This report describes a research-practice partnership project between researchers and a group of Years 7 and 8 teachers from schools serving diverse communities throughout Aotearoa New Zealand. The schools represented in the study were demographically and geographically diverse and served urban, mixed, and rural communities in the North and South…

The importance of a safe climate for human health is recognised by healthcare professionals, who need to be equipped to deliver environmentally sustainable healthcare and promote the health of natural systems on which we depend. The inclusion of climate-health in Australian and New Zealand accredited master-level public health training and medical…

Inquiry-guided learning (IGL) has widespread appeal in higher education as a suite of teaching strategies that promotes learning through students' increasingly independent investigation of questions, problems, and issues using the methods of inquiry of the disciplines. Framed as especially appropriate for research universities, IGL has been…

This paper presents the findings of a longitudinal study on the effectiveness of an innovative one-year pre-service Graduate Diploma of Teaching (secondary) for teachers of Technology. The timing of this study is significant. Over a decade of review and adjustment to the Technology curriculum, leading to the new learning area of Technology in the…

The growing demand for an increasingly skilled competitive workforce and the associated demand for change and responsiveness in the provision of technical vocational education and training (TVET) has led to the development of stronger links between New Zealand and the People's Republic of China. A collaborative model programme project aims to…

Literature that discusses transformative change in schools typically draws on experiences of renewal and change in existing schools. This report explores the shaping of a new school with the intent, established at the very outset, of offering a curriculum for the 21st century. The report discusses four key aspects of curriculum innovation at this…

A desire to have every student attending our University be aware of, and reflect on, disability in their studies and future careers, initiated our project to explore how to enhance disability awareness within all our University's papers. In this project we systematically reviewed pertinent literature and ran an action research workshop for staff.…

Purpose: The New Zealand Ministry of Education has constructed a wide-ranging "Professional Development Plan" providing a four-stage national pathway for progression to principalship; the first stage has been the conduction of the National Aspiring Principals Pilot (NAPP) programme in five regional locations. The purpose of this paper is…

News media reporting on sustainability and environmental (S&E) issues is seen as a form of informal environmental education. For journalists to play such an educative role, prior education on these topics appears necessary. By assessing a trial introductory-level journalism module on sustainability, this case study strengthens the argument for…

This paper reports on a national evaluation project that investigated characteristics of environmental education (EE) practice in New Zealand schools in 2002-2003. The research included a review of New Zealand and international environmental education literature, a survey of nearly 200 New Zealand schools and case studies of environmental…

Describes the implementation of Te Whaariki, the New Zealand National Early Childhood Curriculum. Found that general support for the curriculum is high but that current regulations and funding make it difficult for centers to meet the quality expectations. Several training institutions have begun using Te Whaariki as a framework, and evaluation…

Linked with professional development programs to support the implementation of Te Whariki, the national early childhood curriculum in New Zealand, a project was designed to: (1) construct a framework for assessment and evaluation in early childhood programs in Aotearoe-New Zealand; and (2) use this framework to develop an evaluation process…

This guide is designed to assist early childhood services in New Zealand to develop quality improvement systems and undertake quality reviews. The guide extends concepts and ideas from the government's Revised Statement of Desirable Objectives and Practices (DOPs), Quality in Action, and Te Whariki. Section 1 of the guide explains what a quality…

Outlines the policy context of New Zealand early childhood program evaluation and quality. Presents ethnographic research findings on key elements of program quality in relation to New Zealand National Early Childhood Curriculum; findings provide basis for self-evaluation framework through use of Teaching Stories as a focus for reflection and…

Provides an overview of the principles and framework of Te Whaariki, the New Zealand early childhood curriculum, and of subsequent assessment and evaluation research. Presents the framework of "Learning and Teaching Stories," a user-friendly approach to assessment and self-evaluation, used in action research in three regions of New…