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This study examines the usage and contexts of "wellbeing" in New Zealand's curriculum, a formal statement of education policy enacted by a democratically elected government. The analysis is guided by a current model of student wellbeing rooted in seven, interdependent domains: "Having," "Being," "Relating," "Thinking," "Feeling," "Functioning," and "Striving." Identification of explicit and implicit references to wellbeing in the NZC provides a rare opportunity to locate areas of alignment between governmental indicators and these domains. The scope of analysis is deliberately broad, thus providing a transferrable model for curriculum analysis from the perspective of student wellbeing. This study found that words and phrases cluster around constructs associated with the "Relating" domain, and that the "Feeling" domain was under-represented by the curricular language. This suggests that a New Zealand educational view of wellbeing may differ from how it is conceptualized in the literature. Qualitative content analysis of a national curriculum invites further study into how wellbeing is understood and experienced by students and teachers, and how their views align with the intended curriculum. This exercise can be adapted by educators practicing in different schooling contexts, resulting in site-appropriate indicators relevant to their own guiding principles and educational aims. (Contains 8 tables and 5 figures.)

Introduction: Cerebral visual impairment (CVI) typically affects children's overall functioning in visually cluttered environments. This study aims to consider whether the removal of classroom clutter ameliorates visual problems and the associated behavioral difficulties for these children. Methods: Two classrooms at a special school were de-cluttered. Changes included: covering glass panels with thick black paper; hanging sheets over open shelving; creating areas of blank wall in front of the student to focus attention on work; removing unnecessary equipment and furniture; and taking down information on windows and walls, and that hanging from ceilings. Teachers, paraeducators, and students worked in these classrooms for two weeks, following typical daily routines. Observations by teachers and paraeducators of students' behavior and learning experiences before and after de-cluttering were sought through interviews. Findings: The perspectives of the teachers and paraeducators were that de-cluttering had a positive effect on the students' learning experiences and behavior and also on their own functioning. They also considered the fact that creation of learning spaces lined with black paper resulted in greater attention and focus, but that students continued to be distracted by the noise and movement of others. Discussion: The potential link between cluttered classrooms and students' functioning and behavior indicates that visual clutter may amplify the visual difficulties associated with CVI and distract the students from learning activities, and is in line with current literature. Changes to classroom layouts that include specific areas for different learning activities, including "black hubs," may therefore benefit students with CVI. Implications for practitioners: This pilot study suggests that the elimination of classroom clutter and the creation of black hub learning spaces enhances functioning and merits further investigation. A study that compares specific behaviors and performances, before and after implementation of de-cluttering strategies, might also determine whether the positive effects described by the teachers can be further corroborated.

This paper sets out to examine the role of middle leaders and their quest for effective appraisal and leadership development online--the two towers. Research that focuses on the role of middle leaders, in terms of their appraisal and leadership development, suggests there is a crisis in the "middle." Currently, middle leaders do not have access to a specific national programme that focuses on leading from the middle. Moreover, they are not supported by those who are able to assess the gap in their leadership needs and provide the appropriate development. A lack of effective appraisal of middle leaders, and significantly deficient leadership development, suggest the need for an immediate call to action. Consequently, this paper explores the need for an online middle leadership programme that provides accessibility for these leaders in the unique contexts of their organisations, schools, and kura.

Teaching and learning research in higher education, often referred to as the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), is still relatively novel in many academic contexts compared to the mainstay of disciplinary research. One indication of this is the challenges those who engage in SoTL report in terms of how this work is valued or considered credible amongst disciplinary colleagues and in the face of institutional policies and practices. This paper moves beyond the literature that describes these specific challenges to investigate how 23 experienced SoTL researchers from five different countries understood the notion of credibility in relationship to their SoTL research and how they went about developing credibility for their work. Semistructured interviews were facilitated and analyzed using inductive analysis. Findings indicate that notions of credibility encompassed putting SoTL research into action and building capacity and community around research findings, as well as gaining external validation through traditional indicators such as publishing. SoTL researchers reported a variety of strategies and approaches they were using, both formal and informal, to develop credibility for their work. The direct focus of this paper on "credibility" of SoTL work as perceived by experienced SoTL researchers, and how they go about developing credibility, is a distinct contribution to the discussions about the valuing of SoTL work.

Digital technology has become more ubiquitous in classrooms across the western world. Literacy learning is topical in New Zealand education under the umbrella of the current National Standards policy, a policy introduced on the basis of rhetoric around improving achievement for priority learners. The study presented in this paper would then appear to be timely in a number of ways. The paper outlines the historical context and relevancy of the study. The paper discusses the teaching and learning environment in which the research was conducted. Data were gathered through the medium of semi-structured interview and was analysed and a number of themes emerged. Findings indicate that working with digital video as a learning medium can have positive effects on children's writing. These effects related to increased levels of motivation and confidence. Participants were able to focus on literacy tasks for prolonged periods and that working with digital video in this way had positive effects on the participants' vocabulary. Confidence was exhibited through feelings of pride and a strengthened personal and cultural voice.

