Empowering an Indigenous Rural Community: Local Teachers for Local Schools JOHN DELANY CHRISTCHURCH COLLEGE OF EDUCATION CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND ORIGINS OF POLO IN THE HOKIANGA 1996 the Christchurch Education received il rt)quest a group of schools to provide a pre-service teacher education [or people in the Hokianga region, llli1ny of whom were already working in schools in various capacities, and TI.l.ost of whom were not able to lllake thf~ comlllitnlent to travel away fronl the an:a to a college of education or other tertiary institution to complete the qualification. The main point of contact was Panguru Area School (and a history of approaches lllade to other institutions and to the Ministry of Education are also acknowledged as origulating there). There was strong support for this project from all l(;:vels, including senior officials in the M.il1istry of Education, and the local M.P., JO]Ul Carter. The response of the college was to offer the Prunary Open Learning Option (POLO) as a way of addressing this need. POLO is essentially print-based with suppleUlentary audiovisual resources. It lnvolves attendance at campus-based DEREK WENMOTH THE CORRESPONDENCE SCHOOL WELLINGTON, ZEALAND residential schools and conlpletion of periods of full-tinle work in schools. The dialogue and negotiation that followed! ulvolving the Christchurch College of the Hokianga schools, and the Ministry of Education, saw a further of the POLO progrmnnle that to address the following: (a) Schoolf' in the Hokianga region had been experiencing a critical teacher supply and retention problenl for SOUle time. The schools have long recognised the potential of a nuulber ,of people in this area to be excellent teachers. TIus exciting proposal will enable these people to make a valuable contribution as teachers in the local schools, while at the sanle tinle gaining satisfaction frOlll a worthwhile place in the workforce. It is hoped that this local initiative nlay also help inspire other young people to have confidence to escape the Toumal Learning, Vol 7, No 1,2003 Distance Education Association of New Zealand 5 insidious trap of U11enlploynlent endenlic in Hokianga. Gill Paaka, ex-principal Panguru Area School, June 1996) (b) The 111ajority of those for WhOll1 the progralllme was to be targeted were m.ature students who had not studied at a tertiary level for a long lime, if at all. It was seen as desirable that these students have support at a local level to assist thenl in their study and provide a certain level of II expert" input. (c) As there would be a cluster of students frOlll the same geographic region involved, it 11leant it would be possible for these people to m.eet together on a regular basis for support and guidance, rathel' than study in isolation. (d) A 11lajor need in the area is for teachers who are skilled in Te Reo and Tikanga Maori. Many local schools operate llllmersion or bilingual progranulles, and there is a high percentage of Maori students in most of the local schools. DIFFERENTIATING FEATURES Up until 1995 the Christchurch College of Education's Diploma of Teaching was available only to students who attended face-to-face lectures on- campus in Christchurcll. Following the recommendations of the 1994 report Widening the Delivery (Weml10th & Mander), the progrmnme was translated for distance delivery, signaling a nl0ve towards a 111 ore open and flexible approach to pre-service teacher education in New Zealand. Fronl 111id- 1995 an initial teaching qualification would be available to students who for reasons of geographic location, financial viability, falllily COlllulitments, or preferred learning style wished to ''''1' undertake teacher education without attending on-campus classes. The establishm.ent of a "regional initiative" was a further step along the path of developing flexible deli very options that account first and foremost for the needs of students rather than the traditional conscious or subconscious priority given to the needs of the institution itself. A Significant aim of flexible delivery is the reu10val of physicat econou11c, and institutional barriers to leanTing. In the case of Hokianga it was recognised that even the provision of the newly developed POLO option would not necessarily achieve this ailn. A Ulore effective solution was to identify the characteristics and needs of this particular group of potential students and adapt the delivery lnodel accordingly. Thus, while the prograulme in Hokianga rem.ains the Christchurch College of Education Diploll1a of Teachingr delivered using the POLO model of distance delivery, various features have been adapted to best l11.eet regional needs specific to this group of students. These features, or points of difference that distinguish the regional initiative fronl both POLO and on-cau1pus delivery, are expanded upon in the ren1ainder of this paper. They have contributed ularkedly to the success of the prograulme, and wIllie they have provided the catalyst for the