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Current tertiary strategic direction has prompted regional bridging providers to streamline preparatory educational offerings in order to exercise New Zealand’s commitment to ensuring all students reach their academic potential. This has encouraged a collaborative approach from three Wellington tertiary providers [Wellington Institute of Technology (WelTec), Whitireia New Zealand (Whitireia) and Victoria University of Wellington (VUW)], to develop a new degree preparation programme, which aims to address the reduction of Level 4 bridging programmes in Wellington. This initiative encourages a cohesive student-focussed approach that values preparing learners for the most relevant pathway, and promotes the best possible educational outcome. The project goals have been to: (1) develop a shared regional approach to pathways into degree study, including articulation agreements between providers; and (2) develop a new qualification for learners preparing for degree level study that prepares them for study in different contexts at different providers. This report reviews current pathways at Levels 3 and 4, and considers alignment of academic preparation programmes offered in the Wellington region and their effectiveness in preparing learners for degree study. Additionally, this report reviews literature related to the key competencies required for degree level study (including context and subject specific skills). It also outlines drafted course outlines and recommendations for a suggested new qualification: the Certificate of Degree Preparation.

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This collaboration project sought to develop a concept case for the harmonisation of resource materials for the National Diplomas in Construction Management, Quantity Surveying and Architectural Technology. The overarching goal of the project was to explore the development and housing of shared online resources that support the delivery of three Level 6 National Diplomas across 10 collaborating institutes of technology and polytechnics (ITPs). The outcomes of this project point to the importance of high-quality teaching and learning practice that is built upon collective knowledge and shared resources. The expected longer-term goals from this initial collaborative activity include: establishing the foundations for a more flexible and constructivist approach to teaching and learning by developing a website that enables future learners to access their personal learning environment; making available the best possible resources for building and construction qualifications offered by the ITP sector; and learners having a choice of where and how to study, knowing that wherever that is, the quality of resource material will be similar.

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This is the report of a project that evaluated the outcomes of a strength based course called 'My Voice'. The 'My Voice' engagement framework incorporates a strengths-based philosophy and activities into existing course curriculum. It helps learners focus on their abilities rather than their weaknesses, allowing them to understand themselves from a positive perspective. The framework also considers the influence of strengths on learner well-being, optimism and tutor relationships. Trialled across two [private training establishments] PTEs and three secondary schools, this approach resulted in earlier engagement for learners (compared to a comparison group). Learners reported that the approach was associated with increased well-being and self-confidence. Tutors reported earlier learner engagement rates, increased motivation and higher aspirations among learners.

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This report describes a project that investigated Maori student success in degree-level tertiary education. Using the Critical Incidence Technique, key factors that helped or hindered learner success were identified across three non-lecture contexts: Maori student support services, undergraduate programs, and Maori student whanaungatanga (peer relationships). A Quality Tertiary Teaching Profile (QTTe) was developed that provides specific instructions for institutions wishing to better support Maori learners' success. The QTTe includes: using effective teaching and learning practices; providing academic support that is culturally appropriate; providing pastoral support that is culturally appropriate; providing a culturally safe learning environment; and encouraging cohort cohesiveness. The project identified the need for institutional changes within the context of the broader tertiary environment, at the level of the educator and the learner.

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Clinical practice is a key component of Bachelor of Nursing education and is where students learn about nursing by having clinical experiences in different areas of practice. The Dedicated Education Unit (DEU) is a model of clinical teaching and learning that requires collaboration between staff from both education and practice to support student learning, more so than in the commonly used Preceptorship model. DEUs have been used to educate nurses in parts of Australia for more than 10 years. In New Zealand the DEU model was first introduced by the School of Nursing at Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology and the Canterbury District Health Board in 2007, and more recently by Manukau Institute of Technology (MIT) in partnership with Counties Manukau District Health Board (CMDHB). MIT and CMDHB have successfully piloted the Dedicated Education Unit model in medical and rehabilitation areas at Middlemore Hospital, as well as in the community in a joint venture with a Primary Health Organisation. The pilot is the focus of this report. The report describes the research process and findings, and identifies contextual differences from previous work. The success of this pilot study strongly indicates that future DEUs between CMDHB and MIT should be embedded in clinical education and practice to ensure optimal learning opportunities are provided for undergraduate students.

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Hei Ara Ako ki te Oranga is a collaboration between Literacy Aotearoa and Te Wahanga, New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER). The purpose of the project is to develop a kaupapa Maori adult literacy and wellbeing assessment model that demonstrates the link between literacy learning and teaching to improved wellbeing experienced by Maori adult learners, their whanau [family] and their communities. For learners, improvements in wellbeing can include personal development, increased employability, greater support for their children's education, and improved relationships.

