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 this discussion of global citizenship education (GCED) in Aotearoa, I will be drawing upon my experiences teaching in international education, teaching the "New Zealand Curriculum," and my research in the field of citizenship-and social-justice education in Aotearoa New Zealand. I advocate approaching GCED as part of a broader…

Recent social policy discourses in Aotearoa New Zealand focus on vulnerable children's well-being and the detrimental, long-term and costly impacts of child poverty. The discourse pervading much of the policy labels children and young people as "vulnerable" or "at risk" or "in crisis", a view, which we argue, is both…

Considerable resources and intellectual attention have focused on seeking to raise the status of teaching in higher education over the last two decades. Initiatives at an institutional level have included the funding of pedagogic research, teaching awards and the creation of teaching professorships. In a broader context, the scholarship of…

In a number of Western nations, concern over literacy and numeracy standards has put huge political pressure on education systems to improve the situation. Here in New Zealand, the government has recently introduced literacy and numeracy standards designed to improve basic skills in these key fields of achievement. What is perhaps less evident is…

Three decades of neo-liberal education in western countries, particularly English-speaking countries, have not served most children well. The evidence is mounting that the neo-liberal experiment has been a failure on many grounds, not least because of its deprofessionalizing effect on teachers. The disciplinary effects of neo-liberal policy…

Last February, in search of expanded thinking, the author led a group of 20 early childhood professionals on a study tour to Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ). The group included two Canadians and two Aussies, with everyone else from the United States. While they knew they had much to learn from the overall system of early childhood education in NZ, the…

What might geography in "the universities" look like if geographers seriously confronted the growing dichotomy between research and teaching? This challenge goes to the heart of "the university" as a site of learning. The authors argue that the globalizing character of higher education gives urgency to re-charting the…

In 2005 the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions, the central organisation of unions in New Zealand, initiated a Learning Representatives Project based on the British model. The Government approved an eight-month programme to be funded through its Tertiary Education Commission to "scope the project". Work began not just on scoping, but on…

Discusses women's participation in trade unions and specific policies in Canada, United Kingdom, USSR, India, United States, and New Zealand. (JOW)

Decision making by outdoor adventure educators revolves around balancing risk and competence. A model of outdoor adventure decision making is presented that draws on naturalistic decision-making processes and emphasizes the importance of situational recognition and prior experience. Leaders draw key information from the natural environment,…

Compares Auckland (New Zealand) with San Francisco (California) in terms of topographical structure, geographic location, and urban development. Both cities contain striking similarities. Maintains that Auckland can become a world-class city renowned for its beauty if developers and government work in tandem. (MJP)

Compulsory schooling commences for children in New Zealand when they are 6 years old, but all primary schools accept children from the day of their fifth birthday. On any school day, a new pupil may enter the class for new entrants and become part of the school system. This article explores the creation of an appropriate environment for these new…

The use of hybridity today suggests a less coherent, unified and directed process than that found in the Enlightenment science's cultural imperialism, but regardless of this neither concept exists outside power and inequality. Hence, hybridity raises the question of the terms of the mixture and the conditions of mixing. Cultural hybridity produced…

Outlines nine research findings that led to the conclusion that teacher-librarians can markedly improve the school's teaching environment. This study of the educational impact of the appointment of full-time trained teacher-librarians was conducted for the New Zealand Council for Educational Research/Ministry of Education by Geoff Lealand. (EA)