In this paper, preliminary comments are made about "The Arts in the New Zealand Curriculum" document questioning its framing of the arts "disciplines". The notion of the "the arts", which appears to take its meaning from the generic term "art" that directs us to class together music, painting, visual art,…

"Interest" is a widely used term not only in language education but also in our everyday life. However, very little attempt has been made to investigate the nature of "interest" in language teaching and learning. This paper, using a definition of interest proposed in the field of educational psychology, reports on the findings…

Reviews the development of a certificate in adult education for teachers in New Zealand, including issues related to the ideology of neoliberalism. Presents issues involved in the termination of the program and new directions for the training of adult educators. (Contains 21 references.) (SK)

Provides a case study of the approach adopted by the Centre for Early Child Care and Education, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand, to develop an awareness of racism and a commitment to antiracism in their early childhood teacher education program. Outlines the historical background to biculturalism in Aotearoa, New Zealand; various…

Short-term international experiences (STIE) are becoming a regular, sometimes required, feature of pre-service language teacher education programmes. Often inappropriately termed "immersion programmes", they aim to give teachers the opportunity to improve their language proficiency in the language they will teach, to develop their…

Examined processes implemented within an early childhood teacher education program at the University of Waikato in Hamilton, New Zealand, that aimed to recognize the Treaty of Waitangi obligation to protect the Maori people. Describes key features of the bicultural development restorative process related to lecturers' aspirations, pedagogical…

In 1995 many rural areas of New Zealand, especially on the North Island, faced significant teacher shortages. In response, the University of Waikato developed a program of primary teacher education designed to serve students in remote areas. Program features include recruitment and selection of rural students who will work in their home districts…

Around the world, the importance of education to individual and societal success has increased at a breathtaking pace as a new knowledge-based economy has emerged. As a consequence, most countries have been engaged in intensive reforms of their education systems, and many have focused especially on improving teacher education, recognizing that…

"The New Zealand Curriculum Framework", 1993, is the official document for teaching, learning and assessment in New Zealand schools. It consists of a set of curriculum statements, which define the learning principles, achievement aims and essential skills for seven learning areas. It also indicates the place of attitudes and values in…

Australia is a country of fewer than 18 million people and yet, unlike some overseas systems serving larger populations, there are no nationwide teacher registration standards for those preparing to teach in government or nongovernment schools. Each school system supports its own bureaucracy for teacher employment. In the case of employment in…

This document contains both volumes of the proceedings of a conference of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia (MERGA). Three keynote papers by Gordon Knight, J. Michael Shaughnessy, and Robyn Zevenbergen, and a practical implications paper by Lyn English are included. Seventy-five conference papers are included in these…

This report attempts to inform those working in early childhood teacher education (ECTE) in New Zealand of some recent developments in the field in Australia. The Australian government recently required all colleges of advanced education (CAEs), which are part of the ECTE system, to amalgamate with existing universities or reform themselves as new…

This study, currently in progress, explores the perceptions of 75 near graduate primary teacher education students at the University of Waikato in Hamilton, New Zealand, about their preparedness to teach. It investigates the students' views about the areas of teaching for which they feel the 3-year program of teacher education at the School of…

Teacher shortage in rural localities is a long-standing issue in New Zealand. This paper reports on an attempt to reduce the impact of shortages by redesigning the way pre-service teacher education was delivered. Called the Mixed Media Programme (MMP), this is a primary (elementary) teacher education programme that was established in 1997 in New…

This paper reviews research on teaching practicums and describes research-based efforts of the University of Waikato in New Zealand to make the practicum component more effective. Changes in the practicum component being implemented include clarifying the relationship between theory and practice; improving the communication among schools,…