New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) is an official language of Aotearoa New Zealand, yet in education it is often positioned as relevant only for Deaf and hard-of-hearing learners. The NZSL Board highlights the importance of ensuring tamariki have access to language during the key language learning years. This article explores ...

This study offers insights to support kaiako to work alongside autistic children in ways that honour each learner’s identity and foreground their sensory experiences within the curriculum. Guided by a socio-relational model of disability, a literature review was conducted to examine research on the sensory dimensions of autistic children’s experiences ...

The uses of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) and large language models (LLMs) is of increasing interest in early childhood education (ECE). However, a recent step-change in the uptake of such technologies is giving rise to ever-more questions of the ethics and professional consequences of using all kinds of technologies in ...

This article presents the hybridisation model of leadership (HMOL), a resource to support culturally relevant leadership practice for early childhood education (ECE) centre managers. The model draws on data from a PhD research study involving 20 early ECE centre managers in two geographical areas of England. Semistructured interviews were analysed ...

In this issue we bring attention to the multifaceted experiences of early childhood education (ECE) kaiako and leaders who support diverse learners in Aotearoa New Zealand. Against the backdrop of proposed educational policy changes, including ECE regulatory reforms explored in Early Childhood Folio 2025, 29(2), articles in this issue highlight ...

With concerns of the potential push-down of academic school readiness pedagogies following revisions of the New Zealand Curriculum for schools, this research team sought to make apparent to others how early childhood kaiako of infants and toddlers are already weaving together diverse pedagogies to support tamariki learning dispositions and learning ...

This case study explores inclusive education through the experience of Daisy, a Deaf child in a New Zealand kindergarten, highlighting that true inclusion extends beyond access and into equity in experience and in outcome. Guided by the Aotearoa Deaf Community’s social model of disability, the study illustrates how kaiako, whānau ...

Why do so many teachers hesitate to act on their values of inclusion? This article introduces the concept of cis-paralysis to explain how fear of making mistakes can block educators’ engagement with gender diversity in Aotearoa New Zealand. Drawing on open-text responses from 42 educators, a thematic analysis generated themes ...

In New Zealand secondary schools, both students and teachers frequently express frustration with the challenges of achieving the highest level of success—Excellence—in the statistical mathematics standards assessed through the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA). A central criterion for attaining Excellence is the demonstration of insight, a term that ...