In Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia work is ongoing to upskill teachers in culturally responsive practice as a way of addressing inequalities for Maori and Aboriginal students (Macfarlane, 2004; Morrison et al., 2019). Through supplementary materials to the New Zealand Curriculum, such as Tataiako and The Hikairo Schema (New Zealand Ministry of…

Climate change is described as the defining issue of our time. There are many climate-change teaching resources that cover the science of climate change and actions to make a difference. However, there is limited focus on envisioning the future we want to create together. Enviroschools' key concepts of interrelatedness and whanaungatanga support…

This literature review investigates tools used to assess self-regulation at school entry and to inform recommendations for use in Aotearoa New Zealand. We were particularly interested in identifying self-regulation screening tools that had been developed from Indigenous frameworks to enhance likelihood of culturally empowering assessment. APA…

In this study, we aim to investigate the role of language in small group peer collaboration. Based on the notion of symmetrical scaffolding, we draw on theories of dialogic space and functional linguistics to analyse a transcript of three six-year-old students as they explore a shared understanding of 'two more than'. Using Martin and White's…

Background/purpose: It has been suggested that cooperative learning (CL) is a model-based practice which can develop students' social and emotional learning (SEL) competencies in physical education (PE) (Casey, Ashley, and Javier Fernandez-Rio. 2019. "Cooperative Learning and the Affective Domain." "Journal of Physical Education,…

In this article, I describe the challenges students faced in interpreting literary--or fictional--texts in the National Monitoring Study of Student Achievement in the English learning area. I explain why it is important for students to learn how to interpret literary texts at school and consider why they might struggle with this important skill. I…

Underpinning drama education in New Zealand is the desire to improve the lives of individuals, communities and societies by catalysing embodied learning in and through the art form of theatre. Learning in drama is intended to foster well-being, social cohesion and active citizenship. Put another way, drama education in New Zealand has always been…

This paper reports on a two-week Earth Science programme, designed and delivered by the New Zealand Crown Research Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences Limited (GNS Science) referred to as the GeoCamp. This initiative has offered 10- to 13-year-old students learning experiences outside the classroom in several regions throughout New…

Inclusive education communities and systems are based on how teachers can use their knowledge, skills, and social awareness to meet the increasingly diverse needs of the learners within their classrooms. International research suggests that teachers often feel underprepared to meet the needs of all learners and are largely ill-prepared to know how…

This ethnographic study explores how elementary school children's participation in a culturally diverse music program, which featured their active engagement in group music-making and their acquaintance with the cultural-historical context of the music, affected them on interpersonal, collective, and social levels. The study focuses on the…

The education system is in a period of significant change. Wellbeing is an increasing priority as schools reintegrate students after COVID-19 lockdowns and climate-related disasters. A large-scale curriculum refresh programme and the implementation of a new Aotearoa New Zealand histories curriculum are underway. These changes are encouraging…

Teacher-student relationships are critically important for student engagement and learning. Increasingly, children with additional behavioural, physical, communication, and learning needs are supported in the classroom by teacher aides working alongside teachers. Although the teacher aide role is often described as relational, few studies have…

Teacher expectations influence how children fare in education. However, we know little about how 4- and 5-year-old children in Aotearoa New Zealand perceive their curriculum experiences. This qualitative study utilised interviews to explore the perceptions of 12 children (attending kindergarten and school) regarding their teachers' expectations of…

Adopting an interpretivist perspective grounded in symbolic interactionism, this article explores the types of interactional strategies used by K-5 teachers to develop social and emotional learning (SEL) with their students in Aotearoa New Zealand. A case study design was followed using interviews, audio from lesson video recordings, field notes,…

Social and emotional learning (SEL) to support students' wellbeing is even more critical within schools dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. This article establishes why New Zealand primary schools need strategies to support the emotional wellbeing of students and why a prescriptive approach is not appropriate for the bicultural and multicultural…