearoa New Zealand. Additionally, we evaluated a comparable online activity, Project Success-NZ, as a potential active control condition in a future randomized controlled trial of Project SOLVE-NZ.

Methods:
A sample of school students and teachers completed Project SOLVE-NZ and Project Success-NZ. Feedback on the interventions was collected through focus groups and semistructured interviews. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis.

Results:
In total, 12 students (aged between 13 and 14 years; female students: n=6, 50%) participated in a focus group, and 8 teachers (teaching experience: mean 8.75, SD 7.96 years; female teachers: n=5, 62.5%) participated in individual interviews. Participants endorsed the sociocultural relevance of Project SOLVE-NZ and Project Success-NZ to rangatahi in Aotearoa New Zealand and viewed all existing adaptations favorably. Participants felt that the interventions would be valuable to a wide range of rangatahi, helping to fill gaps in students’ learning and providing benefits to mental health. Participants also believed that the interventions may be particularly relevant for youths experiencing economic hardship. Interestingly, most participants had no preference for either Project SOLVE-NZ or Project Success-NZ, and they believed that both interventions could provide ongoing support to rangatahi throughout the school year. Teachers provided some suggestions on increasing student engagement with the interventions, namely, through increased cultural and gender representation, visual and literacy aids, whakawhanaungatanga (relationship building), and teacher guidance. Overall, interviews revealed that both interventions were perceived as acceptable, appropriate, and useful for rangatahi in New Zealand and highlighted further adaptations that could be made prior to a randomized controlled trial of Project SOLVE-NZ across schools nationwide.

Conclusions:
Digital SSIs show promise in addressing the mental health treatment gap for adolescents. Both Project SOLVE-NZ and Project Success-NZ were well-received by students and teachers in Aotearoa New Zealand and may provide benefits to youth mental health. We make the following recommendations for others interested in designing digital SSIs or similar tools for young people: involve rangatahi and relevant stakeholders in the design process, consider how the intervention will be implemented, ensure that the intervention accommodates a range of cognitive abilities, and ensure that the intervention reflects the diversity of rangatahi today.

year: 2026-01-13

title: The digital technology components in the New Zealand Curriculum: Teachers’ journey of adoption

authors: Rhodes, Kate

subjects: Digital technology

abstract: Over the last century, digital technology (DT) has revolutionized our world. A digital revolution has taken hold; reshaping industries and schools, and making information, games and tools more accessible. Digital technology now has a steadfast place in our society and is changing the way we work and live. Subsequently, governments around the world are realising the benefit of digital technology and the need to incorporate it into educational curricula. 
In 2020, new digital technology components (DTC) became a mandatory part of the New Zealand Curriculum technology subject area. DTC aim to create students who are not just passive users of technology, but instead students who are digital creators and understand how computers work. DTC aim to teach skills that could be considered essential in the twenty-first century, such as deeper understanding of technology, problem solving and the processes involved (TKI, n.d.b). 
This research investigated teachers’ adoption of DTC. Scrutinizing how DTC can be effectively integrated, the main affordances for implementation and what teachers’ capabilities enable them to do. Adopting DTC was challenging for schools, as the new components encompass skills that are currently beyond many teachers' understanding of digital technologies. Therefore, the implementation of DTC can be problematic, needing to be scrutinized and unpacked by teachers as they work out how, when and where it will best fit and be integrated into existing classroom practices. 
A qualitative approach to the research was adopted in this study as highly skilled teachers could struggle with DTC implementation. DTC recent establishment meant it introduced new concepts to teachers and schools and therefore a qualitative approach allowed participants to partake no matter what their current knowledge or experience of DTC. Participatory Action Research (PAR) was selected as the most appropriate research methodological approach. This approach enabled the teachers to have ownership and create lasting change, as teachers took on the role of coresearchers. The researcher also intended that participants would gain from the iii research, as they developed their knowledge of DTC during their personal journeys of adoption and implementation. 
The research found there were several problems in adopting DTC. Teachers articulated that professional learning development (PLD) and integration of DTC was unclear, misinterpreted and insufficient. Additionally, it was identified that teachers’ confidence played an important role in DTC implementation. However, through suitable professional development sessions and successful integration teachers could build confidence and subsequently overcome several of the negative affordances associated with DTC adoption. 
The agenda for completing this research lay within a belief that ICT is valuable to educational outcomes, that it should be utilised to benefit the next generation, enhancing their learning, abilities and subsequent employment opportunities. Assisting teachers in their adoption of this new curriculum and anticipating that schools and policy makers might take note of these findings is the main rationale for the research.

