This article provides a comprehensive literature review examining virtual learning in the Aotearoa New Zealand schools sector, with a specific focus on understanding and addressing the needs of Maori learners in these online environments. It begins by tracing the historical development of virtual learning in Aotearoa New Zealand -- from early…

Imagine a scenario with a pilot and a flight attendant. How do you picture them? Now read the following anecdote: Sandra, an airline pilot with years of experience, was preparing for her flight while chatting with Mike, a flight attendant who had just joined the crew. Some of the passengers were surprised to see Sandra confidently taking control…

Universities in Aotearoa New Zealand are increasingly espousing a democratic ideology that has much in common with some social justice elements of the internationally agreed Sustainable Development Goals. This trend, however, also relates to the more international 'universal' characterisation proposed by Trow in 1973 in the context of university…

The people who prepare teachers -- teacher educators -- are often explicitly or implicitly held accountable for teacher quality and are frequently blamed when school students do not meet national or international expectations. Despite high expectations, historically there has been little attention to the education of teacher educators or to local…

The "Teaching, School, and Principal Leadership Practices Survey" (TSP) was developed to give schools robust data about key practices that research has shown are worth paying attention to because of their direct and indirect effects on student learning. Drawing the data together from all participants schools in any given year creates a…

The relationship between poverty and education is a longstanding issue for education policy, research, and practice. Through a policy as discourse approach, this article focuses on the work policy does to define education as a solution to poverty. Recent policy discourses in Aotearoa have positioned the teacher as the most important factor in…

This paper is concerned with how teachers manage homophobia at school. It examines how they deal with homophobia directed at students, "and" instances when teachers become the recipients of homophobia themselves. This dual focus, on teachers as both the perpetrators and recipients of homophobia, adds complexity to existing studies…

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…

An academic, Peter Dinniss, discussed the then emerging issue of professionalism in the early childhood education sector in 1974. "There has been much debate over the term ['professional'] together with discussion as to whether teaching is a profession" (1974: 11). On the cusp of the 21st century, the Education Council (now renamed…

Popular culture is omnipresent in the lives of young children. The mass media, movies, television, and product advertising all carry messages about acceptability and desirability, deeply entangled with traditional stereotypes about gender, sex-roles, and sexuality. The intersection of discourses of media, gender, and performativity and their…

Most of us intrinsically understand the importance of friendship in our lives, and although we may not spend time considering it, we are aware it is beneficial to our happiness and well-being. As educators, we are often conscious of the friendships that exist in our classrooms, and are particularly mindful of those students who have difficulties…

While there is widespread agreement that "all" learners of the 21st century need to be numerate and literate, reforming pedagogical practices to achieve such an outcome is challenging for many teachers. This is a report of one aspect of a project which aims to integrate a culturally responsive pedagogical mathematics practice within…

This article aims to explore the role of drawing as a means of communication in the early childhood setting. Through an analysis of different types of drawing, the article explores how children create meaning and develop a universal language. The importance of the teacher in facilitating this process is considered.

The complexity of teacher education is fascinating, illusive, and creative. While it is simultaneously difficult to grasp and conceptualize, complexity has real presence and effects, and needs to be managed and simplified for meanings to emerge. In this article the author uses a complexity-based approach to examine the multi-layered acts of…