While the satisfaction of international students is frequently surveyed, much of this research is based on a very limited range of closed-item data collection methods, producing findings that partially reflect the researchers' assumptions in designing the survey items. Recognizing the potential value in using methods that are more openended and…

The article describes the usefulness of a realist methodology in linking sociological theory to empirically obtained data through the development of a methodological device. Three layers of analysis were integrated: 1. the findings from a case study about Maori language education in New Zealand; 2. the identification and analysis of contradictions…

Children's interests are a common foundation for early childhood curricula. Yet, little research is available about the fundamental nature of children's interests and analytical ways to recognize and engage with these. Early work on children's interests adopted a psychological perspective and associated interests with activity choices. Recent work…

Purpose: This study aims to examine how well print-literacy support being provided to New Zealand Modern Apprentices (MAs) is supporting their study and practical work. Design/methodology/approach: The authors undertook a qualitative analysis of a database of 191 MAs in the literacy programme, then in 14 case studies completed 46 interviews with…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the challenges faced by tutors who were providing remedial literacy support to New Zealand apprentices. Design/methodology/approach: As part of a wider, triangulated study of employers, tutors, apprentices, and industry training coordinators, the author undertook a qualitative analysis of ten…

This paper presents data generated during a semester-long programme to support international students from countries in Melanesia and Asia embarking on masters research in education in a New Zealand university. All were scholarship recipients. The researcher-and facilitator-of the programme, was interested in documenting and understanding the…

In the bi-cultural context of Aotearoa (New Zealand), engagement with stakeholders that is transparent and culturally responsive is a priority for educational research. More common research approaches in New Zealand have followed a Western euro-centric model of engagement with research participants resulting in interventions and initiatives that…

In research with young people about their experiences of rural and urban environments, the authors were struck by how participants in their rural case study used fiction to explain their experiences. The participants' use of fiction lead the authors to an additional rich vein of empirical material and analysis not foreseen at the beginning of the…

Purpose: To provide a conceptual model for the discovery and articulation of emergent organizational knowledge, particularly knowledge that develops when people work with new technologies. Design/methodology/approach: The model is based on two widely accepted research methods--action learning and grounded theory--and is illustrated using a case…

This book explores the wide range of contexts in which research into creating connections in learning and teaching may take place. Creating connections can encompass making links, crossing divides, forming relationships, building frameworks, and generating new knowledge. The cognitive, cultural, social, emotional and/or physical aspects of…

Presents a conceptual analysis of administrative practice as problem solutions and outlines a postpositivist methodology (Problem-Based Methodology) that incorporates a theory of problem solving and a set of normative criteria for judging solution adequacy. Illustrates application of PBM to administrative theory in two (New Zealand) school-based…

This paper discusses issues arising from three case studies of the ways people have become tertiary teachers in a polytechnic, a wananga (Maori tertiary institution) and a university in New Zealand. Despite institutional differences, the teachers gained most of their teaching knowledge and skills on the job, learning informally and experientially,…

This article describes the methodology of a four-study research program designed to develop a grounded theory of pupil learning in elementary classrooms. Findings illustrate the relationship of instructional contexts, content variables, and pupil behavior and utterances to short-term and long-term learning. (Author/IAH)

This volume comprises the refereed proceedings of the 2007 ATLAANZ (Association of Tertiary Learning Advisors of Aotearoa/New Zealand) conference. The first three chapters set the scene well for the breadth and depth of issues addressed by the authors. In Chapter 1, Andy Begg refers to his own educational journey in discussing the inseparability…

The Learning in Science Project identified the learner as the key perspective for in-depth study into problems and difficulties in the teaching and learning of science at the 10- to 14-year-old level. Two complementary research foci were established to explore this viewpoint: (1) interviewing children using strategies designed to establish various…