Until now policy makers, teacher educators, teachers and students in the Solomon Islands have bee... more Until now policy makers, teacher educators, teachers and students in the Solomon Islands have been restricted to international perspectives/research to help them understand their own education context. There have been very few context-specific publications to support the members of the education profession to make sense of policy, practice and programming/curriculum. This book draws together the work of Solomon Islanders who may have originally identified as educators, but now are also emerging researchers and writers. As local people studying their communities' policies and practices, the writers are able to account for the broader social and cultural factors that shape education practice. From both an inside-out and outside-in perspective (Knapp, 2002) the authors' research contextualises historical and contemporary developments and issues in Solomon Islands education and makes connections to the international literature. Throughout the entire book it becomes clear that the lack of resources, social/cultural kastoms (customs), the speed of educational development have all contributed to a somewhat fractured education system. Each chapter contributes to making sense of some of the broader underlying issues and offers ideas about steps that will need to be taken to reform the Solomon Islands education system. This makes the book a must-have for those working in education in the Solomon Islands, be they local policy makers, teachers, education students, teacher educators, or international "aid" organisations and education "consultants". There are three overarching sections in the book. The first explores the systemic issues that shape and impact on the provision of education in the Solomon Islands. In Chapter One, co-written with Noeline Alcorn, Derek Sikua examines the issues associated with the rapid establishment and growth of community high schools. They highlight the complexity of the process and the challenges associated with decentralisation, resourcing, policy and local community involvement, in a context where more than 90 community high schools were established in less than five years. In Chapter Two, Rose Beuka and Jane Strachan explore parent perceptions of secondary education at a time when access to post-primary schooling has increased and the employment context has changed, and there are very limited opportunities for secondary school leavers to access employment. Rose's research suggests that most parents wanted their children to be successful academically, so as to position them for careers that pay well and offer financial security. In Chapter Three, Patricia Rodie
The importance of being active for one's 'health' is a constant mantra in today's... more The importance of being active for one's 'health' is a constant mantra in today's society yet we know precious little about what physical activity means and looks like for primary school aged children. Are narrow perceptions of physical activity as running and/or exercising shaping how children can see themselves as active and engaged in movement related experiences? In this interview we profile the work of one primary teacher who has been exploring ways of supporting his students to think about activity and movement in diverse ways.
In this, the 2014 general issue of Teachers and Curriculum, we are pleased to incorporate a wide ... more In this, the 2014 general issue of Teachers and Curriculum, we are pleased to incorporate a wide range of contributions that demonstrate the breadth and complexity of teaching and curriculum work in education settings. The editorial board of this journal continues to be committed to working with contributors to present research, debates, and accounts of practice that are accessible to practitioners and have the potential to inform practice. We acknowledge that practitioners do not always feel that they have the requisite knowledge or ability to make a 'legitimate' contribution to our growing understandings of curriculum, pedagogy, assessment or policy. In many ways this could be viewed as a learned behaviour, in response to our own educational experiences that position 'academic' knowledge as held by 'experts', while positioning practitioner ways of knowing as of lesser consequence. Teachers and Curriculum is committed to addressing these binary ways of this thinking by providing a forum for both practitioner and academic contributions.
In this article I want to discuss my attempts to make sense of my role and practice as a teacher ... more In this article I want to discuss my attempts to make sense of my role and practice as a teacher educator who helps student teachers implement the curriculum in schools and my experiences of engaging in a process of personal professional development. I will demonstrate how a six week experience as a teacher in a primary school challenged my understandings and practices of the what it means to be a teacher in this context, and what the learning experience meant for me as a teacher educator. It is work that explores what it takes to be a teacher of teaching for students who are working towards teaching in primary schools. I report that linking teacher education curriculum with the realities of primary schools has particular challenges.
ABSTRACT This paper centres on research that investigated the contemporary policy, curriculum and... more ABSTRACT This paper centres on research that investigated the contemporary policy, curriculum and pedagogical landscape of Health and Physical Education (HPE) in Aotearoa New Zealand, in the light of increasing impressions that provision was moving to an ‘open market’ situation. Publicly available information sourced via the Internet was used to examine the public and privately funded initiatives, programmes and resources targeted towards the provision of HPE across all phases of education. The data arising revealed an array of government and non-governmental agencies and organisations acting as producers of resources and deliverers of HPE-related programmes in schools. It also clearly pointed to structural convergence between government and non-government sectors. This paper locates the findings from the research amidst developments in policy relations and networks spanning education, health and sport, and presents a theoretically oriented critical reexamination of the structural reconfiguration of contemporary HPE in Aotearoa New Zealand. Analysis brings together insights from Ball and Junemann’s work on policy networks and Bernstein’s theorising of the social construction of discourse to explore linkages between policy and pedagogic relations, and the discourses and practices in HPE. Attention is directed to the significance of changes in the nature of both the Official Recontextualizing Field and Pedagogic Recontextualizing field, and the connections between the two fields. Changes in the recontextualizing fields are discussed in relation to official pedagogic discourse of HPE and the pedagogic discourse of reproduction. This analysis brings to the fore prospective curriculum and pedagogic implications of new policy networks and new networks of providers associated with provision of HPE in schools. Discussion acknowledges potentially varied readings of contemporary developments and addresses the opportunities and challenges for teachers and teacher educators in Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally.
