COVID-19 relevance: Wellbeing

Awareness of mindfulness in New Zealand school communities is growing, and many teachers are becoming aware of its significance to support health and wellbeing in the classroom. This article discusses qualitative research on a 6-week mindfulness programme for teachers and students which showed that teachers perceived specific ...

COVID-19 relevance: Digital learners / online

Set interviews computer scientist Professor Tim Bell to figure out how computational thinking differs from digital literacy, and why both might be important for today’s society. Tim explains his mission to introduce teachers and students to computational thinking, even without a computer in sight ...

COVID-19 relevance: Digital learners / online

Recent moves within New Zealand and internationally have called for the inclusion of computational learning through activities such as coding, in school curricula. However, including activities such as coding in school curricula is a bold move, and one that will require significant support if ...

Who gets to define belonging? The nation state or its citizens? The government or civil society? This article argues that, for Māori, citizenship is and has been contested and conditional. It examines the history of belonging in New Zealand, from the Treaty of Waitangi to the Citizenship Act 1977, and recommends a framework ...

It is debatable whether citizenship education in New Zealand has presented a version of citizenship that resonates with Māori. This article explores the ability of The New Zealand Curriculum (NZC) to meaningfully provide citizenship education for Māori. This article suggests that there needs to a mindshift away from the conventional approach of ...

To be active members of a democracy, young people need to develop skills in active citizenship participation. Within New Zealand, there are opportunities to develop such skills within the social-studies curriculum as well as within the personal social-action achievement standards in NCEA (Levels 1–3). Drawing on a 2-year research project with teachers and students ...

This article focuses on how Year 11 secondary students view themselves as political beings, voice political ideas, and think critically about political participation. The research was motivated by the public representation of young citizens disengaged from political processes such as voting, and the authors’ perception of a gap in students’ political ideas that apply ...

How might social-studies teachers enact critical forms of citizenship education in classrooms and what pedagogies support this? This question is explored in relation to literature about critical citizenship and critical literacy. Also, possibilities for practice are considered and two approaches for critical literacy in social studies are presented: a) using critical questions to engage ...

This article explores how teachers and students can make the most of citizenship learning opportunities when they visit cultural institutions such as museums, galleries, and memorial parks. It shares insights from 150 Years: 150 Buses, a project that supported school groups to visit two or more of Wellington’s nationally significant institutions in 2015. Taking ...