Source: Post Primary Teachers Association (PPTA)
Further study is a great way to have a change, enhance your teaching career opportunities and still get paid
Head of Arts at Waimate High School, Nicole Solomon, has swapped the art room for the lecture theatre to return to university this year and further her goals as a lifelong learner.
Nicole, who already has a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFa) and GradDip Teaching Secondary, is studying toward a Masters in Māori and Indigenous Leadership at Te whare Wānanga o Waitaha, the University of Canterbury. This post graduate degree aims to equip leaders across a wide variety of sectors with skills and knowledge to advance aspirations of Indigenous people and enhance leadership capabilities in organisations working with Māori.
Hard work pays off
Nicole’s focus is the education sector and critically engaging with what the NCEA, local curriculum, and New Zealand Histories changes look like in the classroom.
Nicole is studying by distance and says the course can be mentally and emotionally challenging. “However, I enjoy the face to face wānaka (regular three-day intensives) with classmates and the feeling of success when hard work pays off with good grades.”
Nō reira, Ko te manu e kai ana i te miro, nōna te ngahere; ko te manu e kai ana i te mātauranga nōna te ao. The bird who partakes of the miro berry owns the forest, the bird who partakes of education owns the world.
Doctor of Education
A colleague of Nicole’s, Marie Donaldson, has returned to part-time study this year. Marie is studying toward a Doctor of Education at Te whare Wānanga o Waitaha, the University of Canterbury. The Doctor of Education is designed for professionals in education and related fields. Built on a cohort model of inquiry, the Doctor of Education provides a structured, supportive,
rigorous approach to doctoral study. The Doctor of Education builds leadership and commitment, fosters scholarly excellence, and allows candidates to connect educational research with questions of professional practice.
Marie’s focus is te reo Māori and she hopes to bring together local education settings with a common reo Māori, contextual to Te Waimatemate where her school is based.
“Although studying by distance can be challenging and isolating at times, I especially look forward to coming together with my classmates, course lecturers and my Doctorate supervisor once a term.”
Nō reira, ma te huruhuru, ka rere te manu, adorn the bird with feathers and it will fly.
A wide range of study leave is available for PPTA Te Wehengarua members under the various collective agreements. Applications for study awards open in April 2023 and will close in early June.
https://www.ppta.org.nz/advice-and-issues/study-awards-sabbaticals-and-study-support-grants/
