Teachers' pedagogical knowledge is often evident in mantra-like phrases that act as shortcut explanations for professional actions, or as principles of practice. Five key mantras for good practice in infant and toddler settings, accumulated from theory and research, are discussed to unpack pedagogical imperatives in "Te Whariki 2017" and…

Introduction: Cerebral visual impairment (CVI) typically affects children's overall functioning in visually cluttered environments. This study aims to consider whether the removal of classroom clutter ameliorates visual problems and the associated behavioral difficulties for these children. Methods: Two classrooms at a special school were…

Identifying an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) method for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) might be informed by comparing their performance with, and preference for, a range of communication modalities. Towards this end, the present study involved two children with ASD who were taught to request the continuation of toy…

Background: School teachers who become teacher educators (TEs) are rarely prepared for the different pedagogies that teacher education requires. One pedagogical difference is the need for TEs to make their thinking and decisions explicit to pre-service teachers (PSTs) so PSTs can see teaching as an adaptive process rather than a set of routines to…

This comparative study investigated the experiences of starting childcare of three immigrant children in three different learning environments in New Zealand. The notion of learning environment was explored as a way of thinking about how different people, places, and approaches to learning have interacted to create a particular site for the…

Emotional skills underpin what teachers do. However, relatively few studies have investigated whether these skills can be formally learnt by teachers and the benefits enhancing teachers' social-emotional skills may have on students. The current research aimed to develop an intervention to improve teachers' social-emotional skills in the classroom…

Purpose: Previous research examining the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer (LGBTQ) youth in schools suggests that schools are not inclusive places for non-heterosexual students. Some scholars, however, suggest that a continued focus on how these young people are marginalised is itself a problem, and that research should also…

Sexuality and humour share a fraught relationship at school, so that how humour might be productively employed in sexuality education constitutes a "risky" consideration. This paper explores the role of humour in sexuality education as observed in a Year 9 New Zealand health class. Adding to existing literature emphasising students' use…

This article reports on a multiple case study that investigated the dynamic and situated nature of learners' willingness to communicate (WTC) in second language (L2) classrooms. Framed within a sociocognitive perspective on L2 learning which draws together social, environmental, and individual factors, this study traced WTC among six learners of…

This article reports on a classroom study of a unit on New Zealand birds that focused on adaptation and conservation in a Year 7 class. The unit used a "context as social circumstances" model. The researchers observed the nine lessons and interviewed students, the classroom teacher, and three other teachers who had taught the same unit.…

Interaction and dialogue are seen as essential components of mathematics classrooms of the 21st century. In this paper we explore the pedagogical actions a teacher takes to reposition his diverse learners as active and engaged participants in the classroom. The findings illustrate the need for explicit teacher modelling of ways for students to…

Environmental experiences often engage learners and create an intention to act, which is then not followed through once the learner is removed from the environment. This study utilized an exploratory, interpretive framework with younger primary school classes to investigate if transfer of learning from field trip experiences "in" and…

Research indicates that as students move through the school system, many begin to experience difficulties with reading. With this mind, this study explored current practices and perceptions about reading programmes for 11-13-year-old students in New Zealand schools. The study employed an online survey designed to investigate current reading…

"Te Kotahitanga" is a research and professional development project that seeks to reduce educational disparities between indigenous Maori students and their non-Maori peers in New Zealand secondary schools. While evidence of the impact of the project on teachers' practice and the associated gains made by Maori students has been published…

Despite growing interest in the theorisation of teacher-based assessment (TBA), very little research has paid close attention to how teachers practice assessment embedded in real classroom contexts. This longitudinal study over one school term reports on the TBA of young learners with English as an additional language (EAL) in New Zealand primary…