This paper adds to the nascent literature on teaching research methods and what students learn from courses and assessment. Postgraduate students are often confronted with large amounts of reading, and the content of material can be intimidating. Convincing them also to engage critically with readings is even more difficult. We report on a successful strategy used to help postgraduate students in a qualitative research methods course develop the skills to read efficiently and critically. We outline the synopsis method and report on an evaluation of students' experiences of it as an assessment and learning tool. Evaluation showed that students saw their learning experience as challenging and rewarding and could articulate how the synopsis method was useful for specific reading/writing skills, critical engagement and reflexivity, content knowledge, and motivation. We were surprised students found it novel to be asked to question or critique "published" papers and articulate subjective reflections on them. Our evaluation shows that the synopsis method is an effective learning strategy to improve students' critical reading and writing skills. We argue that in learning the craft of qualitative research, students must understand not only how to summarise and critique but must also master the skill of articulating personal, reflexive responses.

This paper reports on the first two years of a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) initiative in a New Zealand secondary school, using data derived from a series of surveys of teachers, parents and students, who are the main stakeholders in the transformation to a BYOD school. In this paper we analyse data gathered from these surveys, which consists primarily of qualitative data from free text questions, but also includes some quantitative data from structured questions, giving insights into the challenges faced by teachers, students and parents in moving to a BYOD classroom, and the potential benefits for teaching and learning, and preparing students for a digital world. We frame our analysis from a sociocultural perspective that takes account of structures, agency and cultural practices and the interactions between these domains. Thematic analysis was performed by considering these domains from the responses of the three stakeholder groups. We found that there were some tensions in these domain relationships, with contexts and practices having to be renegotiated as the BYOD classroom and the structures within which it operates have evolved. On the surface, it appears that many of the changes to cultural practice are substitution or augmentation of previous activities, for example using one-to-one devices for researching and presenting material. However, when we look deeper, it is evident that apparently straightforward adoption of digital media is having a more profound impact on structure and agency within the classroom. While the structural impact of digital infrastructures does raise some concerns from all stakeholders, it is clear that it is the curricular structure that is the most contentious area of debate, given its impact on both agency and cultural practice. While the majority of respondents reported positive changes in classroom management and learning, there were nevertheless some concerns about the radical nature of the change to BYOD, though very rarely from teachers. If there is an area where agency may be most problematic, it is in the responses of parents, who may feel increasingly alienated from their children's learning activities if their own digital skills are lacking. These findings will be of interest to anyone who is engaged in BYOD projects, particularly those who are planning such initiatives or in the early stages of implementation.

This paper reports on student teachers' experiences of an education program that was explicitly designed to be grounded in both Kaupapa Maori and mainstream pedagogy. This program started from the Kaupapa Maori view to be Maori as Maori. This was then supported by mainstream epistemology of New Zealand focused good teaching practice. A Kaupapa Maori approach was taken in this qualitative study that used participant driven spiral discourse. The paper suggests that this combined Kaupapa Maori and mainstream approach allowed these student teachers to find their place in education. Conclusions suggest that a culturally relevant pedagogy modeled as good teaching practice was needed for these student teachers to develop an understanding of not only how learning occurs but also how their teaching relates to learning. (Contains 1 figure and 2 footnotes.)

This paper reviews literature on constructivist learning theories relevant to and evident in teacher education in a New Zealand university. These theories are illustrated within an authentic technology education context which involves students from a primary teacher-education degree programme. It investigates how a practical activity, based on constructivist principles, successfully leads to the development of student teachers' understandings of technology education and technological practice within an initial teacher education programme. The paper describes the practical activity undertaken by final year students where a collaborative "company approach" strategy is used. The data shows that while undertaking a constructivist based activity, students gain a rich understanding of theory related to technological practice and relevant links to learning in the classroom. Examples are presented of the higher level thinking obtained by the students as they participate in this collaborative and cooperative exercise and reflect on their learning. (Contains 3 figures and 1 table.)

The analysis of exemplars of different quality is a potentially powerful tool in enabling students to understand assessment expectations and appreciate academic standards. Through a systematic review methodology, this paper synthesises exemplar-based research designs, exemplar implementation and the educational effects of exemplars. The review of 40 empirical exemplar-based studies indicated frequent use of post-intervention evaluation designs. The integrated use of exemplars and strategies such as rubrics, peer or self-assessment was a major pedagogic feature to enhance students' understanding of standards and aid their generation of internal feedback for self-monitoring. There was evidence suggesting that the combined use of exemplars with these strategies could advance students' academic performance and development of self-regulated learning. The review results set future directions for exemplar-based studies: quantitative research would benefit from controlled manipulation of variables to disentangle the effects of exemplars and those of other strategies; qualitative research could profitably use self-reflective diaries, think aloud protocols or classroom observations to develop deeper understandings of exemplar implementation. The key pedagogical implication recommends students' production of an assignment draft prior to exposure to exemplars so that they can compare their own work with exemplars and then make improvements independently of teachers.

Enabling ability and growing talent is central to our professional work with young people. This paper is a 'think piece' that draws on findings from two research projects from the Aotearoa New Zealand context to highlight elements that appear to be central to enabling ability and growing talent in young people. A dialogic process was used to identify and explore commonalities from projects from two distinct fields of study: giftedness and talent, and outdoor education. This paper explores the three interrelated elements of sense of self, sense of place, and sense of belonging. Vignettes drawn from each of the research projects are used to provide insights into young people's experiencing of each of these elements. We speculate about self, place, and belonging as important constituents for enabling ability and growing talent in a range of educational settings.

