20 Dec 2024
Top 10 Ako articles for 2024
Thank you to all our Ako Journal readers and contributors this year. Here’s a roundup of our most-read articles published in 2024.
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29 Nov 2024
Music, magic, mana reo: Waiata in early childhood centres
Educators across the motu are building brains through music. It’s unseen and often undervalued work, but that mahi is helping tamariki thrive right across the curriculum. AKO spoke to kaiako who love using music to build communication, wellbeing and impulse control in tamariki.
1 Nov 2024
Enhancing the mana: cultural leadership in Taranaki
Last year, NZEI Te Riu Roa won an allowance for existing teachers who hold cultural knowledge and expertise to recognise the work they are already doing in kura, schools and kindergartens. It came into effect this year and the applications for the funding were overwhelming.
Ngāmotu-based writer Emma Hislop (Kāi Tahu) sat down with a few of the kaiako who received the Cultural Leadership Allowance in Taranaki, to find out about their roles – and what receiving the funding meant to them.
6 Aug 2024
Diary of a head teacher sabbatical
Last year, NZEI Te Riu Roa kindergarten members won a new addition in their collective agreement: ten-week-long paid sabbaticals for up to 20 head teachers each year. We are honoured to share excerpts from a generous and insightful diary written during one of the first sabbaticals earlier this year, thanks to Shelley Shennan, the head teacher of Parihaka Kindergarten in Whangārei.
Winter/Spring 202311 Aug 2023
“We were refugees” Displaced by the cyclone
While many schools and centres were damaged by Cyclone Gabrielle, a few were forced into long-term closure with staff and children having to re-establish elsewhere. Ako talked to kaiako from three different institutions that found new premises, or were taken in by a neighbouring school or centre.
Spring 202214 Sep 2022
Teachers of the future
Initial teacher education plays a crucial role in our education system. But is it up to scratch? Ako talks to education professionals who are reimagining how we grow new teachers.
Spring 202214 Sep 2022
Pandemic innovations
COVID-19 forced schools and early childhood centres to rethink the way they delivered learning. Ako talks to educators who have found the silver linings and are looking to the future.
Spring 202214 Sep 2022
Spring 2022: Book reviews
Reviews of thirteen excellent new books for kaiako and ākonga.
Autumn 202218 Mar 2022
Nō hea koe? Where are you from?
Many schools and ECE centres already use Aotearoa histories as a powerful tool to engage tamariki in learning. Personal stories of migration are at the heart of it.
Autumn 202218 Mar 2022
Finding their tūrangawaewae
How early childhood centres are weaving past into present to grow tamariki to be confident in their identity and belonging.
Covid-19 202015 Sep 2020
Why now is a good time to rethink the purpose of ECE
Professor Linda Mitchell and her colleagues surveyed 156 managers from Early Childhood Education (ECE) providers on the initial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Covid-19 20204 Jun 2020
Reflecting on ECE professionalism post Covid-19 and Budget 2020
Dr Carmen Dalli reflects on the positives for the early childhood sector as we head toward the end of Level 2.
Covid-19 202029 May 2020
Counting the friendly frogs: welcoming children back to early learning centres
Parents experienced a mix of emotions when their children returned to schools and centres at the end of Alert Level 3. Two kindergartens share their stories of transition with AKO.
Covid-19 20203 Apr 2020
Q&A with Jacinta McInerney of Karanga Mai Early Learning Centre
Karanga Mai Early Learning Centre in Kaiapoi, north of Christchurch, is located on the grounds of Kaiapoi High School. A suspected case at the high school meant they had to go into lockdown two days before the rest of the country. Tumuaki of the centre, Jacinta McInerney, talks to Sara Shirazi about how they’re supporting the specific needs of their community.
Summer 202021 Feb 2020
Talking the talk
Oral language learning in early childhood is critical to success in later life. But how well do we do it in New Zealand?
Summer 202021 Feb 2020
Sign language and support systems
The landscape of Deaf education in New Zealand has changed a lot over the last 20 years. We look at the options now available to deaf children who are starting primary school.
Winter 201925 Jul 2019
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.
Winter 201925 Jul 2019
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.
Winter 201925 Jul 2019
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.
Summer 201928 Jan 2019
Seeing the difference
Inclusivity in ECE is increasingly seen as an opportunity to improve teaching practices and engage children’s learning.