title: Understanding how ableism impacts inclusion of autistic children in ECE in New Zealand

authors: Sharma, Silky

subjects: ECE

abstract: Research shows that, despite the promise of inclusive early childhood education (ECE) in national and international legislation, disabled children and their families are still marginalised in ECE (Lyons, 2021; Macartney, 2011, 2019; Purdue, 2009). Recent work in Critical Disability Studies (CDS) and Disability Studies in Education (DSE) has connected this ongoing marginalisation of disabled children to the bias associated with ableism. Ableism is influenced by the ideology of normalcy, which produces the notion of a ‘normal’ child, and simultaneously conceptualises a disabled child as ‘other’ in relation to their rights and participation. However, ableism and its impact on excluding disabled children and their families in ECE have been given little acknowledgement (Love & Beneke, 2021; Macartney, 2019). To address this gap, this study investigates whether and how ableism operates in an ECE setting in New Zealand, in order to understand its impact on the inclusion of autistic children and their families. Additionally, this study explores how disability awareness and critical reflection on their practices can help teachers support inclusive practices for autistic children. The study also analyses key policy documents in early childhood education and special education. 
 
 This study adopted the theoretical frameworks of Disability Studies in Education (DSE) and ableism. DSE challenges ableist ideologies and practices that dehumanise disabled children and focuses on the role of educational settings and broader society in supporting inclusion (Baglieri & Bacon, 2020). The research uses two data sets i) two policy documents, Te Whāriki (Ministry of Education (MoE), 2017) and Success for All (MoE, 2010), and ii) a case study within an ECE setting. The methods used to collect case study data included individual interviews with staff as well as a parent of an autistic child; video recordings and observations of interactions with autistic children in the ECE setting; a teachers’ focus group discussion; and analysis of documents written and used in the ECE setting. The analytical tools of thematic analysis and Fairclough’s (1995, 2003) approach of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) were used to identify the discourses of ableism within both data sets. The thesis examines how these discourses as social practices disrupted the inclusion of autistic children.  
 
The findings indicate evidence of ableism operating in ECE policies and interactions in the ECE setting via the dominant discourses of developmental psychology, the medical model of disability, special education, and neoliberalism, and indicate that these discourses inform disablist practices that negatively impact the inclusion of autistic children. The findings also highlight that disability awareness and providing space, time and collaborative support to teachers for critically reflecting on their practices can positively change their thinking towards autistic children and empower them to affect changes in their teaching. A key argument is that the theoretical understanding developed in this study draws attention to the importance of the DSE framework in recognising and challenging ableism and reorienting thinking around inclusion in ECE policy and practice. Accordingly, the study offers theoretical ideas that can be used to work against ableism and promote inclusive practice for autistic and other disabled children.

text: Understanding how ableism impacts inclusion of autistic children in ECE in New Zealand Research shows that, despite the promise of inclusive early childhood education (ECE) in national and international legislation, disabled children and their families are still marginalised in ECE (Lyons, 2021; Macartney, 2011, 2019; Purdue, 2009). Recent work in Critical Disability Studies (CDS) and Disability Studies in Education (DSE) has connected this ongoing marginalisation of disabled children to the bias associated with ableism. Ableism is influenced by the ideology of normalcy, which produces the notion of a ‘normal’ child, and simultaneously conceptualises a disabled child as ‘other’ in relation to their rights and participation. However, ableism and its impact on excluding disabled children and their families in ECE have been given little acknowledgement (Love & Beneke, 2021; Macartney, 2019). To address this gap, this study investigates whether and how ableism operates in an ECE setting in New Zealand, in order to understand its impact on the inclusion of autistic children and their families. Additionally, this study explores how disability awareness and critical reflection on their practices can help teachers support inclusive practices for autistic children. The study also analyses key policy documents in early childhood education and special education. 
 
