Equity policies in higher education are focused on dismantling barriers and redressing inequalities that restrict the participation and success of students from historically excluded groups. In some Universities across Oceania, "underrepresented" includes students of Pacific heritage alongside students from low socioeconomic backgrounds,…

In this study, we use qualitative research methods to explore how discourses about language manifested within two university writing teacher education classes, one in New Zealand and one in the United States. We used a collaborative teaching journal and student work as main sources of data, which were analysed inductively at key points before,…

This article explores language ideologies, heritage language (HL) use, and identity construction among 1.5-generation Korean immigrants in New Zealand. Drawing on interview data, the study shows how language ideologies and identities influence these immigrants' language use and investment. All participants reported speaking Korean with their…

Alternative teacher education programmes associated with the Teach For All network are emerging worldwide. Largely inspired by Teach For America, these programmes draw on the meritocratic vision that 'one day' all children will receive a high-quality education and fulfil their potential. This paper questions the underlying ideology of meritocracy…

This paper explores the leadership styles of fourteen elected female politicians in executive government positions, as communicated through the official Instagram accounts that were in use during the COVID-19 pandemic. Seven of them are, or were, heads of government, six are or were mayors, and one is the president of an autonomous region in…

In this paper we explore the adoption of a neoliberal turn in New Zealand's education system and its consequences, focusing particularly on secondary school music education. In the 1980s, New Zealand was one of the first states in the Western world to implement comprehensive neoliberal economic policies. Some 35 years later, education in New…

This article applies the concept of va to reconceptualise and critique the tensions in higher education for Pasifika in Aotearoa New Zealand. We assert that a radical shift is needed within higher education to confront the neoliberal ideals of a knowledge economy that have permeated all levels of the institution, from the politics of academic…

The early phases of teachers' professional careers are multi-layered and informed by many factors, including teachers' values, their own experiences in schools, and the nested contexts of their professional employment. While in teachers' everyday lives government policies sometimes operate beneath the surface rather than overtly, these policies…

In Britain and New Zealand the neoliberal assault on universities has shifted from new public management and funding models to the special status of the public university. The project aims to complete neoliberal business initiated 25 years ago by more fully marketising and financialising universities, starting with 'unbundling' and outsourcing and…

In this article the author discusses the implementation of the Education Renewal in Greater Christchurch policy which affected nearly 40 schools in the aftermath of the 2010/2011 Canterbury earthquakes. It describes the accumulated social, psychological and emotional toll that closures and mergers took on the schools and their communities. It…

This article considers the theoretical argument of anthropologist Tim Ingold, that the denial and subsequent encasement of bare feet in footwear was a critical characteristic of the development of modern societies, in exploring three aspects of feet, footwork, and footwear in the history of the modern school. First, the material conditions of feet…

This article conceptualizes religion as a critical theory challenge to sexuality education. Religious views in sexuality education are often perceived as intolerant and incompatible with today's progressive and modern society. This article engages with the idea that the inclusion of religious viewpoints on sexuality will challenge the efficacy of…

In this paper I explain and utilise Bernstein's theory of recontextualisation as a means to consider the influence of constructivism as one of the key "rulers of consciousness" or recontextualising principles that has become hegemonic within education. In considering this influence I draw on the literature to clarify some of the…

This paper concerns itself with how policy is made in democratic nations in order to secure equal language rights. The case study assessed is Aotearoa New Zealand's 2016 Maori Language Act and the process by which it passed into legislation. The paper draws on theories of public policy change, specifically the evidence-based policy approach, and…

The growing recognition of Maori education approaches and ways of knowing can be seen both as a response to the erosion and loss of traditional knowledge philosophies through the processes of colonialism and internationalism, and as a means of reclaiming and revaluing Maori language, identity and culture. Improving the educational success of Maori…