This article explores both the process and outcomes of a working Partnership between Solomon Isla... more This article explores both the process and outcomes of a working Partnership between Solomon Islands College for Higher Education and the University of Waikato that explored the development of the initial teacher education health education courses. Through a process of co-construction and inquiry, teacher educators from the Solomon Islands and New Zealand developed a metaphorical context-specific model to represent understandings of health education in the Solomon Islands. The model and what this has meant for teaching and learning in health education at both SOE and in schools is examined.
Escalating concern over childhood obesity rates, children's eating habits and their physical acti... more Escalating concern over childhood obesity rates, children's eating habits and their physical activity regimes has fuelled the development of multiple health policies and resources. Many of these are reaching into primary schools, contouring pedagogical opportunities and influencing how young people may come to understand themselves as healthy (or not). In this paper, we map the health policy/resource context in New Zealand emergent over the past two decades, examining the form and content of health messages circulating and their incursions into primary school environments. We also consider the potential effects for teachers and students of enduring health 'invasions' in the primary school space.
One of the challenges in in-service teacher education is how teachers can be given professional d... more One of the challenges in in-service teacher education is how teachers can be given professional development (PD) that enables them to respond to national curriculum and policy change. In recent years primary teachers in New Zealand have been inundated with Ministry of Education-funded professional development programmes to help them implement a plethora of curriculum policy and reform initiatives. This paper explores how the design and delivery of one PD programme, the Physical Activity Initiative (PAI), positioned and supported teachers as learners. An evaluation of the programme sought data from 25 teachers and 14 advisers to schools. The focus was the impact of the PD on how and what teachers learnt about teaching physical education and how their learning impacted upon their classroom practices. The data highlight the difficulty of accommodating the teacher as a learner, within a "one size fits all" PD model. Little attention was paid to the learning differences among the teachers. It is argued that providers of PD need to understand the unique complex web of contextual factors that impacted upon each teacher, and that each teacher's learning needs and learning approaches vary and this needs to be accounted for in the design and the delivery of PD
Ongoing critiques of existing practices in primary schools focus on the ability of generalist tea... more Ongoing critiques of existing practices in primary schools focus on the ability of generalist teachers to deliver quality Health and Physical Education (HPE). As well, there are concerns regarding the influx of outsider providers in school spaces and the potentially damaging body pedagogies and practices that are pervading education settings. Our interest is in how these issues contour teachers' practice, what this might mean for diverse learners in schools, and what processes support classroom teachers to re-imagine and practice HPE in ways that celebrate and meet the varied needs of students. In this paper we draw from a collaborative ethnographic action research project with four primary school teachers and three university lecturers. In particular, we explore the pathway that supported both academics and teachers to re-imagine HPE in two primary schools in Aotearoa-New Zealand. We direct attention to three key processes: the importance of identifying teachers' and students' preconceptions of HPE and the pedagogies employed; the need for ongoing, critical dialogue and questioning about current orthodoxies and classroom practices; and the momentum provided by the enunciation of a shared ethos or philosophy of HPE. These are proposed to have been fundamental to our subsequent endeavours to re-imagine classroom HPE in ways that met the needs of diverse learners. We conclude that innovative, inclusive programmes and practices in HPE are possible when teachers and researchers work collaboratively, and teachers increasingly 'drive' both the research and the change process in their own classrooms.