 This study adopted the theoretical frameworks of Disability Studies in Education (DSE) and ableism. DSE challenges ableist ideologies and practices that dehumanise disabled children and focuses on the role of educational settings and broader society in supporting inclusion (Baglieri & Bacon, 2020). The research uses two data sets i) two policy documents, Te Whāriki (Ministry of Education (MoE), 2017) and Success for All (MoE, 2010), and ii) a case study within an ECE setting. The methods used to collect case study data included individual interviews with staff as well as a parent of an autistic child; video recordings and observations of interactions with autistic children in the ECE setting; a teachers’ focus group discussion; and analysis of documents written and used in the ECE setting. The analytical tools of thematic analysis and Fairclough’s (1995, 2003) approach of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) were used to identify the discourses of ableism within both data sets. The thesis examines how these discourses as social practices disrupted the inclusion of autistic children.  
 
The findings indicate evidence of ableism operating in ECE policies and interactions in the ECE setting via the dominant discourses of developmental psychology, the medical model of disability, special education, and neoliberalism, and indicate that these discourses inform disablist practices that negatively impact the inclusion of autistic children. The findings also highlight that disability awareness and providing space, time and collaborative support to teachers for critically reflecting on their practices can positively change their thinking towards autistic children and empower them to affect changes in their teaching. A key argument is that the theoretical understanding developed in this study draws attention to the importance of the DSE framework in recognising and challenging ableism and reorienting thinking around inclusion in ECE policy and practice. Accordingly, the study offers theoretical ideas that can be used to work against ableism and promote inclusive practice for autistic and other disabled children.

year: 2023

title: Internal living environment and respiratory disease in children: Findings from the Growing Up in New Zealand longitudinal child cohort study

authors: Tin Tin, Sandar

abstract: Background: The incidence of early childhood acute respiratory infections (ARIs) has been associated with aspects of the indoor environment. In recent years, public awareness about some of these environmental issues has increased, including new laws and subsequent changes in occupant behaviours. This New Zealand study investigated current exposures to specific risk factors in the home during the first five years of life and provided updated evidence on the links between the home environment and childhood ARI hospitalisation. 
Methods: Pregnant women (n = 6822) were recruited in 2009 and 2010, and their 6853 children created a child cohort that was representative of New Zealand births from 2007-10. Longitudinal data were collected through face-to-face interviews and linkage to routinely collected national datasets. Incidence rates with Poisson distribution confidence intervals were computed and Cox regression modelling for repeated events was performed. 
Results: Living in a rented dwelling (48%), household crowding (22%) or dampness (20%); and, in the child's room, heavy condensation (20%) or mould or mildew on walls or ceilings (13%) were prevalent. In 14% of the households, the mother smoked cigarettes and in 30%, other household members smoked. Electric heaters were commonly used, followed by wood, flued gas and unflued portable gas heaters. The incidence of ARI hospitalisation before age five years was 33/1000 person-years. The risk of ARI hospitalisation was higher for children living in households where there was a gas heater in the child's bedroom: hazard ratio for flued gas heater 1.69 (95% CI: 1.21-2.36); and for unflued gas heater 1.68 (95% CI: 1.12-2.53); and where a gas heater was the sole type of household heating (hazard ratio: 1.64 (95% CI: 1.29-2.09)). The risk was reduced in households that used electric heaters (Hazard ratio: 0.74 (95% CI: 0.61-0.89)) or wood burners (hazard ratio: 0.79 (95% CI: 0.66-0.93)) as a form of household heating. The associations with other risk factors were not significant. Conclusions: The risk of early childhood ARI hospitalisation is increased by gas heater usage, specifically in the child's bedroom. Use of non-gas forms of heating may reduce the risk of early childhood ARI hospitalisation.

