Since teachers are one of the most important resources that can effect change and affect student achievement in any classroom, it is important to explore and understand how teachers operate inside the classroom. In her Ph.D. study the author examined the pedagogical practices of three Pacific teachers working in the public secondary school system…

In 2013, we undertook research in a New Zealand University to gain insights into students' understandings of informal learning, its connection to formal learning and how they engaged in informal learning using digital and mobile technologies. A total of 765 students (postgraduate, undergraduate and first-year students) completed a questionnaire.…

Purpose: Over the past few years, technology-mediated learning has established itself as a valuable pathway towards learners' academic and social development. However, within the adoption stages of information and communications technology-enabled education, further questions have been raised in terms of equity of information literacy and learning…

This paper reports on the first two years of a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) initiative in a New Zealand secondary school, using data derived from a series of surveys of teachers, parents and students, who are the main stakeholders in the transformation to a BYOD school. In this paper we analyse data gathered from these surveys, which consists…

This paper reports on a design-based intervention in urban primary and secondary schools serving culturally diverse students from low socio-economic status (SES) communities. The intervention capitalises on a partially implemented programme in seven schools which use digital devices (netbooks) and applications to raise literacy levels. Learning…

The action research project described in this paper was part of an initiative to bring about change in the way courses are delivered in the vocational trades area at UNITEC New Zealand. We decided to focus on students' writing on a new Level 3 course--the Certificate in Automotive and Mechanical Engineering (C.A.M.E.) in which all participants had…

This paper will highlight the successful evaluation approaches deployed for long-term exploration of the impact of a national policy initiative as well as some of the results and outcomes. An interactive feedback process informed decision-making at the national and local level thereby enhancing both the initiative and its implementation in…

The Laptops for Teachers scheme in New Zealand provides teachers whose schools opt into the scheme access to a laptop for their exclusive use. This paper reports on the findings of the three-year evaluation of the impact of the laptops on secondary teachers' work. The findings indicate that school leadership has been pivotal to the provision of…

This "Postcard" reports how the earthquake on Tuesday, 22 February 2011 in Christchurch, New Zealand, forced a visiting professor to transform his educational model in one week. It was the first week of the academic year 2011 for the University of Canterbury--and the author's first week in New Zealand. As a Visiting Erskine Fellow at the…

While society has moved through a number of "ages" since the industrial age, many schools have remained firmly entrenched in an education system designed for a world which, largely, no longer exists. Educational policy and literature is replete with discourse related to school reform, 21st century learning and the importance of…

Research on the nature of and support for systemic sustainable innovation with ICT is converging with research on policy implementation and studies of school change and improvement to highlight the complex interplay of personal and contextual factors that enable and constrain innovation. In each of these fields, leadership has been found to play a…

Recent literature on the role of the interactive whiteboard (IWB) has indicated numerous ways in which teachers make use of the IWB to support children's learning. In these studies there is a growing awareness of changing roles in the classroom as teachers gain confidence in the use of new technologies. This study describes how a researcher worked…

The introduction of computers, the Internet, and other Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) into the school context has proved challenging for many schools and teachers. In meeting these challenges, professional development for teachers has been seen traditionally as a formal process conducted by an expert from outside the school.…