Asia-Pacific Journal of Health, Sport and Physical Education, 2014
ABSTRACT Internationally, recent research has indicated that the health and physical education (H... more ABSTRACT Internationally, recent research has indicated that the health and physical education (HPE) curriculum has become at least to some extent ‘an open market’, with rapid growth in the number of external providers and diversity of resources targeted towards schools and teachers. This research acknowledges that the programmes and instruction offered by external organisations represents a significant change to the HPE landscape, albeit alongside an absence of research- based knowledge about the nature and extent of involvement of external organisations in the provision of HPE. The study examines and ‘maps’ the changing landscape of provision of HPE in Aotearoa New Zealand by exploring the number and type of HPE-associated programmes and resources ‘available’ to schools nationwide. It reveals an abundance of players in the ‘HPE market’. Analysis of data explores the composition of the providers, programmes and resources. Discussion considers the implications of the data in relation to HPE curriculum and pedagogy; who is deemed a legitimate teacher of HPE; and how policy and provision appear to be shaped by government and corporate voices.
As a novice researcher, interviewing seemed relatively unproblematic. What an epiphany it was whe... more As a novice researcher, interviewing seemed relatively unproblematic. What an epiphany it was when I realised just how many flaws there were in both my interviewing technique and my development of an interview schedule. This paper highlights the issues that arose in the process of using semistructured interviews during a small research project that focused on primary teacher education students' understanding of physical education. The issues discussed focus on my interview schedule, my ability to listen and probe, and the conflict of attempting to be both empathetic and neutral when I wanted to challenge points, and in my desire to get 'good' data. This paper outlines the literature that I drew on in developing my understanding of the semi-structured interview and offers a story from the field that illuminates the challenges inherent in the actual interview process.
Evaluative research on the impact of effective professional learning in curricular and co-curricu... more Evaluative research on the impact of effective professional learning in curricular and co-curricular physical activity in primary schools
Pedagogy, Education, and Praxis in Critical Times, 2020
This final chapter recalls the view of education that animates this volume: education to help peo... more This final chapter recalls the view of education that animates this volume: education to help people live well in a world worth living in. The authors outline some of the challenging historical , cultural , economic , environmental , social, and political conditions of our contemporary times. These are also challenges for education, which must be renewed to confront the challenges of our time. The authors use the theory of education outlined at the beginning of the chapter as a critical framework for finding ways to resist the bureaucratising and deprofessionalising tendencies of education systems locally, nationally, and globally, and to restore hope for forms of contemporary educational practice that can help people to live well in worlds worth living in—and for the practice architectures (conditions of possibility) that make critical educational praxis possible. The authors show that the work of the Pedagogy, Education, and Praxis (PEP) international research network in the years...
Until now policy makers, teacher educators, teachers and students in the Solomon Islands have bee... more Until now policy makers, teacher educators, teachers and students in the Solomon Islands have been restricted to international perspectives/research to help them understand their own education context. There have been very few context-specific publications to support the members of the education profession to make sense of policy, practice and programming/curriculum. This book draws together the work of Solomon Islanders who may have originally identified as educators, but now are also emerging researchers and writers. As local people studying their communities' policies and practices, the writers are able to account for the broader social and cultural factors that shape education practice. From both an inside-out and outside-in perspective (Knapp, 2002) the authors' research contextualises historical and contemporary developments and issues in Solomon Islands education and makes connections to the international literature. Throughout the entire book it becomes clear that the lack of resources, social/cultural kastoms (customs), the speed of educational development have all contributed to a somewhat fractured education system. Each chapter contributes to making sense of some of the broader underlying issues and offers ideas about steps that will need to be taken to reform the Solomon Islands education system. This makes the book a must-have for those working in education in the Solomon Islands, be they local policy makers, teachers, education students, teacher educators, or international "aid" organisations and education "consultants". There are three overarching sections in the book. The first explores the systemic issues that shape and impact on the provision of education in the Solomon Islands. In Chapter One, co-written with Noeline Alcorn, Derek Sikua examines the issues associated with the rapid establishment and growth of community high schools. They highlight the complexity of the process and the challenges associated with decentralisation, resourcing, policy and local community involvement, in a context where more than 90 community high schools were established in less than five years. In Chapter Two, Rose Beuka and Jane Strachan explore parent perceptions of secondary education at a time when access to post-primary schooling has increased and the employment context has changed, and there are very limited opportunities for secondary school leavers to access employment. Rose's research suggests that most parents wanted their children to be successful academically, so as to position them for careers that pay well and offer financial security. In Chapter Three, Patricia Rodie
The importance of being active for one's 'health' is a constant mantra in today's... more The importance of being active for one's 'health' is a constant mantra in today's society yet we know precious little about what physical activity means and looks like for primary school aged children. Are narrow perceptions of physical activity as running and/or exercising shaping how children can see themselves as active and engaged in movement related experiences? In this interview we profile the work of one primary teacher who has been exploring ways of supporting his students to think about activity and movement in diverse ways.
