Analysing Pacific teachers’ pedagogy inside New Zealand classrooms: A case study using a Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) perspective

Since teachers are one of the most important resources that can effect change and affect student achievement in any classroom, it is important to explore and understand how teachers operate inside the classroom. In her Ph.D. study the author examined the pedagogical practices of three Pacific teachers working in the public secondary school system in New Zealand. Data were collected through classroom observation, individual talanoa with participant teachers, physical artefacts such as audiovisual recordings and examination of related documents such as school publications (Abella, 2016). This article reports on one case study from this investigation into how Pacific teachers’ classroom teaching and learning practice approaches can add value to students’ learning. The results of this case study example suggest that specific tangible aspects or artefacts for learning, and intangible aspects or appreciative mediation for learning, are both involved in improving student learning and outcomes. However, other factors related to the social support system and the structural regulation of the school system affect the implementation of Pacific teachers’ pedagogy in cultural minority classrooms with Pacific and migrant children in particular.