The focus of this study is the cognitive process called mentalisation and how it is woven into "Te Whariki." Employing a qualitative content analysis, we sought to examine the embedded expectations and assumptions evident in the curriculum concerning how mentalisation processes and practices should be employed by teachers. Results showed…

Internationally, there are growing concerns about the work-related well-being of early childhood teachers. There is currently limited guidance around specific practices teachers can use to support their well-being when challenges arise while teaching. Mindful self-compassion practice, which has elements of mindfulness, common humanity, and…

This study examined young learners' motivation and strategy use for Chinese-as-a-foreign-language (L2 Chinese) learning in New Zealand. A total of 1157 primary school students from 29 primary schools were recruited for the study. The results revealed that primary school young learners' overall motivation and strategy use for L2 Chinese learning…

Being an effective learner is an important pillar supporting success in higher education and beyond. This research aimed to uncover the extent to which undergraduate students use a set of commonly researched learning strategies, as well as to understand how learning strategy usage relates to key self-regulation factors proposed in influential…

Less-skilled adult readers have been found to be limited in their awareness and use of effective reading strategies. In this study, we aimed to (a) identify the strategies used by less-skilled adult readers that best predict word reading performance on standardized reading tests and (b) identify the word reading strategies that less-skilled adult…

The research described here examined the sources of knowledge of astronomy of children (age 3-18) in China and New Zealand, together with the development of their awareness of competing sources, ranging from everyday language, childhood literature and folklore to the scientific accounts prevalent in schools. The authors cite examples of the…

School-based mindfulness programmes promote student wellbeing and positive behaviour as well as the development of key life skills including self-regulation and stress management. Teacher buy-in has been raised as a critical factor for the successful implementation of mindfulness programmes in schools. This paper reports on a mixed-methods study…

Purpose: This paper aims to convey and analyze participants' experience of an online mindfulness-based workplace wellness program, The Wellbeing Protocol, during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, with the aim of understanding the underlying mechanisms of how the program impacted stress, burnout and mental wellbeing. Design/methodology/approach: New…

Educational researchers have provided evidence that students who see themselves as valued members of their university (institutional belongingness) tend to have higher academic performance than students with a weaker sense of institutional belongingness. The current research draws on social cognitive theory to inspect two mechanisms that might…

Research on grit indicates that perseverance positively predicts academic achievement. Yet, the mechanisms through which perseverance might lead to academic success remain less explored, particularly in cross-cultural research. The current study investigated such mechanisms by examining possible mediating effects of students' use of self-regulated…

"The Learning Theories Profile" (LTP) supports professionals to locate various learning theories within four epistemological quadrants of the "Matrix of Perspectives." Professionals can use this tool to identify some of the theories they hold and to reflect on the alignment between their espoused theories and theories-in-use.…

This study examines the adaptation of an ESOL course for older Chinese migrant learners to Emergency Response Teaching mode as a result of the government-imposed restrictions to contain the spread of COVID-19. Through interviews and the analysis of learner diaries, we consider the experience of the school manager and teachers, and the strategies…

Immersion in a strengths-based, study abroad program provides extensive opportunity for leadership growth. Navigating the unknown adds to the challenge students experience during their student-organized activities. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how a strengths-based curricula design advanced the leadership competency levels…

We investigated writing performance and knowledge of writing before and after a persuasive writing intervention for ethnically diverse elementary school students in a low socio-economic community in Aotearoa/New Zealand (NZ). We used a one-group pre-post design. The participants (n = 24) were year 5 and 6 students (ages 9-11) from the same…

Bringing an awareness of emotions to the fore through mindfulness-based breathing and providing a space to discuss them is a way of promoting teacher and student agency in collectively developing structures specific to their learning environment. The authors explore students', teachers', and researchers' collective sensemaking through cogenerative…