Learning provision, including professional learning, needs to embrace mobility (of knowledge, cultures and contexts--physical and cerebral) to enable education practitioners to interact locally and globally, engage with new literacies, access rich contexts, and to question, co-construct and collaborate. Virtual mentoring, also known as distance,…

This article is based on data from a large mixed method research project funded by the Teaching and Learning Research Initiative (TLRI) in Aotearoa New Zealand. The article addresses the question: how do tertiary teachers in Aotearoa New Zealand perceive their role in student engagement? Quantitative data revealed both similarities and differences…

We present findings of a project that investigated the potential of an online tandem program to enhance the foreign language learning of two groups of school-aged beginner learners, one learning English in Colombia and the other learning Spanish in New Zealand. We assessed the impact of the project on students' learning with a free writing…

This paper presents findings as part of a wider study that investigated the professional knowledge of teachers when teaching mathematics for numeracy in the primary school classroom. This paper focuses on teachers in action as they taught two lessons on multiplication. It outlines the specific pedagogical categories the teachers used and the…

The purposes of professional experience within initial teacher education programs are varied (Russell, 2005). However, there is limited literature explaining (a) university-based teacher educators' beliefs about its purposes and (b) how these purposes are reflected in practice. This study investigated these themes. A pragmatic mixed-method…

This article reports two studies undertaken at The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand, a vocational distance education (DE) provider, where course completion rates have risen to match those of face-to-face technical institutions. A simple model of student engagement is presented, which reflects the triality between the student, institution, and…

Assessing student learning is a complex process requiring teachers to have deep knowledge of the curriculum, assessment, and pedagogy. Changing political climates mean that teachers are expected to respond to new approaches or systems and adjust their classroom practice accordingly. Teachers often engage in professional learning (PL) to assist…

This article addresses the question: To what extent do tertiary teachers and students have similar understandings of what engages students in classroom settings? It employs data from a funded research project in Aotearoa New Zealand that draws on selected questions from two surveys. One survey asked students how important nine selected teacher…

This article outlines a research study into the perceptions of a small sample of New Zealand school leaders about the nature of leading in a high-needs school environment. Reflective data collected from leaders indicated that a broad-based concept of high needs centred on the socially disadvantaged world of families, student-related factors both…

Background: Scientific literacy development is widely emphasized as the overarching goal of science education. It encompasses development of understanding of the nature of science as well as knowledge, attitudes, and values that contribute to empowering adolescents to engage with and make evidence-based decisions about socioscientific issues.…

Mixed methods research has emerged as a credible alternative to unitary research approaches. The authors show how a combination of a triangulation convergence model with a triangulation multilevel model was used to research an aspiring school principal development pilot program. The multilevel model is used to show the national and regional levels…

Within Aotearoa/New Zealand primary schools, External Providers (EPs) have steadily increased their influence on physical education. The purpose of this study was to explore and interpret classroom teachers' perspectives of EPs in their primary school. The research team obtained questionnaire responses from 487 classroom teachers from 133…

Electronic harassment is a pervasive phenomenon among young people, however relatively little is known about actions that targets of harassment may undertake to manage such abuse, and whether particular actions and personal characteristics are associated with successful resolution of such harassment. This mixed methods research identified whether…

This article takes the form of a research report which examines personal resiliency and a sense of hope among educational leaders in times of extreme crises. Findings indicated that, despite the trauma of an earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, school leaders were still able to find satisfying aspects in their jobs, and to display a range of…

Noted Maori scholar Russell Bishop identified three impediments to developing Indigenous principles and practices in schools within colonized countries. These include confusion about the culture of Indigenous children, uneven programme implementation and issues with measuring student achievement. In this article, we present results from a mixed…