In this article, we continue Martin Thrupp's critical work in education policy in Aotearoa New Zealand by examining the policies of the Sixth Labour-led Government (2017--2023) and the Sixth National-led Government (2023-present). We consider their attempts to mitigate social injustice via education policy and the social imaginaries that underpin…

This paper presents findings from a review of 19 national curriculum policy frameworks (NCPFs) across the globe and discusses dominant and culturally specific discourses that shape early childhood education (ECE). We combine two frameworks of developmental universality and specificity and culturally contextualised pedagogy to explore whether and…

Critical pedagogy has the potential to create transformation experiences within early childhood settings, as educators open up children's worlds to explore fairness, equity, and democratic participation across issues of interest and relevance to young children. Using a critical inquiry framework, informed by the work of Paulo Freire, teachers from…

This article reports on a line of findings that explores how New Zealand secondary teachers teach about inequality as part of the official New Zealand curriculum ("NZC") in their respective teaching subjects. This second phase of the study is part of a wider project about how inequality is positioned within "NZC." In-service…

The purpose of this paper was to investigate school educators' perspectives on Restorative Practices (RP) in Aotearoa, New Zealand elementary schools. Based on a case study design, this study collected qualitative data by interviewing and observing elementary teachers and principals. Five themes were drawn from the data: showing empathy, making…

This paper analyses the current state of postcolonial and decolonial science teaching, based on a systematic review of the literature, with a special focus on the European context. It shows that currently, a very narrow view on postcolonial science teaching prevails, limiting its scope to former colonies. A total of 227 articles published…

Public education is not just a way to organise and fund education. It is also the expression of a particular ideal about education and of a particular way to conceive of the relationship between education and society. The ideal of public education sees education as an important dimension of the common good and as an important institution in…

This article focuses on the relationships between social justice, environmental justice, and sustainability from the local to global levels. We envision social and environmental justice as involving not only human beings, but also the rights of all species to life and respect. We advocate an ecological justice approach based on the equality and…

This paper reflects on the recent global youth climate change movement in relation to theoretical considerations of Indigeneity, post-Anthropocentricism and decolonial practices. It then highlights the perspectives of several young climate activists, before considering a range of factors ('elephants in the room') that lurk behind the incapacity of…

Climate change presents escalating risks to young people and communities, including risks to the achievement of educational outcomes. In the years NZCER has been researching climate-responsive education, we have noted a steady increase in activity, interest, and concern about climate change amongst educational policymakers, school leaders, and…

Decolonising the languages curriculum is a radical requirement to critically reexamine the way in which the languages curriculum has been formed in any context. It requires the examination of the power dynamics which have led to the dominance of certain languages over others and which languages are and are not accorded resources in schools,…

Shame, shame management and reintegrative shaming feature in some restorative justice literature, and may have implications for schools. Restorative justice in schools is effective when perpetrators of wrong-doing can accept and take ownership of their wrongful acts, are appropriately remorseful, and seek to make amends. Shame may be understood as…

The data from a longitudinal study of seven indigenous justice service organizations in four colonized countries were analyzed to identify the characteristics that made them "indigenous." Although nine common organizational characteristics emerged, of these, four are essential and specific to indigenous organizations (dependency on…

This article links capability for cooperative problem-solving with socially just global development. From the perspective of the United Nations Development Programme, the work of global development, founded on a concept of global justice, is capability-building. Following Kurasawa, the article proposes that this form of global justice is enacted…

In this article I will argue that New Zealand's Special Education 2000 (SE2000) policy demonstrates the way in which seemingly just and fair policies can lead to occurrences of injustice and unfairness towards some of those whom they impact. What this debate turns on is the justice of a policy which takes as its starting point the unquestioned…