The project team identified the range of wellbeing outcomes that are experienced by Maori adult literacy learners, examined these outcomes and gained a better understanding of them. From this, the team: (1) drew on existing Maori frameworks of wellbeing to develop a Maori adult literacy and wellbeing assessment model; (2) developed processes to assess and validate improved wellbeing as identified by Maori adult literacy learners; and (3) disseminated the Maori adult literacy and wellbeing assessment model to Maori adult literacy providers to generate support for the concept, its further development and eventual uptake. In 2012, five Literacy Aotearoa poupou [providers] and another community provider piloted the six instruments for the wellbeing model.

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This is the report of a project that examined how bicultural competence is applied in the education of early childhood teachers with regards to Maori pedagogies, identities, languages and cultural beliefs, and how Maori pedagogies are valued in the provision of early childhood education in Aotearoa (New Zealand). A Kaupapa Maori methodology was adopted, drawing upon qualitative techniques. From this project, seven resources were developed to support and promote bicultural competence within the early childhood education sector.

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This project was commissioned by Ako Aotearoa (National Centre for Tertiary Teaching Excellence) and carried out with the Association of Pasifika Staff in Tertiary Education (APSTE). The purpose of this study was to identify exemplars of success for Pacific students in New Zealand tertiary education. The overarching research question was: What educational practices work best in achieving, sustaining, and reproducing Pacific student success in tertiary education? The sub-questions were: What are the perceptions that tertiary students hold about success in education? What enabling factors contribute significantly to one’s success or achievement? How do institutions engage in students’ success in education?

Overall, the findings showed three broad themes and sub-themes that were identified as factors that lead to success for Pacific students in tertiary settings: (1) appreciative pedagogy (family support in education; personal commitment to success; the learning village at the institution); (2) teaching and learning relationships (respectful and nurturing relationships with students; recognition of cultural identity, values and aspirations; the creation of ‘Pacific’ physical spaces; incorporation of students’ learning needs; insistence on high standards; opportunities for students to pursue higher education; learning relationships between students; mentorship as a learning relationship); and (3) institutional commitment (a firm level of institutional support; active institutional engagement with the Pacific community; strong and supportive leadership; significant Pacific role models).

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The aim of the research was to understand how university students become, or remain, engaged in science during their transition from school to university, with the aims of (a) improving student engagement in the study of science at university, (b) improving the transition from the school learning environment to that of university, and (c) identifying and promulgating pedagogical ‘best practice’ for science education in the first year at university. Specifically, this required investigation of how university lecturers influence learners to engage in the sciences, the extent to which lecturers recognised the qualitative differences that exist between the learning environments of the secondary and tertiary sector, and the strategies adopted by universities (at an institutional level and at the level of individual lecturers) to ensure that learners make the intellectual progression between these environments. It also required investigation of whether learners recognised qualitative differences between the pedagogical and assessment environments of the secondary and tertiary sectors, and understanding whether such perceptions/differences contribute to negative choices (i.e. departure intentions, loss of engagement).

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This report presents and discusses the findings of a project to study the perspectives of New Zealand apprentices in their first year of apprenticeship. The aim of the project is to identify factors: (1) influencing apprentices' initial decisions to enter into and commit to an indenture; and (2) contributing to continuation of the apprenticeship past initial entry. To identify these factors, apprentices' perceptions of their entry trajectory and initial workplace learning experiences have been collected and analysed, and the experiences of potential, continuing, and 'unsuccessful'/discontinued apprentices compared. The project's objective was to enable learner experience to be usefully incorporated into the design of guidelines and to improve the induction processes and initial training for apprentices, with a view to contributing to increased retention and improved apprenticeship completions. To begin, a brief summary of the evolution and role of [industry training organisations] ITOs within the New Zealand context is provided. This is followed by a description of the research method, research questions and underpinning literature supporting the project's findings. The findings from the project are then reported. These include: demographic summaries of the apprentices, pre-trade students and discontinued apprentices; profiles of the workplaces of first-year apprentices; themes emerging from focus groups conducted with first-year apprentices and pre-trade students, and interviews with first year apprentices and discontinued apprentices; discussion of the profiles and themes. The recommendations (in the form of guidelines) to assist first-year apprentices' induction and retention are then introduced and discussed. These are the need to: match individuals' 'vocational imagination' with the realities of the industry apprentices have chosen to enter; provide support to help apprentices establish a sense of belonging to the workplace; and assist with maintaining engagement and momentum for apprentices to complete their apprenticeship.

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