enlpower- ment of individuals as well as a whole cOlllmU11ity, they have also been the source of considerable tension. ATTENTION TO THE STUDENT PROFILE Essential to the development of a l'egional initiative that could clam1 to address the needs of Journal Learning, Vol 7, No I, 2003 © Distance Education Association of New Zealand 6 its students is a thorough understanding of the students theulselves, their lllotivation to beconle teachers, and the culture within which they are iInnlersed. Current critiques of distance education systems cOlllmoluy draw attention to the l{eed to focus on the iIlStructional needs of students in terms of age, cultural and socioeconOlllic backgrounds, interests and experiences, educational levels, and fanliliarHy with distance education lllethods and delivery (Sherry, 1996). Evans (1994.) the importance of "knowing" our students, and the difficulty of generalising about the /I typical" student due to the diversity of personalities}' previous experience, abilities, and circumstances. Previous with POLO students supports the view that they exhibit needs, characteristics, and nlotivations that are different from those of on-campus students, and that program.nws and support need to be developed with this miIld (Delany, 1998). The scattered comnlunities surrounding the Hokianga harbour are alllong the most geographically isolated and sodo- econonlically depressed in New Zealand. FrOlll the settlenlent of Panguru where the regional initiative is centred, it is a one-and-a-half-hour drive on hilly, unsealed roads to the nearest town, Kaitaia (population approx. 5,000), which acts as a service centre for the Far North region. The early post-European settleulent economy of the Hoki,anga revolved around the extraction of native tinlber. With the end of this n011- sustainable industry in the first half of the twentieth century T and the 111.ore recent ,...."f"I'''~.A of the exotic tinlher industry, the lllail1ly indigenous Maori popuIatioll is left with very few local enlploY111ent opportunities. Many depend on a lifestyle of su bsistence farnllilg and fishing. FmnjJy i11Collle rates are anlong the lowest and unemployulent rates al1long the highest figures in the country. A nUlnber of reports identify the region as problelnatic iIl ternlS of housing, health, and education. (Factors Influencing School Effectiveness, ERO, 1998; Don't Blmne It All 011 Teachers l Turner, 1998; Food and Nut-rition Education for Maori and Pac~fic Islanders in the Auckland Area1 King & Tustin, 1989). In particular, the 1999 report of the Educational Review Office (ERO), Good Practice in Far North Schools, highlights nlajor educational issues to do with standards of teaching and availability of qualified teachers. students in the Hokianga initiative are predOlll:inantly Maori and predominantly feulale. Of the students who have prot,rressed to the third year of their teacher education, only one identifies herself as being of European etluuc origin, and only one is a nlale. They are described by Professional Studies lecturer Gill Paaka) as women who did not graduate with any qualifications when they left school. They have raised fanlilies and most of thenl have children that have finished school. A lot of them still have SOIne children at school aIld there is no way they could have left their fanlilies and gone to town for three years. Student ages range £rODl nlid-t\-venties to nlid-fifties, and despite the rural isolation of the Hokianga conlllluluty there is quite a breadth of life experience witlllil the group, one describi11g herself as having "traveled all around the world and then Journal of Distance LearningJ Vol7t No 11 2003 © Distance Education Associatiol1.o£ New Zealand 7 returned to settle in the Hokianga and marry the boy down the road." Another student i.lllmigrated to New Zealand from the Philippines. More characteristically however they tend to be people who have been born and ,,~ bred in the Hokianga and while they may have spent varying lengths of tinle seeking employn1ent in the nearest city, AucklandI' some five hours' drive to the south.r their experience of the rest of the world is lln1ited. As might be expected, IllOSt have little experience of study beyond the secondary school level, and none had experienced study by distance. Two have gained degrees through previous on-calupus tertiary study, qualifications that enabled their Diploma of Teaching programn1e to be shortened by one year. Of significance however is the all10unt of tinle most of these students were spending in schools prior to conlm,enclng the programme, employed as teacher aidest relieving teachers, and even as full-time or part-time (but unqualified) classroom teacbers. This is an indication of the extent pride and comn1itm,ent to their Maori culture and langua ge - a belief that they have a role to play in the betterlllent of their region through addressing the educational needs of their children as Maori. and as locals, rather than continuing to rely on intervention frOln outside