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This paper discusses key themes of the 15th biennial conference of the Association for Language Awareness (2020), with a focus on increasing digital engagement in language education. The COVID-19 pandemic occasioned an abrupt transition to emergency remote language teaching and learning (ERLTL) worldwide. The ALA 2020 conference was also affected by this transition; originally planned as a located conference in Geelong, Australia, it was eventually held online, a first in ALA's conference history. The current paper engages with contemporary debates of language teaching and learning in two ways. Firstly, it traces recent discussions by presenting key findings from five papers given at the conference, and secondly, via a scoping review of literature focusing on critical lessons from the pandemic regarding language teaching and learning. The review captures recent research from the Australasian region. Key debates identified in the literature include the needs of teachers and learners during the transition to online learning, and how student engagement was affected. The literatures highlight that both educators and students have been developing new practices in teaching and learning resulting from the shift to online and blended modes, which may continue to shape language education and new pedagogies in the future.

It is essential that teachers are prepared to teach te reo Maori speaking children so that Maori tamariki enjoy equal and equitable opportunities to succeed as Maori (Education & Training Act, 2020). This article draws on research undertaken for my master's degree which investigated teacher preparedness to teach te reo Maori speaking children in mainstream primary schools. Key findings included an awareness of how language and culture impact on identity and educational outcomes. Although participants acknowledged the absolute necessity that te reo Maori and tikanga Maori are included in all aspects of the education setting, they also reported that tikanga Maori is a more comfortable space to be in than te reo Maori as there were clear connections to their own values. Four key themes emerged from the findings which I promote in this paper as key factors for teacher readiness to teach reo Maori speaking children. These are: Kia rite (be prepared), Kia hono (be connected); Kia tatatiako (be culturally competent and responsive) and, Kia whakauruuru (be integrative). This article discusses the four factors listed above and implications for tamariki, their whanau, teachers and Initial Teacher Education (ITE) providers.

Critical thinking (CT) is increasingly included within education curriculum policy development to support students' intellectual progress. Teachers who embed CT learning and are cognisant of students cultural identity increase their ability and aptitude to think critically. This paper reports results from an anonymous survey administered to 490 teacher participants, designed to investigate teacher beliefs regarding the impact of students cultural identity on their ability to think critically. The results of the study found a diversity of teacher opinion, including negative attitudes (53%) regarding students' abilities and the requirement for a culturally responsive teaching approach. The study highlights the complexities of implementing CT, and the need for policy makers to consider the impact of teachers' beliefs about student cultural identity before effective delivery of CT in secondary schools is likely to occur.

This paper offers a first person account of an indigenous person navigating the education system to become an educational psychologist. The writing is unashamedly personal, includes cultural references, words from the first language of our country, feelings and reflections. The second author has contextualised these observations in the literary style required of a professional journal, making the structural racism and the need for decolonisation in Aotearoa/New Zealand more explicit. Up until 1968 psychologists in this country were a branch of the British Psychological Society. As such this writing is an echo from the reaches of the former empire. As psychologists, these global connections are a source of mutual shame but also one of solidarity with those who challenge colonisation. The re-posting of an account by a UK-based black trainee educational psychologist, led to a discussion about the training programmes in our country. This created the space for the authors to write this paper. Young people tell us that the relationships and the way in which educational professionals engage make a difference to their learning at school. We need a diverse, culturally equipped educational psychology workforce that is knowledgeable and willing to challenge the inequities in our education and health systems. A glossary of Maori words is provided at the end of this paper to assist the reader.

This paper is a version of the author's Keynote Address at the Oceania Comparative and International Education Society (OCIES) Annual Conference on November 21, 2018. She talks about the history of comparative education and how the it relates to the Oceania region. It is a field that relies heavily on accounts of Oceanic lives and classrooms written by scholars who are not always, themselves, rooted in or accountable to the communities that they study. All too often, comparative education researchers are travelers in those worlds and, in some cases, they are simply passing through on their way to their next study or research grant. She has no doubt that most of these scholar-travelers care a great deal about the schools and the classrooms and the people they meet along the way. But the problem is that the benefits of those encounters that take place in indigenous or Pacific or marginalized educational space tend to flow more directly towards them in terms of promotions, professional recognition and academia's other "glittering prizes". The benefits are frequently much less evident for the people living in those communities. So, if scholars are committed to transformation and to decolonizing the field of inquiry then these are the questions that they need to ask. In the end, the author feels there needs to be a kind of soul-searching that scholars need to do from time to time. This kind of reflection offers a range of choices in comparative and international education

While internationalization is among the top strategic priorities of universities and colleges globally, research into the expanse of internationalization in the kinesiology discipline is not well researched. Given this gap, critical consideration of the state and status of the phenomenon is needed. Knowing more about what is being done in the name of internationalization within kinesiology and reflecting on how those actions and outcomes are aligned, or not, with key theoretical guidance is necessary in order to plan for improvement accordingly. For these reasons, this paper first provides a primer on internationalization in higher education, including how the phenomenon has come to be defined as well as key contemporary critiques associated with it. In particular, we highlight Beck's (2012) theoretical concept of 'eduscape' to critically consider the influences of globalization on internationalization within higher education kinesiology as well as Khoo, Taylor, and Andreotti's (2016) principles of intelligibility, dissent, and solidarity to consider the ways kinesiology scholars engage critically with internationalization processes. Presented next is a review of the kinesiology literature that is explicitly focused on internationalization. Then, the results of a pilot survey into the views of National Association for Kinesiology in Higher Education (NAKHE) members and other Western kinesiology scholars on internationalization is reported next. The paper concludes with recommendations as to how NAKHE and the broader community of Western kinesiology scholars might best navigate internationalization moving forward. We recommend the complexity-informed and principle-driven approach of inclusive leadership as a means of pursuing cognitive justice in the 21st century.

