This paper, by a Bangladeshi and a New Zealander, brings together narrative inquiry studies of the leadership initiatives in two quite different rural schools, in Bangladesh and New Zealand respectively. The schools are in communities that might be considered as significantly underprivileged, and generationally alienated from education, within…

While there are theoretical arguments that suggest school practices can exacerbate delinquent behaviour by youth, research has not consistently examined this potential of schools to contribute to poorer outcomes for the most at-risk youth in our communities. This paper uses longitudinal data (n = 495) to examine the role being excluded from school…

This study compares rural educational disadvantage across Australia, Canada, and New Zealand using data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Across the three countries, student reading literacy and school learning environments are less positive in rural communities…

Socioecological theory suggests that there are a range of influences that affect the physical activity levels of children, including parents' perceptions of the neighborhood. A questionnaire instrument to quantify parental neighborhood perceptions was developed for the Location of Children's Activity in Their Environment study as a potential…

New Zealand has a persistent problem of inequitable educational outcomes between different student groups, which has led to New Zealand being designated a high achievement-low equity country. A key policy lever in the quest to lift educational achievement for priority learners, identified by the Ministry of Education as Maori, Pasifika, students…

Ethical review is an integral part of the process of developing research and considering issues associated with the production of knowledge. It is part of a system that primarily legitimises western traditions of inquiry and reinforces western assumptions about knowledge and its benefit to society. Around the world the process of colonisation has…

Two overseas survey-based scales measuring perceived quality of neighbourhood were adapted and replicated in a New Zealand context. An Italian study (Bonaiuto, Fornara, and Bonnes. (2003). "Landscape and Urban Planning," 65, 41-52) measuring Perceived Residential Environmental Quality (PREQ) and an American study (Carp and Carp. (1982).…