Several years have passed since the removal of National Standards, however the current provision and enactment of music education in New Zealand remains unknown. Using a case study, this article seeks to illustrate the current practice of music education at one high decile primary school. This study finds that despite the removal National…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the nature and understanding of online talk in a New Zealand primary-school context. This research consisted of a small-scale case study of the #NZReadaloud, a pre-existing literacy programme, over 6 weeks in mid-2020. A private online group on the education platform Edmodo was established where 14…

Many children on the autism spectrum have difficulty developing reading comprehension skills. This multiple phase single case design pilot study examined the impact of a computer-assisted reading tool, Reading Eggspress™, with or without teacher directed instruction on the reading comprehension skills of four children on the autism spectrum (mean…

The purpose of this study was to use the Joint Action Studies in Didactics (JASD) to understand how teachers' and students' interactions co-construct knowledge during Cooperative Learning (CL). The basis of CL is that students learn with and from each other through a structured interdependent relationship. A case study approach was used to examine…

The practice of students bringing their own mobile devices (BYOD) to school is increasingly being used to leverage digital learning opportunities in New Zealand schools. This paper presents a summary of the findings from a case study that explored the experiences of three primary school teachers as they introduced BYOD into their classrooms for…

The powerful learning that occurs outdoors has been well documented in this journal, as has an array of barriers teachers typically face in providing outdoor learning experiences. This paper draws on findings from a collaborative, practice-based research project examining the reconceptualisation of outdoor education in two Year 4 classes in a…

A crunch point in the maths development of some children is Year 4. At this point it becomes obvious they are not only well-below national standards, but they are experiencing such a degree of difficulty in learning maths that they are still working at a Year 1 level or below. This is exemplified by a case study of a student referred to the…

Young adolescent students are at a critical time in their schooling. Once they embark into secondary schooling their prospects of achieving well across a range of curriculum subjects can often depend on their ability to critically analyse and understand a range of text types. This article focuses on 34 young adolescent students' views about…

New Zealand primary school teachers have access to a comprehensive arts curriculum that includes dance, drama, music, and visual arts. This research focused on several teachers' reality of implementing the dance curriculum in New Zealand primary schools, drawing on Snook's (2012) study in this field. Our research valued the voices of teachers,…

Given the importance of early success in reading and writing, the question of how schools can support children to make progress in these areas is of great interest. This project set out to explore this question by identifying schools that appear to be successful in achieving progress in literacy and asking them how they have gone about this. The…

How teachers position themselves and their students can influence the development of afforded or constrained local moral orders in ability-based teacher-led mathematics lessons. Local moral orders are the negotiated discursive practices and interactions of participants in the group. In this article, the developing local moral orders of 12 teachers…

Early literacy interventions have demonstrated that pedagogically sound programmes can boost reading achievement for students who do not succeed in early literacy learning. However, there is less evidence as to what extent gains are maintained in subsequent years or the factors which may contribute to sustained progress. The research reported in…

Advances in learning approaches can enhance deeper levels of mathematical thinking and engagement through the use of new digital environments and technologies. The growing utilisation of portable digital devices in schools has meant there are enhanced tools to support mathematical learning and understandings. This article focused on those who work…

Literacy skills acquired during the first years of schooling have been recognised as the key to students' learning success. However, despite the continuing efforts by the New Zealand government and teachers there is still a large proportion of students who struggle to become literate. To address this issue the Ministry of Education funded selected…

Given worldwide concern about a decline in student engagement in school science and an increasing call for science for citizenship in New Zealand Curriculum, this study focused on a butterfly unit that investigated how students in a year-4 primary classroom learnt about New Zealand butterflies through thinking, talking, and acting as citizen…