Purpose: Young adult's drinking is about pleasure, a communal practice of socialising together in a friendship group. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the evolving support practices of drinking groups for better targeting of health communications messages. Design/methodology/approach: This qualitative descriptive study examined the narratives of 28 young people's (age 18-24 years old) experience of a "night out" framed as the Alcohol Consumption Journey. Findings: The Alcohol Consumption Journey ritual consisted of three phases: preloading, going out and recovery. The participants described multiple forms of support practices located at each phase of the Alcohol Consumption Journey for maximising pleasure, minimising risk, encouraging supportive behaviours, enhancing group cohesion and protecting the drinkers from alcohol-related harm. Hence, support practices played a critical part in constituting and consolidating the drinking group. While the support practices appeared to be structured into the Alcohol Consumption Journey, they were activated differently for young men and young women. Support practices were an important driver in perpetuating the Alcohol Consumption Journey. Originality/value: The paper extends Vander Ven's concept of "drunk support" to better understand young adults' evolving support practices in the ritualised Alcohol Consumption Journey.

Throughout the time of my teaching career, the tide has exposed changes in the nature of music, students and music education. This paper discusses teaching and learning in contemporary music at seven critical stages of 21st century music education: i) diverse types of undergraduate learners; ii) teaching traditional classical repertoire and skills to contemporary music students; iii) transitioning undergraduates through pre-service teaching into the workforce; iv) supervisory pedagogy for creative work higher degree research models; v) upskilling established teachers in musical practice and pedagogy; vi) professional development for adult community musicians; vii) disseminating learning back into music and teacher education. Constant elements in this landscape are musicianship, practice, creativity, employment, aesthetic expression and personal fulfilment. Shifting sands include characteristics of learners, pedagogy, delivery, technology, industry trends, and learning through consecutive career stages. The final scenario addresses challenges for musicians and teachers to maintain their creative practice through self-directed lifelong learning.

While there has been considerable research on doctoral examination there is little that examines the various roles of the oral component and what issues one might consider if introducing or revising that aspect of the thesis examination process. This matter is of particular importance in Australia where it is not usual to have an oral component as part of the final assessment. However, there are a number of Australian institutions considering the introduction of an oral component. This paper, based on the literature and three research projects initiated by the Centre for the Study of Research Training and Impact (SORTI) at The University of Newcastle, Australia, addresses a number of the key issues that would need to be addressed if an Australian institution were to introduce an oral component to the doctoral thesis examination process.

This storied paper reflects my awakening to the notion of interbeing, a core concept of Engaged Buddhism posed by the Vietnamese Zen Buddhist Thich Nhat Hanh. My awareness was heightened in writing about a young Vietnamese child, Dylan, with whom I engaged in an early childhood study in Aotearoa New Zealand. Underpinned by Chen's Asia as Method, interbeing is considered a research orientation for decolonization, an alternative way of knowing and thinking in mutuality and relatedness. In the light of interbeing, the writing is a process of living my lives and the others' lives as well as transforming myself to see with the child. The paper conveys critical moments in my writing path with the potential to integrate non-Western philosophy into qualitative research with young children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Just as an expanded view of language policy now affords agency to many more actors across society than authorities and linguists alone, it also accepts that the dispositions these agents bring to language affairs influence language policy processes and outcomes. However, this paper makes the case that language policy may also be guided, to some degree, by what these societal agents of language policy claim to "know" as facts in linguistics, regardless of the empirical accuracy of their knowledge. Drawing on an analysis of qualitative data from folk linguistic research on Maori language revitalisation, the paper discusses instances of the policy ideas and discourses of a cohort of young New Zealanders relying on what they claimed as facts about revitalisation. By bringing a folk linguistic perspective to language policy theory, the paper argues that space should be made to accommodate the power of folk linguistic knowledge in language policy theory.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to assess the overall alignment of undergraduate accounting degree programmes from all Certified Practicing Accountants Australia and Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand accredited higher education providers in Australia with the profession's minimum educational expectations (MEEs). Design/methodology/approach: The paper uses a series of quantitative and qualitative analyses to determine whether or not the content and focus of these programmes prepares students for contemporary accounting practice. Findings: The results of these analyses demonstrate that most accredited undergraduate accounting degrees in Australia are largely unaligned with the profession's expectations, with 18 (out of 57) degree programmes showing no overlap between their learning outcomes and the profession's MEEs. In addition, only two (out of 57) programmes are shown to address all of the profession's minimum expectations. A subsequent analysis of the focus and structure of the evaluated degree-level learning outcomes revealed additional inconsistencies between the interpretation of individual MEEs by the profession and the higher education sector. Originality/value: This paper demonstrates that accredited undergraduate degrees are predominantly unable to prepare students for entry into the accounting profession, and that the prior efforts to align accounting curricula with the profession's needs and expectation have thus far been largely unsuccessful. The findings of this paper are relevant for higher education providers and the accounting profession because they reflect the current level of alignment between the content and focus of undergraduate accounting education and the profession's expectations. In addition, the findings of this paper highlight that the current accreditation process of the professional accounting bodies in Australia does not generate the desired alignment between academia and accounting practice.

