The Enduring Effect of Exemplary Teachers of Aotearoa New Zealand’s Most Disengaged Secondary School Students: An Ideology of Hope ____________________________ A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Education at the University of Canterbury ____________________________ Nā Rachel Maitland Ngāi Tūāhuriri, Ngāti Huirapa, Ngāi te Ruahikihiki University of Canterbury 2020 Acknowledgements It has long been a dream of mine to write a thesis that honoured the exemplary teachers I have worked alongside during my career. It is with aroha and gratitude that I acknowledge the people who made this dream a reality, my own group of exemplary teachers. To Tina Lomax and the board of trustees at my school. I could not have achieved this goal without you backing me every step of the way, thank you.
To the participants of this research. Thank you for trusting me with your expert knowledge, your many years of experience, and your stories. I walked away from each interview humbled and inspired, reminded of why we do what we do. To my supervisory team.
You acknowledge the mana of each and every person you encounter, and it was powerful for me to witness the impact of this. Te Hurinui Clarke. A teacher who exemplifies humility, humour and heart. You valued my experience and my expertise and gave me bucketloads of encouragement and autonomy.
Associate Professor Sonja Macfarlane. A teacher who personifies genuine care and authenticity. The way you use your written and spoken words to uplift and advance is inspirational. Professor Angus Hikairo Macfarlane.
A masterful teacher who genuinely believes in his students capabilities. You challenged me, you pushed me out of my comfort zone and for this I will be forever grateful. To my whānau. My husband, Junior Mata’afa, and our sons, Neihana and Nikora.
E leai se mea e sili atu i lo lou aiga. You are my ultimate ‘why’. 1 Dedication For my Mum and Dad, Veronica and Bill Maitland. Everything I know, everything that really matters, was taught to me by you.
2 Abstract In the short term, disengagement from education is linked with young people participating in high-risk, antisocial behaviours. In the long term, disengagement from education points to serious, ongoing health and social issues impacting individuals, families and communities. Teachers are known to be one of the most significant factors influencing educational engagement. This thesis presents findings from a qualitative research project into the beliefs, practices and knowledge base of exemplary teachers of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most disengaged secondary school students.
These students sit at the very tip of Aotearoa New Zealand’s infamous tail of underachievement and represent the countries most marginalised communities. Alternative education is a provision funded by the New Zealand Ministry of Education with a goal of catering to the educational needs of 14 to 16-year olds who are categorised as alienated from mainstream schooling; this specialist field is a focal point in this study. Methodologically guided by grounded theory and underpinned by kaupapa Māori principles. Data were gathered during a series of semi-structured interviews with experienced leaders and exemplary teachers in the specialist field of alternative education.
Former students, who experienced success in alternative education, were also interviewed. The research findings are divided into three key domains, including the head, which refers to what exemplary teachers of at-risk learners know, the heart, which refers to what exemplary teachers of at-risk learners believe in, and the hand, which refers to what exemplary teachers of at-risk learners do. Within each of these three domains, six generalised statements are captured to present the key findings. When comparing the findings from this research to the literature reviewed in this study, some interesting convergent and divergent streams of thought emerge in relation to exemplary teaching practice.
Overarching themes include teachers’ ability to disengage their ego, to see young people from a holistic perspective, to use time and space strategically, to employ mana-enhancing practices and to challenge young people to see themselves and their world in a different light. 3 Table of Contents Acknowledgements. 3 Chapter One: Introduction .2 Research Rationale and Background .3 Situating the Researcher. 14 Chapter Two: Literature Review .2 Complexity of Causation .3 The Teacher Effect .4 The Head: What Exemplary Teachers Know .5 The Heart: What Exemplary Teachers Believe .6 The Hand: What Exemplary Teachers Do.
31 Chapter Three: Methodology .1 Qualitative Discourse and the Braided River .2 Kaupapa Māori Theory .3 Grounded Theory Inquiry .4 Semi-structured Interview. 44 Chapter Four: Data Stories .2 Data Stories: Alternative Education Leaders .1 Matatau’s Data Story .2 Aroha’s Data Story .3 Data Stories: Alternative Education Teachers .1 Pūmahara’s Data Story .2 Anahera’s Data Story .4 Data Stories: Alternative Education Students.1 Whetū’s Data Story .2 Mahuika’s Data Story. 96 Chapter Five: Discussion .1 They know they don’t necessarily know how to teach the student sitting in front of them 98 5.2 They know that what works well for these learners would work well in mainstream and not the other way round.3 They know themselves and they consistently turn up as themselves .4 They know their own personal and professional limitations and are skilled at working within a collaborative team of other adults .5 They know what is happening in students’ lives beyond the classroom and strategically adapt their approach, curriculum content and anticipated outcomes to reflect this knowledge .6 They know the risk .1 They love their work and believe that they can make a difference, but do not think that they have been sent to save the world .2 They believe students are doing the very best they can with the tools they have, and they do not personalise students’ behaviour .3 They like their students and believe their students are capable and competent and have mana 105 5.4 They have empathy for their students, but they do not pity them. They have empathy, but these people are not pushovers .5 They challenge their own beliefs, the beliefs of the students’, and they challenge the system 106 5.6 They believe there are many variations and models of life, and there is no ‘one’ pathway or solution to achieve a life well-led .1 They build powerful relationships and connections with students, students’ peers, families and communities .2 They create a safe place, a place of refuge, a culture and climate that allows students to detox from the chaos in their lives .3 They design resources and are resourceful .4 They carefully tailor their approach to suit the relationship between the teacher and the student, enhancing the student’s mana never diminishing it .5 They anchor students with a sense of belonging .6 They create opportunities for fun and laughter, giving students a bank of happy memories to anchor them in tough times.
