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Professional development, changes in teacher practice and improvements in Indigenous students' educational performance: a case study from New Zealand

  • Russell Bishop
    ,
  • Mere Berryman
    ,
  • Janice Wearmouth
    ,
  • Mira Peter
    ,
  • Sandra Clapham
Research Output: Contribution to journal Article Peer-review

Abstract

This paper considers the relationship between a professional development programme designed to bring about changes in teacher practice through iterative cycles of implementation and evaluation and associated changes in Indigenous students’ educational performance. The paper does this by documenting the outcomes of the implementation of the Te Kotahitanga research and development project between 2007 and 2009 in schools in the third and fourth phases of the project. Evidence shows that the professional development programme of Te Kotahitanga has been implemented consistently in Phase 3 schools since 2004 and in Phase 4 schools since 2007. Changes in teacher practice and associated improvements in Māori student outcomes were seen in Phase 3 schools between 2004 and 2006. The first question is, therefore, have these changes been maintained during the period 2007–9, that is, during the fourth to seventh years of the project’s implementation in these schools. If so, then what implications does this maintenance of practice have for sustainability? The second question is, have the changes that were seen in the Phase 3 schools in the first three years of the project’s implementation, 2004–2006, been replicated in the Phase 4 schools in their first three years of the project. If so, what implications does this have for determining the strength of the association between improved student performance and the implementation of the professional development programme. In other words does a repeated measure over two different groups of schools at different times indicate that changes in Māori student outcomes are strongly associated with changes in teacher practice, even if we cannot demonstrate a direct cause–effect relationship.

Publication Information

Output type

Research Output: Contribution to journal Article Peer-review

Original language

English

Pages from-to (Number of pages)

Pages 694-705

Journal (Volume, Issue Number)

Teaching and Teacher Education (Volume 28, Issue 5)

Publication milestones

  • Published - 01/01/2012

Publication status

Published - 01/01/2012

ISSN

0742-051X

External Publication IDs

  • handle.net: 10547/227833
  • Scopus: 84859822444

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