1,720,973 research outputs found
Midwives' experiences when working with third year midwifery students
No full textPurpose: Midwifery students require appropriate and timely access to clinical learning opportunities during their education toward a Bachelor of Midwifery and the quality of this clinical experience influences the student’s learning and confidence. To achieve this they must be supported by practising midwives. However at times midwives decline to work with students, citing a variety of reasons. To ensure the required quality and quantity of clinical placements the midwifery schools need to understand the barriers and enablers to midwives working effectively with third year midwifery students. Method: Midwives on the midwifery school’s database who regularly work with midwifery students were invited to participate in the research. Data was gathered through two focus groups of midwives who have worked with third year midwifery students. The transcripts were then thematically analysed. Findings: The midwives described their experiences when working with students. The first theme describes the midwives’ work with students and includes: that confidence thing, it’s not just about clinical skills and learning to be professional. The second theme describes the implications for midwives’ practice when working with students and includes: we are responsible, what is expected of me and wanting a break. Issues arising in professionalism weave through these themes. Implications: Students with poor knowledge levels and unprofessional behaviour were regarded as problematic for the midwives working with them. The midwives were frustrated when students could not see the bigger picture and did not appear to understand the expected professional behaviours and boundaries. The midwives enjoyed regular contact with the midwifery school to support them when working with students particularly concerning assessment of students. They also enjoyed the learning they gained from working alongside students which they found beneficial to their own practice knowledge. At times there were tensions between the needs of women and students, and as the midwife moved between her role as teacher, supporter and assessor of the student. However most placements were a positive experience for the midwives and they took pleasure in the student’s progression through the programme
Can we call ourselves a Restorative School yet? Report on an Innovations Project in Restorative Practices
No full textThis report will discuss the impact of an Innovative Restorative Practices professional development of three years, 2009-2011, introduced to a mid-decile, urban, multi-cultural, New Zealand secondary school.
There are a number of reasons that a school might choose to commit to a restorative model and at the heart of this professional development (PD) was a belief that implementing Restorative Practices (RP) would have a positive impact on the well-being of teachers and students. In 2008 the school successfully won funding for a three year professional development and the project began in 2009. One of the challenges of Restorative Practices is the adaptation of the practices so that they can be utilised on a daily basis by teachers to deal with issues that arise each day, that impact both teaching and learning. The school developed a model of classroom meetings and taught teachers to use a discursive process of inquiry. This process and these skills were used to challenge poor learning behaviours by students and difficulties in relational dynamics in classrooms.
This report analyses data that is collected as a matter of course by the school to consider whether or not the introduction and implementation of Restorative Practices has had an impact. It discusses evidence that this adaptation of RP for daily use has made any difference to the school and explores the implementation of Restorative Practices by considering various data: stand down, suspensions and exclusions, referrals from class and the student management records that record student behaviour. It also explores the self reported impact of the professional development on participants.
The data show decreased involvement of Senior Leaders in various behaviour situations and increased contribution from the deans, form teachers and classroom teachers in the management of student behaviour. This suggests that teachers/staff are more able to de-escalate behaviour situations and that behaviour management is better aligned with staff roles and/ or expectations. Feedback from participant teachers suggest that learning the new skills and the regular discussion meetings have positively impacted their classroom management and their mental well being.
The teachers’ self-reported sense of competency in using the skills and processes introduced/ taught to participants is analysed and it is apparent that some of the skills are more readily utilised than others. It appears that the use of a discursive process, and the regular opportunity to discuss issues of learning and teaching, have provided teachers with an opportunity to better understand both themselves and their students, enhancing their professional identity. Restorative practices at this school have been utilised in both a proactive and reactive way. It seems that the practices have much potential as an everyday tool, rather than just a reactive device. This report sought to answer the question “Is the school able to call itself restorative yet?” but argues that perhaps the concern should be “Are we restorative enough?
Constructing a successful Restorative Justice Conference: A tentative analysis
No full textThis thesis is an examination of the language used in Restorative Justice Conferences in schools. After examining the origins and the concept of restorative justice the study utilises the conceptual tools which are located in a social constructionist approach to language use and meaning-making. In so doing the study draws on discourse theory, positioning theory, narrative theory, and, more latterly, relational theory.
