1. The Big Idea
Table 1
Moving Forward
It is our responsibility to help save and
preserve quality state education in
Aotearoa using logic, reliable and valid
research, and whahama.

2. The Big Idea
Table 2
Moving Forward
Outside influences are important and
educators need to push Government
policy and keep fighting this to alleviate
social inequality and injustice.

3. The Big Idea
Table 3
Moving Forward
In order to move forward,
we need to take back our profession!
To do that we need informed teachers
who understand the ramifications
of actions and decisions, and who can
and will involve parents, colleagues and
community.

4. The Big Idea
Table 4
Moving Forward
Have high expectations for our
students, bearing in mind that we
cannot control all the variables and we
need to know this and seek support
and acknowledgement for this –
teaching and learning is a partnership.

5. The Big Idea
Moving Forward
Outside influences impact hugely on
what happens in the classroom.
Distribution of wealth and poverty
have a huge impact.
Table 5

6. The Big Idea
Table 6
Moving Forward
All New Zealand children who get the
required holistic (physical, cultural, spiritual,
intellectual) resources, support and nurture
do very well in the NZ education system.
This holistic approach and
requirement needs to drive
education policy.

7. The Big Idea
Table 7
Moving Forward
Research shows that
it takes a community to raise a child.
Is the GERM the future we want
for the next generation?

8. The Big Idea
Moving Forward
Your vote counts.
Kids aren’t for sale.
They are not an asset for
big business.
Table 7

9. The Big Idea
Moving Forward
Make politicians/decision-makers
accountable for the poverty in New
Zealand.
Table 8

10. The Big Idea
Table 9
Moving Forward
It takes a whole village to raise a child.
Context
Context
Context

11. The Big Idea
Table 10
Moving Forward
We as educators need to protect the
spiritual, emotional and social wellbeing of our children by reframing their
learning progress using a
developmental continuum model
rather than achievement levels
judged at Well Below, Below,
At, and Above labels.

12. The Big Idea
Table 11
Moving Forward
Teachers do an amazing job with 10%
of a child’s time and it is time to look at
external issues (socio-economic, equity,
cultural, family and community factors) to
support education opportunities for learning.
Teachers need to debunk the
“research” myths with thousands of
conversations using the TRUTH. …

13. The Big Idea
Moving Forward
Communicate with the community
about the impact of equity
on learning outcomes.
Table 11

14. The Big Idea
Moving Forward
We need a system focused on
learning
not performance.
Table 12

15. The Big Idea
Moving Forward
Deflect misplaced blame for
socio-economic ills.
Advocate for our students.
Know your students, know your
community,
Teachers need to be politically active
in the wider sense.
Table 13

16. The Big Idea
Moving Forward
We have got to be strong and adhere
to our calling and be proud of, and
vocal about, what we are
achieving in schools.
Table 15

17. The Big Idea
Table 16
Moving Forward
Society needs to build strong links and
relationships within their community and
value it. We need strong cultures and schools
compatible with these.
Reform is related to patterns of social
regulation (Barbara Comber –
Popkewitz 1991)

18. The Big Idea
Table 17
Moving Forward
Nurture the whole child:
schools/teachers need to have high
expectations for success and value the cultural
capital that students bring to school and the
hopes/aspirations of parents/families/whanau.
Culture has the power to reduce
educational inequality.

19. The Big Idea
Table 18
Moving Forward
•
•
•
•
We need to keep strong. Others internationally
are looking at us for direction and advice.
Keep connections
Inquiry of teaching practice
Action research in schools
Challenge policy makers and the wider
community. Show/tell them what works.

20. The Big Idea
Table 19
Moving Forward
Outside the school influences have the
greatest effect on children’s results in
testing scores. We need social and
economic policies that decrease
inequality in our society.

21. The Big Idea
Moving Forward
Teaching and learning need to have
the child at the centre.
They need to be holistic, and have a
researched, co-constructive, and
collaborative approach involving
school, teachers, pupils, whanau and
the community.
Table 20

22. The Big Idea
Moving Forward
We need to get education and
educationalists heard by politicians
and backed up by the
professional researchers
in our society of Aotearoa.
Table 21

23. The Big Idea
Table 22
Moving Forward
Learning and success requires the
development of strong partnerships
within and across schools and communities,
based on valuing everyone while
acknowledging the cultural
and whanau influences
that impact on us all.

24. The Big Idea
Table 23
Moving Forward
WE need to focus on the whole child,
not National Standards data.
(WE – whanau, iwi, community,
BOT, Ministry of Education, principals,
teachers and other agencies).

25. The Big Idea
Table 24
Moving Forward
Schools are not the determining factor
for student achievement.
It is a myth that we live in an equitable
society – our society is inequitable.
We need to dispel the illusions – stop
the lies. How do we do this?

26. The Big Idea
Moving Forward
“Challenge the deficit thoughts.”
Table 25

27. The Big Idea
Moving Forward
Your voice is important.
Table 27

28. The Big Idea
Table 28
Moving Forward
Inequality and poverty are areas exerting
the greatest influence on success. Teachers
need to take pride in the success of their
efforts in recognising and holding onto what is
important for children.

29. The Big Idea
Table 28
Moving Forward
We need to have a culture of continuous
improvement - using the lessons of the
past to contribute to the pathway forward.

30. The Big Idea
Table 29
Moving Forward
It’s time for a U-turn.
The issues of poverty and inequality need to
be addressed.
• We need to better use the NMSSA (old
NEMP) data
• It’s not a data problem but what you do
with it and how you use it.

31. The Big Idea
Moving Forward
• We need to avoid following the
leads of Australia and the USA.
• We need to talk to our communities
and parents, and tell them what is
necessary for quality public
education.
• Get parents to share their stories.
Table 30

32. The Big Idea
Moving Forward
“Power of culture, language and
whanau.”
We need to implement this right
through the worksites.
Table 31

33. The Big Idea
Moving Forward
Why is our Public Service not
performing a service to the public by
deconstructing international schools’
data and informing the public?
Table 32

34. The Big Idea
Table 33
Moving Forward
The impact of in-school factors in cohort
achievement is low – out of school factors have
the major impact. So what can educators do?
• Position children as experts/researchers
• Position whanau as experts/researchers
• Acknowledge the child/whanau –
walk beside them.

35. The Big Idea
Table 33
Moving Forward
What can be counted,
does not always count,
what cannot be counted must be valued.
We must keep faith with these things.

36. The Big Idea
Moving Forward
Turn the data around (disaggregate,
integrate etc) to debunk the GERM
myths
Table 34