All Articles
Home has been my classroom
Child of the mist, Tame Iti, says that “history has woven us together. We are the basket, the kete, that holds the future!”
Teaching – and reaching – online from Ohura
From her tiny school on the appropriately named Forgotten Highway, Anna Fourie teaches students across the country, using the internet.
The community of kapa haka
For nearly a decade, Kapapapanui School in Waikanae has been using kapa haka as a way of building community in and around the school – and the benefits have been extraordinary for both Māori and non-Māori students.
Kapa haka at Kapanui School
For nearly a decade, Kapanui School in Waikanae has been using kapa haka as a way of building community in and around the school – and the benefits have been extraordinary for both Māori and non-Māori students.
Virtually connected
More than a quarter of New Zealand schools have fewer than 100 students. How can their students gain meaningful connections with the wider world and overcome their isolation?
Winter 2019: Children’s book reviews
Reviews of eight Aotearoa New Zealand picture books for children of all ages.
Girls and Autism: Educational, Family and Personal Perspectives
A review of Girls and Autism: Educational, Family and Personal Perspectives.
Pūrākau: Māori Myths Retold by Māori Writers
A review of Pūrākau: Māori Myths Retold by Māori Writers.
Jobs, Robots and Us: Getting a Grip on the Future of Work in New Zealand
Jobs, Robots and Us: Getting a Grip on the Future of Work in New Zealand
Strengthening, growing and reaching out
The interplay between a school and its community is complex and rich with potential – for personal connection, professional support and building capability. A range of schools throughout the country illustrate the myriad ways – and reasons why – school communities come together.
People power
School principals from around the country explain how strong communities of staff bring crucial benefits for children and whānau, from South Auckland to Southland.
Building bridges: from community to ECE to primary
The importance of whānau and community doesn’t lessen just because a child starts school, but it can be hard for educators to maintain these strong connections once a child leaves early childhood education. Jane Blaikie and Jane Arthur talk to educators across the country about the challenges they face when trying to build bridges between the child and their community.
Enabling positive change
This winter 2019 issue of Ako focusses on community and the different ways it is evidenced within education.
Working together effectively and consistently
Children do not exist in isolation; their lives are embedded in families, communities and societies. Nested within these communities are the schools and early childhood education (ECE) services children attend.
Fostering a sense of home in a new environment
When my mother and I first arrived in New Zealand, she was 22 and I was four. We didn’t know anyone or anything. We had to learn how to use public transport, ATMs, how to buy groceries and clothes, pay bills – all while learning a whole new language. This was very overwhelming and isolating.
Reconciliation in education
Australia is home to more than 250 distinct Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nations – diverse geo-cultural communities, each with their own traditional languages, customs and connections to Country/place.
Engaging parents, whānau and hapori
It is widely acknowledged that engaging whānau and community in educational activities that support the learning of their children is mutually beneficial. It is also acknowledged that this is not always straightforward.
Summer 2019: Children’s book reviews
Reviews of four new fantastic children's books.
Students owning success
Student agency is changing the way children learn – enhancing local curricula and parent and student voice. It has particular relevance to individualising learning for children with additional needs.
Fully integrated
One of the most important things for children with additional needs to be able to access the curricula and to thrive at school is having huge support behind them. That includes from the school and whānau communities and from school leaders, support staff, teachers and itinerant staff.
Let the uniqueness of the child guide us in our mahi
Kura in the Manawatū and Horowhenua are shining examples of inclusivity, in a context of some hope that more resources are coming to support culturally competent practices everywhere.
Education for all
Robert Martin has become the public face of why a human rights take on inclusive education is needed. Born with a brain injury that made his early life difficult, he now travels the world asking hard questions of governments about their efforts to comply with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities.
Seeing the difference
Inclusivity in ECE is increasingly seen as an opportunity to improve teaching practices and engage children’s learning.