School of Leadership and Professional Practice

Chris Astall is in the School of Leadership and Professional Practice | Te Kura Whakawhanake Hautūanga me te Ngaioanga at the University of Canterbury. He has been the programme coordinator for both the undergraduate Ako: BTchLn (Primary) programme and the postgraduate / Master of teaching and learning. Chris teaches across numerous primary undergraduate teacher education courses. His research is grounded in teacher education, with a particular focus on how student teachers experience professional practice, develop their professional identity, and sustain their wellbeing during training. He also explores how self‑study and reflective practices can enhance tertiary teaching, ensuring that research directly informs course design and delivery. Recognised with an HEA Fellowship in 2020 and supported by several UC teaching and learning grants, his collaborative projects continue to strengthen the preparation of future educators and enrich the teacher education programmes at UC.

Improving outcomes for all learners is my passion and is always central to my research and postgraduate supervisions. I have been involved in research on innovative learning environments in schooling;  mentoring student teachers on practicum; how literacy and languages influence schooling and education; leadership in schooling during natural disasters; reading programmes in the upper primary school.

I supervise a number of NZ and international postgraduate students in literacy, languages, English as a second or foreign language and supporting Māori and Pasifika learners. 

Earlier research

I led a multisite case study qualitative research project in a wide range of primary and intermediate schools. The investigation explored the views of principals, teachers, parents and students on supporting reading, mathematics and how elearning can be used to motivate learning. I undertook research on experiences in primary schooling during and after the Christchurch earthquakes. I was the principal co-investigator in a research project funded by the MOE to investigate ‘E-learning, mixed mode and distance learning for adult literacy, language and numeracy’. This research led to international work in the area of adult literacy for speakers of English as a second language and exploring how e-learning can support English literacy acquisition. My earlier research focused on Pasifika students’ literacy achievement where I took a lead role as part of a research team, working with the guidance of matai. I have examined a number of theses on supporting Pasifika students in learning.


https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/education-and-health/research/learning-environments/

The majority of my research focuses on second, foreign, and additional language acquisition in multilingual environments, with a particular emphasis on the transmission, maintenance, and shift of heritage, immigrant, and minority languages. Drawing on extensive experience as a sociolinguist, language educator, and ESOL teacher trainer across diverse international contexts, I adopt a holistic approach to understanding and enhancing language learning and teaching.

My work explores effective pedagogies and strategies for language education in both online and face-to-face settings, with a strong commitment to culturally responsive practices. I am especially interested in the relationships between language, culture, and identity, and how these shape learners’ experiences and outcomes. Additionally, my research examines the role of technology in enhancing language learning, as well as the impact of language policy and practice on multilingual contexts.

Through interdisciplinary collaboration and engagement with educators, learners, and diverse language-speaking communities, my research aims to inform and improve language teaching practices, support the maintenance of linguistic diversity, and contribute to more equitable and inclusive educational environments.

My research investigates how leaders and helping professionals create the relational conditions that enable individuals and communities to learn, heal, belong, and flourish, particularly in contexts of adversity and change. Drawing on educational leadership, counselling, and emerging perspectives from embodiment science, I examine how communication, compassion, emotion regulation, co-regulation, and embodied relational practice shape learning, wellbeing, and organisational change. My perspective is informed by both professional training and practice as a counsellor and scholarship in educational leadership, providing an interdisciplinary lens for understanding how leaders and helping professionals cultivate relational environments that support individuals, organisations, and communities. I have a particular interest in supporting educators, children and young people, families, and communities experiencing vulnerability or marginalisation.

Grounded in an interdisciplinary perspective, my research spans educational leadership, school mental health and wellbeing, trauma-informed practice, and the emotional and relational dimensions of leadership. Current projects explore compassionate leadership, emotional labour, embodied relational practice, and leadership approaches that strengthen psychological safety, belonging, trust, and collective capacity within educational and helping organisations. Across this work, I seek to bridge theory and practice by generating research that informs leadership development, professional learning, organisational improvement, and the implementation of evidence-informed practices that support learning and wellbeing.

I welcome the opportunity to supervise postgraduate students whose interests align with educational leadership, school mental health and wellbeing, trauma-informed practice, compassionate leadership, embodiment science, emotion regulation, emotional labour, counselling-informed leadership, and organisational change. I enjoy working with students across qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods research and am particularly interested in projects that centre the experiences and voices of practitioners, children and young people, families, and communities.

I am a teacher and researcher whose work is shaped by extensive experience across both Chinese and New Zealand education systems. Moving between these educational contexts has made me recognise that educational success is never simply an individual matter; it is deeply connected to the resources and opportunities available to learners and teachers. My work is therefore guided by a belief that education should expand possibilities for those who have been disadvantaged rather than reproduce existing inequalities.

       Across my research and teaching, I am driven by questions of equity in language education: how multilingual children can access and sustain their first or Indigenous languages through education; how multilingual teachers’ linguistic repertoires can be recognised as assets rather than constraints; and how AI can help reduce longstanding inequalities in access to second-language learning.