the region, a strategy that has proved unsuccessful in the past. This belief has motivated these students to undertake the progran1me, and drives thenl to succeed in a conlmmuty that has a proud history of proactive change to improve the lives of New Zealand's indigenous people. (Dalne Whina Cooper, respected for her leadership TIl the land rights campaigns of the 19705 to 1980s, was born, brt:d, lived, and is buried in Panguru.) The students. then1selves articulate this 1notivation clearly: Who better to teach our own Maori children than ourselv(~s? 1 know where I COU1e fT01ll, who I anl descended {rOlll. I havE' always had that identity. That is a normal thing for a lot of Maori people here. But young people I m,et down in the city were so lost I said to them, "Wbere do you C0111e fron17" They said, II I don/t know, r just live in Auckland." For 1118 it's importanc having that identity, to be ablp to teach a Maori child who they are, where they belong, and find they actually enjoy and take il on board as part of their own life skills. 111,e reason I anl on thig course is because in this cOll1n1uIuty 99 percent of the population anJ uneu1ployed alld I don't think that's a good envirOlUnent to bring up our children. I enjoy being with children and I just didll/t realise that. I b(::,lieve I have a lot to offer thenl and to offer in a professional way. That's what keeps me going. (Maria, edited frOlll interview transcript) PartiCipation in the prograll1111e hJ~ contributed powerfully to the students' own sense of "who they are" and their role in their comnlU1uty, and TIl lllany cases has been the catalyst for therr own personal enlpowerU1ent as individuals. Journal o/Distance Learning, Vol 7, No 1, 2003 Distance Education Association of New Zealand 8 Self-esteenl has been enlivened and horizons have been expanded. I have been there, I have seen the bottom. I want to go to the top now, and J want to gel on and do what I nlally want to do. People like ourse·lves, who have worked hard for what we have got, can make iL into schools and teach childn~nf clnd be enlightened as to what call happen along the way. (Mary-Ann!.), interview transcri r t) If it were not for course there were no options. Unless I wanted to remain on the uuuae, or spend my lift' looking al the beach. (Maria) I would just be relieving at my local school and not thil:u(ing about 111 y future. I would probabl y hd ve been happy to stay home by the beach. At the end of it there would be not 111.uch at all but to be on the dole. I always wanted to do sonlething and I guess this is it. Qean) Purthennore, students who the progrmnnle with a strong conlulitment cmd nlotivation to contribute to their local conlulunity were within a year realiSing they were studying for a nationally recognised qualiIication and thenlselves as potentially havlllg a contribution well beyond the Hokianga region. I would like to be teaching in three or four years tilne. I am. not quite sure where, but I would like to teach in the schools that we are going to at the 1110111ent ... . But then, because I will be certificated, 1 could go anywhere in New Zeala11d! (Mary~Alule) I could go anywhere! ... But would rather be with nly own people. (Richalene) Participation in the progranmle has contributed to the breaking down of sex- role stereotypes and provided a catalyst for change. Sherry (1996) notes that adult learners have a wide variety of reasons for pursuing leanung at a distance: constraints of rune, distance, and finances, the opportunity to take courses or hear outside speakers who would otherwise be unavailable, and the ability to C0111e ill contact willl other students frOll1 different social, culturat eCOnOU11.C, and experiential backgrounds. As a result they gain not only new knowledge but also new social skills. In the nlothers' t.raditional role of childcare has been challenged as W0111en undertaking full-tinle study are forced to a sigrrificant proportion of that role to their 1l1.ale partners. Indeed they have denlanded in nlany cases the support of their partners in what has becoll1.e a change of lifestyle necessary to ill.eet the C0111m.itments of the progranune. Such a challenge does not conle without a price, and while individual enlpowerment is a Significant outcome of the regional initiative, the tensions created are of equal Significance. The feelings of guilt at neglecting one's, own children, the deulands made on £antily and whanau (extended fmnily) for Journal oj Distance Learning, Vol 7, No 1,2003 © Dlstance Education Association of New Zealand 9 support, and the financial sacrifice of being unable to earn an income while cOIllluitted to [u,l1-tiIne study all mean that there is considerable family and COIllIllunity expectation to succeed. This pressure, cOIllbined with the need to adapt to a form, of study that is not only at a higher level than any undertal training, student practicull1s, hOllle- school relationships, and use of school resources; • enlphasis on quality written feedback with lllarked