Academics in Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE), similar to their counterparts in other disciplines, receive little formal preparation when they take on academic leadership positions. Yet such career changes require different skill sets and expose academics to complex challenges of leadership. We (three academics) initiated this study to…

This article discusses findings from research investigating ways teachers at one early childhood centre fostered children's sense of belonging through making cultural connections with children and their families. The research is part of a University of Waikato project, funded by the Teaching and Learning Research Initiative (TLRI),…

Truancy is a longstanding, unresolved educational issue in countries where there are compulsory attendance policies. It represents a long-term cost to society in expenditure on health, well-being and incarceration. Previous research has focused on key demographic variables related to truancy, causal factors, interventions and a variety of…

This article reports on a research study of the perception of work stress among twelve participant primary school teachers in the Wellington region in New Zealand. Specifically, it focuses on the way the participants' perceive work stress and its contributing factors, and the coping strategies they employ. Interpretative phenomenological analysis…

Socio-scientific issues (SSIs) are real-life problems which have a scientific basis yet require the consideration of social concerns. Using SSIs has been advocated as an approach to engage secondary-school students with science and this study aimed to explore the potential of such an approach in the primary-school classroom. The experiences and…

A growing expectation that academic staff in higher education institutions (HEIs) will be qualified to doctoral level can mean that doctoral study must be juggled alongside administration, teaching, and academic duties. Many academics study in their own institutions. We wished to explore their perspectives on (i) how the two roles, of being an…

This research paper focuses on the successful implementation of play-based learning (PBL) environments within the New Zealand mainstream primary school sector. In particular, the focus is on the role of Resource Teachers: Learning and Behaviour (RTLB) in supporting the implementation of PBL within the junior classes of Year 0 to Year 2. A review…

Mainstream thought on Pacific education tends to highlight the relatively poor educational achievement and sub-optimal experiences of Pacific learners in Aotearoa New Zealand. This article explores further understandings of the links between Pacific learners, their environments, and relational learning experiences. The argument is supported by…

This paper provides an autoethnographic view of the influences that have changed my perceptions and helped me to make better sense of the world that I live in, and my place in it. It is a story of personal, ongoing critical reflection. A story of unlearning and conscientisation that changed how I came to understand myself, my teaching practice and…

Dialogic approaches are promising vehicles for effective pedagogy, providing opportunities for students to talk about learning; build on and sustain individual and collective identities, and; advance thinking and understanding in ways that support enhanced achievement. Whilst this is an idealised view of talk in classrooms, international…

This commentary aims to encourage a research-based, critical, inquiring approach to the development of play-based learning in primary schools. I suggest that this approach could build from the wealth of knowledge in the early childhood education sector. I also invite greater collaboration between early childhood and primary teachers, particularly…

In recent years, play-based learning (PBL) has attracted attention, debate and controversy across different national contexts. There is no definitional consensus which may have undesirable consequences for enacting its potential in professional practice. The aim of our study was to synthesize international research on ECE practitioners' views on…

The goal of the Poutama Pounamu blended learning course is to promote contexts for change where equity, excellence, and belonging for Maori and all learners can be realised. In this article I share some key learnings from my own journey through this course. I reflect on my path towards honouring the Treaty of Waitangi, including the challenges I…

A key educational objective for the twenty-first century is developing students' epistemic agency. Epistemic agency is the active process of choosing when, what, where one learns and how one knows, as well as the capacity to create knowledge in a community. The knowledge-building communities model developed by Scardamalia and Bereiter was used in…

The revised version of "Te Whariki" (2017) acknowledges children's rights to exercise some agency in their own lives. This article responds by drawing on the author's research in four spatially diverse early childhood education centres to consider how built environments can influence children's agency. It argues that spatial complexity…