Masters Dissertations

Permanent link for this collection

https://hdl.handle.net/10292/476
The Masters Dissertations collection contains digital copies of AUT University masters dissertations deposited with the Library since 2007 and made available open access. From 2007 onwards, all dissertations for masters degrees awarded are required to be deposited in Tuwhera Open Theses & Dissertations unless subject to an embargo.

Dissertations submitted prior to 2007 are usually recorded in the AUT Library catalogue where the full text, if available, may be accessed with an AUT password. Other people should request an Interlibrary Loan through their library.

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Browsing Masters Dissertations by Supervisor "Benade, Leon"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    Chinese Immigrant Fathers’ Participation in Early Childhood Education in Aotearoa New Zealand: An Exploration of Roles, Experiences, and Attitudes
    (Auckland University of Technology, 2022) Wang, Jingyi
    Family and community play an indispensable role in children’s learning and development. Parental/paternal participation is considered vital and a precondition to establishing teacher-parent/father partnerships. This research explored Chinese immigrant fathers’ roles, participation, and attitudes towards their children’s early learning experiences. Semi-structured online interviews were used to gather qualitative data based on a constructivist research paradigm. The theoretical framework comprised cultural capital, fatherhood evolution theory, parenting style categorisation, and parental involvement models. Te Whāriki, the Aotearoa New Zealand early childhood education (ECE) curriculum, also functioned as an analytical lens when seeking answers to the research questions. Six participants were recruited using snowball sampling. Participants had to meet the inclusion criteria of being Chinese immigrant fathers, including biological fathers and step-fathers, and having a child or children in ECE settings in Aotearoa New Zealand. Content analysis and an inductive coding approach revealed themes including complexity, dilemmas and perspectives. This research suggests that different parenting styles can reflect the degree of fathers’ involvement in their children’s ECE. In addition, fathers’ roles are complex, influenced by many contextual factors such as their work and life contexts. This research shows a clear gap between the current forms of engagement provided by ECE services and desired forms of participation sought by fathers, and most fathers viewed their participation in terms of benefits for their children. Meanwhile, there are significant overlaps between fathers’ and ECE teachers’ expectations and aspirations towards early childhood teaching and learning. Research findings have implications for developing robust strategies to encourage participation from this specific cultural and social group.
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    A Critical Evaluation of the Implementation of Microsoft OneNote Class Notebook at One New Zealand Secondary School
    (Auckland University of Technology, 2019) Patchigalla, Ratna Prasad
    Against the background of the national and international changes in education and educational technology advancements, this study critically evaluates the influences of digital technologies on teaching and learning in one New Zealand school case study school, by focussing on its school-wide introduction of Microsoft OneNote Class Notebook. The literature on the use of OneNote Class Notebook and the nature of change that the implementation of this new educational software is limited, as the software is relatively new. Therefore, a critical evaluation of the introduction of OneNote Class Notebook can provide insights into the use of digital technology and applications such as OneNote Class Notebook in secondary schools. This study was conducted from the perspective of a transformative worldview with an interest in establishing the influence of change brought about by OneNote Class Notebook. Accordingly, this study explores whether the introduction of this software led to change that was transformational or merely transitional. Data were collected using an anonymous online student survey, conducting focus groups with students, and undertaking classroom observations specifically focusing on the emergent influence and uptake of OneNote Class Notebook by teachers and students. The evidence points to the substantial use of digital technologies by all participants with findings presented under three major themes. Students and teachers were found to be using OneNote Class Notebook for content delivery and interaction. Teachers, however, used only the basic features of the software, with limited evidence of the participant teachers exploring the innovative teaching and learning potentialities of the software. The data analysis, interpretation and conclusions lead to recommendations to Microsoft in Education, and to the case study school’s leaders and teachers, potentially contributing to the school’s future digital strategies.
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    How Do Innovative Schools Create the Conditions for Reflective Practice?
    (Auckland University of Technology, 2022) Birch, Daniel
    A significant focus of innovative schooling is the requirement for teaching staff to engage in reflective practice to deeply investigate their impact on student outcomes and how they work effectively with their colleagues and collaborators. There is research evidence that reflection is an important part of the journey for educators. From Dewey in 1910 to more contemporaries such as Argyris and Schön in the late 1990s, models and frameworks have been published for subjects to engage with. The Teaching Council of Aotearoa (2020) has also engaged in the need for reflective practice through its creation of the ‘professional growth cycle’, a shift from a more formalised appraisal process. The Teaching Council has, however, produced a simplistic framework for school leaders to implement allowing for staff to demonstrate some levels of competence within their practice. My goal with this study was to establish a more robust process that synthesised the work of the Teaching Council, so compliance occurs, with the work of researchers and critical friends. The resulting artefact I developed provides a levelled process in its approach to allow multiple entry points. The levels are designed to develop complexity of cognitive engagement as staff work through them. Leaders must engage in the process and develop a high trust culture to allow staff to travel through the artefact at a pace that represents their experience and skills in critical reflection. The artefact supports the processes needed for successful