"It Had to Work for Me as Well": Centering Equity (or Not) in Teach First New Zealand

• In Event: The Teach For All Teacher Education Experience in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and Brazil

Abstract

This paper draws on phenomenological research approaches to document the experiences of participants within TeachFirst New Zealand (TFNZ), a subsidiary of the global education enterprise, Teach for All, which now runs teacher preparation programs in nearly 40 countries. Specifically, this paper explores the competing narratives of TFNZ participants and organizational thought leaders regarding the participants’ decision to become teachers through TFNZ. While participants noted the financial incentives, abbreviated training period, and selectivity of the program as key motivating factors, thought leaders within TFNZ asserted that participants were primarily compelled by the organization’s equity mission- a contrast in perspectives that has implications for teacher preparation, classroom practice, and educational reform on a global scale.

Theoretical Framework

I situate this study in literature related to representations of teachers and teaching in neoliberal times (Achinstein & Ogawa, 2006; Hallinger, Heck, & Murphy, 2014) as I consider how privatization, marketization, and a disproportionate focus on the ability of the individual teacher to effect change impact the perspectives of various stakeholders within TFNZ. In particular, I use this framework to examine what happens when teacher candidates are positioned as consumers, (Porfilio & Yu, 2006), when models of efficiency are superimposed onto teacher preparation (Au, 2011; Author, 2013), and when notions of “doing good” and “doing well” are conflated in problematic ways (Labaree, 2010).

Methodology

The data presented in this paper stems from a phenomenological, qualitative research study in which I relied on in-depth and semi-structured interviews (Rubin & Rubin, 2005; Seidman, 2005; Wengraf, 2001) to explore how teacher participants and community stakeholders explained the role of TFNZ in rectifying educational disparities in New Zealand (Vagle, 2015).

Data Collection and Analysis

Data for the study was collected over a 6-month period from January 2016- June 2016 in Auckland and Northland, New Zealand and consisted of 33 interviews with TFNZ participants, organizational thought leaders, program alumni, university professors and school principals. Interviews were approximately one hour in length. Data were coded inductively to identify themes and generate categories (Janesick, 2000). Data were then coded a second time and participants’ motivations for joining TFNZ surfaced as a key theme.

Findings

Findings from this study demonstrate that stakeholders held divergent perspectives on what motivated participants to pursue their teaching credential through TFNZ. While participants expressed being drawn to the program’s financial incentives, abbreviated training period, and selectivity, organizational thought leaders believed that participants were primarily motivated by TFNZ’s equity mission. These contrastive beliefs both affected how participants engaged in their daily work as classroom teachers and shaped how TFNZ approached the preparation of the participants.

Scholarly Significance

This study reveals a central tension that accompanies efforts to address inequality on an international scale. The relentless pursuit (Thomas & Lefebvre, 2017) of educational equity is central to the organizational profile of TFNZ even as the participants themselves cite other salient reasons for selecting TFNZ as their preferred pathway into the profession. Understanding these dualities can help us understand the complexities involved in global efforts to reform and reshape teacher education.

Author

• Katherine Crawford-Garrett, University of New Mexico