In inclusive education, Disability Studies is a framework that has been useful for identifying gaps in theory, in practice and the spaces in between. Disability Studies in Education also provides new spaces in which to manoeuvre, re-framing theory, reflecting on and (potentially) shifting practice in classrooms, schools, and national policies and guidelines. In this paper three teacher educators and a school principal describe their work in undergraduate and graduate teacher education, both initial teacher education and in-service professional development. We describe the genesis of our theorising in an ongoing project developing and disseminating a sociocultural approach to assessment, "Narrative Assessment." We continue to learn about curriculum, pedagogy and assessment in this project. These learnings inform our theory and practice of teacher education for inclusive education.

This paper delves into the innovative use of the potluck, or "pa'ina," as a metaphor to reimagine a research approach aimed at fostering collective understanding between non-Indigenous knowledge seekers and Indigenous knowledge guardians in Indigenous contexts. By embracing the broader context of research, this metaphor strives to create a dialogical, relational, and ethical space for knowledge seekers to engage with knowledge guardians, promoting a reciprocal and respectful relationship. Central to this metaphor is the recognition of the insider/outsider binary and the need to transcend it. Indigenous knowledge is often guarded and restricted, granted access based on relationships and shared experiences. Understanding the complexity of these socio-spatial relationships is crucial for researchers to navigate respectfully. The metaphor also draws from the Oceanic concept of "va/va/wa," signifying the space between entities and the importance of maintaining harmony and balance within relationships. This relational space between the self and the other allows for transformative encounters and meaningful connections. To navigate this third space, researchers must undergo introspective reflexive exercises to understand their situationality and how it influences their research. Knowledge seekers must unsettle their histories, understand context, listen to the stories of others, create shared understanding, and launch new relationships that are centered on respect and reciprocity. Throughout the research process, the metaphor of "pa'ina" encourages researchers to be active participants, nurturing relationships with communities they seek knowledge from and reflecting upon their role within it. The "pa'ina" metaphor offers a transformative approach for Western academia to critically examine its historical impact on Indigenous communities and embrace a more respectful and inclusive research paradigm. By centering Indigenous voices and building meaningful relationships, this third space provides an opportunity for collaborative and sustainable research for the benefit of all stakeholders involved.

The national bicultural early childhood curriculum in New Zealand, Te Whariki, and the Graduating Teacher Standards require that graduating teachers are competent in Maori language as well as English, and have an understanding of aspects of Maori knowledge. However, research shows that teachers are not yet proficient in the skills needed to deliver the bicultural curriculum effectively. This paper explores the role of teacher-education providers in equipping their graduates to deliver that curriculum. Framed by an appreciative inquiry approach, data were collected from courses displayed on the websites of ten early-childhood tertiary teacher-education providers, followed by interviews with four participants from one provider. Findings revealed that providers considered their key role was in developing student teachers' cultural understanding and commitment. Although the paper focuses on a bicultural curriculum in Aotearoa New Zealand, the findings have implications internationally for lecturers who seek to provide student teachers with culturally inclusive programmes.

The social service sector in New Zealand is undergoing significant change with the Minister responsible for introducing a new Ministry for Vulnerable Children (now Ministry for Children) signalling a commitment to practice being child-centred and trauma-informed in the new era. There is no shared understanding of these terms or what they will mean for practice. This paper focuses on child-centred practice, beginning with a brief overview of events since 1989 when the Children Young Persons and their Families Act (now renamed the Oranga Tamariki Act) was introduced. Two dominant discourses shaping approaches to care and protection are outlined before posing child-centred practice as a third option addressing the shortcomings of these positions. Three components of child centred practice are discussed: an understanding of power dynamics; a child's rights perspective and cultural competence. The paper concludes with an overview of what will be needed to embed culturally appropriate child-centred practice and consideration of implications in a global context.

This paper is a reflection on culturally relevant pedagogies of care to achieve more equitable outcomes for diverse cultures within early childhood. The authors are academics at a tertiary institute in Auckland, New Zealand. Our aim is to share our experiences as teachers in a diverse and multi-ethnic city in New Zealand. Authors draw on narrative methodology to deconstruct our experiences and share how we position ourselves in teaching and learning. The paper emphasises an enactment of pedagogy that recognises diverse cultural knowledge and other ways of knowing.

