Indigenous communities remain concerned about research into their lives, their control over and participation in the research process and the public dissemination of knowledge. The relationship between researcher and participant and the product of this relationship has been traditionally cast as a dualism with one side being the less powerful,…

In this article I critique six quantitative studies of Reading Recovery and five reviews of Reading Recovery research published in Tier 1 research journals--journals accepted as having high levels of "expert scrutiny" through peer review. I also critique several quantitative research studies of Reading Recovery published in Tier 2…

This study followed 57 New Zealand candidates for a Ph.D. in Education through the years of writing their theses, focusing on their internal struggles and how these affected, and were affected by, those with whom they had close relationships. Their efforts to balance the scholarly, professional, interpersonal, and domestic dimensions of life, a…

New Zealand's 1989 Education Act has resulted in a range of educational reforms. These reforms have offered the Maori opportunities to bring about positive educational developments for their people. Devolution of educational responsibility from a regional to a local level provided some of the space quickly utilized by the Maori. The requirement…

Maori and other indigenous peoples are concerned about the power and control that non-indigenous people hold over research. Research issues such as initiation, benefits, representation, legitimation, and accountability have usually been determined by the researcher's interests and agenda. One means of addressing indigenous peoples' desire for…

Policymaking is a subjective, cultural, and intellectually complex activity in a democracy and should be researched with the multidisciplinary approach. This paper focuses on theoretical implications of the multidisciplinary approach and on its opposing position, the structural-functional approach, in educational policy research. The paper briefly…

Youth First conducted focus groups and participatory "youth tribunals" across New Zealand, examining experiences of growing up rural. Common themes included "not being listened to," exclusion from citizen participation, and anxiety about the future. Remarkable differences in experience and views were often found in the same…

A professional development initiative in writing provided a context in which teachers could be researchers their own knowledge about writing, writing assessment and writing instruction. Through close attention to student writing samples, and debate in ascertaining writing levels using the English Exemplars, teachers articulated growing confidence…

This paper discusses a combined university-school research project involving three associate teachers from the pre-service teacher education degree at the University of Otago, New Zealand in the examination of their literacy teaching practice. The provision of resources for this collaborative study allowed the teachers to design the project in…

Critiques many research efforts on women in educational leadership. Describes a feminist, action research project, and argues that it more accurately explores the issues and facts of this subject. The research project involved 10 women in education in New Zealand and sought to empower them to seek professional advancement. (JB)

The overarching aim of this research in the proposal was the following: In a number of early childhood centres and early years school classrooms that have already begun to explore in this area, to investigate effective pedagogy designed to develop five learning competencies over time. This project was developed in response to curriculum reform in…

As exemplified by New Zealand, the nature of educational policy research is shaped by political and social factors that impinge upon the research environment. Following a description of the educational system and research funding methods, this paper analyzes three areas that affect policy research in New Zealand and addresses relevant social…

Differing attitudes of researchers and preschool teachers towards research in early childhood are discussed in this paper. These differences are seen as arising from causes such as the special training of each group and the nature of the work they do, the distribution of the sexes in each group and the social institutions which back them. The…

A comprehensive overview of important contemporary issues in the field of reading research, this book presents 47 essays that examine literacy through a variety of lenses--some permitting microscopic views and others panoramic views. Essays in the book cover current methodology as well as cumulative research-based knowledge. Essays in Part I…

This is a record of the proceedings of the 30th annual conference of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia (MERGA). The theme of the conference is "Mathematics: Essential research, essential practice." The theme draws attention to the importance of developing and maintaining links between research and practice and…