Objective: The purpose of this narrative inquiry was to analyse the identities of a mother and her biopedagogical practices regarding physical activity as well as healthy eating. Method: The participant of the study was a mother of two children who immigrated to Aotearoa/New Zealand from Indonesia. We collected the small story through open-ended…

In this study, we investigated factors predictive of disconnection, or not being in education, employment, or training (NEET), among young adults with at least a 2-year college degree. We also explored the extent to which disconnection influences civic participation and well-being among NEETs with and without college degrees. The authors used 2012…

This paper explores the experiences and perceptions of parent academics and their colleagues, and argues that in the absence of institutional support and guidance, self and peer assessment of academic identity in relation to performance becomes a measure against which academics assess their own academic careers and the academic careers of others.…

While the benefits of early childhood education and care (ECEC) services to better learning are now widely acknowledged, a widespread and accessible provision for these services also helps support gender equality in the workforce. In particular, the availability, intensity, reliability and affordability of ECEC play an important role in engaging…

This article discusses the persistence of a gender gap among university-based academics, despite the development of equity policies and "family-friendly" initiatives. Over four decades of research are reviewed from the liberal states of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, USA and the UK, including my own qualitative interviews in Canada in…

This article examines academics' access to and perceptions of sabbaticals at a research-intensive university in New Zealand. Statistical and inductive analysis of survey data from 915 academics (47% of all academics employed) revealed inequalities in access to and experience of sabbaticals, and highlighted academic, personal and gender issues. Men…

Women consistently remain underrepresented in senior academic roles within the academy worldwide. Academics increasingly require research funding to conduct research, leading to publications, both of which can then be used for promotion applications. This article explores fourteen academic women's experiences of the research funding process in New…

This article argues that strong interrelations between methodological and theoretical advances exist. Progress in, especially comparative, methods may have important impacts on theory evaluation. By using the example of the "Varieties of Capitalism" approach and an international comparison of higher education systems, it can be shown…

This exploratory study of female general staff across New Zealand universities examined career motivation, subjective discrimination and home and occupational salience. Career development and aspirations and multiple home and community commitments were examined through a self-administered online questionnaire. Skill recognition, a good…

The roles and workloads of teachers have been widely noted as changing considerably over recent decades. In this 2009 replication of a 1992 study, 379 New Zealand primary school educators are surveyed regarding their workloads, how these changed and their perceived sustainability. It investigates how respondents believe that educational reforms…

Changes in family and employment patterns have lead to an increasing need for families to balance work and family roles. Little research has examined work and family conflict among teachers. In the present study, 69 New Zealand teachers completed a survey examining occupational-related demands, family-related demands, work and family conflict, and…

This paper reports on the second phase of a multi-country study examining cross-cultural perspectives of gender and management in universities. The first phase of this research with eight countries found that the representation of women was consistently low, especially at Rector/Vice Chancellor level. In the second phase interviews were conducted…

In many Western societies there is increasing demand for counselling; in turn, heightened levels of support needs have been identified for counsellors themselves. Despite calls for practitioners to adopt a more proactive approach to self-care, research suggests many still pay insufficient attention to alleviating on-the-job stress or achieving…

Many teachers and human service workers are 40-50 years of age and this paper explores the formative influences, and the developmental characteristics, of workers who are presently middle-aged. This leads onto an examination of the importance of relationships and work to mid-lifers. In the concluding section of the paper, there is some…

This study examines the connections between work, families, and early childhood education, and analyzes international trends and perspectives on parental leave. Chapter 1, "Introduction," shows that the increase in paid work by mothers makes families, work, and education important research and policy issues, and surveys reasons for this…