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In this series, we celebrate the extraordinary mahi of educators across Aotearoa, whose passion and purpose shape the future every day. This month kindergarten head teacher Sally Griffin answers 12 questions about her unique powers.
It’s often said that a nation’s budget reflects its values. If that’s true, then Budget 2025 tells us undeniably that children, especially our youngest tamariki, are not a priority.
Did you know NZEI Te Riu Roa awards over $30,000 worth of scholarship funds each year to ECE teachers and support staff? Ako spoke to some of the 2024 recipients about how they used the funds and the impact it has had on their mahi.
ECE kaiako Jared Lambert received a scholarship from NZEI Te Riu Roa in 2024 and used the funds to help complete his Master of Psychology. He answered some questions about his experience of the scholarship.
Michelle Dons is kaiako matua at Matangi Āwhio kindergarten in Whakatū. She received an ECE scholarship from NZEI Te Riu Roa in 2024 to further her studies in how to promote and support emotional regulation in tamariki and kaiako in kindergarten. She writes about her experiences of the scholarship.
Thank you to all our Ako Journal readers and contributors this year. Here’s a roundup of our most-read articles published in 2024.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Reviews of thirteen excellent new books for kaiako and ākonga.
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.
How early childhood centres are weaving past into present to grow tamariki to be confident in their identity and belonging.
Professor Linda Mitchell and her colleagues surveyed 156 managers from Early Childhood Education (ECE) providers on the initial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Dr Carmen Dalli reflects on the positives for the early childhood sector as we head toward the end of Level 2.
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.
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.
Oral language learning in early childhood is critical to success in later life. But how well do we do it in New Zealand?