Research in teacher education repeatedly suggests that the background and underlying beliefs held by pre-service teachers about teaching and assessment act to shape their interpretations of ideas, powerfully influencing their praxis and their developing teacher identity. This paper explores how a young New Zealand secondary science teacher, raised and educated in Maori-medium and then English-medium New Zealand schools, develops his identity as a teacher as he navigates a range of educational contexts and experiences. His views on assessment provide a focus. The paper presents a case study drawn from a two-year longitudinal study, comprising a series of interviews with the teacher, as he transitioned from a university graduate to a qualified science teacher working in his first school. The complexity of teacher identity development is highlighted, particularly for teachers for whom cultural identity and indigenous world view is important. It suggests that beginning teachers need more time in their pre-service teacher education to reflect on the influence their formative educational experiences have on who they are becoming as a teacher.

In higher education music instrument teaching, there is a strong tradition of high-level performers being recruited to teach advanced students within the private studio despite the fact these educators often have no training in pedagogy. The studio environment also continues to be dominated by the one-to-one lesson format and the master-apprentice tradition. While the literature overviews a long history of the master-apprentice tradition in various fields, there is to date minimal empirical research that specifically evidences the extent to which it is cyclical in nature. This paper reports on survey data from 54 current tertiary educators across four countries who were asked to identify the key influences on how they work within the music studio. The data point not only to the influence of the master-apprentice tradition, but also to the fact that most current educators rely on previous teachers and experiences of teaching to inform their pedagogy.

This paper reports on findings from a research project concerned with how electronic networking tools (e-networked tools), such as the Internet, online forums, and mobile technologies, can support authentic science inquiry in junior secondary classrooms. It focuses on three qualitative case studies involving science teachers from two high schools together with their Year 9 and Year 10 classes. The ways teachers and students view and take up the affordances of mobile phones to support authentic science inquiry are of interest. Data were collected from teacher reflections, student interviews, a student survey, classroom observations and student work. The findings highlight three key themes that illustrate the advantage of using mobile phones as part of the classroom culture to video record group practical investigations, support students' developing abilities to think like a scientist, and enable the sharing of learning beyond the classroom. The findings have implications for practice and can contribute to a better understanding of the ways mobile devices can support and extend science inquiry in New Zealand secondary classrooms.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the need for business law as a distinct subject matter within the accounting discipline should be taught in a more rigorous manner. This study involved semi structured interviews with eleven business law academics from two New Zealand Universities. The interviews were conducted to assess the perspectives of business law academics and how business law is taught. Perceptions were also sought on whether business law material coverage meets the needs of accounting students and if not what changes were considered necessary for the subject matter to remain relevant. Not surprisingly, all the interviewees considered business law was vital to accounting students as most of the interviewees had business and legal backgrounds. The interviews drew a variety of responses on what accounting students needed to know about the intricacies of business law. Responses were also varied over what business law topics needed to be incorporated into the curricula and the depth of detail they should be taught but it was found that almost half of the interviewees wanted business law to be taught using a problem-based learning approach. This study is a reflection of the current debate regarding the level of knowledge accounting students require of the law to be effective chartered accountants and financial managers.

While an emphasis on social justice has emerged as a theme in initial teacher education (ITE) over the past decade, there is much debate about how to engage ITE students in foregrounding issues of equity and social justice in their own teaching. One strategy, the introduction of critical pedagogy in ITE, has been promoted in teacher education literature since the early 1970s. In subsequent decades it has become apparent that there is a lack of consensus on what critical pedagogy is, and what it means to teach from a critical perspective. Drawing on the "big tent" of critical pedagogies, the purpose of this paper is to focus attention on the evolution and/or devolution of critical pedagogy in physical education initial teacher education (PETE). This paper reports on findings from a research project that explored how six health and physical education teacher educators (PETEs), who teach in a single PETE programme that is underpinned by a critical orientation, understand and enact critical pedagogy. Data were collected through 60-minute semi-structured interviews. A six-step process of inductive thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. This study suggests there is a commitment to social justice from all six of the PETEs. It is evident, however, that there are differences in their understanding of critical pedagogy. These differences reveal each teacher educator's own valued theoretical perspectives, and manifest themselves in teaching practices in the PETE programme.

Children's interests are a common foundation for early childhood curricula. Yet, little research is available about the fundamental nature of children's interests and analytical ways to recognize and engage with these. Early work on children's interests adopted a psychological perspective and associated interests with activity choices. Recent work has taken a sociocultural perspective, arguing that more analytical interpretations of children's interests can occur through a deeper understanding of children's funds of knowledge from their lives in their families and communities, and their inquiries that result. This paper draws on a qualitative, interpretivist study in two early childhood centres in Aotearoa New Zealand to extend this work and argue that children's "real questions" are the fundamental source of their interests. The interpretations presented of children's questions also challenge earlier psychological research that suggested children cannot imagine their future selves until late in the early childhood period. A revised continuum of children's interests and examples of interpretations of children's real questions are proffered for further consideration in other early childhood contexts. Further, the paper argues that interests-based curriculum is justifiable in the early years through likely leading to a range of long-term outcomes valued by societies.