Restorative Justice (RJ) is a modern approach to social conflict, offering an alternative process to the traditional punitive system widely used in schools. Although the process is increasingly used around the world, and has many fervent practitioners, there is a considerable gap in our understanding of just how the process achieves the results that its adherents claim for it.
The site of this study is a secondary school in New Zealand, and two RJ conferences were audio recorded along with separate recordings later from each participant. The theory of social constructionism suggests that the meaning of things and any sense of personal identity is created through social interaction and the creation of particular kinds of relationship. In this framework, meaning is never established once and for all, but is constantly negotiated and created through social interaction.
Accordingly, close attention has been paid to the dialogue and the nature of the linguistic exchanges. In short, it has focussed on the way relationships and identities are constructed through the deliberate and purposeful use of language, thus setting up the possibility of people resolving the harm, and going on in peace. It is suggested that a key element is in the setting up of relationships of equal concern, dignity and respect.
The research both vindicates the claims that are made for the efficacy of the process in solving social conflict, and more importantly, offers an enhanced understanding of exactly what is going on in those conferences that makes that peaceful resolution possible. Although it is limited to only two such conferences, it is hoped that it will offer a glimpse of what it is possible to learn about the effects of different ways of speaking using these constructionist conceptual tools
"It was like being torn apart". The experiences of young men who become fathers while at school. A critical interpretive analysis of discourses of Young Fatherhood.
No full textThis is an exploratory study that reports the experiences of a sample of five participants, young men who became fathers while still at school. I talked to these young men about their personal stories which relate their personal introspection on interactions with institutions and relationships with people in their lives, set within a socially constructed reality that positions young men who become fathers in a certain way. Discourse and hegemony are collaborative constructive processes that shape and sculpt the conditions of the lives of everyone and it is the intention of this study to illuminate the workings of particular discourses in the context of these young men’s lives.
This research is interested in how or whether the assumptions underpinning the socially dominating discourses of youth, gender, marriage and family were reflected in the participants’ experiences. The study aims to critique this social situation, which assumes immaturity when it comes to the experiences of young men who father children while still at school. The invisibility of these young men’s experiences in the current research literature as well as in society generally, except in pejorative ways, brings focus upon both the research landscape and the lens that is being looked through.
It is not the intention of this research to make sweeping statements or to pretend that the findings of the study represent the findings of all who have an experience similar to the participants’. What this enquiry does intend to achieve is to bring alive the humanity of five personal stories of real people and shed light on the processes that played a part in their construction.
The importance of the research is to gain a greater understanding of and insight into the experiences of these young men and what the reality is for them as they see it
Parented by Grandparents: Grandchildren Reflect on Their Lives
No full textThe number of grandchildren being parented by their grandparents has grown significantly over the previous few decades. However, there is a lack of research focused on the lived experience of grandchildren parented by their grandparents in comparison to the volumes to date on the experience and impact on grandparents who are parenting their grandchildren.
The purpose of this study was to invite grandchildren, who have been parented by their grandparent(s) to speak about their experience and in this way, to make a contribution to the fledgling body of knowledge beginning to be gathered. What, in particular, do they want others to know about their experience? What suggestions do they want to make to inform and influence our practice as counsellors, teachers, social workers, policy makers and grandparents involved in a parenting role?
These questions formed the basis for this research. Seven young people aged between seventeen and twenty-four, five females and two males, were interviewed. As far as it has been possible to establish, this is the first research on this topic based in Aotearoa/New Zealand.
Through the individual and group interview process, the young adults showed insight, maturity and demonstrated the ability to articulate their thoughts and feelings with a capacity beyond their years. Contrary to the dominant discourse in the published literature on this topic, which highlights emotional and behavioural difficulties, these young people were clearly thriving, going forward strongly in their lives and giving a lot of the credit for this to their grandparents' willingness to take them on and see them through.
They demonstrated a keen awareness and appreciation for the implications of their situation for their grandparents, including the politics of inequity and the struggle to provide on a limited budget. They have strongly recommended government funding for grandparents/kin raising grandchildren is the same as for foster carers.