Intercultural capability, or the ability to relate comfortably with people from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds, is increasingly recognised as a key twenty-first century competency. The importance of its development in the context of learning a language has long been acknowledged in the literature. However, practitioners worldwide struggle with the implementation of interculturally focused language teaching. This paper reports aspects of a study designed to support New Zealand intermediate school teachers to develop their students' intercultural capability through learning a language. The paper focuses on two teachers of Mandarin, one a non-native and the other a native speaker, working in different teaching contexts. The findings indicate that both teachers struggled with similar challenges: the fear of exposing students to stereotypes; uncertainty about target language use for intercultural topics; and finding a balance between language and culture in their language programmes. Implications for moving towards young language learners' intercultural capability are raised.

In this piece, I recount some events in which I was called upon to speak in te reo Ma ori on behalf of others in a variety of formal situations. I call this being 'on the paepae' but the paepae should be understood more properly as the paepae tapu. I will leave the further explanation of this for others who should rightly speak about such things. For my purposes here, the paepae is understood to be any situation in which one acts as a spokesperson for others and follows tikanga Ma ori in a contemporary context. I always feel like I am on the paepae when speaking te reo Ma ori in many situations. More often than not, this happens in schools. We are usually not on an actual marae but, nonetheless, a paepae is brought into existence. I have done this speaking (whaiko rero) with varying degrees of success and competence, and not a little anxiety. I have got it wrong sometimes and failed utterly in my responsibilities. A few times I have done well. Recently, my father-in-law presented me with a tokotoko, a ceremonial 'walking' stick (or perhaps it should be talking stick), to be carried when doing whaiko rero. This was a surprise and has caused me to reflect on my position as a Pa kehaon the paepae. Kua tae mai a tokotoko. Me aha ahau? The walking stick has arrived. What should I do? E ngaiwi E ngareo E ngamana teitei o te motu Te na koutou, te nakoutou, te nakoutou katoa. Ki te hunga mate kua haere ki te po hei tauira mata tou Te nakoutou, te nakoutou, te nakoutou katoa. Ki te hunga ora e whai tonu nei i ngatikanga a kui ma, a koro ma Te nakoutou, te na koutou, te nata tou katoa.

Knowing how well higher education providers prepare learners for the working world is becoming increasingly important at all programme levels, and this is nowhere more apparent than with vocational education training. Ensuring our learners can hit the ground running and become immediately productive is essential for the relevance, and probably the survival, of New Zealand's Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics (ITPs). Yet while there is much commentary about the challenges of transitions from tertiary study into employment and the 'employability skills gap', there is all too little given to how this is being addressed in teaching. This paper describes the work of an inter-institutional research collaboration into current approaches being used to embed skills that enhance employability. Drawing on a number of frameworks and models, the research team selected ten core attributes: "positive attitude," "communication," "teamwork," "self-management," "willingness to learn," "thinking skills," "resilience," "innovation," "entrepreneurship" and "cultural competence." The team then identified a range of strategies being used by highly commended teachers to enhance the ten employability skills: firstly, by observing classroom and online practices of 23 selected teachers from participating organisations; and secondly through follow-up interviews with the same teachers. The key takeaway of this research is raised awareness and intentionality of the overt and covert approaches vocational educators are using to enhance the employability of their students.

This paper examines why Maori language needs to be taught accurately at the early stages of initial teacher education programmes and continue for the duration of a teacher education student's degree. If teacher education faculties are permitting their students to mispronounce Maori names or words, they are in fact doing a disservice, not only to the Maori language, but also to the students destined to teach in English medium schools and the children who attend these schools. This paper defines some of the challenges and questions in regards to the inadequate fostering of the Maori language in many initial teacher education programmes and what needs to be done to rectify this situation. This paper also covers the state of the Maori language, attitudes towards it and strategies for teachers to use in a mainstream teaching setting. (Contains 11 footnotes.)

The notion of internationalization in higher education is understood as the recruitment of international students, marketing of academic programs and courses, and teaching English as a Second Language to student cohorts from Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Various models of internationalization (Knight, 2004, 2006; Leask, 2009; Pimpa, 2009; Welikala, 2011) have been explored and promoted in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. Often, as noted in the literature, these models emphasize the acculturation of international students into the host country culture rather than a respectful exchange of academic and cultural knowledge and ideas. The central thesis of this critical reflective discussion paper is that "glocalization" in higher education is an appropriate alternative to internationalization. Glocalization advocates a positive learning experience and encourages the enhancement of learners' "glocal" experience through a critical academic and cultural exchange of global and local socio-economic and political issues. Instructional strategies supporting glocalized learning curricula are recommended. The glocalization pedagogical framework for higher education, introduced in this paper, embraces the principles of social responsibility and justice with a firm commitment to sustainable futures for local and global societies.

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.)