assigmnents; • an understanding of the specific personal circunlstances of the students- the stu dent who has no telephone at houle, whose home is destroyed by flooding, who travels two hours each way to attend weekly group sessions or whose daily travel to professional practice placem.ent includes crOSSing the Hokianga harbour by car ferry, for whom. near fllll-tiule elllployment :in addition to fu,ll-time study is an econolllic necessity; and II recognition of the local cultural context as previously described. Barriers to learning can be reinforced both by failing to reeo gnise these features and by overconlpensating for thenl to the extent that student seIf- responsibi.lity is removed. EMPOWERMENT BEYOND THE HOKIANGA: ApPI,YING Tl-IE LESSONS LEARNED The eUlpowerUlent of the indigenous rural commullity of the Hokianga through a pre-service teacher education programule has itself been the catalyst for developnlents in other regions throughout New Zealand. The nationwide shortage of qualified prilnary teachers of the mid-1990s has been largely addressed in the major urban centres apart frolll South Auckland, but a shortage persists in ulany rural areas and sUlaller regional centres; in SOlne of these, schools or school clusters have grasped the opportunity to be involved with the education of local peoplt~ as teachers for local schools in partnership with the Christchurch College of Education using a lllodel of delivery similar to the regional initiative in Hokianga. TIle estabhshulent of the Hokianga regional initiative was closely followed in 1997 by other regional initiatives in Rotorua, Gisbome, and GreYll1outh, all of which are centred in regional areas awayfrol11 daily comuluting distance of tertiary 'institutions that offer pre-service teacher educatjoll, and where there were significant teacher shorta ges. A further regional group was established at Te Araroa in 1999, and the college is presently considering approaches from, four other regions in addition to lllaintaining further intakes of students in the existing initiatives. The key to the success of the Hokianga lllitiative lies in Ineeting the needs of a local region by llleeting the needs of a group of local student teachers. It was recognised from the start that this would not be achieved by transplanting an on-canlpus prograulme delivered III illl urban environment to students who are in the lllajority Pakeha and aged less than twenty-five, to an isolated and economically depressed rural environment with students who are ulalllly Maori, with little previous experience of tertiary study, and whose average age is forty. Sinlilarly, the regional initiative III Hokianga cannot snnply be picked up and transplanted to another region. Por the same expectations of success, the Journal of Distance Vol 7, No 1, 2003 © Distance Education Association of New Zealand 14 principle of identifying and nH~eting ~ocal needs lllUSt apply. While the regIonal initiativ(~ is not "transplantable" in this sense, the application of a set of unportant principles developed as a result of thp Hokianga experience tnakes the regional uutiative concept lughly "transportable." The successful establishmenl of a local group and the potential for students' acadenlic succ~ss are enhann~d by the followIng characteristics 1 which have proved as enlpowering (or the progranlnle provider as for the slUlh~nts thenlselves: 1. Local initiative. The unpetus for the establishment of a regional group needs to come from within the region itself. 111 the Hokianga the approach to set up regional teacher edll co ti 011 was a local initiative rather than all inrposed one. The choice of partnership wi tll Christchurch College of Education was a choice and '[.otIS undertaken by the local numagement group. 2. Local involvement and ownership. There needs to be Significant and real local inpul into the progTanlme that is offered. In the Hokianga, the face-to-face components of fte programme (Professional St'udies and Ule specialism) are mentored by local professionals, and the1'e is clo~e cooperation and consultation with schools In the region 'who are represented on a local management committee. 3. Identifying and addressing the needs of students. There needs to be careful attention to the student profile which lllUSt flow transparently UltO progranllue design and delivery_ Needs of students will be different £rOlll region to region, and within regions. The Hokianga specialism is designed to meet needs arising from local culture and circumstances/ and there is a balance of modes of delivery, with print-based distance courses - supported by regular face-·to-face sessions in addition to cornmunicatiol1 technologies. Other specialism courses have been designed to spec~fically meet ale needs of other regional groups. 4. Developing independent learners. Support structures need to reflect the student profile Ul a way that contributes to the developulent of strategies for self- management and lifelong learning. In the Hokianga/ particular attention is directed at facilitating an appropriate balance of student- -lecturer communication and overcoming reticence on the part of both 'without increasing learner dependence. 