Primary classroom teachers are increasingly moving to the side-line as physical education (PE) is outsourced to external providers. Although there are many critiques of external providers, few studies draw on primary school students' perspectives. This study calls on data from semi-structured focus group interviews with 24 students from four New…

In an increasing number of countries, the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo) plays a key role in implementing inclusive provision for students with special educational needs. Existing literature on SENCos mainly focuses on the nature and enactment of the role, with few investigating SENCo identities. Hence, the study presented in this…

Purpose: To explore the insights of adults and children at a New Zealand primary school adopting nonlinear pedagogical approaches to physical education (PE). Methods: This case study was conducted at a single primary school and utilized a qualitative methods design, including interviews or focus groups with the principal, five teachers, and four…

Primary schools are dynamic environments where teachers take on multiple roles, often simultaneously, to help promote high-quality learning and meet the various needs of their students. Within the primary school context both female and male teachers are required to perform multiple roles; however, these roles are often socially constructed based…

Purpose: The purpose of this New Zealand study is to analyse the influence of the literacy course from an initial teacher education degree, to support beginning teachers to view themselves as policy actors, not mere policy subjects. In our role as teacher educators, we sought to support beginning teachers to find freedom within the constraints of…

In this narrative inquiry, we will explore teachers' professional inquiry in New Zealand. We begin by outlining context-related issues that undergird the propagation of professional inquiry and provide a chronological portrayal of how inquiry originated as a form of teacher learning. Then, we apply a narrative lens on one teacher's experience of…

Acceptance and belonging are essential to human growth and development. Currently, there is limited literature regarding acceptance and belonging in the field of special education and what facilitates this experience within the classroom. This research study asks: 'How do New Zealand school settings help or hinder a sense of acceptance and…

This article is based on a case study conducted within a newly established Year 7 and Year 8 innovative learning environment (ILE). Drawing on the voices of students and teachers, this article explores ways teachers and students learnt together, collectively moulding a suitable fit for mathematics learning within their ILE. Of interest was how the…

Friedrich Froebel is well-known for the invention of kindergarten and the pioneering educational philosophy he developed in the 1800s, which respected children's self activity and women's capabilities for the role of teacher, while promoting play as the primary medium for learning. His radical ideas and principled approach to early childhood…

A number of converging issues provided the impetus for 12 schools in the Western Bay of Plenty to form a support network to explore and develop play-based learning for the first years of school. This article discusses what has influenced our play-based learning approach and gains we have observed as a result. We acknowledge the challenges that…

This article reports on a research study of the perception of work stress among twelve participant primary school teachers in the Wellington region in New Zealand. Specifically, it focuses on the way the participants' perceive work stress and its contributing factors, and the coping strategies they employ. Interpretative phenomenological analysis…

Socio-scientific issues (SSIs) are real-life problems which have a scientific basis yet require the consideration of social concerns. Using SSIs has been advocated as an approach to engage secondary-school students with science and this study aimed to explore the potential of such an approach in the primary-school classroom. The experiences and…

This research paper focuses on the successful implementation of play-based learning (PBL) environments within the New Zealand mainstream primary school sector. In particular, the focus is on the role of Resource Teachers: Learning and Behaviour (RTLB) in supporting the implementation of PBL within the junior classes of Year 0 to Year 2. A review…

This commentary aims to encourage a research-based, critical, inquiring approach to the development of play-based learning in primary schools. I suggest that this approach could build from the wealth of knowledge in the early childhood education sector. I also invite greater collaboration between early childhood and primary teachers, particularly…

Over the past 7 years I have dramatically changed my pedagogy in a quest to engage junior primary students in deep, authentic learning. This article concentrates on how I have come to support junior primary students to learn to write. It explains how I developed play-based learning through the books I read, the social media I became active in, and…