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the cross-cultural training (CCT) provided to European expatriate executives in New Zealand, and consequently add to the knowledge for human resource management in the Australasian region. Design/methodology/approach: The present qualitative research study is based on open-ended and in-depth interviews with 30 European expatriate executives who had been residing in New Zealand for the past year or more. Findings: The results indicate that at least some CCT was provided to all interviewees; however, the training content seemed to be strongly centered around professional work, with little focus on the culture of the host country. Moreover, there was no follow-up to the pre-departure CCT and very few expatriates in the sample received any training in New Zealand. Similarly, the family is considered a fundamental factor for the success of expatriates; however, in the sample, neither spouses nor children received any training before or after their arrival in New Zealand. Research limitations/implications: The research is limited by the sample small size. The study's inconclusive highlights the need for further research to explore the influences of local residents, colleagues and neighbors on expatriates' adjustment. Similarly, further studies are also required to ascertain the effectiveness of CCT in helping support expatriates' performance and adjustment in New Zealand. Practical implications: The present study suggests that opportunities do exist for multinational companies (MNCs) to better prepare their expatriates for assignments by integrating more effectively issues related to cultural awareness into their CCT. Specifically, experimental CCT methods that emphasize the host country's culture are most valuable. The CCT technique should be tailored to the cultural distance between the host nation and expatriates' country of origin and to the nature of their assignment. Originality/value: Given the existence of many MNCs in New Zealand, it is surprising that the issue of CCT in this context has received little research attention. The current study endeavors to address this gap. This paper hopes that the findings may also be useful for consultants and human resource managers in MNCs who are involved in preparing expatriates for foreign assignments in Australasia, especially New Zealand.

A key features of the globalised environment of the twenty-first century is that populations across a range of societies have become more diverse in culture, heritage and identity. In turn, this has led to further emphasis on the teaching of cultural understanding in schools, as exemplified by the Australian Curriculum and their equivalents in countries such as Singapore, India and New Zealand. However, educational research has tended to focus on cultural education for the students, with relatively little consideration given to the attributes required by both teachers and school leaders to frame and deliver cultural education that meets the multiple needs of twenty-first century cultural environments. This paper comprises an initial exploration of the connections between the educational concept of transcultural dispositions and culturally responsive leadership behaviours of school leaders as they work to deliver a form of cultural education that is relevant to the context of the twenty-first century.

Teaching can be viewed as a cultural practice in which teaching is embedded in the culture of the teacher and informed by the culture of the students (Bell, 2011). In this paper, a narrative is presented detailing an authentic example of teaching in New Zealand in which culture is prioritised. It describes the challenges faced by a young female teacher as she worked in a low decile secondary school with male students, the majority of whom were involved in the Mongrel Mobi gang. Her approach and responses were centred in her belief in culturally responsive teaching. The deliberate actions of the teacher led to a turning point for the students, allowing their mana to remain intact as she acknowledged their identity, language and culture. This teacher's experience provides an example of how a teacher can enable learners in diverse classrooms to succeed in their learning.

Against a global pandemic, student care is in sharp focus for higher education institutions (HEIs) as students and institutions learn to navigate this context. Despite this, tensions exist between approaches to care and its value in HEIs. The neoliberalism underpinning HEIs results in the practice of care often being minimised. This is problematic as care is significant for its impact on student experiences. To demonstrate care, beyond simply service delivery, it is critical to develop a relational approach, especially for students who are already part of equity groups. The care demonstrated for these students has become more critical during the COVID-19 pandemic, and this paper focuses on Pacific and International students. We discuss the challenges negotiating how to demonstrate care when care is undefined and undervalued. Adding to the complexity, gaps continue in practice despite broad statements made by HEIs regarding cultural inclusivity. We describe our experiences as care practitioners before and during the pandemic in HEIs in Aotearoa New Zealand and the United States (U.S.), what informs our practice, and how we negotiate barriers. Employing talanoa and thematic analysis, we identified commonalities in our experiences. There was a clear gap in institutional definitions of care and understanding approaches by care practitioners. For us, a strong relational approach to care is paramount to effective practice, and even more so during a pandemic; however, this is contrasted by the many tensions described. Finally, we recognise the opportunities that arose from the pandemic for innovation focusing on student equity, which must continue post-pandemic.

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.

The focus of this paper is on a variety of practices associated with the transfer of educational policy and practice from one national education system to another--practices sometimes referred to as "policy borrowing". Its concern is with the ethical and political issues raised by these practices. In particular, it discusses concerns that these practices might be practically inappropriate, that they might be culturally insensitive or inappropriate, and that they might be impositional, exploitative perhaps or even oppressive. Such concerns arise particularly in contexts in which the transfer is from relatively rich and powerful countries to relatively poor and less powerful countries. But policy transfer is a feature of relations "between" the rich and powerful too, and to some extent the issues are then turned on their head. Those engaged in the business of transfer become more clearly identified as service providers and they have to ask questions about to whom and under what conditions they might provide this service. Finally, the paper considers policy transfer as a form of pedagogy and asks whether the kind of ethical considerations which underpin any properly "educational" transaction might not provide a guide to behaviour by the agents of policy transfer.

Students from low socio-economic backgrounds in New Zealand face many disadvantages when it comes to education, and, despite government initiatives, the disparity between the poor and the well-off continues to grow in this country. New Zealand is among several countries where income inequalities are large and the impact of socio-economic background on learning outcomes is also large (OECD, 2010). The literature in New Zealand, and overseas, regarding the effects of poverty on education is varied and extensive. This position paper discusses these effects on the learning and behaviour of students and considers what ethnicities are most at-risk as a result. Enablers and barriers to overcoming disadvantages associated with low socio-economic status (SES) background are then reviewed.

