This paper reports on a small action research project carried out by a Special Education Needs Coordinator (SENCO) in a small rural, full primary school in New Zealand. It focused on improving the literacy outcomes for Years 5-8 boys in the school by way of a boys'-only writing group. Results show that the boys'-only learning group had a positive…

Much has happened since nine teams across New Zealand engaged in a Ministry of Education-funded participatory action research project looking at effective practice for supporting children and young people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in education. Building on earlier discussions, the project ran from 2002 to 2004, and until now the story…

Over a period of a year, formal and informal interactions among members of the community around a four-year-old girl with special education needs were focused through participatory action research (PAR). The team included parents, kindergarten teachers, an education support worker, speech-language therapist, early intervention teacher and…

Participatory action research advocates for teachers, parents and others to engage in practical inquiry as part of their everyday work for the purpose of improvement. Findings from this project affirm that a collaborative community of researchers, one in which the participants can critically analyse and transform their own situations, can have a…