Funding awarded to six educational research partnerships

Research projects focusing on literacy, assessment practices, leadership qualities of kaiako Māori, te reo Māori in the tertiary sector and inclusive mathematics teaching are among those supported in the latest round of Teaching and Learning Research Initiative (TLRI) funding.

Since 2003, the TLRI has funded 187 research projects co-designed by educational researchers and teacher practitioners that address themes of strategic importance and improve outcomes for learners in Aotearoa New Zealand. Funding is allocated through two pathways – Whatua Tū Aka for kaupapa Māori research, and the Open Pathway for general educational research. There are also criteria focused on Pacific research that applicants may choose to be assessed on.

The TLRI would like to congratulate its successful applicants for 2024, who all receive funding for two years.

Funding allocated through Whatua Tū Aka kaupapa Māori pathway:

Ka Tiritiria, Kia Poupoua - The University of Auckland, Whangarei South RTLB Cluster and Portland School. Led by Dr Maia Hetaraka & Dr Selena Meiklejohn-Whiu.

This project will provide evidence of significant ways that localised mātauranga, tikanga and te reo Māori can enhance literacy practices in schools. Kaiako Māori will work alongside mātanga to use mātauranga-ā-hapū and a Tai Tokerau specific learning framework called ‘Tēnei te Pou’ to recognise and enhance the inherited and inherent literacies of tamariki.

He Kaiako Tū Rangatira – Te Herenga Waka Victoria University, University of Auckland Waipapa Taumata Rau, Te Rangihakahaka Centre for Science & Technology, Te Kura o Pukeroa Oruawhata (Rotorua Primary) and Te Kura o Whangamarino. Led by Dr Hiria McRae and Dr Tania Cliffe-Tautari.

Examining how kaiako Māori within English medium settings often undertake extra responsibilities, this research will identify diverse kaiako Māori leadership qualities and then support their growth as confident and valued leaders, to equip kaiako Māori with skills and support to assume leadership roles.

Manaakitia te reo: Tauira perceptions towards maintaining te reo use in higher education - University of Otago, Ngā Taiātea Wharekura and Te Kōpuku High. Led by Tautemaria Silva.

This project will hear from tauira Māori fluent in te reo attending wharekura and then university, about opportunities to maintain te reo Māori in higher education. It will identify barriers and enablers to the use of te reo Māori, thus, providing guidelines for universities and disciplines wishing to improve support for te reo Māori.

Funding allocated through Open Pathway

Inclusive mathematics teaching: A UDL lesson study approach - The University of Auckland, Rutherford Primary School, Edmonton Primary School, Omakau Primary, Roxburgh Area School. Led by Dr Lisa Darragh & Dr Jude MacArthur.

This study supports teachers to develop inclusive mathematics lessons using an iterative lesson study approach and Universal Design for Learning principles. The aim is to understand common barriers to inclusive teaching of mathematics and the strategies teachers might use to overcome them, with a goal that all children experience inclusion and high-quality learning in mathematics.

Re-framing inclusive representations of valued learning: ‘Seeing’ young learners through critical and creative co-designed visual assessment - University of Canterbury, The Children’s Garden (Nelson), He Manu Hou (Te Tihi o Maru). Led by Prof. Jayne White & Dr Tracy Dayman.

Visual depictions of learning play a central role in early childhood assessment. This project aims to make explicit the processes, conditions, and modes that influence how young learners are seen and represented as competent and capable on their own terms. A series of re-framing lenses will invite kaiako to co-design visual approaches to early childhood education assessment practices that represent and nurture learning for all.

Mātauranga Maori, Science and Te Ao Tūroa: Fostering Leadership and Collaboration for a Multiple Knowledge Systems Approach to Education – University of Canterbury, Lincoln High School, Green Bay High School, Wellington East Girls College. Led by Prof. Sara Tolbert & Kari Moana Te Rongopatahi.

This research project partners with high school kaiako currently teaching and/or working towards teaching about Te Ao Tūroa | our natural world, from the perspectives of both mātauranga Māori and science.  The aim is to explore authentic assessment practices that appropriately capture student learning and build kaiako capacity and leadership for teaching mātauranga Māori alongside science.

About the Teaching and Learning Research Initiative 

The TLRI funds high-quality research projects that aim to improve outcomes for learners. All projects are partnerships between researchers and educators for 1-3 years.

In 2024 the TLRI fund prioritised the following areas:

• Research on topics of strategic importance within early childhood education and/or compulsory school sectors.
• Research that supports success for Māori learners as Māori in any sector.
• Research that supports success for Pacific learners in any sector.

The TLRI is funded by the New Zealand government and administered by Rangahau Mātauranga o Aotearoa | New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER).

For further information contact the TLRI team on: TLRI@nzcer.org.nz