Kairangahau Matua | Senior Researcher
- PhD in Education
- MA in Education with First Class Honours
- BA(Hons) in Education with First Class Honours
- BA in Education (Liberal Arts) and Mathematics
Mohamed's research spans educational and social psychology, with a specific focus on institutional and classroom practices that impact the social and academic trajectories of student learning. He employs a mixed-method approach in his research, with a stronger focus on quantitative research methodologies. Mohamed explores educational ‘puzzles of practice’ from a social-psychological perspective, and has both experience and expertise in undertaking research at primary, secondary, and tertiary settings.
Areas of Expertise
- Educational and social psychology.
- School and classroom environments.
- Academic motivation and learning.
- Student and teacher beliefs.
- Survey development.
Selected Outputs: Social-Psychological Studies in Education
- Barber, C., Hetrick, S., Edmonds, L., Taylor, R., Alansari, M., Oldehaver, J., Signal, T., Haszard, J., & Galland, B. (2023). Sleep-in to stay well: Addressing school start times for the health and wellbeing of teens in Aotearoa. New Zealand Medical Journal, 136(1568), 98–104.
- Alansari, M., Webber, M., & Rubie-Davies, C. M. (2023). Mixed methods research: theory, applications, and implications for working with diverse populations. In F. Meyer & K. Meissel (Eds.), Research Methods for Education and the Social Disciplines in Aotearoa New Zealand. NZCER Press.
- Alansari, M., & Rubie-Davies, C. M. (2021). Enablers and Barriers to Successful Implementation of Cooperative Learning through Professional Development. Education Sciences, 11(7), 312–329. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11070312
- Fikuree, W., Meyer, F., Le Fevre, D., & Alansari, M. (2021). Linking principal task effectiveness to student achievement in secondary schools in the Maldives. International Journal of Leadership in Education. DOI: 10.1080/13603124.2021.1889036
- Stephens, J. M., Alansari, M., Watson, P., Lee, G., & Turnbull, S. (2021). Can Online Academic Integrity Instruction Affect University Students’ Perceptions of and Engagement in Academic Dishonesty? Results from a Natural Experiment in New Zealand. Frontiers in Psychology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.569133
- Alansari, M., & Rubie-Davies, C. M. (2020). What about the tertiary climate? A critique of five decades of learning environments research. Learning Environments Research, 23, 1–25. doi: 10.1007/s10984-019-09288-9.
- Rubie-Davies, C. M., Meissel, K., Alansari, M., Watson, P., Flint, A., McDonald, L., & Garrett, L. (2020). Achievement and beliefs outcomes of students with high and low expectation teachers. Social Psychology of Education, 23, 1173–1201. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-020-09574-y
- Watson, P., Alansari, M., Worrell, F., & Rubie-Davies, C. M. (2020). Ethnic-racial identity, relatedness, and school belonging for adolescent New Zealanders: Does student gender make a difference? Social Psychology of Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-020-09563-1
- Flint, A., McDonald, L., Rubie-Davies, C., Alansari, M., Garrett, L., Peterson, E., & Watson, P. (2019). Students’ self-beliefs, motivation and mindset in mathematics. In R. V. Nata (Ed.). Progress in Education (pp. 63–86). New York, NY: Nova Science.
- Alansari, M. (2015). Student-teacher relationships at the tertiary level: Prevailing perspectives, existing research and future possibilities. In C. M. Rubie-Davies, J. M. Stephens, and P. W. Watson (Eds.). The Routledge International Handbook of Social Psychology of the Classroom (pp. 188–197). London: Routledge.
- Garrett, L., Rubie-Davies, C., Alansari, M., Peterson, F., Flint, A., Watson, P., & McDonald, L. (2015). ‘Missing out’? The potential consequences of inaccurate teacher expectations on young gifted readers’ achievement outcomes. APEX: The New Zealand Journal of Gifted Education, 19(1).
- Alansari, M., Worrell, F., Rubie-Davies, C. M., & Webber, M. (2013). Adolescent time attitude scale (ATAS) scores and achievement in secondary school females in New Zealand. International Journal of Quantitative Research in Education, 1, 251–274.
- Langdon, F., & Alansari, M. (2012). Addressing the complexity of new teacher learning: An exploratory analysis of comprehensive induction one year on. Procedia Social and Behavioural Sciences, 69, 1921–1930.
