It is assumed that digital tools with ubiquitous classroom use have affordances for student agency and a range of social skills. However, few studies have explored the generalised impact of everyday digital classrooms on self-regulation and empathy, perspective taking and prosocial skills. Ten and 11 year old students' (n = 115) ratings of…

This article explores the characteristics of a successful transition of a school from traditional classrooms to an innovative learning environment. Many schools today are converting traditional classrooms into spaces which are flexible, supporting a wide array of teaching and learning possibilities (i.e. an 'innovative learning environment').…

Intervention models based on data use can be effective in raising student achievement. This article presents 3 studies of one such model which had reported improved reading comprehension levels in 7 poor urban multicultural schools serving indigenous and ethnic minority communities. The intervention (the Learning Schools Model) used a process…

This paper outlines a study investigating the impact of the use of learning objects on the development of two key competencies from the revised New Zealand Curriculum Framework (Ministry of Education, 2007). It specifically focuses on the key competencies of "thinking" and "relating to others", and explores how teachers in an…

Critical action research is contextualized in a low socioeconomic, multicultural urban school in Auckland, New Zealand. The writers are a university lecturer (mentor) and a school principal (critical action researcher). The research was part of a meta project which aimed to raise the achievement of Maori (indigenous) students. Research processes…

Community participation in program decision-making and implementation is an ideal that community and academic stakeholders aspire to in participatory research. This ideal, however, can be difficult to achieve. We describe lessons learned about community participation from a quasi-experimental trial aimed at reducing the uptake of smoking among…

This article describes a participatory action research (PAR) project conducted in a large urban, co-educational secondary school. The project focused on two senior pupils with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who, seemingly as a result of feeling stressed or anxious, displayed behaviours that inhibited communication. Using questionnaires,…

This article discusses how the traditional Maori concept of Hauora (balanced development) can be applied to beginning teacher induction programmes. To develop this idea, several steps were taken. From a nationwide survey, five primary schools were chosen with exemplary induction programmes. Data from interviews and observations indicated that…

This article describes a study of a large urban school's teacher appraisal system to ascertain the teachers' perceptions of the purpose of the appraisal system in use. The study initially involved an examination of government promulgations, which establish the requirement for an appraisal system, and a similar examination of the school's…

The purpose of this study was to monitor the development of teacher personal attribute and school environmental factors at an urban intermediate (years 7 and 8) school in New Zealand as a result of an extended science professional development intervention project. Over a 2-year period, a validated, comprehensive science curriculum delivery…