In this paper, I advocate that culture matters in music education and should be a measure we consider when we assess the quality of music-making in the community. Community arts education can address a multitude of social issues that impact marginalized communities if viewed through an appropriate lens. I propose historical trauma as an appropriate lens for a (post)colonial context. It provides a framework for disrupting music education practices in university music programs and reconsidering the competencies that need to be emphasized when training conservatory educated performers to be community music facilitators. This text is a story, written in the style of a genealogical narrative (whakapapa korero). It moves through a specific body of experiences, interconnected stories, contexts and emotions, a process identified by indigenous social work researchers as a culturally appropriate healing intervention for indigenous communities. If you are looking for a bullet-pointed exposition of suitable procedures to employ in your work, you are missing the point. In the past we indigenous academics have made it very easy for other academics and researchers to access our knowledge, but to appreciate the new knowing offered in this text you will have to work a little harder. You will need to shift your cultural paradigm and any academic bias to a world where you are not given direct answers, but rather you are encouraged to listen (and with the audio examples provided I mean that literally), reflect, become aware of your physical reactions, open yourself to the spiritual dimension and consider how these words and sounds may impact your future thinking. Most importantly, I hope this chapter will allow you to understand and share the un-mourned grief of the indigenous people in your (s)p(l)ace. [The month shown on the PDF (June) is incorrect. The correct month is July.]

In this paper, we consider New Zealand's education system to understand what can happen when we focus only on excellence and students reaching their potential, without simultaneously investing in their sense of belonging and wellbeing. National statistics suggest we are alienating and shortchanging an increasing number of students and, for disproportionate numbers of Indigenous students, these statistics are part of a world trend. The literature, and the students themselves, highlight the need to overturn the underlying racism that persistently disadvantages clearly identifiable groups of students over others. Until we do, using equity and excellence as the most powerful drivers for reform, will continue to promote conditions where our students' sense of belonging and wellbeing are undermined throughout their education and we will risk, failing to address the ensuing negative statistics. We conclude with a response that we have learned from working with these same students.

Developing students' intercultural capability is now an expectation within language programmes in New Zealand schools. This is a challenge, particularly as intercultural capability is still a new concept for many teachers. Drawing on data from a two-year project, this paper foregrounds student voices to reveal how beginner learners experienced language programmes where non-specialist intermediate school teachers facilitated comparative intercultural explorations for the first time. The findings indicate that shifts in teachers' practices led to some worthwhile, although variable, intercultural learning gains. An interdisciplinary approach is taken to consider the possible impact of age on learners' intercultural development at this level.

This paper questions notions of individualism underpinning technocratic approaches to education that marginalise indigenous and migrant peoples' knowledges in tertiary education. Focusing on New Zealand ("Aotearoa") with its colonial and immigrant history, its Maori and Pacific Islander citizens, the authors ask whether education, as its process is being communicated there, leaves indigenous and migrant people vulnerable and marginalised in the dominant, English-speaking, New Zealand European ("Pakeha") mainstream society. The question is whether education refers to capacity-building and strengthening the potential of marginalised students' language and culture; or whether it is only geared towards sustaining English-language ascendancy and technical virtuosity. Taking on board the cultural heritage of Pacific Islanders ("Pasifika") resident in New Zealand, a new teacher training diploma was introduced by the Auckland University of Technology in 2004. Both authors are involved in the panel meetings ("Fono") where the papers presented during the diploma course are evaluated.

Pasifika learners, along with Maori, continue to experience high disparities in New Zealand's education system. Furthermore, it is predicted that over the next few decades, the majority of students in New Zealand primary schools will be Maori and Pasifika. The implications for classroom teachers are enormous. In reviewing a range of literature, this paper seeks to unpack the elements of cultural responsiveness to inform and support the most direct and significant influence on student achievement--the classroom teacher. The findings are presented as guiding principles firstly because "Pasifika" is, in fact, a hugely diverse heterogeneous group, and secondly, to emphasise the need for teacher reflection and contextualised adoption and/or adaption of practice as required to respond effectively to the needs of the specific Pasifika learner.

The Nga Manu Speech Contest has grown to be one of the biggest and most positive events for New Zealand secondary school students where competitors articulate their thoughts and aspirations in both Maori and English. The contest is acknowledged as an avenue that enhances language and cultural development amongst Maori youth, yet no formal investigation has been launched to ascertain whether Nga Manu Korero contributes to the revitalization of Maori language, customs and cultural competencies. The purpose of this paper is to share the results of a research project that focused on Nga Manu Korero, the findings pertaining to cultural revitalization, their application at regional and national level, and how they affect Maori students, teachers, and communities.