5. Flexibility. Flexible options need to reflect the fact that the student population is not static and that any needs assessment is a snapshot rather than a defuutive description of a perm,anent situation. Hokianga students can conhnue their programme anY7.Dhere in Nell) Zealand, including on-campus in Christchurch/ or with other regional groups. They also have the abilihJ to h'al1~fer between filII-time and part-time status and to take ternporary leave from their studies. CONCLUSION The application of these principles is relevant to the ulany rural COl11,llluluties in New Zealand and Australia struggling to find or retain qualified teachers. Successful pre-service tead't.er education that is elupowering for uldividual stu dents/ local COmlllUluties/ and indeed the institutional progranune prOvider can be established regardless of geographic isolation or socioeconomic conditions, There was a high dropout rate £rOUl aUlong the thirty students who uUlially registered mterest Ul undertaking the Journal ~f Distance Learning, Vol 7, No I, 2003 © Distance Education Association of New Zealand 15 progranlm,e in the Hokianga, a reflection of the significant inlpact of life events on the persistence of distance students. In Decelllber 2000 a graduation cerem,ony was held on the local marae for the fourteen students who have so far seen the progranlnle through to conclusion. Althou gh this seelllS a sm,aIl nUlllber of successfll] graduates, the iIllpact on the Hokianga cOllllllunlty is huge. For the first time a pool of local people is available to fill the 111any teaching vacancies in local schoo lSi principals and school boards of trustees have the novel experience of being able to employ fully trained and qualified teachers in front of their classes instead of having to fiJI the gaps with unqualified relief teachers or teachers frOlll outside the region who are unlikely to renlain for lllore than a few months. Even lllore significant, and of relevance to isolated rural areas where there is difficulty attracting and retaining qualified teachers, is the level of local knowledge, cOlllmitment, and understanding of local culture and custonl these new teacl1ers bring to their teaching positions. They are local teachers, grounded, owned, alld accepted in their local community. They were not required to uproot themselves and theiT fanlilles in order to train for teaching, and their comnlitnlent to their local region rem.ains intact. Rather than attelllpting to TIlallufacture a cOlllmitlnent to teach in such isolated areas fronl graduates who would llluch prefer to renlain in the big cities, the answer at least in part lies in educating local teachers for local schools. REFERENCES Delany, J. (1998). l!Vho are our students? Choice and opportunitlj in accessing rn'e- service teacher education by distance. ,,' Management project for the National Diploma of Educational Managemenl, Christchurch College of Education, Christchurch, New Zealand, Education Review Office, New Zealand. (1998, November). Factors influencing school effectiveness. Institute of Policy Studies Newsletter, 56, 21-24. Education Review Office, New Zealand. (1999, Winter). Good practice in far Horth schools (Nu1l1ber 4). Retrieved from http://www.ero.govt.nz/Publications/ eer81999/ gpfn.htm. Evans, T. (1994). Understanding learners i11 open and distance education. London: Kogan Page. King, C, & Tustin, G. (1989, May). Food and nutrition education for Maori and Pacific Islanders in the Auckland area. Proceedings of the NutriHo11 Society of New Zealand, 14, 143-147. Moon, R. E. (1997). Open learning and new technologies in teacher education. European Journal of Teacher EducatloJZj 20(1), 7-32. Owen.s, L., & Straton, R G. (1980). The deve]opnl.ent of a cooperative, competitive, an.d individualised learning preference scale for students. British Journlll of Educntiofwi Psychology, 50, 147-161. Pauly R (1990 1 February). Towards a new measure of success: Developing independent learners. Open Leal'l1ingJ 31-37. Perraton, H. (Ed.). (1993). Distance education for teacher training. London: Houtledge. Sherry, L. (1996). Issues in distance learning. Intel'lwHol1al Journal of Educational Telecommunications, 1(4), 337-365. Turner, H. (1998, August 30). Dodt blame it all on teachers. Sunday Star Timesj p. C6. 'Nenmoth, & Mander, T. (1994). Widening the delivery: Integration of dislance education and primary programmes at the Christchurch College of Education. Report of the }Vorking ParhJ. Journal a/Distance Learning} Vo17} No 1,2003 © Distance Education Association of Ne'w Zealand 16 John Delany is Coordinator Open Learning Christclmrcll College New Zealand. Derek Wemlloth is Manager of eLearning Development at The Correspondence School, Wellington, New Zealand. Journal of Distance Learning, Vol 7, No 1, 2003 © Distance Education Association of New Zealand 17