Editorial
Tēnā koutou, talofa lava, mālō e lelei, fakafeiloaki, kia orana, fakaalofa lahi atu, fakatalofa atu, gude, halo, ni sa bula, namaste.
Warm spring greetings to our readers from across Aotearoa and Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa. It is a pleasure to present you with this issue of Set: Research Information for Teachers. Inside you will find a rich array of articles, beginning with a focus on educating Pacific students. We move on to consider how a love of literacy can be inspired, for both students and teachers alike. Another two articles attend to confidence in mathematics and assessment, again for students and teachers.
The opening article features the Pacific Advance Secondary School in South Auckland. Trevor Bills led an internal research inquiry, supported by co-principals, Ala’imalo Falefatu Enari, Parehuia Enari, and teacher Daniel Tupua-Siliva. The peer reviewers for this article were both well respected researchers within the field of Pacific education. They made it clear to me that the school is groundbreaking, and that the material shared is of great importance for New Zealand educators to learn from. The article explains how the school removes silos between school, and home and church, all too often the reality for Pacific students within Aotearoa. It also explores what is meant by ‘re-indigenising’ curriculum. I hope all readers who serve Pacific children and communities take the time to read the article, regardless of their students’ ages and school profiles.
The first teaching and learning article also addresses Pacific education. Alvin Chand examines Fijian Indian students’ perceptions of group work in New Zealand classrooms. The article demonstrates better and worse ways in which teachers can set up collaborative learning. Students involved in the project offer tips to best serve their specific ethnic group.
Kim Ankatell and Mary Hill put their attention on twice exceptional (2e) students. Resource teachers of learning and behaviour are charged with identifying and supporting the special educational needs of these 2e students. The small study suggests that a range of challenges can get in the way, and more professional development is recommended.
Amid this year’s furore about literacy levels in New Zealand schools, including the contention about how we teach children to read in the junior years, it’s important to remember that enjoyment and passion still has an important part to play. Fostering a love of literature in students and teachers can go a long way towards inspiring lifelong literacy learning. Two articles underscore the relationship between teachers’ joy in reading and students’ engagement. The first, by Sue McDowall, looks at teachers who read for pleasure. She finds that book-loving teachers tend to also have a knack for deepening literacy conversations with students. The second article, a He Whakaaro Anō entry by Nicola Daly, unpacks the power of picturebooks. Nicola’s argument is that picturebooks can facilitate important learning for all ages, inclusive of secondary students and preservice teachers. She exemplifys her key points with snapshots of story texts and cover illustrations. It’s hard to imagine that anybody could read either of these Set articles and not want to pick up a book to lose (or find) themself in.
Set’s He Rangahau Whakarāpopoto entry for this issue is authored by Flaviu and Georgetta Hodis. The pair draw from their joint research background in mathematics education and communications. The article distills a set of strategies that teachers can use to strengthen students’ motivation to learn. The authors encourage teachers to purposefully attend to several interdependent motivation factors, the latter established via a dataset from over 450 New Zealand schools.
In Assessment News, Charles Darr discusses the concept of end-to-end assessment. He puts forward two ideas that he hopes will assist teachers with selecting or designing assessments. Both ideas are pertinent for teachers engaging with the refreshed achievement standards within the National Certificates of Educational Achievement
Issue 2 is dedicated to enriching the learning of tangata whenua, tangata moana, and tangata Tiriti. NZCER Press extends its appreciation to the authors, researchers, participants and, importantly, Set’s readers. May you find inspiration to help get you and your students through to the end of what has been another challenging year in education across Aotearoa, the Pacific, and the globe.
E noho rā, kia manuia, nofo a koe, tofa ni, tofā soifua, lukim yu, tofa ia, gutbai, ni sa moce, namaste.
Nā Josie Roberts
Set Editor