Most wondered what life might have been like, had they grown up in the idealized nuclear family construct, however, they also highlighted the wisdom their respective grandparents offered and would not want to have missed out on the opportunity to have developed the close connection that being raised by their grandparents provided
Stories of Resistance to Religious Authority: A Discursive Analysis
No full textAbuses of power within certain religious communities have become a matter of public concern in recent decades. Less well known are the stories of people within local Christian communities who experience practices of religious authority which do not make headlines, but which nonetheless diminish the possibilities of their lives. Feminist analyses have highlighted the historical, cultural, and theological roots of the oppression of women in Christian communities, but work remains to be done on understanding how other subjugating practices, which oppress women and men, and resistance to such practices, are produced in religious contexts.
This study asks (1) how it is that regimes of power and knowledge can subvert the call to freedom and justice which is pervasive in longstanding streams of Christian tradition, and (2) what has enabled some people to resist the practices of religious authority constructed by such regimes. In responding to these questions this thesis adopts a poststructuralist conceptual framework, drawing particularly on Foucault’s theorisation of knowledge, power, and subjectivity. In addition to Foucauldian ideas, poststructuralist feminist discussions of human agency, and Sampson’s (1993) notion of monologic and dialogic power relations, strongly influence the theoretical and ethical stance of this study.
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine people, from a variety of Christian communities within New Zealand, who at some time had found it necessary to resist everyday practices of religious authority within their contexts. The interviews focused on their accounts of the subjugating practices they had encountered, the effects of those practices on their lives, and their acts of resistance.
A discursive approach to narrative analysis was developed and applied to transcriptions of these interviews. This analysis identified a range of discursive technologies which had contributed to the subjugation of the participants and protected the hegemony of discourses which supported subjugating practices.
This study concludes that (1) monologic power relations within religious communities are a primary indicator of problematic discourses and practices of authority; (2) the “Man of God” discourse and its variants inevitably subvert freedom and justice; (3) sexual abuse by religious leaders belongs to a spectrum of discursively produced entitlement practices; (4) the embodied effects of subjugation bear witness to ethical hopes and intentions, and are instrumental in producing resistance; and (5) repeated exposure to a range of religious texts and rituals both supports and subverts people’s subjectification within the dominant discourses of a religious community
Are they really at risk? Students' stories of success.
No full textIn 2011, as the year level dean for year 13, I was surprised and pleased to see a group of students complete their fifth year of secondary schooling, contrary to teacher expectations, and in spite of earlier signs of disengagement and struggle. Such students are frequently labelled “at risk” in our secondary schools. Truancy, lack of achievement, conduct issues, learning difficulties and health problems are seen as indicators of an at risk student by teachers.
Statistically in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika students and students from low socio-economic families tend to be overrepresented among disengaged or early leavers from secondary schools, and so being from these cultures, and being from a low socio-economic group becomes a “risk” factor. This can lead to assumptions among teachers about the students’ families, how parents value education, and even about the capacity of these groups to be able to succeed in education. A range of strategies and programmes have been implemented in an attempt to address these issues, including Te Kotahitanga, Ka Hikitia and the Pasifika Education Plan, Resource Teachers Learning and Behaviour, Restorative Practice, and more recently Positive Behaviour for Learning
While there has been a shift in such approaches from deficit of students to emphasising more positive attitudes in teachers, the perspectives of the students themselves are missing from the discussion about these issues. This study asks students what factors helped them to stay, and to achieve at least a level one NCEA qualification
The findings show that retention and engagement of “at risk” students requires careful attention to the quality of relationships across the school community: students, teachers and parents. They discredit some commonly held assumptions that “at risk” students and their parents do not value education and that teachers cannot support these students sufficiently. These quality relationships are respectful, responsive and tenacious showing a high level of respect for and interest in the students that goes beyond a teaching and learning relationship. It also suggests that the discourse of “risk” invites a disrespectful response to retention and engagement of students
Youth Development Circles: A Report on a School Trial
No full textThis research traces the development and trial of the Youth Development Circle (YDC) process in a low decile secondary school in a rural community in Aotearoa New Zealand. Youth Development Circles are an intervention based on restorative justice principles initially proposed by Braithwaite (2004). They were originally suggested as a strategy for use in an alternative education centre or “activity centre”. Increasing use of restorative approaches has enabled many schools to make significant progress in reducing suspensions, but there remains a concern for students whose behaviour is at the more serious end of the spectrum - who are at risk of suspension, or exclusion, after multiple stand-downs from school. The possibilities for the use of YDC were proposed to the school by the researcher, who is a Deputy Principal responsible for behaviour management and pastoral care. This proposal was supported fully by the school’s staff and Board of Trustees. The YDC process documented in this study was developed by the researcher, informed by a range of sources including Youth Development Circles, Judge McElrea’s proposed School Community Conference (1996), and Hui Whakatika, developed at the University of Waikato (2003). Participation in the circles was a condition for the student to remain at the school. The school is a state school, with a roll of approximately 800. The ethnic breakdown of the students is 56% Māori and 39% NZ European with 5% of Pasifika, Asian and other.
