A tribute to Professor Anne B. Smith,  a lifelong advocate for children who was at the forefront of the children's rights movement for several decades.

Helen May's author profile

In 2015/16 Action for Children and Youth Aotearoa (ACYA) prepared, produced and presented New Zealand’s fifth civil society, non-government organisations’ Alternative Report to the UN Committee on the Rights of
the Child on how well Aotearoa New Zealand complies with its obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of ...

As a non-participant observer of a Teaching and Learning Research Initiative (TLRI) on children’s storytelling. The lead author explored children’s understanding of research involving them, including their rights to consent, assent and dissent to participate. This case study of Timmy’s participation in research shows how Timmy’s researcher sought and affirmed ...

This article explores the way in which an early childhood community was able to support the active participation of a disabled child. The Huakina Mai model provides a framework that conceptualises the participation of all members in terms of being active, ecological, pedagogical, equitable and inclusive in nature.

This article argues that neoliberal ideology, through policy and governance of children in early childhood settings, has a very strong influence on children in Aotearoa New Zealand. It affects the way they grow up, play, learn, and perform their resistance and agency in the places and space of their education ...

Conversation analysis (CA) can be a useful tool for research when investigating toddlers’ social interactions, because it can showcase their capabilities and agency through in-depth analysis of their verbal and non-verbal actions. This article argues that by using CA to analyse the details of toddler conversations within the peer group ...

In contemporary early childhood education (ECE) contexts, tuākana/tēina describes the practice of older, more expert children caring, teaching and taking responsibility for those younger or less expert. This article explores the tuākana/tēina  understanding and practices that were evident in a recent Teaching and Learning Research Initiative (TLRI)-funded research project, Te ...

Despite making major advances in educational provision, Māori and Pasifika children continue to lag behind other groups, in New Zealand, achieving disproportionately lower results on national averages. Key to educational success for Māori and Pasifika children is the acknowledgement that they are culturally located and the recognition that effective education ...

A growing number of 2 year olds are now attending early childhood education (ECE) services nationally and internationally. However, New Zealand has been slow to address the specialist provision and needs for high quality ECE for 2 year olds. The current survey of 248 New Zealand ECE services examined the ...