The paper reports on an initiative undertaken by a group of Pacific educators --"insiders" who have undertaken various activities and work of embedding Indigenous graduate attributes into teacher education courses, in leadership training of young and emerging young Pacific leaders and in communities, research that takes into account indigenous knowledge systems. This is at the University of the South Pacific and a number of other universities and colleges of education in the region including Victoria University in NZ. The effort of the Rethinking Pacific Education Initiative (RPEIPP) hence provides the background to the development and implementation of holistic Indigenous graduate attributes. The approaches taken by the RPEIPP Pacific wide in the rethinking and redefining of education and other courses in schools as well as universities and colleges in the region, ensure that aspects of indigenous peoples cultures and related worldviews and life values and philosophies inform the work of educators. This is besides the normal provision of global knowledge, skills and values that dominate schooling and higher education in particular. RPEIPP is highly transformative and with the assistance of NZAid, is almost totally internally driven, implemented and progressively evaluated. While the first ten years of the initiative focused on teacher education, leadership, research and publications, the future should perhaps move to other parts of the Pacific region, most notably Micronesia and the North Western Pacific. Another dimension could also engage in comparative studies or researches of systems and curricula.

This paper examines a language teacher education professional development programme in New Zealand that draws on the 2007 New Zealand Curriculum. At the heart of the Learning Languages area in the curriculum is communicative competence, with the understanding that communication involves "language knowledge" and "cultural knowledge." The New Zealand Ministry of Education expects that schools will be able to offer all Years 7-10 students the opportunity to learn an additional language in order for them to participate effectively in multicultural settings, both in New Zealand and internationally. To deliver this, language teachers and generalist teachers are being encouraged to undertake professional development. This paper reports on a research evaluation of a Ministry-sponsored language teacher professional development programme. The findings reveal success in increasing teacher understanding of how to develop learners' language knowledge, because this part of the programme was underpinned by a deep principled knowledge base, and teachers had opportunities to acquire knowledge and participate in a language teaching community. However, teacher understanding of how to increase learners' cultural knowledge was less successful, because of a lack of a principled knowledge base of intercultural language teaching. We argue that effective professional development programmes need both to be based on deep principled knowledge and to offer learning that involves acquisition and participation. (Contains 4 tables.)

This paper illustrates how important changes can occur in science learning and teaching if teachers take the trouble to understand and respect the cultural worlds of Indigenous students, and incorporate something of this understanding within their teaching practice. Ten teachers participated in a specially-designed one-year university postgraduate course, which encouraged them to incorporate into their classroom learning two Maori pedagogical principles, "ako" and "whakawhanaungatanga". "Ako" is a responsive and reciprocal process, through which both teaching and learning roles are shared. "Whakawhanaungatanga" is the process of constructing relationships in the classroom between people, between students' cultural knowledge and domain knowledge. This paper draws on co-constructed narratives from four of the teachers, two Maori and two Pakeha (New Zealanders of European descent). The teachers built trusting and respectful relationships with their Maori students by facilitating connections between Western and Maori worldviews of science. They shared their teaching role with Maori elders ("kaumatua") and members of the extended family of their students ("whanau"). The teachers learned a great deal from their Maori students who became highly engaged and agentic in their science learning. Students took collaborative responsibility for asking learning questions, and sought information on science topics from both Western and Maori worldviews.

This paper qualitatively analyzes reflective data gathered from learners' electronic and paper writings about their cultural learning in and about New Zealand. The data comes from three intakes of learners in "Culture and New Zealand Society," a second-year course for migrant and international learners within a Bachelor of Arts in English as an Additional Language (BA [EAL]) at a tertiary institute in New Zealand. As part of an assessment of cultural learning, students write and reflect on their cultural observations and experiences. They submit reflective writings in two forms: a 150-word e-text journal entry using the rhetorical e-spaces of "Blackboard", and a 1,000-word paper journal account of cultural and linguistic learning during community participation. After the data in the e-writings had been open coded, a range of themes emerged. This paper presents results in two key areas: the development of identities through reflective positioning (Pavlenko & Blackledge, 2005), and the useful "realness" of community placement to highlight and complement class "content." Themes emerged from analyzing the e-texts and matched themes in the journals. The analysis suggests that e-writings have the potential to make students "think beyond the square" (Coster & Ledovski, 2005). E-text journal entries are at least as useful as paper texts in mapping learners' cultural and metacognitive awareness. This poses the question that e-moderated writings might reflect more candor and could hence reflect deeper mirrors of learning. (Contains 1 table and 1 note.)

This paper examines Early Intervention (EI) service provision from within one Ministry of Education region in New Zealand. It does this in order to better understand what works well and what needs to change if children from Maori families, of Early Childhood age, are to be provided with the most effective EI services. By engaging with Maori families in group-focused interviews-as-conversation, and then with their service providers, about their experiences of working together, researchers learned about what could provide effective services for other Maori families in similar situations.

New Zealand is a bicultural nation, founded on the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi by the native Maori and the British Crown. It is also home to people from many countries, cultures and ethnicities. Therefore, culturally-relevant response to crisis events has become a significant aspect of the Ministry of Education's interdisciplinary Traumatic Incident Teams' work. The Traumatic Incident Teams, which aim to support school communities and early childhood centres in the aftermath of crisis events, are mindful that people and communities recover best when supporters work within the cultural, religious and philosophical beliefs of those affected. In New Zealand, particular attention is paid when working with Maori to support processes of tangihanga (traditional mourning ceremonies), and cultural practices according to the protocols of Maori groups. This paper discusses three separate responses to crisis events in New Zealand and the place of cultural relevance and sensitivity in recovery. (Contains 1 figure.)

