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Case study: Tauranga Boys' College
Schools' professional development focus
The professional development activities at Tauranga Boys' High School focused on:
- equipping science teachers with an enhanced repertoire of effective teaching strategies
- implementing a Māori student mentoring programme
- developing teacher capacity in literacy programmes
- relationship building with the wider Māori community.
Background
Tauranga Boys' College is a decile five state secondary school with a roll exceeding 1600 students and a staff of 93, of which 15 percent is Māori. Twenty-five per cent of the student population is Māori. The school community is made up of rural and urban families. Junior boys are streamed academically and in the senior school there is a variety of pathway options available to students.
A range of staff were involved in the Te Kauhua Pilot at Tauranga Boys' College. These included a full-time facilitator to coordinate the project, student mentors, educational experts, classroom teachers, a Task Force Green assistant, a He Aratika coordinator, adult tutors, a reading recovery teacher, a member of senior management, Māori parents, and a Māori board of trustees member.
Intended outcomes
The initial intended outcomes of the Te Kauhua initiative at Tauranga Boys' College were:
- to develop and implement a successful reading programme for year 9 and 10 Māori students
- to develop and facilitate a mentoring programme for Māori students.
By the end of the first year of the pilot, an additional strand was added to the intended outcomes. This focus was upon staff professional development, particularly in the area of developing relationships and culturally located teaching interactions.
Data collection methods utilised to evidence shifts in Māori student behaviour, attitudes and/or achievement included academic achievement data, student questionnaires, parent questionnaires, and student interviews.
The Te Kauhua journey at Tauranga Boys' College centred upon four key initiatives:
- professional development in teacher effectiveness for science department staff
- a mentoring programme for referred year 9–13 Māori students
- a reading programme, Pause, Prompt, Praise (PPP) for 69 year 9 and 10 Māori students
- the formation of a Te Roopu Tautoko Committee to work with the school Māori community.
Eleven teachers, the head of the science department, the Te Kauhua facilitator, and 440 students from year 9–13 participated in professional development activities facilitated by educational experts. The focus of this initiative was upon developing positive relationships between teachers and students.
The mentoring programme involved the Te Kauhua facilitator, a coordinator, five student mentors, ten adult mentors, two teachers, and 35–40 students. The aim of the mentoring programme was to explore positive ways of encouraging Māori student participation, building confidence, and increasing engagement and subsequent success in the school system. A mentoring manual was written, a mentor coordinator trained, mentors were recruited and trained, a mentoring network established, and Māori students selected to participate in the programme.
The PPP reading programme engaged a large number of personnel including the facilitator, a trainer, a task force green assistant, 16 adult tutors, a reading recovery teacher, and 95 students over the period 2001–2002. Tutors were trained in the requisite skills of the programme and were assigned a group of students to work with. The aim of the reading programme was to increase the reading level of students reading below their chronological age and in so doing, to foster positive self esteem, confidence, and attitudes.
The Te Roopu Tautoko Committee was formed with the intention of discussing, reviewing, and producing new policies and developmental plans to enhance the learning environment for Māori students. They served as a consultative body for the board of trustees in terms of Māori community liaison. The Te Roopu Tautoko Committee also assisted in the development of strategies for implementing the National Education Guidelines and school responsibilities under the Treaty of Waitangi.
Key results
To date, there is limited evidential data of shifts in Māori student achievement as a result of the pilot. The following outcomes from the Te Kauhua initiative at Tauranga Boys' College have however, been effected:
- an increase in the percentage of Māori teachers on the staff from 6.5 percent in 2001 to 15.2 percent by 2003
- an increase in the number of Māori parents on the board of trustees, from one to two since the pilot began
- the formation of the Te Roopu Tautoko Committee. This committee acts on behalf of the Māori community in matters pertaining to Māori
- heightened awareness amongst staff of the critical importance of developing positive relationships as a key to increasing Māori student achievement
- increased teacher consciousness and sensitivity toward the notion of a culturally located school
- staff commitment to professional reading to improve their practice
- increased reading resources available in the school
- significant gains in the reading ages of Māori students involved in the PPP programme. For example, 53 of the 69 students who were involved in the programme in 2001 improved their reading levels with 39 of these students each surpassing their chronological reading age.
Lessons for ongoing practice
There are implications for teachers and school communities from this pilot project.
Firstly, the support and commitment of the senior management team is crucial to the success of such a programme. Similarly, whānau and Māori community consultation and collaboration are critical.
Secondly, the contracting of specialist people who have the requisite knowledge, resources, skills, and leadership capability to effectively strive toward the attainment of intended outcomes, is essential to the success of any initiative to enhance Māori student achievement.
Thirdly, resourcing at an appropriate level and for an appropriate time frame is necessary, if meaningful and sustainable results are to be achieved. This is possibly best achieved in large secondary schools by professional development activities being concentrated in identified departments, rather than "spreading resources too thinly" across full staff development.
Finally, the development and utilisation of meaningful and effective data collection tools, which evidence shifts in student achievement, are crucial to the credibility of such a project.
Conclusion
The Te Kauhua Pilot has enabled Tauranga Boys' College to facilitate a number of initiatives. The data suggest that the PPP programme effected significant gains in the chronological reading ages of a large number of participating Māori students.
Feedback from student evaluations indicate that the mentoring programme was effective and beneficial to the students involved.
The professional development activities for staff in the science department fostered a heightened awareness of the importance of relationship building, as a foundation stone for enhancing Māori student achievement. Similarly the focus on school–community consultation and collaboration was beneficial.
Regular and detailed measurement/evaluation of changes in teacher strategy is now needed, to assess the ongoing impact of pedagogical and other interventions.
Further, it is important that the senior management team play an active role in future initiatives, to ensure that the lessons learned become embedded in school-wide policy and procedures. These remain the ongoing challenges in the post pilot phase at Tauranga Boys' College.