School-based mindfulness programmes promote student wellbeing and positive behaviour as well as the development of key life skills including self-regulation and stress management. Teacher buy-in has been raised as a critical factor for the successful implementation of mindfulness programmes in schools. This paper reports on a mixed-methods study…

While debate on declines in children's literacy is ongoing in Aotearoa New Zealand, very little attention in research and policy is paid to reading enjoyment and its capacity to support the reading development of children. Developed alongside a series of studies on children's reading for pleasure this article makes a theoretically informed…

The KiVa anti-bullying program is an evidence based whole-school intervention and prevention program that has been implemented in a small number of New Zealand schools to help address high rates of bullying behaviors. Parents are a key component of the whole-school program as without parental support the ongoing sustainability of the program…

Schools regularly find themselves dealing with the aftermath of family, community and national tragedies. In this article, two university-based educators share their experiences of working with schools to engage children in arts-based activities to support the processing of the traumatic events they endured. In both cases, children in local…

New Zealand officially provides free education to domestic students between the years of 5-19 in state and state-integrated schools, but the schools can legally require families to provide school uniforms and stationery, and examination fees apply at the upper secondary-school level. State-integrated schools can also charge attendance dues to…

This research engaged with how secondary schools in Christchurch framed sustainability through web based interfaces. The key focus of the research was how schools are engaging students in sustainability through their web-site messaging. While some research has been done around whole-school approaches to sustainability, no research has been done…

The argument that de-contextualized deficit approaches to academic literacies were ineffective (Lea, 2004; Northedge, 2003), has led to expectations that New Zealand Higher Education institutions embed academic literacies within programmes and courses (Tertiary Education Commission, 2010). This paper reports on the use of a teaching and learning…

This paper describes outdoor learning programs in New Zealand. Among those serving the nation as a whole are the: (1) Cobham Outward Bound School; (2) Outdoor Pursuits Centre, which provides outdoor technical skills training for schools and professional outdoor courses for leaders and teachers; and (3) Spirit of Adventure Trust, which teaches…

This report reviews the 1970-1983 research on the impact of school-based anti-smoking education on smoking related attitudes and behaviors. A summary and introduction to the report are given. Seventy-four research reports are analyzed according to geographic origin, year of publication, and age of the target groups. Anti-smoking education programs…

This report reviews the research on the effects of school-based alcohol education on alcohol related attitudes and behaviors. The introduction comments on the past 10 years of research, and summarizes a drug/alcohol education research paradigm. The findings highlight the inadequacy of research and the persistent failure of programs to influence…