Reflection as a tool for the development of an intercultural dimension in language learning is mentioned to varying degrees in curriculum documents, guidelines and the literature. While there is a call for teachers to encourage language learners to engage in reflection for the development of intercultural competence (IC), studies show it can be challenging to implement in the classroom. This paper considers the extent to which language teachers in New Zealand schools provided opportunities for learners to develop aspects of IC through reflection. Findings from a nationwide survey and interviews with teachers of six foreign languages indicate that many teachers were limited in both their understanding and use of reflection as a learning tool. However, two examples are given of how teachers did provide opportunities that encouraged their learners to reflect on their own culture and on the culture of others. From examples, we summarise strategies that may assist in scaffolding learners into reflection, and call for focussed language teacher professional development.

Before the arrival of Europeans in Aotearoa, New Zealand and their subsequent settlement in the 1800s, there was no concept of a Maori identity. Over time, however, as a result of rapid colonisation, Maori became a minority population in New Zealand. Consequently, the term Maori as normal or usual, began to lose its meaning (Webber, 2008), and another meaning began to emerge based on contrasts with the Pakeha settler population. This paper explores the complex and increasingly diverse nature of Maori identities in contemporary Aotearoa/New Zealand, including contemporary early childhood contexts. It discusses the importance of negotiating the terrains of cultural knowledge, values and understandings in order to define what "being Maori" means for teachers and children in an increasingly diverse and complex settings.

In this article, the author John Volk, professor of Worldview Studies at Renaissance College, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, looks forward toward the November 2017 Religious Education Association Conference, which is entitled "Learning in Encounter: Crossroads, Connections, Collaborations", and says that the conference presents a rare opportunity for Religious Education Association (REA) members to engage with self and others. The others will come in a variety of forms from near and far on a similar journey of discernment. The author reflects upon things he has learned in his encounters with others throughout his own career. Having encountered secular, atheist, and humanist "others", Volk points toward four things that have stood out for him over the years from those encounters: (1) Learning encounters with the "other" necessitate mutual trust and respect, if not friendship. The "other" is as sincere in their beliefs and values as is the "self". (2) Learning encounters broaden and deepen one's own worldview. Encounters with indigenous Peoples in Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa have propelled the author to examine his own tradition. (3) Learning encounters become a lifelong discernment of one's own truth and certainty, a spiritual journey engaging life's ultimate questions. Insights gleaned from secular "others" open up new questions, perhaps even new possibilities. (4) Learning encounters increase one's literacy, of one's own beliefs and values and no less those of the "other". Learning encounters with the "other" open up the human spirit to journey beyond worldviews that limit its scope to the saeculum, to tap the divine mystery at the core of traditional religions, through varieties of meditation, ceremony, ritual, and contemplation.

Maori-bilingual education in New Zealand has come a long way towards injecting life into the Maori language. However, only a small number of families commit to bilingual education for the long term. This paper discusses why Maori parents either turn away from Maori-bilingual education or prematurely transition to English-medium schools. It then reports the findings of an ethnographic pilot study of a Maori-bilingual graduate who transitioned to an English-medium secondary school after more than eight years attending Maori-bilingual programmes. The student's transition was very successful, both in terms of acquiring high levels of academic language proficiency and necessary cultural knowledge. However, it was highly reliant on the support and interventions her parents provided throughout her schooling--particularly regarding both English and Maori languages. This article focuses on the student's first year of transition and, in particular, the language and cultural issues that her family had to navigate to ensure her success.

The recognition and affirmation of student identity in New Zealand primary schools is a policy requirement. While directives for its implementation are found in the current national curriculum, little, if any, guidance is given about what this means or how it might look in classroom programmes. This paper discusses a study concerning the beliefs, understandings and practices of teachers as they interpret the curriculum related to the identity directive. The findings indicate that a marked divergence exists between the identity directive encoded into the curriculum and the way in which teachers decode and enact the directive in their practice. This article argues that two unintended effects are produced as a result of this divergence. First, rather than promote the affirmation of student identity, the enactment of this directive might, in fact, lead to ethnic division. Second, attempts to recognise and affirm identity have led to the displacement of school subject knowledge in classroom programmes. These unintended outcomes are not only unacknowledged, but they continue to disadvantage the community the identity directive was intended to address.

In Aotearoa-New Zealand there continue to be enduring challenges from Maori scholars and communities about the ethics of Pakeha educational researcher involvement in Maori communities. This paper critically discusses how understanding forms of Pakeha paralysis is an important component of creating sustainable and inclusive educational research capabilities with Maori. It suggests that applying the concept of non-stupid optimism is a powerful idea in this pursuit. Drawing on a recent study of what Pakeha are learning from their engagement in kaupapa Maori educational research, the article identifies a set of non-stupid dispositions and capabilities that address Pakeha paralysis, and strengthen Maori-Pakeha research relations into the future. Non-stupid optimism offers a new knowledge contribution regarding Maori and Pakeha research dispositions and capabilities.

