Episode 24: Improving student achievement

All tumuaki want the ākonga in their schools to do well, but we know there are persistent disparities in achievement. In this episode, we speak with three tumuaki who have taken action to make a difference for tamariki and rangatahi previously at risk of underachievement. At the heart of their stories is the expectation that every student can achieve, even if some kids need more help than others to get there. 

 

My guests are:

• Catherine Bentley, tumuaki of Hastings Girls’ High School, winner of excellence in leading award in the 2021 Prime Minister’s Education Excellence Awards
• Barbara Ala’alota, former principal of Auckland’s Sylvia Park school, former chair of the Education Council of Aotearoa New Zealand, made Officer of the NZ Order of Merit for service to education in 2020.
• Angela Walters, tumuaki of Fairfield Intermediate School in Waikato, winner of Founders’ Principals Leadership Award in the National Excellence in Teaching Awards in 2022.

 

This podcast was produced for the Ministry of Education as part of Te Ara Tīmatanga mō ngā Tumuaki - The Beginning Pathway for Principals.

 

You can learn more about this topic by accessing Te Ara Tīmatanga mō ngā Tumuaki - The Beginning Pathway for Principals e-learning modules on the Education LMS: https://training.education.govt.nz

 

Show notes

Episode themes:

• What ākonga need to be able to learn well, and some of the barriers that prevent that from happening.
• Three stories about what strategies successfully turned around learning in three different kura.

 

Questions

1:30 [All] What do kids need to be able to learn really well?

 

4:04 [Catherine, Angela] What kind of barriers stop students learning?

 

5:12 [Barbara] What did you notice about the kura and about student achievement when you first started at Sylvia Park School?

 

14:13 [Barbara] What challenges did you face when trying to turn things around?

16:48 [Catherine] You have seen quite a turnaround in achievement at your kura. What did you notice when you first started at Hastings Girls?

 

17:55 [Catherine] How did you start the process of turning everything around?

 

19:21 [Catherine] I can imagine the teachers or the kaiako who engaged in deficit theorising, perhaps some of them decided not to continue?

 

21:39 [Catherine] What difference has it made for the kids?

 

23:36 [Catherine] What challenges did you face when making these changes?

 

25:13 [Angela] You were acting principal for three years at Fairfield before you became principal, and when you took over, where was the kura? What stage was it at?

 

31:24 [Angela] Have the changes made a big difference to student achievement?

 

31:59 [All] What's your best advice for new tumuaki about turning around learning in a kura?