critical reflection, educators can grow in their ability to be more effective and leaders will have a framework to link to the professional growth cycle (Teaching Council of Aotearoa, 2020) and maintain a level of compliance. While the growth cycle is new (Teaching Council of Aotearoa, 2020), reflection, through Teaching as Inquiry, has been part of the New Zealand Curriculum since 2007. The missing aspects of both the new professional growth cycle and the existing Teaching as Inquiry model, is the link to the educative purpose of the school, connecting the reflective practice to the vision, values and pedagogy, so reflection is targeted. My artefact brings that dimension to the fore. The autoethnographical approach to this exegesis brings together my experiences as an experienced educator and the processes required to develop an artefact. This practice-based approach has, at its centre, an artefact that combines the work of researchers, practitioners and critical friends. The artefact is attached to this exegesis as a separate document, and this exegesis sits alongside the artefact. This exegesis collates relevant research from those educators and academics who have studied and used reflective practice for long periods of time as well as learnings from those who have been working in innovative spaces for many years, developing critical reflection through a high trust relational model. While the focus in this study has been on innovative environments, critical reflection should be a crucial aspect of all schools. The need we see for staff to make sense of their own practice is intertwined with the nature of how their school empowers educators to grow.
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    The Importance of People and Place: Reimagining School Curriculum in Aotearoa New Zealand
    (Auckland University of Technology, 2021) McFadyen, Emma
    Place can be defined simply as space that matters to humans, exposing their subjective and emotional attachment, transforming space into a site of human significance. This research is located in the Tairāwhiti/Gisborne region on the East Coast of the North Island of Aotearoa New Zealand. The study explores what a ‘notion of place’ means to educators funded through the Ministry of Education Learning Experiences Outside The Classroom (LEOTC) curriculum support project, and how their perspectives and insights could inform school curriculum design. Place-based pedagogy is an interdisciplinary approach that engages with a geographical location focusing on understanding local history, cultures and the ecology of a place. Learning in a contextual setting can imbue in students and teachers an understanding of how events have shaped spaces into places and created a sense of community. It encourages the creation and sharing of stories, challenging prevailing assumptions and the exploration of new or different perspectives, inspiring people to feel a sense of belonging, locally and in the broader world. Engaging in place-based approaches provides for schools an opportunity to interact with community partners outside of its education establishment, potentially broadening the ways schooling can be viewed and perceived. This research study is underpinned by ecofeminism, a theory and movement related to women and the environment, and an ethic of care, a form of relational ethics. The study design involves photo-elicitation and semi-structured interview methods, and is analysed using thematic analysis and aspects of visual narrative analysis. Since the Ministry of Education has announced local curriculum design to be one of its professional learning and development (PLD) priorities in relation to the Leading Local Curriculum Guide series, such an inquiry is timely. This research thus contributes to ideas of developing holistic, meaningful and balanced curriculum – specifically related to a place-based approach. Informed by the perspectives and insights of LEOTC-funded educators, this study develops an understanding of a ‘place’ as a basic human requirement, enabling a reimagination of local curriculum contexts as a challenge to much of what dominant culture and schooling teaches. It is premised on the view that a ‘sense of place’ supports the formalisation of the relationship between humans and their environments as co-habitors.
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    The Lived Experiences of Student Representatives in a New Zealand Institute of Technology and Polytechnic: A Critical Examination
    (Auckland University of Technology, 2019) Parkin, Daryl
    A common form of student voice within higher education is democratically elected student representation. These students represent the voices of their peers and participate in institutional decision making. There has been much written about student representation and student participation in university governance, however, there are limited accounts of how student representatives experience this role, and little relevant literature relating specifically to the Institute of Technology and Polytechnic (ITP) sector, which provides applied and specific, vocational training up to degree level, in New Zealand. This study sets out to understand the experiences of student representatives within an ITP and to identify barriers and enablers that influence their engagement with their role. An interpretive phenomenological methodology was used. Data was collected through semi-structured interviewing, which involved six student representatives from an ITP in New Zealand. This study found that the experience of student representation is multifaceted, occurring within a complex, conflicting and changing environment, and revealed not only why students choose to be representatives, but why they choose to remain in this role. Although most participants saw the role as being a voice for other students, the findings indicated that participants also viewed the role as more than student advocacy, which may have further implications. The findings also suggested that the student representative experience is influenced by ‘people’ and ‘structural’ barriers and enablers, which may impact their engagement with this role.
Dissertations are protected by the Copyright Act 1994 (New Zealand). The dissertation may be consulted by you, provided you comply with the provisions of the Act and the following conditions of use:
  • Any use you make of these documents or images must be for research or private study purposes only, and you may not make them available to any other person.
  • Authors control the copyright of their dissertation. You will recognise the author’s right to be identified as the author of the dissertation, and due acknowledgement will be made to the author where appropriate.
  • You will obtain the author’s permission before publishing any material from the dissertation.