Digital technologies, as mediators and facilitators of learning, are altering tertiary education; how and when it occurs, what it entails, who has access, and how capabilities and skills are acknowledged. Digital badges are one such technological tool. Created to acknowledge competency, skill or achievement they have been adopted for a variety of…

This study focuses on educational attainment in New Zealand's undergraduate programmes in medicine and science (N = 750 and N = 4722, respectively), by following four student cohorts over the course of their degree. This research aimed to identify the extent to which studying in competitive academic programmes (Medicine and BSc) attenuate…

Knowledge and abilities with social media technologies are perceived as critical premises for human development. Familiarity with different types of social media technologies has become pivotal for collaborative learning and successfully solving problems. This study examined the impact of social media technologies, compartmentalized into social…

Evidence of outcomes of the early years is highly dependent on what is considered as an outcome, the curriculum and relationships children experience, and the research designs and methods used to ascertain the value of early childhood education. This article reports from an original study in New Zealand that used narrative inquiry to interview…

While principal goal-setting has been shown to be an important leadership practice, there is little research examining principals' goal-setting and goal-achievement. This research examined novice principals' school improvement goals and factors affecting their achievement. Goals from 460 principals enrolled in a national induction programme were…

There are currently very few resources available in New Zealand for teaching mental health education (within the Health and Physical Education learning area). Outside providers are, however, offering different programmes for sale to schools (in areas such as positive psychology, mindfulness, and growth mindset). These tend to be individualistic,…

The purpose of this article is to contribute to existing literature about how activity theory might be used in music education research. It draws from the author's doctoral action research into the assessment of group composing for New Zealand's secondary school qualification, the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA). It outlines…

This study is a conceptual replication of a widely cited study by Moffitt et al. (2011) which found that attention and behavior problems in childhood (a composite of impulsive hyperactive, inattentive, and impulsive-aggressive behaviors labeled "self-control") predicted adult financial status, health, and criminal activity. Using data…

This is one of two papers developed for a Ministry of Education (MOE)-funded project, Competencies in New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZC). The first paper draws on archived policy discussion papers to document the provenance of the NZC key competencies. This second paper analyses a series of research projects to describe how…

This report is a synthesis that explores "opportunities for professional learning" that might occur when teachers work together to moderate their judgments about students' work. Since such conversations are inherently social, the synthesis employs the lens of sociocultural learning theory. It draws together key themes from the small…

Studied the construct validity of the dimensions of the Multidimensional-Multiattributional Causality Scale based on B. Wiener's attribution model (1979) in achievement and affiliation goal domains. Results for 172 New Zealand college students provide evidence that the measure is better used as a goal specific measure than a general measure. (SLD)

Examined the attributions of, the criteria for, the likelihood of obtaining, and the importance of success and failure in examinations. 200 New Zealand and 200 Singaporean students were surveyed. Singaporean students were found to have a higher criterion mark for success than New Zealand students, but a lower criterion mark for failure. (SVE)

Previous research has found that outside events seem to have little effect on happiness. Three studies in New Zealand were conducted to identify mental processes that give circumstances their favorable and unfavorable meanings. The first study examined the gap between aspiration and achievement in terms of income, education, physical fitness,…