114 Chapter Six: Conclusion.2 Limitations of the Research and Ideas for Further Research.3 Concluding Statement and Considerations for Practice. 118 Glossary of Māori Terms. 128 Appendix A: Letter and Information Sheet for AE Leaders. 128 Appendix B: Letter and Information Sheet for AE Teachers.
131 Appendix C: Letter and Information Sheet for Former AE Students. 134 Appendix D: Letter and Information Sheet for Alternative Education Centres. 137 Appendix E: Consent Form for Participants. 140 Appendix F: Consent Form for Education Centre.
142 Appendix G: Transcription Confidentiality Agreement. 144 6 Chapter One: Introduction 1.1 Introduction In this chapter the rationales and background of this research project are explored. The professed aspirations the New Zealand government has for all children and young people in the education system is compared and contrasted against reality for specific groups of learners. The reality is that learners from our most marginalised communities often do not experience success in school and the myriad of negative consequences of educational disengagement for these communities is broadly referenced.
An often-unknown pocket of the New Zealand education system, or alternative education (AE), is introduced and the reasons for making this unique educational provision is explained as the focus point of this study. The potential benefits of tapping into the expertise and experience of exemplary AE teachers is posed as a worthy pursuit in reducing educational underachievement and disengagement of marginalised learners in the Aotearoa New Zealand context. In situating myself as the researcher in this project I share the roots of this thesis and the pathway that led to working with educationally disengaged learners and youth at-risk. Here, the state- of-the-nation research rationale is balanced with a more personal narrative emphasising the potential impact of teachers’ beliefs and practices on educational disengagement and cultural disconnect.
Having explored the rationale for this research from both professional and personal lenses, two research questions are posed to investigate the research subject. Finally, this first chapter concludes with a summary of the thesis structure 1.2 Research Rationale and Background The New Zealand curriculum (Ministry of Education [MOE], 2007) outlines a vision for all students that are “confident, connected, actively involved, lifelong learners” (p. 8) with a scope that applies to all students “irrespective of their gender, sexuality, ethnicity, belief, ability or disability, social or cultural background, or geographical location. Sadly, for many of our students this vision is not realised.
UNICEF 2018 Innocenti Annual Report Card showed that Aotearoa New Zealand ranked 33rd overall from a total of 38 OECD countries in reference to educational equality (UNICEF, 2018). The statistics show Aotearoa New Zealand sits in the bottom third of for all three stages of education, starting in early childhood with a ranking of 30th, followed by the primary school ranking of 28th and peaking at the secondary school ranking of 33rd. The report presented a glaring illustration of the dire gap between Aotearoa New Zealand’s highest and lowest achieving students (UNICEF, 2018). The term ‘priority learners’ is used within the Aotearoa New Zealand education system to 7 describe the “groups of students who have been identified as historically not experiencing success in the New Zealand schooling system.
These include many Māori and Pacific learners, those from low socio-economic backgrounds, and students with special education needs” (Education Review Office [ERO], 2012a, p. The underachievement of priority learners in the Aotearoa New Zealand context has serious social and economic implications for our society (Becroft, 2009; Clark et al. Priority learners make up the vast majority of the approximately 4500 secondary school students who access alternative education programmes every year due to disengagement in mainstream Aotearoa New Zealand schools (Ministry of Education, 2019). The New Zealand Ministry of Education (2019) indicated that 62 percent of the cohort of students who accessed AE in 2017 were of Māori descent and 12 percent were identified as being Pacific peoples.
To put these statistics in context, the Education Review Office (ERO, 2018) reported that in 2017 Māori learners made up 23.9 percent of the nation’s school roll and Pacific learners made up 9. In the Aotearoa New Zealand context secondary school refers to the second level of compulsory education, this typically includes students in their ninth year of school through to year 13. The 1989 New Zealand Education Act (MOE, n.-a) stated that all children and young people must attend school from six years old until they turn 16. However, it was noted in the mid to late 1990s that many young people were not meeting these compulsory schooling requirements (Schoone, 2017).
For a variety of reasons, these students had either opted or had been directed not to attend school despite the legislative requirements to do so. In 1998 the Ministry of Education formally introduced alternative education (AE) as a provision for students aged 13 to 16 years old deemed alienated from mainstream schooling (Brooking, Gardiner & Calvert , 2009). Vaughan (2004) explained that there are a variety of examples of alternatives to traditional schools around the world. However, “only units and programmes for at-risk young people are now formally recognised as Alternative Education (AE) in New Zealand.
