With a new national curriculum, the New Zealand Ministry of Education has created a new learning area – Learning Languages. From 2010 all schools will have to show they are moving towards providing programmes for language learning for all students from Years 7 to 10. In preparation for this, primary and intermediate schools have been increasingly offering diverse programmes of language learning to their students, and high school language teachers have noticed an increase in knowledge and experience from their Year 9 entrants to language classes. This gives rise to the question of how teachers at high schools are able to manage language classes where students have a very diverse range of experiences of learning another language. This study is a case study from one high school on the phenomenon of language learning, as experienced and explained by nine Year 9 students. The students are asked to explore their current and previous language learning experiences in group interviews, and especially to discuss the issues which they have found in their classes. The students are from diverse backgrounds, with different experiences of learning another language. Their discussion is honest and wide-ranging as they talk about their experiences, giving reasons for their language choice, and explaining what they like and don’t like about their learning. They offer opinions on co-operative learning, mixed-level classes and the difficulties and benefits of learning another language and they make suggestions about what helps them learn best. A recurring theme in their discussion is one of relationships – family connections which may make a particular language more attractive, teacher-pupil relationships which foster learning, and, more especially, the peer-relationships which support (or occasionally inhibit) learning, and provide social support and a social network of friends. Overwhelmingly, they say they would rather study with their friends in a mixed-level class, than learn in a class which is streamed to their own level. Analysis of data further reveals that identity negotiations, which may not be recognised by the students themselves, play a part in the learning process. The study concludes with recommendations for practice and pedagogy, based on the students’ conversations. The four recommendations are about diversity – exploring the extent of diversity in the classroom, creating an environment which supports diversity, creating programmes which allow diverse students to learn together and creating opportunities for them to learn from each other.

This study explores what 10-12-year-old students say they like and value in works of visual art. As the participants talk about their own and other people‟s art works they are formulating and expressing aesthetic responses and beginning to shape their individual aesthetic awareness. Because of the age of the participants, the exploration is framed in terms of “what makes art good”. The research was prompted by the introduction and implementation of the New Zealand Curriculum (2007), which not only positions art as a core area of learning, but also outlines values and key competencies that characterise a constructivist approach to knowledge. Such an approach requires active engagement by learners and suggests that it is important for teachers to understand their students‟ values and views. However, in the field of art education there is little published material that examines the views and reactions of students. A broadly qualitative approach to the case study was taken, drawing particularly on phenomenography and narrative. The study found that 10-12 year-old students do actively make judgements about art works, and while there are common themes that occur repeatedly, the bases of such judgement vary from student to student. The study also found students‟ ways of approaching art-making varied, with some, for example, concerned predominantly with the technical process while others were more interested in imagery or narrative intention. The thesis argues that it is important for teachers to be aware of how their students individually process their aesthetic responses in order to develop relevant and appropriate programmes.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the challenges faced by first-year students as they negotiated the transition from the wrting environment of high school to the writing environment of university. The research for the dissertation was undertaken using a mixed-method explanatory design. This yielded a description of students' perceptions of the differences between their high school writing and first-year university writing environments. The research questions were as follows: what are high school students' perceptions of their writing environment; and what differences, if any, do students perceive as different in the writing environment between high school and first-year university? A total of one hundred and forty-four Grade 12 students completed a quantitative survey asking for their perceptions of the high school writing environment, and twenty students took part either in qualitative focus groups or individual interviews. A follow-up interview was conducted with fourteen of the original twenty participants while they were in the process of completing their first term at university. The results indicated that students' perceptions were very much influenced by individual teachers and instructors and by their own expectations. Recommendations, implications for further research, and implications for program development are offered as a way to extend the knowledge in this area.

Thesis (M.T.S.)--Catholic Theological Union at Chicago, 1988. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2007. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Mar. 3, 2008). Directed by Carl Lashley; submitted to the School of Education. Includes bibliographical references (p. 177-192).

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Georgia Southern University, 2007. / "A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Georgia Southern University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Education." Under the direction of Barbara J. Mallory. ETD. Electronic version approved: May 2007. Includes bibliographical references (p. 124-144) and appendices.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Auburn University, 2007. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographic references (ℓ. )

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Toronto, 2004. / Adviser: Brent Kilbourn.

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Waikato, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 96-103) Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1990. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 110-114). Also available via the Internet.