This thesis using oral historiographic techniques examines the changing role and function of a teachers' union during changes in the nature of a national State which can also be related to changing forms of capitalism. The teachers' union is New Zealand Post-Primary Teachers Association (the secondary school teachers' union) and the period of particular focus is between 1983 and the beginning of 1993. This is the period of a crisis in the New Zealand State during which the character of the national State was moved from what has been described as a 'wage earners' Welfare State towards a more residual form providing a 'modest safety net'. The financial and the labour market were deregulated to become more free of direct State involvement. The administration of education was changed and the individual schools' elected Boards of Trustees were made responsible for the provision of schooling. The role of PPTA in the State is moved structurally in this time. As a professional association before the changes, PPTA had both opportunity for input into the mandate of education, as well as the possibility of creating implementation pressure through political action. As a bargaining agent, the input role of PPTA to decisions in education was limited to addressing members' concerns at the school level. The restructuring of education and of the labour market, PPTA was both an object to be acted on and a participant obstructing the changes. This thesis presents what is a PPTA view of those changes. PPTA formed a central part of the education structures which were to be transformed by the economic liberal project. The survival of PPTA demonstrates the extent to which the project was not completed and the resistance of PPTA was one of the reasons why the project in education could not be completed. The thesis is in three parts. Part one is a regulationist-derived periodisation of the historical development of the New Zealand wage earners Welfare State and education. This is followed by a consideration of the economic-liberal challenge to this State Part two considers the development of PPTA's professional project and the possibilities presented through different arenas. Part three focuses on the changing nature of the State labour market policy and PPTA's activity in that. The changing strategies and tactics of PPTA's 'professional project', the thesis argues, occur under changing political conditions and are an example of Offe's concept of rational opportunism

This thesis analyses producer response to technical change using agricultural aid projects on Atiu, Cook Islands, as an example. Part One is a case study of the island, its economic activities, social organisation and cultural attitudes. Part Two presents a theoretical model of grower response to new technical opportunities, looking at the implications of new risky decision over time in a particular community; it also considers the role of the community and the administration in encouraging change. Part three concludes with policy implications of designing, administering and evaluating aid projects with variable labour response.

This study analyses the economic aspects of housing tenure choice in New Zealand, 1960-80. The analysis proceeds by way of the building, refining and estimation of a model of household tenure choice, using a considerable body of micro-level data and aggregate time series. It is argued that the household faces a wealth constraint, a dual budget constraint, and minimum dwelling standard constraints, and that the household's tenure choice depends on the interaction of these constraints and its preference set. The budget constraint is a dual constraint because the true economic price of buying relative to that of renting generally differs from the 'outlay' price of buying relative to that of renting. The outlay prices of housing services are important for households with limited current income available for housing unless the household's wealth constraint is unusually loose. Considerable emphasis is placed on the modelling of the prices of housing services. A sub-model of landlord behaviour and the examination of the operation of the private rental housing market are directed at explaining the path over time of urban New Zealand rents. Sources of data are as follows. In considering prices and the various constraints on tenure choice I employ my own survey data, collected in Auckland, and time-series data from the New Zealand Department of Statistics (NZDS) and the New Zealand Valuation Department, together with crosstabulation data from various sources. I make use for the first time (for these purposes) of a body of data collected by the NZDS - their Household Sample Survey data - to estimate a cross-sectional tenure choice function. For the examination of national tenure choice trends I had to construct my own estimates of the private sector home-ownership rate. The chief conclusion of this study is that lack of wealth constrains the large majority of 'unwilling' private tenants (who are about three-quarters of all private tenants) to rent. Both interview evidence and cross-sectional econometric work support this conclusion. A second major finding is that the impact of the budget constraint on household tenure choice has varied considerably over time but in terms of economic prices, buying has been consistently (over the last two decades) cheaper than renting for the typical tenure-choosing household with a moderate marginal rate of time preference and a moderate planning period. In times of rapid dwelling appreciation the economic price of buying relative to that of renting is particularly low. In contrast, the outlay price of buying (comprising costs in the current period) has been considerably greater than the outlay price of renting, especially when nominal interest rates have been high, and this fact has undoubtedly deterred a significant a significant proportion of households from buying. Finally, the decline in the private sector home-ownership rate between 1961 and 1976 was found to be largely due to changes in the 'age:marital status:household size' structure of the population of households. These changes outweighed the net effect of economic factors which worked to raise the home-ownership rate until 1976.