In this, the 2014 general issue of Teachers and Curriculum, we are pleased to incorporate a wide ... more In this, the 2014 general issue of Teachers and Curriculum, we are pleased to incorporate a wide range of contributions that demonstrate the breadth and complexity of teaching and curriculum work in education settings. The editorial board of this journal continues to be committed to working with contributors to present research, debates, and accounts of practice that are accessible to practitioners and have the potential to inform practice. We acknowledge that practitioners do not always feel that they have the requisite knowledge or ability to make a 'legitimate' contribution to our growing understandings of curriculum, pedagogy, assessment or policy. In many ways this could be viewed as a learned behaviour, in response to our own educational experiences that position 'academic' knowledge as held by 'experts', while positioning practitioner ways of knowing as of lesser consequence. Teachers and Curriculum is committed to addressing these binary ways of this thinking by providing a forum for both practitioner and academic contributions.
In this article I want to discuss my attempts to make sense of my role and practice as a teacher ... more In this article I want to discuss my attempts to make sense of my role and practice as a teacher educator who helps student teachers implement the curriculum in schools and my experiences of engaging in a process of personal professional development. I will demonstrate how a six week experience as a teacher in a primary school challenged my understandings and practices of the what it means to be a teacher in this context, and what the learning experience meant for me as a teacher educator. It is work that explores what it takes to be a teacher of teaching for students who are working towards teaching in primary schools. I report that linking teacher education curriculum with the realities of primary schools has particular challenges.
ABSTRACT This paper centres on research that investigated the contemporary policy, curriculum and... more ABSTRACT This paper centres on research that investigated the contemporary policy, curriculum and pedagogical landscape of Health and Physical Education (HPE) in Aotearoa New Zealand, in the light of increasing impressions that provision was moving to an ‘open market’ situation. Publicly available information sourced via the Internet was used to examine the public and privately funded initiatives, programmes and resources targeted towards the provision of HPE across all phases of education. The data arising revealed an array of government and non-governmental agencies and organisations acting as producers of resources and deliverers of HPE-related programmes in schools. It also clearly pointed to structural convergence between government and non-government sectors. This paper locates the findings from the research amidst developments in policy relations and networks spanning education, health and sport, and presents a theoretically oriented critical reexamination of the structural reconfiguration of contemporary HPE in Aotearoa New Zealand. Analysis brings together insights from Ball and Junemann’s work on policy networks and Bernstein’s theorising of the social construction of discourse to explore linkages between policy and pedagogic relations, and the discourses and practices in HPE. Attention is directed to the significance of changes in the nature of both the Official Recontextualizing Field and Pedagogic Recontextualizing field, and the connections between the two fields. Changes in the recontextualizing fields are discussed in relation to official pedagogic discourse of HPE and the pedagogic discourse of reproduction. This analysis brings to the fore prospective curriculum and pedagogic implications of new policy networks and new networks of providers associated with provision of HPE in schools. Discussion acknowledges potentially varied readings of contemporary developments and addresses the opportunities and challenges for teachers and teacher educators in Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally.
This article explores both the process and outcomes of a working Partnership between Solomon Isla... more This article explores both the process and outcomes of a working Partnership between Solomon Islands College for Higher Education and the University of Waikato that explored the development of the initial teacher education health education courses. Through a process of co-construction and inquiry, teacher educators from the Solomon Islands and New Zealand developed a metaphorical context-specific model to represent understandings of health education in the Solomon Islands. The model and what this has meant for teaching and learning in health education at both SOE and in schools is examined.
Escalating concern over childhood obesity rates, children's eating habits and their physical acti... more Escalating concern over childhood obesity rates, children's eating habits and their physical activity regimes has fuelled the development of multiple health policies and resources. Many of these are reaching into primary schools, contouring pedagogical opportunities and influencing how young people may come to understand themselves as healthy (or not). In this paper, we map the health policy/resource context in New Zealand emergent over the past two decades, examining the form and content of health messages circulating and their incursions into primary school environments. We also consider the potential effects for teachers and students of enduring health 'invasions' in the primary school space.
