This New Zealand-based article reports on an analysis of data gathered over two years from upper primary school students on their attitudes to writing and writing instruction and their beliefs about their self-efficacy as developing writers. Responses from 449 students in five diverse schools are included. Through an online survey administered at…

Information and communication technology (ICT) has become an important tool for school systems as they seek to enhance education and make it more efficient. This has become all the more apparent and urgent with the COVID-19 pandemic. But what degree of access do students from different socio-economic backgrounds have to ICT-based quality…

The development of children?s strengths is essential for their success at school. Processes that assist children to recognise and act on their strengths, collectively referred to as "strengths-based approaches" in this study, are one aspect in the relatively new field of positive education that have been adopted enthusiastically by…

There is considerable evidence supporting the success of the Incredible Years Teacher (IYT) Programme. Despite this, few studies in Aotearoa New Zealand have investigated teachers' ongoing use of IYT strategies once they have completed their training. This research examined whether teachers felt they had embedded the use of IYT strategies in their…

Self-efficacious teachers are critical in the development of students' positive attitudes towards science and scientific literacy yet to date little attention has been given to studies of experienced teachers of primary science and development of their self-efficacy (SE) beliefs. The aim of this study was to explore how two experienced teachers of…

Teacher efficacy influences what and how they teach. This may be particularly important to consider in Aotearoa New Zealand contexts where primary classroom teachers teach health and physical education and use physical activity breaks with little training. It remains unclear how classroom teachers perceive this role and how to better support them.…

This article outlines research in which six primary teachers were interviewed and asked to discuss their ability to identify giftedness in a range of domains. Teachers seemed more likely to identify giftedness in domains in which they perceived themselves to have a higher level of content knowledge. This small-scale study suggests that variations…

In this New Zealand study, the maths self-efficacy and achievement of Year 4-10 students is being tracked over 3 years. A particular strength of this study is that maths self-efficacy is being measured in relation to items that have been psychometrically located on a difficulty scale, enabling students' self-efficacy responses to be interpreted in…

Since the 2010-2011 Christchurch earthquakes staff and learners at Waitakiri School have been participating in daily singing specifically to promote wellbeing, and wellbeing scores have remained high. Facilitation of the singing involved the creation of "no pressure", democratic and participatory conditions, with teachers specifically…

Internationally, associations between mathematics achievement and various beliefs and attitudes related to learning are well established. In this article, the findings of five studies are examined to identify patterns in New Zealand students' mathematics-related beliefs and attitudes, and their relationships with achievement. Each study included…

Parent-led boards of trustees have been a feature of the New Zealand education system for almost 30 years. Over that time there have been consistent reports of difficulties in getting parents to participate on the boards of low-decile schools. However, there appears to be little research on what influences parent participation on boards of…

Research into the effectiveness of SPRING into Maths as a Tier 2 intervention is limited. This article aims to extend the evidence base for SPRING into Maths through reflective practice that links practitioner voice with theory. The article applies a theoretical lens to SPRING into Maths and provides insights into the journey of a group of…

Previous studies have indicated that, although some teachers have substantial expectation effects on student outcomes, the effects for most teachers are only small. Furthermore, teacher expectations are associated with key pedagogical differences related to teacher beliefs about providing instruction and support for learning. The aim of this study…

Inclusive education within New Zealand requires teachers to meet the needs of all students, including those with high or very high needs. The use of the individual education plan (IEP) is one tool that can support inclusive practice in classrooms through the collaboration of those supporting the individual student. This article reports on a small,…

The issue of behaviour management is one that is consistently reported as a concern facing teachers in today's classrooms. This study, which surveyed 110 teachers of Year 1 to Year 4 students, examined the behaviour management training teacher respondents had received both pre-service and inservice, as well as the behaviour management strategies…