In today's digital society, computational thinking (CT) is a critical component of all children's education. In "Computational Thinking Curricula in K-12," editors Harold Abelson and Siu-Cheung Kong present a range of professional perspectives on the most effective ways to integrate CT into school curricula. Their edited volume, which…

Purpose: This study sets out to investigate the elements of the collaborative culture required for the successful implementation and sustainability of programs in schools. It draws on a case study of a student peer-led physical activity (PA) program implemented within the complex and dynamic environment of school communities in New Zealand. The…

With the increasing number of schools implementing garden-based learning, there is a need to consider pedagogies that enhance students' learning in a garden context. At present, there is little research available and the purpose and methods of implementing these programmes are greatly varied. To meet this need, this article introduces a new…

Inclusive education has long been implemented in regular educational settings in many jurisdictions including New Zealand (NZ). Since many children with special educational needs (CSEN) are not identifiable in a family environment, to ensure all CSEN are supported in a timely manner, early identification should be an integral component of the…

Social justice has been steadily gaining traction in physical education (PE) and physical education teacher education (PETE) for more than 40 years. During that time, scholars have argued for the importance of explicating the hidden curriculum, educating pre-service teachers (PSTs) about equality, sociocultural perspectives and issues, and most…

Community development research suggests that positive partnerships and connections between groups can result in stronger, more resilient and productive communities. Despite community connections featuring increasingly at a curriculum level in countries such as Australia and New Zealand, research is only beginning to explore the nuanced processes…

Examining practice, within education, is complex and never straightforward. It is not a surprise that when we conduct research, we discover new and contrary meanings. For the last 16 months we have been examining different means for supporting teaching and learning of the arts in primary schools. Our aim was to better understand how to teach the…

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 special issue focuses on histories, pedagogies, policies, philosophies and alternative perspectives in early childhood education. "Te Whariki" is heralded as the first bicultural curriculum not only in New Zealand, but in the world. Its importance is reflected in national and international research and early childhood discourses.…

For many years computing in New Zealand schools was focused on teaching students how to use computers, and there was little opportunity for students to learn about programming and computer science as formal subjects. In this article we review a series of initiatives that occurred from 2007 to 2009 that led to programming and computer science being…

One of the challenges in in-service teacher education is how teachers can be given professional development (PD) that enables them to respond to national curriculum and policy change. In recent years primary teachers in New Zealand have been inundated with Ministry of Education-funded professional development programmes to help them implement a…

The Pre-service Technology Teacher Education Resource (PTTER) was developed as a cross-institutional resource to support the development of initial technology teacher education programmes in New Zealand. The PTTER was developed through collaboration involving representatives from each of the six New Zealand university teacher education providers,…

The overarching aim of this research in the proposal was the following: In a number of early childhood centres and early years school classrooms that have already begun to explore in this area, to investigate effective pedagogy designed to develop five learning competencies over time. This project was developed in response to curriculum reform in…

Virtual Schooling (VS) for K-12 school students using distance technologies has increased rapidly in the 21st century with the growth of online learning and virtual schools in more than 44 states in the USA and as e-learning in over 20 clusters of rural schools in New Zealand. Although VS requires a special set of teaching methods, teacher…

A survey of 851 New Zealand teachers (64% response) implementing the technology curriculum found they were satisfied with the usefulness of the curriculum statement to guide planning and assessment. Nearly three-quarters received professional development to prepare them for teaching technology. (JOW)