Research Findings: The quantity and especially the quality of language that children are exposed to in early childhood (e.g. decontextualised and conversation-eliciting language) is linked to important developmental outcomes such as later school success. When caregivers refer to past or future events, they extend the conversation beyond the…

Children's story experiences are foundational to their social, emotional, and communication development. Viewed through a sociocultural lens, variability in the ways children and teachers interact during stories across diverse learning contexts is expected. This article explores the social and cultural knowledge demonstrated by children of…

Truancy is a long-standing and serious educational issue. The debates surrounding truancy are complex as the concept of truancy means different things to different researchers. Data from a grounded theory, qualitative doctoral study is used to investigate how a sample of thirteen young people explained the nature of truancy, which they referred to…

This qualitative study explored children's opportunities to actively solve problems as they talked, wrote and read during their first few months at school. Participants were two teachers from two schools in Tamaki Makaurau, Auckland and eight children, newcomers to their classes. The children's writing records and actions during guided writing…

Retaining students until they complete their qualifications is one of the main aims of many higher education institutions. Retention of students is also looked at from different perspectives in the literature. This small, exploratory, narrative enquiry research looks into the experiences of twenty-one domestic students during their first year and…

Children living in socioeconomically disadvantaged communities face distinct stressors when compared to those from more advantaged backgrounds. Research indicates higher levels of child well-being may buffer against the negative effects of stress and adversities, with supportive teacher behaviors playing a key role in promoting well-being.…

In classroom teaching, where teachers front a large class of students, opportunities for students to talk are limited, with much classroom talk by students involving answering teacher questions. This raises the question of how teachers promote student engagement in their lessons. Using a 394,671-word corpus of recorded teaching in vocational…

Education within Aotearoa has not effectively engaged Pasifika students (Ministry of Education, 2023a), and has led to Pasifika students being less likely to continue to tertiary level education (Ministry of Education, 2023b). This review focuses on the published literature about factors that improve the conditions of schooling in Aotearoa to…

This literature review investigates the perception of secondary teachers about their role of supporting and promoting students' mental health and whether teachers feel equipped to fulfil the requirements of this role. Analysis of 13 research articles published between 2008-2022 indicated that most secondary teachers, across five countries,…

This paper addresses the dearth of research into the roles high school teachers play in organising and leading international study tours offered by high schools in New Zealand (prior to the COVID-19 pandemic). The aim of this paper is to provide insights into the motivations and experiences of teachers involved in these tours. A grounded theory…

Positive teacher-student and student-student relationships are among the most significant factors contributing to learning, motivation, wellbeing, and graduation rates in higher education. Trust is commonly understood as a key element for the development and sustenance of positive educational relationships, yet relatively little empirical research…

This article interrogates the concept of teacher 'readiness' within Initial Teacher Education (ITE) in Aotearoa New Zealand. It reviews the influences of this concept, and interrogates the definition of readiness as currently understood and enacted within education in Aotearoa New Zealand. It highlights the opportunity to invoke concepts of…

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 reports on teachers developing their own data literacy and then acting as data coaches for colleagues in their schools. The 13 teachers from 7 schools in the study analysed standardised data using a data conversation protocol to identify students with significant mathematical misconceptions. They then took data-informed action with…

In this paper, we present research on New Zealand secondary teachers' perspectives of teaching and learning mathematics during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020--2023. We use narrative analyses of interviews to explore the perspectives of eight participant teachers. COVID-19, and its resulting restrictions, were found to impact student-teacher…