The research studies reported in this thesis extend over a 5-year period of my own growth and development as a researcher and teacher. Two themes run in parallel. The first theme was improvement in skills in implementing objective research to assess behaviour change resulting from childcare and teacher training programmes. The second theme was the clarification and explanation of my own role and behaviour as a trainer of teachers and childcare workers. The theoretical framework used for the objective research was applied behaviour analysis and the one used to explain my behaviour was Argyris and Schon's (1974) theory of action with its two different theories-in-use. Model I is where people strive to satisfy the governing variables of defining goals and trying to achieve them; winning not losing; minimising negative feelings; and being rational. This creates conditions where only single-loop learning is possible. Single-loop learning is where people adopt new actions to realise their governing variables. However double-loop learning, where we learn to change the governing variables themselves, is only possible with a Model II theory-in-use i.e. where people strive to give and get valid information, make free and informed choices and generate internal commitment to the choices. During Study I my own behaviour as a researcher and teacher could be explained in terms of Model I. I adopted a rigorous research model for the research and a traditional authoritarian model for the teaching. However I perceived a mismatch between what I said (Model II) and what I did (Model I), also I did not like the 'behavioural world' my research activities had created. I wanted to be an effective teacher and an effective researcher yet the two seemed incompatible. The rigorous research methods I was using to evaluate my teaching were limiting the quality of learning and teaching. In Study 1 the effects of training 8 childcare students in two childcare centres using Specific Instruction, Graphic Feedback and Daily Verbal Feedback were evaluated for three caregiver behaviours: non-verbal, verbal and participation (in activities, childcare and housework). This first study showed that when the unilaterally controlling methods of rigorous research were combined with authoritarian teaching, conditions were produced which explained only how people would behave under similar circumstances of control and generalisation was limited. In Study 2 the effects of training 8 childcare supervisors to train their staffs in eight childcare centres using a training package which included Negotiated Instruction, Practice and Feedback were evaluated for three caregiver behaviours: talking with children and adults; socio-emotional (positive and negative); and participation (in activities, childcare and housework). During Study 2 I tried to make the transition from Model I to Model II and moved to teaching where I shared control through negotiating the curriculum and research which included social validation measures. However on reflecting on the outcomes of Study 2 I realised that I was still continuing to do Model I research (where I unilaterally controlled and master-minded the research design, goals and procedures) whereas in contrast in my teaching role I had simply adopted a role which was opposite of Model I (i.e. I had handed control over to the participants). However Study 2 showed that when rigorous research was combined with a negotiated curriculum (unilateral control and shared control) more generalisation occurred. Results indicated that childcare supervisors could effect significant changes in their own behaviour after a training package of negotiated instruction, feedback and practice. Further, they could transfer skills learned to their staffs. These changes were only achieved when: (1) A mismatch could be shown between what the supervisors and staff said and what they did and they judged the behaviour to be important and desirable; (2) Feedback on performance was provided to the supervisors by the experimenter and to the staffs by their supervisors; (3) Opportunities for comparisons of performance were provided (either within-subjects or between-subject); and (4) Supervisors could negotiate to learn the specific skills they needed e.g. how to give positive and negative feedback to staff. Following Study 2 I continued to try to match my espoused views with my practice in my teaching and integrate teaching and research within a Model II framework. I felt that teaching and research need not be separate activities if the data generated could be used for clients' learning and skills learned generalised to the 'real' world. I therefore taught an exploratory course involving aspects of self-control by participants and shared control over course goals and methods. Experience in teaching this course suggested that when socially significant goals were targeted and students collected their own baseline data, data were generated which course members could use to understand, and in some cases solve, their own problems. Creating conditions which fostered psychological ownership of goals and methods for changing behaviour (giving clients choices; working on behaviours clients judged important and desirable; creating favourable attitudes towards training; and giving clients responsibility for implementation), appeared to enhance the occurrence of generalisation. The thesis, then, arrives at two fundamental propositions. The first is that the process of conducting rigorous applied research (e.g. research-determined and specified hypotheses, predetermined measures, research design etc.) reinforces the discovery and invention of single-loop solutions only. The second is that research and training programmes that attempt to embody Argyris' (1974) Model II theory-in-use will be more effective for developing conditions where a new set of skills can be produced as well (double-loop learning).