The potential for picture books in national collections to act as mirrors reflecting the reader's cultural identity, is widely accepted. This paper shows that the books in a New Zealand Picture Book Collection can also become windows into unfamiliar worlds for non-New Zealand readers, giving them the opportunity to learn more about a context in which indigenous Maori mythology is interwoven with an imported European culture. The stories in the Collection provide many chances for examining visual similarities and differences between cultures and developing intercultural awareness, as well as enhancing visual literacy through the analysis of illustrations. Making reference to the first European Picture Book Collection, which was created in 1996, the authors discuss these issues from a theoretical perspective and explore the practical implications through visual text analysis of several books in the New Zealand Picture Book Collection.

With increasing cultural diversity as a result of globalization, intercultural competence (IC) to interact and co-exist in multicultural environments is recognized as being very important. Research indicates that cultural knowledge alone, or even being immersed in a different cultural environment does not necessarily lead to the development of IC necessary to deal with differences in behaviour, communication styles, and values and beliefs. Rather, it requires intentional development particularly of critical awareness of an individual's cultural identity, and the values and beliefs that underpin one's attitude and behaviour. Providing effective learning and teaching approaches to facilitate development of these affective and behavioural dimensions, challenges traditional pedagogical practices. Second life (SL), a multi-user virtual environment, potentially provides effective intercultural experiential learning opportunities to develop the desired IC by challenging personal beliefs and assumptions underpinning cultural frameworks and identity. This paper evaluates SL as one of the approaches used to develop IC in a first year IC module in a New Zealand university. Based on data from two case studies, it presents and discusses significant findings in terms of using SL and the development of students' IC.

This paper considers the question: What constitutes an optimal learning environment for Maori learners in foundation programmes? Using Kaupapa Maori methodology, nearly 100 adult Maori (Indigenous) students in Aotearoa/New Zealand were interviewed from a range of tertiary providers of foundation programmes. State-funded foundation programmes that scaffold adults into tertiary education are a partial response to Ministry of Education concerns about unsatisfactory high school statistics for some sections of the community. Connecting with Maori voices enabled the researchers to gain a deeper awareness of the reality of study experiences for these adult learners. It is argued that academic participation and success for adult Maori learners is increased when the learning and teaching environment mirrors the connectedness and belonging of a "whanau" (family) environment. (Contains 3 notes.)

Over the past decade, industry relevance and connectedness have evolved into a key requirement for students and their parents, who increasingly perceive employability upon graduation as a critical factor in the degree selection process. Simultaneously, professional bodies emphasise the need for high levels of industry engagement as a condition for accreditation, which in turn further impacts on the "marketability" of a specific degree. However, many of the skills emphasised by potential employers and industry reference groups are more closely aligned with generic graduate attributes, rather than discipline specific knowledge and skills. This increasingly includes an emphasis on cultural awareness, excellent communication skills and the ability to work in dispersed, often even virtual teams. This observation is arguably particularly relevant within the business (degree) context, where workforces become increasingly multicultural, as traditional borders and limitations make way for transnational opportunities. This paper discusses the benefits and challenges associated with a third year student project that set out to combine the need for discipline specific knowledge, with the acquisition of versatile, culturally sensitive business skills. Students participating in the aptly titled "communications challenge" competed against their peers as part of multicultural teams, representing twelve countries, across five continents. The authors conclude that experiential learning opportunities like this global, real life client project may not necessarily be popular amongst the wider student cohort. Furthermore, the acquisition of discipline specific knowledge may be limited when compared to "traditional" teaching deliveries. However, projects like this provide a number of benefits, in particular in the context of capstone units that set out to prepare students for a diverse career in an increasingly global, multicultural and complex environment.

Behavioural and learning difficulties experienced by students from minoritised cultural groups often arise because their cultural beliefs, values and preferred practices differ markedly from those of their teachers and their school. Research in New Zealand has shown that if inclusive education is to have real meaning for these students and their families, then their teachers and schools need to move towards pedagogies founded on relationships that are more inclusive of cultural differences. This paper discusses what we can understand about inclusion for Ma¯ori students experiencing behavioural and learning difficulties, from the experiences of their teachers and family members. Often effective interventions are found to be connected to a Ma¯ori worldview and begin by taking the time to develop relationships with Ma¯ori families, to regularly listen to them and seek to work and learn alongside them.

Many schools in New Zealand, the USA, and elsewhere, are searching for ways to respond positively to the educational achievement disparities that exist between majority culture students and students from minority ethnic and cultural communities. Most of the approaches and strategies that have been implemented to date have either failed, or had minimal positive influence. This paper presents the results of over five years of research, conducted collaboratively by the authors, that has been focused on developing the theory and practice of a "culture of care" in schools. Using a cultural lens to interpret the findings, these replicated studies offer the promise of positively influencing the culture of schooling in the USA, New Zealand and beyond. Creating a culture of care requires schools and teachers to be cognisant of how the school and classroom values, beliefs and practices make it safe for all students to engage, to contribute, to belong and to feel confident in their own cultural identities.