Scholarship Awards in Languages

NZALT is concerned about the implications of this decision and is gathering longitudinal data to determine the impact of the Cabinet decision regarding the eligibility of first-language speaker for monetary awards for scholarship from 2008.

Possible implications of the Cabinet decision are :

• a reduction in prospective year 13 students continuing second language studies; and
• second language learners might be significantly disadvantaged in gaining a scholarship, or deterred from entering.

For the decision to be reviewed, Cabinet needs to be presented with evidence that second language learners are being disadvantaged by the decision.

Therefore, it is important for us, as language teachers, to monitor the situation this year and in the future. We need to gather accurate data from senior students in our schools who are potential scholarship candidates. The use of the accompanying student questionnaires will enable us to gather the data validly and consistently.

We are asking for your assistance to gather data from your current students via these questionnaires. You will receive copies of the questionnaires from your Regional Languages Facilitator. Alternatively, you can download them by clicking on the links below.

We understand what a busy time of the year this is for you and your students, and greatly appreciate you taking the time to gather this essential data.

Thank you for your help !

		Teacher questionnaire (including instructions for issuing the student questonnarie)
		Y12 student questionnaire
		Y13 student questionnaire

If you have any questions about this study please do not hesitate to contact Adele Scott, President NZALT and Senior Lecturer, Massey University College of Education, Palmerston North. Phone: (06) 356 9099 ext 8990 or email: a.j.scott@massey.ac.nz

This project has been evaluated by peer review and judged to be low risk. Consequently, it has not been reviewed by one of the University's Human Ethics Committees. The researcher named above is responsible for the ethical conduct of this research.

If you have any concerns about the conduct of this research that you wish to raise with someone other than the researcher, please contact Professor Sylvia Rumball, Assistant to the Vice- Chancellor (Ethics & Equity), telephone 06 350 5249, email humanethics@massey.ac.nz