This thesis investigates and analyses the Report of the Commission on Education in New Zealand,1962, also known as the 'Currie Report', paying particular attention to the policy process surrounding the written and oral submissions. Views expressed during the submissions and their ideological basis are related to wider power relationships within society. The submissions emanating from outside the Department of Education are revisited as well as the departmental submissions to establish whether there are any grounds to challenge the consensual, liberal interpretations that have been attached to this important New Zealand historical educational document. The issues raised and avoided in the submissions coalesce around specific themes, which are related to the broader issues of the development of New Zealand educational history. Attempts to counteract, mute and marginalise dissent and to encourage optimal social control are witnessed in the organizational structure of the commission and in its methods. The interaction and networking of key participants is studied and the important inter-relationship between central bureaucratic interventions and powerful educational pressure group activity points to the continuing operational success of central government processes. The often competing forces of provincialism and centralism in New Zealand education underlie many of the conflicts surrounding educational change. Religion, race, gender and class are forces that continually interact to create legitimation crises. The governmental attempt to minimise or at least rationalize these socially contested differences in education from 1960-1962 is the subject of this thesis. An analysis is made of the process by which public dissatisfaction regarding education in the fifties and sixties was mediated and largely marginalised by the educational bureaucracy. This is done by a thorough examination of the interaction of pressure groups, unions, media and governmental agencies during the two year submissions to the Commission on Education 1962. The distinction between the commission's report and the submissions and interrogations leading up to the report is important, as the primary data extracted from the primary resource material in the submissions, at times, contradicts the departmental view as expressed in the report itself. In this way it is hoped to move beyond the rhetoric that informs previous commentaries and move closer to an interpretation based upon the primary data.

This investigation explores the reactions to Darwinism in the format and informal education of New Zealand society. The subsidiary purpose is to look at some implications for formal education. Many of the reactions have focussed on distortions of the Darwinian theory of evolution with the form of reaction to Darwinism being centred on different views of humankind. The various group interests have caused different aspects of Darwinism to be highlighted particularly when groups feel their interests are under threat. Using aspects of an "HS3" historical survey technique i.e. the history of the public reaction to an aspect of science and science teaching, key features of this debate are set in context. This context is then used to show that creationist objections and social Darwinian interpretations share many characteristics with their overseas counterparts. A philosophical analysis of the positions taken supports a charge that New Zealand creationist science is partly non science, and partly bad science. It is also shown that confusion has been created when groups have debated issues from different perspectives including cultural perspectives. In particular there has been a lack of communication as various creationist groups, using different research bases, and political, economic and legal institutions, have adopted generalist conservative positions, highlighted metaphysical and ethical considerations and drawn on creationist science literature to support the science of their case while pro-evolutionist groups have adopted specialist liberal or progressive positions, concentrated on the logic and epistemology of the debate and have drawn on mainstream science literature. Finally some implications have been drawn from this analysis of the different reactions, and recommendations have been made for future teaching of evolution and related concepts.

The nature of professional expertise has been widely debated in the literature. However it has been examined primarily from a dichotomy of perspectives - either from an experiential or a cognitive focus, without the attempt to integrate these, and other aspects of expertise, into an integrated and coherent model. This research is structured in two sections. The first part incorporates a philosophical discussion, which advances an integrated model of professional expertise. The second part uses a case study focused on the field of medical imaging to illustrate and refine the model. Ten professionals identified as experts in the various sub-specialties within medical imaging were guided through a sustained period of interviews and logging of critical incidents in order to elicit in-depth data in relation to the process of expertise. Findings showed that while expertise is situated in the context of practice, it incorporates several dimensions working together in an integrated, seamless fashion through the medium of the individual practitioner. The proposed model integrates five main aspects, namely: knowledge base; cognitive processes; internal integrative processes; interpersonal relationships; and professional practice. That is, it is a synthesis of a particular knowledge base, the cognitive processes, personality and internal processes of the practitioner. It manifests through, and builds on, interpersonal relationships with clients and other professionals, and is expressed through the actual doing of professional practice. It is through the reflexive examination of practice and management of change that professionals may transform these five integrated aspects into the qualitative state of expertise. One of the implications of these findings for higher education are that institutions providing professional education need to value all the dimensions of expertise and their effective integration in order to promote the learning required to advance professionals towards this level of practice.