This paper identifies a range of positions and perspectives that impacted on New Zealand beginning primary (elementary) generalist teacher's preparedness to teach music in relation to: government policy, curriculum and Graduating Teacher Standards requirements; and teacher educators' and school principals' expectations of them. The complex web of interdependency and tension that existed between the research participants highlighted a mismatch between policy, philosophy and practice. Preparedness to teach music was significantly influenced by teachers' previous musical experiences; access to pedagogical knowledge and skill advancement during their training; guidance and modelling in schools. Notionally, access to music education for every child was valued, but this was often marginalised by government priorities around National Standards reporting in literacy and numeracy. Findings have the potential to advocate for a realistic professional learning, development and resourcing framework that matches every child's right in New Zealand, to music as part of a broad education.

This research examined what accounting employers are seeking in their "ideal" accounting graduate and sought to provide clarification on the "expectation gap" between what accounting employers require in their graduates, and the skills these graduates are exhibiting. Adopting a qualitative research method, this research paper draws on semi-structured interviews conducted face-to-face with participants from key accounting employers. This research found that, in terms of technical skills, employers require at least a sound understanding of the fundamental technical accounting skills. However, beyond this, little more is expected technically of graduates as the requisite technical skills are learned "on the job." Findings also suggest that the touted "expectation gap" is not as pervasive as prior literature has suggested. Over half of employers also believed universities are preparing students adequately for the workplace, although this seemed to be moderated by an opinion among employers that this is "as well as an academic institution can do." Based on the findings, some key recommendations were made. These include a greater inclusion of non-technical skills in accounting education through the incorporation of practical case study problems into accounting curricula, involving group discussion and the production of written reports and business presentations for their "client" as well as the continued encouragement of internship opportunities within university degrees.

This qualitative narrative correspondence study investigates older adults' experiences of physical activity (PA) during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns in Aotearoa, New Zealand. This paper presents a reflexive thematic analysis of 501 letters received from 568 participants that discussed PA. Participants described PA as bringing joy and rhythm to daily life under stay-at-home measures. The most frequently discussed forms of PA included exercising, gardening, and housework. Four interconnected conceptual themes identified were as follows: (a) renegotiating environmental relationships, (b) social connection, (c) pleasure and PA, and (d) navigating active aging discourses. This paper emphasizes the important environmental and social motivations for becoming and remaining physically active despite restrictions on movement. Older adults' understandings and performance of PA were heavily shaped by active aging discourses. As such, we suggest that initiatives seeking to promote PA should foreground older adults' feelings of connection, productivity, and pleasure and recognize their diversity. This is contrary to current recommendations focused on duration or intensity of older adults' PA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children's interests and thinking emanate from their daily lived experiences in their families, communities and cultures. This paper substantiates the view that the construct of "funds of knowledge", understood through the lens of "cultural repertoires of practice", provides an analytical tool for early years teachers to interpret their observations of, and conversations with, young children. The paper reports findings from a qualitative case study in early childhood settings of children's interests and thinking. The methods included participant observation, interviews with teachers and children and gathering of pedagogical documentation. This paper specifically draws on and problematises the funds of knowledge and related gendered thinking that a young Chinese girl revealed through her interests and practices. It argues that although the construct of funds of knowledge provides an authentic conceptual framework to guide and justify teachers' pedagogical decision-making, it should not be accepted uncritically. The concept may raise some issues for teachers' responses to children's thinking and relationships with diverse families. Teachers and researchers have future work to undertake to understand children's complex cultural knowledges and positionings in an increasingly globalised world.

This paper examines a professional development and learning intervention that sought to improve teachers' understandings of, and capacities to teach, "critical evaluation" in senior school physical education (SSPE). Physical education (PE) teachers and researchers formed a professional learning community (PLC) to deliver critical evaluation workshops for students and teachers of SSPE over the course of a year. The PLC used action research and engagement with the Productive Pedagogies framework as a pedagogical language with which to plan, develop and reflect on their own understandings of critical evaluation. Data were collected by interview, observation and written reflections. Inductive analysis and the constant comparison method were used to analyse the data. The results of the teacher's efforts to enhance their understanding of critical evaluation as teacher professional learning in PE are discussed in this paper.

One of the outcomes of the New Zealand early childhood curriculum, "Te Whariki", is "working theories". Prior research on this concept has primarily utilised sociocultural theoretical underpinnings and neglected Piagetian constructivist theories. This paper explores ways the Piagetian concepts of equilibrium and disequilibrium can be invoked to support and challenge children's working theories. The paper draws on an interpretive, qualitative, practitioner inquiry study undertaken at an early childhood centre. The study identified six teaching strategies, often occurring concurrently, which were used to challenge and support the development of children's working theories through the invocation of disequilibrium. The Vygotskian concept of mediation was identified as underpinning these teaching strategies and is viewed as complementary to the Piagetian notions of equilibrium and disequilibrium. The paper argues that considering ways to invoke disequilibrium alongside existing socioculturally inspired teaching strategies adds richness to the existing understandings of fostering children's working theories.