text: Internal living environment and respiratory disease in children: Findings from the Growing Up in New Zealand longitudinal child cohort study Background: The incidence of early childhood acute respiratory infections (ARIs) has been associated with aspects of the indoor environment. In recent years, public awareness about some of these environmental issues has increased, including new laws and subsequent changes in occupant behaviours. This New Zealand study investigated current exposures to specific risk factors in the home during the first five years of life and provided updated evidence on the links between the home environment and childhood ARI hospitalisation. 
Methods: Pregnant women (n = 6822) were recruited in 2009 and 2010, and their 6853 children created a child cohort that was representative of New Zealand births from 2007-10. Longitudinal data were collected through face-to-face interviews and linkage to routinely collected national datasets. Incidence rates with Poisson distribution confidence intervals were computed and Cox regression modelling for repeated events was performed. 
Results: Living in a rented dwelling (48%), household crowding (22%) or dampness (20%); and, in the child's room, heavy condensation (20%) or mould or mildew on walls or ceilings (13%) were prevalent. In 14% of the households, the mother smoked cigarettes and in 30%, other household members smoked. Electric heaters were commonly used, followed by wood, flued gas and unflued portable gas heaters. The incidence of ARI hospitalisation before age five years was 33/1000 person-years. The risk of ARI hospitalisation was higher for children living in households where there was a gas heater in the child's bedroom: hazard ratio for flued gas heater 1.69 (95% CI: 1.21-2.36); and for unflued gas heater 1.68 (95% CI: 1.12-2.53); and where a gas heater was the sole type of household heating (hazard ratio: 1.64 (95% CI: 1.29-2.09)). The risk was reduced in households that used electric heaters (Hazard ratio: 0.74 (95% CI: 0.61-0.89)) or wood burners (hazard ratio: 0.79 (95% CI: 0.66-0.93)) as a form of household heating. The associations with other risk factors were not significant. Conclusions: The risk of early childhood ARI hospitalisation is increased by gas heater usage, specifically in the child's bedroom. Use of non-gas forms of heating may reduce the risk of early childhood ARI hospitalisation.

year: 2016

title: Maori and goldfields revenue

authors: Hart, Philip

abstract: When gold was first discovered, the Crown accepted that it needed Maori consent to open their land for mining and had to assuage fears of losing their land. Accordingly, officials devised agreements to protect Maori interests and to provide a financial return. Because of what had occurred in other countries after goldfields opened, both Maori and the government agreed that these must be well controlled. Over time, the regulations increasingly favoured the mining industry rather than the original landowners, who were not informed about the true value of their land, auriferous or otherwise. Maori were confused about their financial entitlement because of changes made by the government to the fees payable to them. 
Some rangatira, most notably Wirope Hoterene Taipari of Ngati Maru, saw a chance to obtain unexpected (and unearned) wealth, as shown by his insistence on opening Thames to miners despite the opposition of most of his hapu. Later, other rangatira wanted to open Ohinemuri and other potential fields because of the money they were promised by impatient miners and by more patient officials. For a brief time, some Maori considered controlling the potential Ohinemuri goldfield themselves. The main incentive to opening land was the wealth received by landowners during the early days of the Thames goldfield, but as mining faded later so did goldfields revenue. Changes to mining regulations diminished the amount distributed to Maori in ways that some Pakeha considered unfair, and these provoked complaints from Maori.
A continuing problem for officials was to ensure that revenue was allocated to the right owners. The system was complex, resulting in delays in paying money and in some Maori obtaining too much and others too little (or none at all), an outcome often resulting from rangatira distributing it as they chose rather than caused by government officials, who did their best to ensure fairness. Over time, the government unilaterally made changes to the system. For their part, miners complained about being required to pay for the right to mine, and encouraged the government to acquire the freehold of goldfield land because miners’ rights on Crown land were one-quarter the cost of those on Maori land. 
The revenue received by the landowners soon slipped through their fingers, sometimes in traditionally competitive gatherings such as tangi. It can be argued that Taipari, who very shrewdly adapted to the new economy (and experienced its perils, becoming bankrupt in 1870), used his income not just to give himself a luxurious lifestyle but also to boost the mana of his hapu. The government has been blamed for not insisting that revenue be protected for the use of future generations, a concept that occurred to only a few Pakeha at the time and to no Maori; far from considering the interests of their descendents, cultivating the land decreased while this revenue was received. But due to the nature of mining, by the twentieth century the landowners were lamenting the serious decline in their income from this source; despite having sold so much of their goldfield lands, some complained at not receiving any more revenue. 
Evaluating the outcome, the Waitangi Tribunal indulged in some counter-factual history by suggesting that the government should have encouraged rangatira to set up trusts to protect the income for future generations, but no rangatira had suggested this idea, nor did they ask that they should manage goldfields jointly with the Crown. After imagining that Maori in partnership with Pakeha capitalists could have developed the goldfields without the involvement of the Crown, the Tribunal had to accept that the outcome would have been the same: loss of money (because apart from anything else mining could not remain payable indefinitely) combined with the loss of much of their land.