The YDC is a deliberate and careful process which aims to bring increased focus on the individual student and their educational outcomes, through engaging a community of care in supporting them. There were many anticipated benefits of the YDC for the student. Such benefits included an opportunity to establish and maintain healthy relationships of trust (within which negative experiences can be learned from), a re-establishment of trust, improved self-confidence and improved educational outcomes. The circles included members of the student’s whānau/family, a kaumātua/elder who cared about them, and representatives from local Police, Social Welfare, and the school. The circles were studied over a period of one year. Circles met regularly throughout this time, at increasing intervals.
A mixed method case study approach was used for this research which includes the collection of both quantitative and qualitative data. The study evaluated the effectiveness of the YDCs by analysing student behaviour, attendance and achievement KAMAR data, minutes of each circle meeting, and interviews with circle participants.
Three student case studies are presented. The stories have had details altered and pseudonyms used to protect the persons involved. All the students completed the academic year without receiving a further stand down or suspension. The data showed an improvement in student attendance, achievement and engagement in all three case studies. Other outcomes include reflections on the process used, strategies for implementation in the school, and factors that either hindered or supported student, family or community involvement in YDCs.
This exploratory study suggests that the Youth Development Circle could offer a unique possibility for inter-sectorial collaboration in the field of restorative justice
The use of self in adolescent sexual offending therapy: A autoethnographic case study
No full textThis thesis is a single case study of my work as therapist with four different participants from a community-based treatment programme for adolescents who have sexually offended. Using an autoethnographic approach, the study seeks to contribute to understanding of how the therapeutic use of self can work to enhance the effectiveness of the treatment process. Central to this argument is the principle of optimal responsiveness, developed by Howard Bacal (1985). Optimal responsiveness is founded in specificity theory, which argues that we cannot predict in advance what intervention is going to be effective, because of the uniqueness of each therapeutic encounter: hence the importance of the individual practitioner‟s clinical judgment. I locate the theoretical understanding of the therapeutic use of self in the tradition of judgment-based practice (Polkinghorne, 2004). The research explores two questions: How might the therapist use their experience of self (their subjective and intersubjective experience) to guide their sense of being optimally responsive? How might research into the therapist‟s experience of their use of self in therapy contribute to the integration of the personal and professional self of the therapist? The findings are expressed in the form of four autobiographic stories and four therapy stories. The autobiographic stories show how the personal life experience of the therapist is integrated with the process of clinical judgment. The findings are analysed from the perspectives of systemic-narrative therapy and relational psychoanalytic therapy. I identify a number of examples of how the use of self mediated a variety of intentional therapeutic interactions such as reflexive questions, interpretations and self-disclosures and spontaneous interactions such as playful improvisations and the experience of intimacy. I argue that self reflexivity is at the heart of these processes. The thesis shows the relevance of autoethnographic case study research to the practice of therapy in general and it shows how case study research can complement experimental research. This research also has a number of important implications for professionals working as therapists in the sexual offending fields. I argue that the risk-need-responsivity rehabilitation model will be strengthened by giving closer attention to the neglected principle of professional discretion; and that the effective implementation of evidence-based procedures is dependent upon the practical wisdom of practitioners. The research alerts therapists to the importance of paying attention to integrating their professional and personal selves as part of their ongoing professional development. The research highlights the relevance of the subjective experience of cultural discourse, in particular the social construction of masculinities, an area that often goes under-represented in the delivery of adolescent sexual offending programmes. The findings also support the argument that the experience of caring for and being cared for is central to treatment, and that self reflexivity can be both a process and an outcome goal for all therapy participants, both client and therapist. Finally, my research also demonstrates how the practice of honest introspection by the therapist can mitigate against the temptation (which is always there) to get caught up in viewing the person who committed an offence as the “other”