Feedback can have a great impact on student learning. However, in order for it to be effective, feedback needs to be of high quality. Electronic marking has been one of the latest adaptations of technology in teaching and offers a new format of delivering feedback. There is little research investigating the impact the format of feedback has on quality of feedback and subsequently on student learning. This study sets out to investigate the impact paper-based and electronic methods of assignment submission and return have on students' and markers' perceived quality of feedback. Students and markers on an undergraduate course were asked to complete an anonymous online survey investigating their perceptions of quality, format and timeliness of feedback delivered electronically and on paper. The results showed that marking and providing feedback electronically was an acceptable method for markers, reporting improved speed and consistency of marking. There was no increase or decrease in satisfaction with the feedback received. Overall, electronic marking was found to be an acceptable method of delivery of feedback on written assignments by both students and markers. The findings of this study suggest that electronic marking can result in more timely feedback for students without impacting on quality.

The paper draws on a series of Australian Research Council (ARC) projects aimed at understanding better the process of doctoral examination. The early phase focussed on the Australian doctorate, which functions without a Viva, while the later phase was concerned with comparing the earlier findings with analysis of the United Kingdom (UK) and New Zealand (NZ) systems that include a Viva. Results showed some strengths and weaknesses of both systems and so the paper explores the desirability of drawing on the strengths of both examination models to minimize the weaknesses against a backdrop of escalating pressures on universities.

Language policies have a better chance of succeeding if they align with the persuasions of the polity, and this is only more pronounced in the case of endangered languages, such as Te Reo (the Maori language) in New Zealand. There, a comprehensive suite of laws, policies, and programmes are in place to acknowledge and reverse the linguistic consequences of British colonisation and previous laws of linguistic assimilation. However, this history and benevolent rationale are generally hidden in policy documents and only implied in public discourse. Drawing on the findings of a large-scale qualitative online survey that obtained folk linguistic knowledge and beliefs about language revitalisation in New Zealand, this paper identifies whether non-indigenous youth claim Te Reo is or is not endangered, and analyses the diachronic and synchronic sociolinguistic reasoning these youth use to arrive at their claims. In doing so, the paper also draws on collective memory theory in sociology to especially consider whether, and to what extent, the folk linguistic commentary of these non-indigenous youth sustains a collective memory of Te Reo language loss at the hands of colonial Pakeha forefathers.

This paper reports on a qualitative evaluation of the postgraduate courses offered by distance in one university department. The types and amount of support provided to students was evaluated and compared with Simpson's (2008a) Proactive Motivational Support model (PaMS). While students were largely satisfied with the support they received during their studies, their perceptions of the levels and effectiveness of that support varied. They also perceived a variation in the levels of support between individual courses. A number of areas where support could be improved were identified, including those that met the characteristics of the PaMS model.

This paper reports on the results of a two-year study into threshold concepts (TCs) in doctoral writing. The findings informed the development of a thinking to write strategy (the 4x4) that has been implemented as part of a pan-university doctoral writing programme at a New Zealand university.

The modern school is a multi-layered and complex institution. For inclusive values and practices to embed in educational systems the nature of school culture and the change process must be considered. Qualitative data was gathered during a year-long ethnographic study of inclusive change in a co-educational high school. This paper applies a model of culture to demonstrate that the development of inclusion within a whole school culture is a process of continued personal and collective reflection, re-negotiation, and experience carried out over a sustained period of time. In order to foster the sustained development of inclusive cultures in schools it is vital to understand the nature of change within school culture, and to provide the time to reflect on deeply held beliefs.

In early 2014, a team of researchers was invited into partnership with the Maori Success Initiative (MSI), a national, indigenous led network of Maori and non-Maori principals committed to working collaboratively to raise Maori student achievement. Working with over sixty principals across six regional clusters throughout Aotearoa New Zealand, these researchers utilised critical Kaupapa Maori methodology to observe, engage, and support MSI's vision of A Change in the Hearts and Minds of Principals in mainstream contexts. Qualitative data collected from leadership surveys, hui reflective statements, and other documents were analysed to validate and strengthen MSI's efforts to establish a critical mass of effective school leadership practices that promote and sustain Maori success as Maori. This paper highlights the research and outcomes resulting from evaluating the personal and professional growth of MSI leaders. Finally, implications for effective, culturally responsive leadership for Maori success as Maori are provided.

Seven counseling and guidance students from California participated in a study abroad program in which they were placed in a high school in Auckland, New Zealand, for one month. Their comments on the experience in response to researchers' questions form the basis of this paper. They suggest that the participants benefited from being immersed in a culturally different context where they had to consider differences in school organization, counseling priorities, and students' cultural mores. This immersion required them to think about their own professional values and to engage in high level learning, appropriate to masters level field experience work. They commented especially on different approaches to cultural and racial issues in New Zealand and California and on experiencing a counseling profession that is more focused on addressing social issues than on college readiness.

