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“I enrolled in the Master
of Education because
of the freedom and
responsibility that doing a
thesis offered me.”
“I was able to do some important research with
a whānau of interest and student leaders at my
case-study school, Kia Aroha College, that could
empower Māori, Pasifika and other students in
terms of their cultural leadership.
“I was fortunate to receive a Teacher Study
Award and the full support of my previous Board
of Trustees at James Cook High School, which
enabled me to immerse myself in my studies,
research and writing.
“Having the opportunity to conduct culturally
responsive research that used an emergent
research design at Kia Aroha College helped hone
my ability to truly listen to diverse voices. I also
had the luxury of time to really think about my
ontology, the purposes of education in Aotearoa
New Zealand and how these things matter.
“My research on whānau leadership provides
insights about how schools as organisations build
community. If we think of schools as social systems
that create positive bonds (based on aroha, awhi,
love, and much else) for educational purposes,
then we can foster student leadership that is
culturally responsive and empowering. In fact,
we can nurture a lot of really good educational
experiences as part of an empowering curriculum
for young people.
“Doing my part to foster student leadership at
Michael Park School will draw on my research, as
well as the wisdom and insights of my colleagues
and our students in the context of our Steiner
school.
Adam Driver is currently the Deputy Principal for
the high school section of Michael Park School. He
completed a Master of Education in 2016 and was
awarded the Habens Prize for having achieved
the highest marks in an Education masters at the
faculty.