Education and Social Work

Project

The purpose of this project is to revise, refine and systematise the Māori language corpus used within the Huarahi Māori immersion teacher training programme. Particular focus will be placed on the substantive redevelopment of the Huarahi Māori programme glossary and practicum metalanguage.

Project

Literature synthesis will contribute to a research proposal currently being developed targeting gaps in health services for wāhine Māori or takatāpui and their tamariki post-substance use treatment, fostering healing and cultural reconnection.

Aim

The aim of overarching project is to develop a culturally grounded aftercare framework (pae ora). Preliminary scoping of sources completed; student will focus on summary and critical synthesis to contribute to overall project.

Desired skills and background: completion of research course, literature review skills, Māori or Takatāpui candidates preferred

Requirement: 1 training session and weekly reporting to supervisor, sharing documents evidencing progress

Completion: 02 February 2025 for grant application adaptation

Project

Two students

This Summer Scholarship is connected to a project, Children without schools, that explores how a military occupation of schools in 1942 generated an educational experiment. The research methodology foregrounds material-sensory approaches to historical research. 

Roles

Our summer project enables two scholars to experiment with making objects devised in the 1942 scheme. One will research issues of The Education Gazette and the other National Film Unit films; both scholars will experiment with ‘making and doing’ and produce short texts to accompany the objects. The research will contribute to a community event early February 2025.

Ideal students

Suited to B.A. education majors, B.Ed. students interested in creativity, or students from EDUC201, EDUC204 or EDUC100G.

Project

Three students

Part of a current transdisciplinary ideation fund project for 2024/5 based in EDSW but including nine Co-PIs from UoA. The project requires additional research/development work suited to summer scholars. We envisage a team of three students, one with significant digital capability. Initial literature review/first iteration of a toolkit (with digital component) will have been completed.

Role

The scholars will:

- Review and expand the literature review
- Support analysis of draft methodology, framework and toolkit
- Identify and review research around a role and capability of digital tools in a consultation process with children
- Review a consultation process with children, focusing on Māori, Pacific, and immigrant families

Project

Two or three students

This project is designed for 2–3 summer scholars of Māori and/or Pacific heritage who will interview whānau/aiga members who have been involved in netball, especially older women.

Skills learned

They will develop skills in interviewing, qualitative data analysis and family history. The project provides a rare opportunity to conduct research that will contribute to New Zealand’s social and cultural history, while collaborating with other summer scholars and researchers funded by a Marsden grant.

Ideal students

Experience with cultural protocols, interviewing and/or journalism is valuable. Applicants whose family members have played netball or who have access to families with ongoing netball involvement are preferred.

Project

This project is a critical discourse analysis of press releases, interviews, hansard, Waitangi Tribunal reports, and related materials regarding the attempted repeal of Section 7AA (Duties of chief executive in relation to Treaty of Waitangi [Tiriti o Waitangi]) of the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989.

Aim

The aim of this research is to critically analyse the underlying narratives used by politicians and media regarding the juxtaposition of honouring steps towards partnership between the Crown and Māori communities under Te Tiriti o Waitangi against the safety and wellbeing of tamariki Māori.

Ideal student

Tauira Māori will be considered first due to the subject.

Project

Two or three students

The research team is creating a virtual reality (VR) experience that lets educators embody Māori youth experiencing racial bias. The goal of the VR experience is to change teachers’ beliefs and behaviours and create empathy.

We are looking for 2-3 summer scholars to conduct interviews/focus groups with educators who will pilot the VR.

Role

Scholars will transcribe and code the data and write up findings for an academic conference proposal and/or journal article, as interest and time permits.

Ideal students

Experience in qualitative data analysis using NVivo is helpful, but training can be provided. Good communication and academic writing skills are essential.

Project

The project will provide research mentoring and experience for a summer scholar interested in analysing aspects of Māori, in particular data (audio recordings, tutor feedback and questionnaires) from an optional te reo Māori pronunciation course.

Role

This project, which began in 2020, is part of ongoing efforts to improve the teaching of Māori pronunciation. The successful applicant will work as part of a team including other te reo Māori scholars.

Project

We seek a summer scholar to support our two-year practitioner-researcher partnership.

Role

The key tasks include analysing data (approximately 250 pages of practitioner journalling, interviews, focus groups, observation notes) and creating teaching resources and blogs for PhysEquity, a practitioner focussed website.

Aim

The research and the website aim to promote more equitable outcomes in HPE practices.

Role

The summer scholar will contribute to the writing of research papers and the development of accessible, high-quality materials and engaging blog content for our website, enhancing the reach and impact of our research. Resource development will include use of CANVA, Doodly and Kahoot.

Project

We are seeking a summer scholar to assist us with data analysis and resource development. Over the past year, we have been researching how schools in New Zealand have been supporting linguistically minoritised multilingual learners (henceforth MLs) to experience equitable opportunities of learning.

Aim

We have conducted interviews with teachers, school leaders, and students. We aim to develop a toolkit of resources for teachers to use with MLs at primary and secondary levels, across all curriculum areas.