If feedback is to be framed as purposeful dialogue then both students and teachers have significant roles to play. Students must be willing and able to provide feedback to teachers not only about their learning needs but also about the teaching they experience. In turn, teachers must create the conditions that support active student learning and disclosure. It is against this backdrop that the current interpretive, qualitative research was carried out. Set within the final year of secondary schooling in New Zealand (Year 13) this paper draws on data generated from two semi-structured, focus group interviews. It provides insights into 14 students' perspectives about the role feedback plays in the enhancement of their learning, the kinds of experiences and interactions needed to support their disclosure of learning needs and the dispositions teachers need to exhibit to create a trustful, mutually respectful environment.

Families play important roles in children's learning. Yet, teachers' values and beliefs may sway how families may participate in assessment of their child's learning within early childhood education. This paper reports on a qualitative case study in a New Zealand early childhood setting that explored teachers' views about involving families in assessment of infants' and toddlers' dispositional learning. Methods comprised interviews with five teachers, researcher field notes and documentation about children's learning. Findings suggested that teachers' views about learning dispositions, teaching and assessment positioned families as consumers of, rather than participants in, assessment. Theoretical tensions arose between Gerber's Resources for Infant Educarers (RIE) approach that guided teachers' philosophy and practice and "Te Whariki," the mandated early childhood curriculum of New Zealand. The paper argues that weaving RIE with a national curriculum framework requires teacher engagement in critical thinking and discussion regarding actively involving families in assessment.

International debates persist about what constitutes desirable outcomes from early childhood education experiences. The New Zealand early childhood curriculum brings together academic and social-pedagogic outcomes as interdependent holistic constructs named "dispositions" and "working theories". These constructs are complex notions that require interpretation by researchers and teachers in order to be recognised as outcomes by those with a vested interest in children's education: parents and policy-makers. This paper engages with the construct of working theories. It explains its genesis and outlines research activity thus far. The paper draws on findings from a two-year qualitative research project exploring children's interests, inquiries and working theories. The paper analyses two vignettes of working theories into mutually constitutive components of knowledge, skills and strategies, and attitudes and expectations. It argues that deconstructing working theories into elements able to be recognised by those outside early childhood education provides a way to demystify these innovative outcomes. Such scrutiny may assist parents and policy-makers to understand ways that the learning they value is present in the early years. Further, holistic outcomes are responsive to research and scholarship on appropriate pedagogy that encourages children to develop identities as learners, identities critical to living in the twenty-first century.

Within the New Zealand university context, there has been a dramatic shift in the demographics of doctoral programs. Moving from an elitist educational environment to one that includes a variety of students from different cultures and educational and linguistic backgrounds has meant that "traditional" doctoral study, in which a student works largely alone under the supervision of just one or two more senior research scholars has become increasingly inadequate. This paper describes a qualitative research study of a cross-disciplinary, cohort-based doctoral writing initiative. Findings from the study have changed how doctoral support is conceptualised within our context and have led to the adoption of a student-focused "talk to think: think to write" peer learning environment.

In this paper, we explore the relationship between student success in acquiring software literacy and students' broader engagement and understanding of knowledge across different disciplines. We report on the first phase of a project that examines software literacies associated with Microsoft PowerPoint as a common software package encountered and used by most students at tertiary level. Student data was collected through an online survey and focus-group interviews. One hundred and seventy-nine first-year Engineering and Media Studies students from a New Zealand university responded to the survey. A majority of students considered themselves to be confident and comfortable in engaging with new technologies, had access to mobile-based technologies or laptops, and relied on this hardware and related software for electronic forms of communication and information access in their university courses. On the whole, students expressed a preference for informal strategies (including trial and error) when learning about PowerPoint, expected it to be used in their university coursework, and could identify its related affordances and constraints, and how those affected their learning. Despite their familiarity with PowerPoint, students fell short in their ability to critique the ways the software shaped their understanding of disciplinary knowledge. Implications are discussed in terms of university teaching, including the nature of support services.

This paper reports on one aspect of a descriptive multiple-case study which set out to explore the role of a learning management system (LMS) in personalising learning for students from the perspective of three teachers in one primary school in New Zealand. The intention was to provide insight into the role the LMS could play in classrooms when personalising learning. The research project involved gathering multiple sources of data from interviews and observations, and documentary information from the LMS. The findings suggest that the LMS has the potential to be a key part of a primary classroom environment when it is built on components that personalise learning. For the teachers in this project, one salient component of personalised learning involved ensuring learning was based on assessment for learning pedagogy and the use of the LMS as a tool to support learning. The findings highlighted the interconnected nature of personalised learning pedagogy, the LMS and classroom practice.

Student engagement is required for effective distance learning. Amongst other things, it is built by fostering connectedness amongst tutors, academic advisors, and students, and by providing high-quality content and materials through appropriate technologies. Students are more likely to succeed when they experience these different aspects as a coherent whole in their learning environment. Previously, Laidlaw College's Centre for Distance Learning refined its systems for course design and evaluated its provision of academic support. The present paper reports findings from a survey which explored student learning experiences by measuring perceptions of connectedness with tutors, advisors, and their fellow students; perceptions of an orientation event; and preferences for a variety of technologies through which students access course materials. The findings tentatively suggest that students experienced their study as an integrated whole. While there was significant variability in individual preferences relating to the use of technology, expectations that different demographic groups would have different preferences were not supported.

