This article describes the development of an innovative Year 9 cross-curricula "Festival of Learning" known as Hui Taurima, which resulted in the awarding of a Teacher Led Innovation Fund (TLIF) project grant. The focus is on the elements of a place-responsive approach and the teachers' perspectives of their journey to situate place and…

There is a growing body of evidence highlighting effective pedagogical approaches for educating First Nations students around the world. Despite this evidence, and a plethora of culturally-inclusive aligned policies and professional strategies, many Aboriginal students continue to receive inequitable and poor-quality schooling in Australian…

The primary objective of this research project was to investigate the specific interventions that make the biggest difference to Maori students' academic motivation and in-school engagement within one Kahui Ako in Aotearoa New Zealand. Student, whanau, school leader, and teacher perspectives were examined to understand which interventions were…

This paper describes how an action research process, centred around a professional development program for teaching critical thinking, enabled teachers in a specialised program for high-achieving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students (Solid Pathways) to develop their pedagogical practices to support student cognition. It argues that a…

"Learning from Each Other" is a Teaching and Learning Research Initiative (TLRI) that provides a relationship-derived description of helpful tools that are useful for communities, educational professionals, and professional development providers to support sustained positive change for Pacific students. Helpful tools are those that make…

The Ministry of Education on a Western Pacific island invested in an expensive 1:1 tablet program providing elementary teachers and students with a tablet but had not determined if the program produced desired positive changes in the teachers' instructional practices of lesson planning and lesson presentation. Guided by experiential learning…

Globally, universities show an outward strength partly built upon imported and exported commonalities that are measurable and therefore accountable, rankable and marketable. While there are advantages to this, it can create a barrier within each institution to acknowledging and valuing indigeneity, local flavour or special character. Such a…

This paper examines how kaiako (teachers) view professional learning and development training (PLD) in structured literacy (SL) in a Maori-medium immersion context. Through interviews with kaiako in a kura kaupapa Maori (Maori-medium educational setting) who teach students in Years 1-6, and images of the literacy environment to capture some of the…

As part of the National Survey of Schools project, part of NZCER's Te Pae Tawhiti programme of research, we collaborated with the New Zealand Area Schools Association (NZASA) to survey area school teachers between 15 June and 21 July 2023. A total of 652 area teachers across 64 area schools completed the survey, with questions focusing on: (1)…

In this article I interact with the narratives of five Pakeha (European) secondary school teachers, who choose to teach Aotearoa New Zealand histories including about Te Tiriti o Waitangi at senior level (years 11-13). I highlight characteristics of the active stance adopted by participants towards teaching and learning the difficult histories of…

As an indigenous serving institution, the University of Hawai'i (UH) serves all indigenous groups including Pacific Islander groups. Continual and practical training of emerging educational leaders at the UH is critical to the ongoing success of Hawai'i's only public post-secondary institution. Employing the oral history methodology, I examined…

Education in an inter-cultural space is a feature of Aotearoa New Zealand: the education system is of European origin as are many in the teaching profession, while the student population is diverse. Within that diversity are Pasifika students, those with links to Pacific Island nations resident in Aotearoa New Zealand. This article offers insights…

Global moves to integrate Indigenous perspectives and histories into university curricula are growing. In Australia, shifts towards Indigenisation in higher education teaching and research have been slow, but now--partly due to new national and institutional policies--are re-forming the disciplinary landscapes where our students learn and grow.…

2020 looms large for Indigenous education in Australia, with the 'Refreshed' "Close the Gap" strategy hanging over the collective heads of schools, Indigenous students and their families. After a decade of promises, there is now an acknowledgement within the government that programmes to improve student outcomes in literacy, numeracy and…

A study tour of early childhood education (ECE) programs in Aotearoa New Zealand offered a rich opportunity to explore the implementation of "Te Whariki," the national ECE curriculum. This article describes three central aspects of the "Te Whariki" approach that have garnered international admiration as a model for ECE: the…