text: The digital technology components in the New Zealand Curriculum: Teachers’ journey of adoption Over the last century, digital technology (DT) has revolutionized our world. A digital revolution has taken hold; reshaping industries and schools, and making information, games and tools more accessible. Digital technology now has a steadfast place in our society and is changing the way we work and live. Subsequently, governments around the world are realising the benefit of digital technology and the need to incorporate it into educational curricula. 
In 2020, new digital technology components (DTC) became a mandatory part of the New Zealand Curriculum technology subject area. DTC aim to create students who are not just passive users of technology, but instead students who are digital creators and understand how computers work. DTC aim to teach skills that could be considered essential in the twenty-first century, such as deeper understanding of technology, problem solving and the processes involved (TKI, n.d.b). 
This research investigated teachers’ adoption of DTC. Scrutinizing how DTC can be effectively integrated, the main affordances for implementation and what teachers’ capabilities enable them to do. Adopting DTC was challenging for schools, as the new components encompass skills that are currently beyond many teachers' understanding of digital technologies. Therefore, the implementation of DTC can be problematic, needing to be scrutinized and unpacked by teachers as they work out how, when and where it will best fit and be integrated into existing classroom practices. 
A qualitative approach to the research was adopted in this study as highly skilled teachers could struggle with DTC implementation. DTC recent establishment meant it introduced new concepts to teachers and schools and therefore a qualitative approach allowed participants to partake no matter what their current knowledge or experience of DTC. Participatory Action Research (PAR) was selected as the most appropriate research methodological approach. This approach enabled the teachers to have ownership and create lasting change, as teachers took on the role of coresearchers. The researcher also intended that participants would gain from the iii research, as they developed their knowledge of DTC during their personal journeys of adoption and implementation. 
The research found there were several problems in adopting DTC. Teachers articulated that professional learning development (PLD) and integration of DTC was unclear, misinterpreted and insufficient. Additionally, it was identified that teachers’ confidence played an important role in DTC implementation. However, through suitable professional development sessions and successful integration teachers could build confidence and subsequently overcome several of the negative affordances associated with DTC adoption. 
The agenda for completing this research lay within a belief that ICT is valuable to educational outcomes, that it should be utilised to benefit the next generation, enhancing their learning, abilities and subsequent employment opportunities. Assisting teachers in their adoption of this new curriculum and anticipating that schools and policy makers might take note of these findings is the main rationale for the research.

year: 2020

title: Invading the Waikato: A postcolonial re-view

authors: Dench, Simon

subjects: New Zealand

abstract: The article discusses images of the Waikato Region of New Zealand from the 1860s, examining them within the context of British colonization and invasion. It comments on photographs by surveyor Daniel Manders Beere and British Army Royal Artillery Regiment Assistant Surgeon William Temple. The author also comments on a map of New Zealand's North Island made by surveyor Charles Heaphy and a map of Newcastle, New Zealand, depicting its earlier names of Ngāruawāhia and Queenstown. Other topics include spatial history, postcolonialism, and the 1863 to 1864 British invasion of Waikato.

text: Invading the Waikato: A postcolonial re-view The article discusses images of the Waikato Region of New Zealand from the 1860s, examining them within the context of British colonization and invasion. It comments on photographs by surveyor Daniel Manders Beere and British Army Royal Artillery Regiment Assistant Surgeon William Temple. The author also comments on a map of New Zealand's North Island made by surveyor Charles Heaphy and a map of Newcastle, New Zealand, depicting its earlier names of Ngāruawāhia and Queenstown. Other topics include spatial history, postcolonialism, and the 1863 to 1864 British invasion of Waikato.

year: 2011