The perceptions and experiences of immigrant teachers with regard to the literacy requirements of the New Zealand secondary school curriculum

aut.embargoNoen
aut.thirdpc.containsNo
aut.thirdpc.permissionNo
aut.thirdpc.removedNo
dc.contributor.advisorStrauss, Pat
dc.contributor.authorCrossan, Sue
dc.date.accessioned2009-06-29T04:27:52Z
dc.date.available2009-06-29T04:27:52Z
dc.date.copyright2009
dc.date.issued2009
dc.description.abstractNew Zealand relies on overseas teachers to fill approximately 30% of annual vacancies (Ministry of Education, 2006). 41% of these cohort were teaching in Auckland when this study was conducted (Ministry of Education, 2001, 2003). As only 7% were new to teaching, it is likely that they bring a wealth of teaching experience to New Zealand classrooms. In 2002 New Zealand introduced a new school-leaving qualification, the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA), which includes a literacy strand in all subjects (Taylor, 2001). This thesis aims to investigate the needs, perceptions and insights of overseas teachers in Auckland regarding the literacy requirements of the New Zealand secondary curriculum. In this qualitative study, interviews were carried out with ten teachers who had been teaching in Auckland between one and six years and who had all previously taught overseas. Interviews were also carried out with two literacy leaders as part of the research. Key challenges that emerged were the incorporation of the NCEA literacy requirements in discipline areas; catering for the needs of students who speak English as a second language; dealing with the challenges of teaching literacy across the curriculum and subject specific language; finding and developing relevant resources and sourcing professional development relating to literacy teaching. Findings revealed there were two categories of teachers – teachers who were very aware of the literacy needs of their students and those who were less aware. Teachers from England and South Africa were very aware of the varied literacy needs of New Zealand students and had received professional development in this area. Other teachers seemed less aware of the literacy demands of their students, the curriculum or their own professional development needs. This study also reveals that recognition and provision for the professional needs of newly arrived teachers from overseas seems to vary. There is very little research on the experiences of immigrant teachers in New Zealand; this study helps to clarify the issues which these teachers face, particularly with regard to the dual challenges of teaching students with ESL and the expectations that all teachers will include literacy in their approach to teaching, which is part of the NCEA curriculum.
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10292/661
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherAuckland University of Technology
dc.rights.accessrightsOpenAccess
dc.subjectImmigrant teachers
dc.subjectOverseas teachers
dc.subjectSecondary teachers
dc.subjectHigh schools
dc.subjectLiteracy
dc.subjectQualitative interviews
dc.titleThe perceptions and experiences of immigrant teachers with regard to the literacy requirements of the New Zealand secondary school curriculum
dc.typeThesis
thesis.degree.grantorAuckland University of Technology
thesis.degree.levelMasters Theses
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Arts in Applied Language Studies
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