One of the challenges in in-service teacher education is how teachers can be given professional d... more One of the challenges in in-service teacher education is how teachers can be given professional development (PD) that enables them to respond to national curriculum and policy change. In recent years primary teachers in New Zealand have been inundated with Ministry of Education-funded professional development programmes to help them implement a plethora of curriculum policy and reform initiatives. This paper explores how the design and delivery of one PD programme, the Physical Activity Initiative (PAI), positioned and supported teachers as learners. An evaluation of the programme sought data from 25 teachers and 14 advisers to schools. The focus was the impact of the PD on how and what teachers learnt about teaching physical education and how their learning impacted upon their classroom practices. The data highlight the difficulty of accommodating the teacher as a learner, within a "one size fits all" PD model. Little attention was paid to the learning differences among the teachers. It is argued that providers of PD need to understand the unique complex web of contextual factors that impacted upon each teacher, and that each teacher's learning needs and learning approaches vary and this needs to be accounted for in the design and the delivery of PD
Ongoing critiques of existing practices in primary schools focus on the ability of generalist tea... more Ongoing critiques of existing practices in primary schools focus on the ability of generalist teachers to deliver quality Health and Physical Education (HPE). As well, there are concerns regarding the influx of outsider providers in school spaces and the potentially damaging body pedagogies and practices that are pervading education settings. Our interest is in how these issues contour teachers' practice, what this might mean for diverse learners in schools, and what processes support classroom teachers to re-imagine and practice HPE in ways that celebrate and meet the varied needs of students. In this paper we draw from a collaborative ethnographic action research project with four primary school teachers and three university lecturers. In particular, we explore the pathway that supported both academics and teachers to re-imagine HPE in two primary schools in Aotearoa-New Zealand. We direct attention to three key processes: the importance of identifying teachers' and students' preconceptions of HPE and the pedagogies employed; the need for ongoing, critical dialogue and questioning about current orthodoxies and classroom practices; and the momentum provided by the enunciation of a shared ethos or philosophy of HPE. These are proposed to have been fundamental to our subsequent endeavours to re-imagine classroom HPE in ways that met the needs of diverse learners. We conclude that innovative, inclusive programmes and practices in HPE are possible when teachers and researchers work collaboratively, and teachers increasingly 'drive' both the research and the change process in their own classrooms.
Asia-Pacific Journal of Health, Sport and Physical Education, 2014
ABSTRACT Internationally, recent research has indicated that the health and physical education (H... more ABSTRACT Internationally, recent research has indicated that the health and physical education (HPE) curriculum has become at least to some extent ‘an open market’, with rapid growth in the number of external providers and diversity of resources targeted towards schools and teachers. This research acknowledges that the programmes and instruction offered by external organisations represents a significant change to the HPE landscape, albeit alongside an absence of research- based knowledge about the nature and extent of involvement of external organisations in the provision of HPE. The study examines and ‘maps’ the changing landscape of provision of HPE in Aotearoa New Zealand by exploring the number and type of HPE-associated programmes and resources ‘available’ to schools nationwide. It reveals an abundance of players in the ‘HPE market’. Analysis of data explores the composition of the providers, programmes and resources. Discussion considers the implications of the data in relation to HPE curriculum and pedagogy; who is deemed a legitimate teacher of HPE; and how policy and provision appear to be shaped by government and corporate voices.
As a novice researcher, interviewing seemed relatively unproblematic. What an epiphany it was whe... more As a novice researcher, interviewing seemed relatively unproblematic. What an epiphany it was when I realised just how many flaws there were in both my interviewing technique and my development of an interview schedule. This paper highlights the issues that arose in the process of using semistructured interviews during a small research project that focused on primary teacher education students' understanding of physical education. The issues discussed focus on my interview schedule, my ability to listen and probe, and the conflict of attempting to be both empathetic and neutral when I wanted to challenge points, and in my desire to get 'good' data. This paper outlines the literature that I drew on in developing my understanding of the semi-structured interview and offers a story from the field that illuminates the challenges inherent in the actual interview process.
Evaluative research on the impact of effective professional learning in curricular and co-curricu... more Evaluative research on the impact of effective professional learning in curricular and co-curricular physical activity in primary schools
Pedagogy, Education, and Praxis in Critical Times, 2020
This final chapter recalls the view of education that animates this volume: education to help peo... more This final chapter recalls the view of education that animates this volume: education to help people live well in a world worth living in. The authors outline some of the challenging historical , cultural , economic , environmental , social, and political conditions of our contemporary times. These are also challenges for education, which must be renewed to confront the challenges of our time. The authors use the theory of education outlined at the beginning of the chapter as a critical framework for finding ways to resist the bureaucratising and deprofessionalising tendencies of education systems locally, nationally, and globally, and to restore hope for forms of contemporary educational practice that can help people to live well in worlds worth living in—and for the practice architectures (conditions of possibility) that make critical educational praxis possible. The authors show that the work of the Pedagogy, Education, and Praxis (PEP) international research network in the years...
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