School resistance is usually understood as a pathological behaviour or condition indicative of underlying mental disorder for which therapy is ‘indicated’ and home schooling is ‘contraindicated’. However, I argue that the psychiatric/psychological classifications commonly used to identify school resistance (i.e. ‘school phobia’ and ‘school refusal’) are socio-historical constructs that function to socially and discursively position school-resistant children as ‘abnormal’, ‘irrational’, ‘dysfunctional’ and ‘sick’ individuals whose problems are likely to be compounded by school withdrawal. Assuming that school resistance and home schooling can be constructed in multiple and competing ways, I explore the perspectives of seven school-resistant children who are being (or have been) home schooled, their mothers, and nine practitioners working with children. I argue that by applying a different set of assumptions to school resistance, the meaning of this phenomenon can be radically transformed and so too can the experiences of school resisters and their families. This research suggests that for some mothers and their school-resistant children, home schooling can provide an acceptable and effective solution to the problems raised by school resistance.

This is a study of a) the nature and incidence of independent learning defined as "knowing how to generate and direct the processes of learning...*(see p.3) in new entrant classroom settings and, b) the nature of the teacher-child interactions associated with such independent learning. Systematic observation was used at school entry and three months later, to identify aspects of independent learning and the associated teacher behaviours. Six categories of child directed acts identified the range of behaviours from which independent learning could be inferred. Each category of teacher behaviour that appeared to facilitate independent learning in children was developed as a "mirror image" of each category of child directed acts. The teacher and four children in two new entrant classes were observed over the whole day for five days during two observation periods, one at the beginning of Term three and the other after 12 weeks. Each class was involved in normal classroom activities that covered the whole curriculum. The children were engaging in a considerable amount of independent learning on entry to school and three months later. Many facilitative teaching acts occurred in the interactive style that was demonstrated in all aspects of the curriculum. The teachers spent a considerable portion of teaching time assisting children in one-to-one teaching situations and in small groups, encouraging their responses and fostering and supporting independence in their learning. There was some difference observed between teachers in the attention given to different categories and in the facilitative behaviour occurring in one-to-one interactions and small group teaching interactions. A way of teaching emerges that differs from a teaching agenda determined by didactic, traditional instruction. The two teachers were deemed to be using the children's agenda to foster and support them in independent learning in the various curriculum areas. Some of the practical and philosophical features of the New Zealand education system that may contribute to this particular style of teaching are discussed. The theories of learning and teaching deriving from this study place a value on independent learning (as here defined) in new entrant children and on the teacher’s role in providing opportunities for it to develop. Independent learning a) ensures the continuation of learning at times when the teacher is directly engaged with other children, and b) derives from a teacher expectation that children will be able to actively process ideas and make some decisions about their learning. It engenders a power in children that sustains the momentum of learning.

An investigation into the assessment of the moral components which were developed by John Wilson, is reported. Tests fox the classroom measurement of two components were developed. The components were; PHIL(CC), the claiming of concern for other persons as an overriding, universal, and prescriptive principle in moral decision making; and; GIG, knowledge of factual information which is relevant in making moral decisions which subjects face. The test development exercise was undertaken at a time when public interest in moral education was growing. The recent demand for moral education in Auckland is reviewed. Over the last fifteen years, since the Currie Commission Report, reports by committees investigating the purposes of schools have increasingly emphasised moral and social education as school objectives. The Department of Education appeared to be sympathetic towards the cause of moral education. The submissions made by the public during the Educational Development Conference suggested that, in general, parents and citizens were prepared to consider innovative programmes in social or moral education, although there was little agreement on what form such training or education should take. A number of teachers were supporters of moral education. The primary purpose in constructing tests for Wilson's components was to provide an instrument which would assist in the evaluation of moral education curriculum projects in Auckland secondary schools. Evidence concerning descriptive, content, domain selection, construct and concurrent validity is presented. Kuder-Richardson, retest and criterion-referenced reliability studies were undertaken. It is claimed that an instrument with sufficient validity and reliability has bean produced for the summative evaluation of curriculum projects, and the diagnostic investigation of class groups using the test as a criterion-referenced measure. Auckland intermediate and secondary school pupils were surveyed, using the tests produced and punch card recording in an attempt to identify significant variables. Over 1,100 children completed the tests under controlled conditions. Significant variables identified using the test for PHIL(CC) were socio-economic level for twelve-year-old children, and intelligence for sixteen-year-old children. The effect of schooling appeared to be significant at all levels. Age does not appear to markedly increase children's concern for others. Age was related to performance in the knowledge test. Older children knew more. Other significant variables for GIG were socio-economic level (middle levels performed better) and the effects of schooling. There was some evidence that females know more than males. In both tests it appears that there is considerable interaction between the variables. Suggestions for the further development of the tests are given.