Role

We seek an enthusiastic summer scholar to assist with the following:

– Analysis of the interview data (Prior experience of qualitative data analysis, particularly, thematic analysis will be useful, but not essential.)

– Development of teaching resources: (Background in teaching/educational studies will be preferred.)

Benefits

The experience will add value to the scholar’s CV, and will improve their career opportunities and confidence in pursing ongoing tertiary studies, particularly in the fields of education, TESOL, or applied linguistics.

Project

The AI2 Project is interested in exploring the use (and misuse) of Gen-AI tools among secondary and tertiary students. We are especially interested in questions related to equity of access (and (un)ethical use: Who is using AI? Which tools? How often? Is the use ethical (permitted)? And, importantly, to what extent do answers to the foregoing questions vary by household income or ethnicity?

Role

We have a lot of survey data (from several countries) and look forward to working with summer scholars who possess knowledge and skills related quantitative data analysis.

Project

The project will provide research mentoring and experience for a summer scholar interested in language revitalisation.

Role

The summer scholar will complete a literature review on the digital tools being used for teaching in Indigenous and heritage language programmes at tertiary level. A list of regions and key words will be provided as well as training on producing an annotated bibliography.

They will also collect and collate Aotearoa based data from:

– A purpose-built te reo Māori digital teaching tool

– Entry and exit assessments measuring te reo Māori progression

– A digital discipline specific dictionary

Project

There have been many iterations of the technology curriculum since its inception thirty years ago. Many of those involved in the initial development have retired. It’s therefore critical that the voices of these visionary people are recorded.

Role

Data has been collected from key people and needs to be transcribed. The student will assist with a comprehensive literature search, and identification of key themes, which could lead to joint publication/s.

Ideal student

The student needs to be a self-starter, and deep thinker.

Project

I am seeking a summer scholar for our recently awarded RDF project exploring staff and student experiences of linguistic diversity and discrimination at Waipapa Taumata Rau.

Role

The summer scholar will provide specific support in coding, and then analysing the qualitative open-ended responses of a university-wide survey that we will be conducting in Semester 2 this year.

Ideal student

Our current research team is bi/multilingual, comprising Māori, Asian and Pākehā researchers, so we would be ideally looking for a Pasifika summer scholar. Experience with SPSS and/or NVivo would be an advantage but we will also provide all appropriate training and support, as required.

Project

Negative or deficit discourses often dominate our conversations around higher education and the academy. These discourses reflect real issues including: student and staff burnout; racism, discrimination, exclusion, and abuse; precarious employment and the fierce competition for academic positions; and the tensions that arise in higher education in response to global events such as the COVID pandemic, financial crises, and the emergence of generative AI.

These are real issues that warrant deep thought, but focusing solely in these negative spaces has implications for the ways we experience and construct academia. An important counter to these negative and deficit discourses has been the rising interest in wellbeing in higher education over recent years.

Role

This project takes this work further by stretching the focus beyond wellbeing alone and considering the broader constructs of laughter, joy, and flourishing in the academy. The project seeks to highlight the importance of these fundamental human emotions and experiences, and to consider their role in the complex environment of the modern-day university.

The summer scholar will:

– Conduct literature searches and compile results
– Review articles to construct an annotated bibliography
– Identify a research question of personal interest within the wider scope of the project
– Select a subset of literature and review this in greater depth to answer the selected research question
– Present findings via a research poster and [optional – if desired] via a sole- or co-authored blog post or short essay for publication in a suitable forum

Project

Two students

UoA has a doctoral team supervision model that requires new Main Supervisors to be mentored. This research will investigate doctoral supervision mentorship relationships to determine what this looks like at UoA. We will also examine what counts as good mentoring practice for Pacific supervisors and doctoral students. The research outcomes will be used to develop targeted support and resources for supervision mentorship model teams. For example, community of interest for mentors/mentees, advanced professional development for mentees to become future mentors, and mentoring guides targeted for doctoral teams.

Requirements

The role can be shared by two students. We are looking for two highly motivated students with strong analytical and research skills, and with experience in using referencing software.

Project

Two students

We seek two motivated Pacific students to explore Pacific-Indigenous leadership in higher education.

Role

This collaborative project will enhance each student’s research skills through a comprehensive literature review for key themes. The two Pacific scholars will work closely with their Pacific supervisors to develop, document, and present their findings, effectively communicating to academic colleagues key themes about culturally-relevant leadership. This project aims to foster deeper understanding of leadership dynamics in higher education with a focus on culture and identity.

Benefits

The students will gain valuable experience in Pacific research collaboration, literature review, presentation skills, and talanoa enriching Pacific leadership discourse in education.

Project

Two or three students

The Our Voices project (funded by MBIE) collected data contributing to understandings of young people’s lived experiences of wellbeing in contemporary Aotearoa. The Tō Mātou Rerenga – Our Journey app was developed in collaboration with young people and resulted in the collection of large-scale, multi-modal qualitative data.

Role

We are looking for 2–3 summer scholars to analyse the data using thematic analysis techniques. In consultation with the supervisor the scholars will analyse a specific section of the data in an area that interests them and write up findings with the opportunity to contribute to an academic journal article.