In this paper, we connect with Martin Thrupp's calls for class-based analysis in education policy by problematising the absence of social class in the refreshed New Zealand curriculum, "Te Mataiaho" (2023). To contextualise this absence, we locate this curriculum policy in a historical perspective and interpret its 'identity turn' as an…

Current education policy in Aotearoa New Zealand (Aotearoa is the country's indigenous Maori name) requires schools and teachers to engage with parents and the school community to enhance student educational experience and achievement. The broad wording in these policy statements allows schools and teachers to tailor their parental engagement…

An increasing number of studies have focused on policies in physical education and physical education teacher education (PETE). Policies are important because they prescribe behaviours or a course of action, and they legitimise some knowledge and perspectives while discrediting others. In the field of physical education (PE), a white,…

Following the recent claims lodged at two universities in Aotearoa New Zealand alleging the existence of racism, there has been scepticism towards the professed commitments by universities to create an inclusive and safe environment for Indigenous Maori. As a Kaupapa Maori-informed study, we (a group of Maori and Tauiwi scholars) employed tenets…

Policy analysis studies conducted in various countries have highlighted strengths and weaknesses in university academic integrity policy documents that outline expectations for student conduct while undertaking scholarly work. Missing from the literature is a review of such policies currently in place at the eight public universities in Aotearoa…

Parental engagement is a common theme of education policy in most countries. In Aotearoa New Zealand, policies frame parental engagement in broad terms giving schools flexibility in enacting them. However, the generality assumes the complex and differentiated activities associated with parental engagement are well understood, leaving schools with…

The Ministry of Education is funding a significant building programme for primary and secondary classrooms across Aotearoa, New Zealand. In New Zealand there is an expectation that new or refurbished classrooms will be innovative, modern or flexible learning environments. This paper reports findings from a critical policy analysis of the discourse…

Over the last few decades, both New Zealand and the intergovernmental organisation of UNESCO have widely spread the rhetoric of safety through a broad range of educational issues. This notion, in vogue since the neoliberal turn, has raised little opposition in educational debates. In this article, we use a Foucauldian lens to analyse the…

There is a heightened interest nowadays in educating for personal well-being based on the belief that schools can be a civilising force for good and help make young people's lives more fulfilling and meaningful. At the same time, there is a premium placed on high-quality subject teaching and academic achievement and on countries doing well in…

Recent policy developments in the early childhood (EC) care and education sector in Aotearoa-New Zealand have seen a shift in focus from children and play to learners and learning. While few would argue against learning as priority this article raises pressing questions about the 'intended' and '(un)intended' consequences of this turn. We analyse…

Australia and New Zealand have enacted legislation to protect international students' rights and the long-term sustainability of their export education sectors. A pivotal, but under-researched, sub-domain of these legislative frameworks is education agent-based international student recruitment. The principal-agent relationships between…

While a number of studies have established the growing role impact PISA has had on national education policy, much less is known about the global-local recontextualization of policy transfer, and the role of national policy officials. Through interviews with key policy officials in Norway and New Zealand, the study revealed a growing…

The study on which this article reports investigated the internationalisation of higher education studies by examining collaborations in the form of international co-authorships. We analyse how network-based mechanisms, related to structural relationship between authors (preferential attachment, i.e., higher tendency to collaborate among the most…

Crises affect international students' overseas experiences, but crisis theory is rarely considered in international education studies. This article provides a comparative study of two countries, using a 'most similar cases' research design, to analyse host-nation government responses to crisis situations. The two countries are Australia and New…

Many governments have launched the top-down early childhood curriculum (ECC) reforms to enhance the accountability of early childhood education and care (ECEC) services. The present discourse analysis of latest ECC policies across four diverse but representative countries -- Australia, China, New Zealand, and Singapore -- aims to examine the…