In this position paper we consider the significance of global climate activism by children and young people in the light of ongoing western adult-centric policies and educational practices that largely continue to exclude Indigenous perspectives. Reflecting on the implications of this hegemony in the face of the convergent crises of climate and…

Inspired by youth concerns for environmental justice and pathways forward that sustain diverse biology, we draw upon ecological psychology to theorise learning. This novel proposition, against the tide of cognitive constructivism, proffers a non-dualist paradigm more aligned with the purpose and intent of those seeking ecological justice and…

A disconnect from environments has largely dominated educational discourse and policy. Attention to place and environment in education has gained momentum recently through several relational theories. Application of these theories in education notes the materiality and relationality of pedagogy, though often without specificity as to what the…

Recognition of young children as citizens is relatively new in sociology, with translation emerging into education. Discourses of children and childhood shape ideas of young children as citizens and national discourses of citizenship frame what civic participation can be. The authors analysed national early childhood education curricula frameworks…

Contemporary social theory and the United Nations (1989) "Convention on the Rights of the Child" have forged current interest in the concept of children's citizenship. However, what citizenship is and can be for young children is surrounded by much debate and ambiguity. This article discusses explorations of possibilities of children's…

Current educational reform, policy and public discourse emphasise standardisation of testing, curricula and professional practice, yet the landscape of literacy practices today is fluid, interactive, multimodal, ever-changing, adaptive and collaborative. How then can English and literacy educators negotiate these conflicting terrains? The nature…

A study examined the effectiveness of a program designed to help the hardest-to-teach, lowest-achieving readers to function at the level of the same-aged peers. Subjects, 35 children referred from Reading Recovery who did not meet discontinuation criteria, worked with specially trained teachers for 30 minutes daily, 5 days a week. The main…

"Children's Rights, Educational Research, and the UNCRC" provides international perspectives on contemporary issues pertaining to children's rights in education. The global context, relevance and implications of children's rights, educational research and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) are explored from…

Examined how New Zealand teachers' expectations of low- income students' achievement changed during a 6-month professional development in literacy effort, noting how those changes were sustained over a year. Pre- and post survey and interview data highlighted changes in teachers' expectations and self-efficacy. Conditions required to achieve…

Despite New Zealand's reputation in literacy instruction, a major achievement gap has been identified for minority Maori and Pacific Islands children in poor schools. An intervention through professional development of teachers modified instructional practices in beginning literacy instruction. The intervention involved 72 teachers from 12 schools…

Many school reform initiatives now require school leaders to make curriculum and resourcing decisions on the basis of evidence about their likely impact on student achievement. In this paper, we discuss the implications of this policy demand in the context of a descriptive study of schools' capacity to collect, analyze, and use collective…