The role of Resource Teachers: Learning and Behaviour (RTLB), established under the policy initiatives outlined in Special Education 2000 [Ministry of Education 1996. "Special Education 2000." Wellington: Learning Media], is to assist schools and teachers in developing and maintaining inclusive classrooms and schools through a collaborative problem-solving model of service delivery. This paper reports on research describing the responses of 14 teachers to their experiences of working with the RTLB through a collaborative problem-solving process to assist their students with special needs. The research was part of a larger study which examined in detail the practice of six experienced RTLB and the viability of the collaborative problem-solving model in New Zealand. The results of this part of the study indicated a high level of teacher acceptance of, and satisfaction with, the collaborative support and guidance provided by the RTLB to assist them in developing inclusionary practices. This paper outlines the factors, identified by the teachers, which facilitated the adaptations and interventions required of them to support the successful inclusion of students identified as having special needs.

This paper presents some of the results from a 2-year, qualitative study entitled "Growing up kapo Maori: Identity, whanau, and cultural well being." It explores the educational experiences of 10 Maori (indigenous people of Aotearoa, New Zealand), who are kapo (blind/vision impaired) of various ages up to the age of 80, and their whanau (family). In this research, four common themes emerged, including (1) visibility and invisibility, (2) cultural location and dislocation, (3) cultural consonance and dissonance, and (4) transformation and change. These themes are discussed in this paper in relation to the participants' educational experiences. Overall, schools had difficulty providing both culturally appropriate education and educational support for the participants' vision impairment. Inclusive education options for kapo Maori tamariki/rangatahi and their whanau were limited. However, the participants articulated aspirations for education in their own communities, with their whanau that would value them as Maori who happen to also be kapo. In order to realise these aspirations, the participants and their whanau moved not only between educational settings but also towns.

This paper reports on findings from a major New Zealand research project around staff perceptions of student evaluations of teaching. The main focus of this discussion is the insights that the research afforded into staff engagement with and use of student evaluations to inform their teaching practice and to improve student learning. The research data indicates that there is a gap between academics' relatively positive views of evaluation and their actual engagement with the process. A high percentage of academics, particularly at NZ universities, do not report engagement in dialogue or professional development activities around student evaluation. The use of evaluations in teaching tends to be individual, often isolated and unsystematic. This paper recommends some ideas for moving forward and argues for a cultural change that endorses, supports and rewards the systematic integration of student evaluations into teaching practice.

Research in the area of children's sexuality is largely based on observational and retrospective studies. Childhood studies literature increasingly calls upon the inclusion of children's voices, yet with sensitive topics ethical positions often close research possibilities in the territories of children's worlds. Children are perceived as a vulnerable group, especially when the investigation focuses on their sexual development and activity--and it is perceived that this research area is too sensitive and potentially harmful to children. Within the context of beginning a qualitative study on children's sexuality in New Zealand (including interviews with children), this paper reviews a number of studies of childhood research. These studies provide a glimpse at how research focusing on children has been conducted, and explores ethical issues arising in such research. The significance of researcher reflexivity is acknowledged for ethical research practice. The paper concludes that in research on children's sexuality a process of ethical review is limited, and that researcher competence in sensitive investigations is required. Among other difficulties for this researcher (with a professional background in child and family therapy) is the vulnerability of being a man choosing to research children. (Contains 1 note.)

The three-month "Changing Places" project involved early childhood student teachers working with music students in developing children's music in centres in Auckland, New Zealand. The project set out to challenge the calculative aspect in music learning (Heidegger, 1993). The term calculative in this instance describes learning seen as music as preordained tasks. The music students involved in the project understood music in the form of a predefined score to be perfectly realised, while the early childhood teachers were familiar with a repertoire of early childhood songs and music played on a CD with pre-ordained actions to be performed at mat times. Data for the study was obtained through video recordings of student pairs working with children in centres, audio recordings of shared dialogues between students and online moodle discussions. This paper describes the different ways in which the two sets of students through their dialogue developed a shared ethos that countered their previous approaches and understandings of music education. The suggestion is made that the task itself, of developing self initiated music making with children, facilitated this open exploration and change of musical education ideas.

Cooperative education can be expressed in terms of a partnership between students, university and industry. A stakeholder-integrated approach to cooperative education involves formalized sustainable relationships between stakeholders. This study investigated the motives and determinants for the formation of cooperative education partnerships. Through a qualitative case study, the perceptions of cooperative education stakeholders were explored in the context of sport tertiary education. The students, industry and academics views supported multiple determinants such as reciprocity, efficiency, legitimacy and synergy as important in the formation of cooperative education partnerships. Interpersonal connections and individual factors also played a key role. However, for long-term viability the university and industry also need to consider strategic alignment rather than partnerships based on individual interests alone. Understanding the perceptions of the stakeholders involved in the partnership will contribute to improving the management and sustainability of sport cooperative education experiences for students, the university and industry. [Papers included in this "Asia-Pacific Journal of Cooperative Education" ("APJCE") Special Issue stem from selected manuscripts from the Australian Collaborative Education Network Annual Conference 2012.]