Developing a social justice agenda for counsellor education in New Zealand: a social constructionist perspective
Get PDFCounselling and Counsellor education in the West have traditionally been dominated by a liberal-humanist premise which emphasises the universality of human experience and the independence of individuals. The effect of this orientation on counselling practice has been a focus on the capacity of individuals to make independent changes in their lives through the exercise of rational choice. In Aotearoa/New Zealand, feminists and some Maori have challenged this perspective. Indeed a growing literature in the helping professions acknowledges that Eurocentric and patriarchal interpretations have been imposed through psychological practices, most particularly on women and those of non-European origin. Such critiques must have significant implications for counsellor education.
In 1991 as a counsellor educator with a concern for social justice, it seemed to me that critical theory discourse and some forms of feminism had developed the necessary conceptual underpinnings which would enable counselling practice to address these injustices. From a critical theory perspective, hegemonic practices of power maintained hierarchical social structures which systematically marginalise people. I sought to identify how these theories might be useful in reformulating counsellor education in Aotearoa/New Zealand.
In the belief that a social justice agenda was also important to the 12 counsellor educators in New Zealand universities, I wanted to further my understanding of the implications of such a commitment by interviewing my colleagues. The main focus of these interviews was to explore counsellor educators’ awareness of Eurocentrism and androcentrism in both the discourses of counselling and their subsequent impact on their professional practice. Data was generated by individual interviews and group discussions, and circulated among participants for comment. A hermeneutic-dialectic method of data collection was used. Many of the responses had a cautionary, vigilant, or even suspicious quality, suggesting some participants’ discomfort with my questioning. A deconstructive analysis of their responses revealed that the framing of my own thesis questions were characteristic of a rigid oppressor-oppressed binary. The underlying presumption of a single preferred path to social justice had, in effect, prejudged the defensibility of any other position. Manifesting a Eurocentric stance which I had set out to challenge, I had taken up a fundamentalist position. This was the antithesis of collaborative and respectful dialogue. The problematic of this thesis thus became how to engage with a transformative social justice agenda in counsellor education that was neither plagued by the presumptions of universality nor constrained by the rigidities of fundamentalist essentialism.
I was forced to recognise that any social justice agenda is discursively produced although an account of this production often remains unarticulated. However, recognising the limitations of grand theory did not mean that I could avoid taking a position on how social justice could be addressed in counsellor education. Rather than adopting a fixed non-negotiable position, discursive analysis of a theoretical stance offers the space to claim a temporary, located essentialism from which the generation of new possibilities might be achieved. My task here was to situate my own knowledge, recognise its partiality and develop a social justice agenda from a social constructionist perspective.
I began to view persons as being positioned by diverse discourses that are at times oppressive and at other times not. This led to the recognition that persons can be called into multiple subjectivities which affect the extent to which power and agency are available to them within particular interactions in particular settings. The conceptual tools of discourse, deconstruction, multiple subjectivity, agency, and capillary power (as distinct from commodity power) offer an alternative means by which androcentric and Eurocentric practices in counsellor education may be identified without taking up rigid or righteous positions.
The thesis is an account of the theoretical moves which might accommodate and engage the contradictions, ambiguities, and paradoxes associated with a search for social justice in counsellor education in the 1990s. It considers a social justice agenda at the sites of gender and ethnicity in counsellor education and remarks on the possibility of attaining discursive empathy in culturally different environments
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