The effects of climate change are being felt by people and ecosystems world-wide, and it is clear that human action is significantly contributing to these effects (IPCC, 2021). Climate change impacts the natural environment, and, by extension, our social structures, cultural health, and economic stability which all depend on a healthy natural…

This participatory action research project involves working with refugee-background students to identify and enact practices that promote their capacity to navigate and negotiate the secondary-tertiary education border. The project will foreground students' voices in relation to educational transition, and lead to the development of…

This collaborative project explores the nature of teacher-child sustained shared thinking (SST) in two kindergartens. SST involves teachers engaging with children in play, working together in back and forth conversations that provide opportunities to discuss, explore, and think about everyday experiences, problems or challenges in an inquisitive…

Recent changes to the Technology learning areas of "The New Zealand Curriculum" drove the motivation for this research project. The changes to the curriculum were designed to support students to develop the digital literacies vital to engage in an increasingly digital society (Ministry of Education, 2017). The need to attract more…

The primary objective of this research project was to investigate the specific interventions that make the biggest difference to Maori students' academic motivation and in-school engagement within one Kahui Ako in Aotearoa New Zealand. Student, whanau, school leader, and teacher perspectives were examined to understand which interventions were…

This Teaching and Learning Research Initiative (TLRI) project was a 2-year exploratory study focusing on differentiating the curriculum in response to individual learner differences. The project was designed to explore learning and teaching of differentiated scientific content through observational processes and the expression of that learning…

This study highlights how principal leadership of goal-directed practices impacts outcomes. Over 2 years, three academics partnered with three principals and a small "project team" comprising one or more teachers, and one or more middle or senior leaders. In this report, the authors reflect on some of the key changes that occurred from…

Current research into, and definitions of, historical literacy do not adequately acknowledge the cultural backgrounds of indigenous learners across the historical disciplines and levels. Nor do they recognise the vital role of historical literacy in empowering indigenous students. In talanoa (conversations) with Maori and Pasifika students and…

The global refugee crisis is affecting many young children (UNCHR, 2019). Refugee families face challenges of dealing with trauma and language barriers, and with different patterns of childrearing, gender roles, and social values (Broome & Kindon, 2008; Deng & Marlowe, 2013; McMillan & Gray, 2009; Mitchell & Ouko, 2012). The…

The proponents of Modern Learning Environments (MLE) or Innovative Learning Environments (ILE) are from largely non-indigenous backgrounds. In Aotearoa New Zealand, research about learning mathematics in an MLE is limited and focuses almost exclusively on English-Medium (EM) settings (Bisset, 2014; Murphy, 2016; Osborne, 2013). In contrast, this…

In 2012 the New Zealand Government identified as a priority the need to address the undersupply of students studying STEM subjects for delivering its Business Growth Agenda. Low engagement and retention rates in STEM subjects contribute to the shortage of STEM graduates, producing a negative impact on the New Zealand economy. This Teaching and…

New Zealand has a shortage of skilled workers in information technology (IT). Skills relating to computer programming (e.g., software engineer, applications programmer, software tester, web developer) all appear on the 2019 Long Term Skill Shortage List published by Immigration New Zealand. In many parts of the world, demand for computing…

New Zealand lacks valid and reliable evidence-based schedules with which to observe teachers' assessment for learning (AfL) practices. To date, classroom assessment observation schedules have mainly been derived theoretically, used in developing countries with conditions different from New Zealand classrooms (Kanjee & Hopfenbeck, personal…

Our study highlights how careful attention to, reflection on, and critical engagement with the dialogues of 2-year-olds in preschool 'mixed-age' settings can help teachers work more effectively with these learners. The teachers in our study carried out in-depth coding of, and reflection on, comprehensive video footage of dialogues involving…

This project set out to explore how completely new schools, occupying completely new classroom spaces, create themselves as schools. At its inception, a new school has only its buildings; everything else must be developed. In particular, the school must develop its vision for learners, and how this is reflected through school culture, routines,…