title: Business managers in children’s playground : Exploring a problematic (or not!) identity construction of early childhood teachers in New Zealand.

authors: Kamenarac, Olivera

subjects: Discourses

abstract: The impacts of neo-liberal education reforms on the early childhood education sector have been a focal point of scholarly critiques in New Zealand. Interestingly, only a few studies have addressed how teacher professional identities and professionalism have changed in response to the neo-liberal context of New Zealand early childhood education. It has been, however, recognised that understanding the complexity of teacher professional identities within the rapidly transforming landscape of early childhood education is a key consideration in implementing and sustaining a change agenda in education policies and practices. In this article, the author draws on data from her research study about how teachers’ professional identities have been reconstructed in response to the shifting discourses in New Zealand early childhood education policies and practices. Specifically, the author explores the construction of teachers as business managers, which has emerged through an interplay of discourses of marketisation and privatisation driving some of the country’s early childhood education policies and practices. It is argued that the construction of teachers as business managers has altered core professional ethical values underpinning the teaching profession, professionalism and the purpose of early childhood education in New Zealand, which were traditionally embedded in discourses of collective democracy, equity and social justice.

text: Business managers in children’s playground : Exploring a problematic (or not!) identity construction of early childhood teachers in New Zealand. The impacts of neo-liberal education reforms on the early childhood education sector have been a focal point of scholarly critiques in New Zealand. Interestingly, only a few studies have addressed how teacher professional identities and professionalism have changed in response to the neo-liberal context of New Zealand early childhood education. It has been, however, recognised that understanding the complexity of teacher professional identities within the rapidly transforming landscape of early childhood education is a key consideration in implementing and sustaining a change agenda in education policies and practices. In this article, the author draws on data from her research study about how teachers’ professional identities have been reconstructed in response to the shifting discourses in New Zealand early childhood education policies and practices. Specifically, the author explores the construction of teachers as business managers, which has emerged through an interplay of discourses of marketisation and privatisation driving some of the country’s early childhood education policies and practices. It is argued that the construction of teachers as business managers has altered core professional ethical values underpinning the teaching profession, professionalism and the purpose of early childhood education in New Zealand, which were traditionally embedded in discourses of collective democracy, equity and social justice.

year: 2021

title: Real interest rates, inflation and open economy: A regime-switching perspective on Australia and New Zealand

authors: Holmes, Mark J.

subjects: stationary

abstract: We investigate the time-series properties of Australian and New Zealand real interest rates within a Markov-switching framework. This enables us to identify characteristics in real interest rate behavior hitherto unacknowledged. We find that rates switch between alternative stationary regimes characterized by differing means, speeds of mean-reversion and volatility. For New Zealand, high rates of inflation increase the probability of remaining in a regime characterized by a faster speed of adjustment. Further application of this methodology considers the real interest rate differential between Australia and New Zealand and points to differing regimes based on volatility rather than persistence.

text: Real interest rates, inflation and open economy: A regime-switching perspective on Australia and New Zealand We investigate the time-series properties of Australian and New Zealand real interest rates within a Markov-switching framework. This enables us to identify characteristics in real interest rate behavior hitherto unacknowledged. We find that rates switch between alternative stationary regimes characterized by differing means, speeds of mean-reversion and volatility. For New Zealand, high rates of inflation increase the probability of remaining in a regime characterized by a faster speed of adjustment. Further application of this methodology considers the real interest rate differential between Australia and New Zealand and points to differing regimes based on volatility rather than persistence.

year: 2009

title: Reconnecting whānau: Pathways to recovery for Māori with bipolar disorder

authors: Waitoki, Waikaremoana

subjects: mental health

abstract: While Māori are known to experience a higher burden of mental health and addiction problems compared to non-Māori (Baxter, 2008), little exploratory research has been conducted into Māori experiences of bipolar affective disorder. Bipolar disorder is at times regarded as a “life sentence”, with little hope of recovery. The recovery- focused mental health literature, however, argues wellness is achievable for even the most intractable conditions (Lapsley, Nikora, & Black, 2002; Mental Health Commission, 2001). The aim of this research was to gather information about the experiences of Māori who were diagnosed with bipolar affective disorder. Interviews were conducted with 22 Māori wāhine (women) and tāne (men), and using thematic analyses, themes relevant to their life stories were uncovered. This research sought to contribute to the realisation of Māori potential by explicitly shifting from deficit- focused frameworks to a focus on systemic factors that influenced Māori wellbeing. Highlights were that whānau (participants) who were connected with friends, partners and family were motivated to achieve wellness and to stay well.

text: Reconnecting whānau: Pathways to recovery for Māori with bipolar disorder While Māori are known to experience a higher burden of mental health and addiction problems compared to non-Māori (Baxter, 2008), little exploratory research has been conducted into Māori experiences of bipolar affective disorder. Bipolar disorder is at times regarded as a “life sentence”, with little hope of recovery. The recovery- focused mental health literature, however, argues wellness is achievable for even the most intractable conditions (Lapsley, Nikora, & Black, 2002; Mental Health Commission, 2001). The aim of this research was to gather information about the experiences of Māori who were diagnosed with bipolar affective disorder. Interviews were conducted with 22 Māori wāhine (women) and tāne (men), and using thematic analyses, themes relevant to their life stories were uncovered. This research sought to contribute to the realisation of Māori potential by explicitly shifting from deficit- focused frameworks to a focus on systemic factors that influenced Māori wellbeing. Highlights were that whānau (participants) who were connected with friends, partners and family were motivated to achieve wellness and to stay well.

year: 2015