This article reports the results of a meta-evaluation of 30 publicly accessible evaluation reports written or commissioned by 20 New Zealand public-sector agencies during the period 2010–2013 to understand how evaluative reasoning is being practised in Aotearoa New Zealand. The reports were examined to find evidence of five key elements of evaluative reasoning, namely, evaluative ...

Whānau Ora, introduced as a government initiative in Aotearoa New Zealand in 2010, was designed to support collaboration and effective service delivery by Māori non-government organisations. The aim of Whānau Ora is to improve heath and social outcomes for whānau. Action research was conducted to support this initiative, with action researchers walking alongside Whānau Ora ...

Wairua (spirit) is threaded through the cultural beliefs, practices, and values of Māori, the indigenous peoples of New Zealand. It is an inherent part of the daily life and cultural vitality that is embedded in Māori services and programmes. In a wānanga (forum for discussion and learning) Māori and Pasifika (peoples from the Pacific Islands ...

Practitioner competence is a critical ingredient in the development of a robust, valid and equitable evaluation. In Aotearoa New Zealand the evaluator competencies identify cultural competence as a core capability. There are some particular challenges that Pākehā (New Zealand European) evaluators face in developing this competency. In grappling with these complex challenges, and in the ...

Cultural fit is a concept that can be applied to the effectiveness of one’s evaluation practice as well as the interventions that seek to help people. We argue that there is substantial vagueness about being culturally competent, or culturally responsive, or both, and that the concepts these terms are attempting to embody can be ...

Keynote Presentation
Our House, Our Whare, Our Fale: Building Strong Evaluation in Aotearoa New Zealand
Annual Conference of the Aotearoa New Zealand Evaluation Association (ANZEA)
Te Papa, Wellington, 7–10 July 2014

All the articles in this edition have implications for inclusive teaching and learning practice. Each suggests some ways to make visible and understand the knowledge residing in families and communities and the use of resources to support inclusive pedagogy ...

Traditional Māori society was founded on belief systems, principles, ideals, and values defined and handed down by ancestors, rather than through a set of laws as is more common in western societies. Whakataukī (proverbs, sayings) were one way Māori used to set down, reinforce and transmit these beliefs and values. Whakataukī can ...

Assessment practice suggested in Te Whāriki, Aotearoa New Zealand’s early childhood curriculum, aspires to involve parents in the planning for their child’s learning. The narrative documentation of children’s learning, known as learning stories, is an example of such assessment. While the New Zealand Early Childhood Regulations advise that parents are to be part of ...