Selected Reports: School Environments and Improvement
- Alansari, M., Wylie, C., Hipkins, R., Overbye, S., Tuifagalele, R., & Watson, S. (2022). Secondary teachers’ perspectives from NZCER’s 2021 National Survey of Secondary Schools. New Zealand Council for Educational Research.
- Alansari, M., Webber, M., Overbye, S., Tuifagalele, R., & Edge, K. (2022). Conceptualising Māori and Pasifika aspirations and striving for success (COMPASS). New Zealand Council for Educational Research.
- Lawes, E., Wylie, C., Alansari, M., Berg, M., & Visser, H. (2021). Maternal perceptions of aspects of their partnerships with early learning services and schools: Influences and associations [report to Ministry of Social Development]. New Zealand Council for Educational Research.
- MacDonald, J., Bright, N., & Alansari, M. (2021). Sorted in Schools, Te whai hua – kia ora: 2010/21 evaluation report [report to Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission]. New Zealand Council for Educational Research.
- New Zealand Council for Educational Research (2021). Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories: Findings from the public engagement on the draft curriculum content [report to Ministry of Education, author names blinded]. New Zealand Council for Educational Research.
- Si’ilata, R., Gaffney, J., Aseta, M., Jacobs, M., Tagoilelagi-Leota, S., Alansari, M., & Hansell, K. (2021). Pasifika Early Literacy Project & Realm Languages Project: Milestone Report 3 [report to Ministry of Education]. Va’atele Education Consulting.
- Alansari, M., Hunia, M., & Eyre, J. (2020). Racism in schools: a rapid review. New Zealand Council for Educational Research.
- Alansari, M., Lawes, E., & Boyd, S. (2020). What can Wellbeing@School data tell us about change in PB4L-SW school outcomes? [report to Ministry of Education]. New Zealand Council for Educational Research.
- Lawes, E., Boyd, S., & Alansari, M. (2020). What can Wellbeing@School data tell us about change over time? [report to Ministry of Education]. New Zealand Council for Educational Research.
- Whatman, J., Harvey, K., Boyd, S., Eyre, J., Hunia, M., Alansari, M., Fisher, J., & Lawes, E (2020). A rapid review of resilience in schools. New Zealand Council for Educational Research.
- Alansari, M., & Rubie-Davies, C. M. (2019). Navigating Success: Exploring the Beliefs, Attitudes, and Aspirations of Youth over Time: Milestone 3 Report on Beginning and End of 2018 Data [report to I Have A Dream (IHAD) Charitable Trust]. Auckland, New Zealand: University of Auckland.
- Meyer, F., Alansari, M., & Rubie-Davies, C. M. (2018). An Evaluation of the Implementation of the IHAD Programme: Perceptions of Programme Delivery, Effectiveness and Coherence [report to I Have A Dream (IHAD) Charitable Trust]. Auckland, New Zealand: University of Auckland.
- Sinnema, C., Alansari, M., & Turner, H. (2018). The Promise of Improvement through and of the Teacher Led Innovation Fund: Evaluation of the Teacher-Led Innovation Fund. Wellington, New Zealand: Ministry of Education.
Selected Outputs: Media Engagement
Professional Activities and Service
- 2023– Editorial board: Contemporary Educational Psychology.
- 2022– Deputy board chair: New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies.
- 2022 Expert Advisory Group member: school attendance research, Education Review Office (ERO).
- 2021– International advisory board: Combating systemic racism in schools (RSNZ fund).
- 2021– Member: Aotearoa New Zealand Islamic Think Tank (ANZITT).
- 2021– Affiliated scholar: Woolf Fisher Research Centre.
- 2020– Member: New Zealand Association for Research in Education.
- 2020– Editorial board: New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies.
- 2019– Affiliate: Centre for Community Research and Evaluation (CCRE).
- 2018– Examiner of doctoral and masters’ theses and dissertations.
- 2018– Member: Educational Psychology Forums Steering Committee.
- 2018 Convenor: the 11th Educational Psychology Forum, Auckland.
Ad-hoc Journal Reviews (2013 – present)
Contemporary Educational Psychology | British Journal of Educational Psychology | Learning Environments Research | New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies | Policy Futures in Education | Assessment Matters | Curriculum Matters | Stress and Health | Educational Research and Evaluation | Knowledge Cultures | Educational Research and Reviews | The Routledge Handbook of Social Psychology of the Classroom | Bloomsbury Academic Books (Education list) | Higher Education Pedagogies | International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education | Journal of Interdisciplinary Education and Psychology