text: Maori and goldfields revenue When gold was first discovered, the Crown accepted that it needed Maori consent to open their land for mining and had to assuage fears of losing their land. Accordingly, officials devised agreements to protect Maori interests and to provide a financial return. Because of what had occurred in other countries after goldfields opened, both Maori and the government agreed that these must be well controlled. Over time, the regulations increasingly favoured the mining industry rather than the original landowners, who were not informed about the true value of their land, auriferous or otherwise. Maori were confused about their financial entitlement because of changes made by the government to the fees payable to them. 
Some rangatira, most notably Wirope Hoterene Taipari of Ngati Maru, saw a chance to obtain unexpected (and unearned) wealth, as shown by his insistence on opening Thames to miners despite the opposition of most of his hapu. Later, other rangatira wanted to open Ohinemuri and other potential fields because of the money they were promised by impatient miners and by more patient officials. For a brief time, some Maori considered controlling the potential Ohinemuri goldfield themselves. The main incentive to opening land was the wealth received by landowners during the early days of the Thames goldfield, but as mining faded later so did goldfields revenue. Changes to mining regulations diminished the amount distributed to Maori in ways that some Pakeha considered unfair, and these provoked complaints from Maori.
A continuing problem for officials was to ensure that revenue was allocated to the right owners. The system was complex, resulting in delays in paying money and in some Maori obtaining too much and others too little (or none at all), an outcome often resulting from rangatira distributing it as they chose rather than caused by government officials, who did their best to ensure fairness. Over time, the government unilaterally made changes to the system. For their part, miners complained about being required to pay for the right to mine, and encouraged the government to acquire the freehold of goldfield land because miners’ rights on Crown land were one-quarter the cost of those on Maori land. 
The revenue received by the landowners soon slipped through their fingers, sometimes in traditionally competitive gatherings such as tangi. It can be argued that Taipari, who very shrewdly adapted to the new economy (and experienced its perils, becoming bankrupt in 1870), used his income not just to give himself a luxurious lifestyle but also to boost the mana of his hapu. The government has been blamed for not insisting that revenue be protected for the use of future generations, a concept that occurred to only a few Pakeha at the time and to no Maori; far from considering the interests of their descendents, cultivating the land decreased while this revenue was received. But due to the nature of mining, by the twentieth century the landowners were lamenting the serious decline in their income from this source; despite having sold so much of their goldfield lands, some complained at not receiving any more revenue. 
Evaluating the outcome, the Waitangi Tribunal indulged in some counter-factual history by suggesting that the government should have encouraged rangatira to set up trusts to protect the income for future generations, but no rangatira had suggested this idea, nor did they ask that they should manage goldfields jointly with the Crown. After imagining that Maori in partnership with Pakeha capitalists could have developed the goldfields without the involvement of the Crown, the Tribunal had to accept that the outcome would have been the same: loss of money (because apart from anything else mining could not remain payable indefinitely) combined with the loss of much of their land.

year: 2016