       These questions are beyond career aspirations. Growing up in a low socio-economic background, I experienced firsthand the transformative power of education, and this continues to shape my commitment to expanding educational opportunities for others. I believe that every child should have the right to speak their own language, see it valued in educational settings, and have meaningful opportunities to learn additional languages. By supporting linguistic inclusion and access, education can become a pathway for more children to participate and succeed.

Kathryn’s work sits at the intersection of AI literacy, digital pedagogy, teacher professional knowledge, and education policy, with a strong emphasis on Indigenous and equity-centred approaches. She is best known for leading the development of the Scaffolded AI Literacy (SAIL) framework, which has shaped national curriculum reform in Aotearoa New Zealand and is informing institutional and international approaches to AI in education.

Her research is impact-driven and policy-engaged, translating conceptual and empirical work into curriculum design, professional learning, and system-level change. She works closely with schools, tertiary providers, government agencies, and international partners to ensure research outcomes are meaningful, adoptable, and sustainable.

Kathryn has published extensively in high-impact international journals, leads multiple funded research initiatives, and supervises doctoral research.

Enquiries are welcome from prospective PhD students and collaborators interested in AI literacy, digital pedagogy, curriculum reform, and education policy. Particular interest is on projects with strong theoretical grounding and applied impact across education systems.

Impact Highlights

• National curriculum influence: Research directly informed the redeveloped Digital Technologies Curriculum and is contributing to ongoing discussions around AI literacy integration across the New Zealand Curriculum and Te Marautanga o Aotearoa. 
• Framework adoption at scale: Developed nationally and internationally adopted frameworks ((TPACK)², He Whare Ako, He Whare Hangarau, and SAIL) now embedded in institutional strategies, professional learning, and teacher education programmes.
• Policy and sector engagement: Research has shaped institutional assessment policy, teacher preparation guidance, and national conversations on responsible AI use in education.
• Practice change: Funded projects have supported measurable changes in classroom and tertiary teaching practice through teacher-researcher partnerships and sector-wide professional learning.
• Leadership in emerging fields: Recognised nationally and internationally as a leader in AI literacy and digital pedagogy, with invited contributions to policy forums, curriculum advisory groups, and international research networks.

Selected Media Engagements and Keynotes

• Keynote addresses, lectures, and panels, including international and national appearances; informing MoE officials, professional bodies, and education leaders; and positioning Aotearoa New Zealand research within international AI-in-education conversations.
• Invited media commentary and interviews on AI and education for national and international outlets, contributing to public understanding of generative AI, assessment, and curriculum reform.
• The Conversation – Authored research-informed articles on digital education and AI, including one piece translated into French and read by over 63,000 readers, extending reach beyond academic audiences.

Angeline (Angie) Malae is a passionate Pasifika educator, serving as a Lecturer in the School of Leadership and Professional Practice at the University of Canterbury. She teaches and coordinates courses in the Ako Bachelor of Teaching and Learning (Primary) programme, primarily working with first-year students. She also coordinates the Pasifika course AKOT231 Saili Matagi, which is offered across all cohorts within the teaching degree.

With a strong background as a primary school teacher and school leader, Angie is committed to nurturing an inclusive and culturally responsive educational space. She leads by example, advocating for practices that empower both students and educators, ensuring that learning environments support the success and well-being of all.

Beyond her teaching role, Angie actively contributes to curriculum development and academic facilitation, embedding Pasifika values and strengthening community connections within education. Her work reflects a deep dedication to creating meaningful and transformative learning experiences for all within her spaces.

As a trained Secondary English and ESOL teacher, I am deeply engaged in teacher education and professional development. My research interests lie broadly within the field of Educational Linguistics, with a particular focus on pedagogical strategies that enhance teaching, learning, and assessment to support students’ academic literacy development. I have a strong interest in exploring the social, linguistic, and educational dynamics that link educational attainment, particularly literacy skills development, with low socioeconomic contexts.

Additionally, I am an expert in supporting students through the transition from school to university, with a focus on helping both domestic and international students understand and navigate the Discourse and discourse practices of higher education. This work aims to build students’ confidence and capacity to succeed in academic environments that may initially feel unfamiliar to them. This includes an expertise in supporting mature students returning to higher education.

I also specialise in designing and implementing bimodal learning systems to support programmes transitioning into hybrid and hyflex models. This includes the development of flexible, inclusive pedagogies that meet the evolving needs of diverse learner cohorts in both in-person and online environments.

Designing and Facilitating Transformative Experiences through Research and Teaching

For 35 years, I have measured the impact that experiences have on individuals and organisations in order to design more impactful ones for them. This work has occurred within an array of contexts including a US Senator’s office, the Peace Corps, white water rafting, Outward Bound courses, school camps, field trips, study abroad experiences, and middle school, high school, and university classrooms. In 2011, I used my expertise in this area to create a course, CHCH101: Rebuilding Christchurch, for Student Volunteer Army members to take after their amazing response to the earthquakes. CHCH101 then became the foundation for the Bachelor of Youth and Community Leadership, which was launched in 2020. My current projects include designing more impactful experiences that are accessible and inclusive through the use of technology in the form of documentary films, online learning, and virtual reality.

My primary research interests are emotions, emotional intelligence (EI), emotion regulation and social emotional wellbeing of students and teachers, including during and post disaster. Recent research projects include “The Student Agency Project” led through Washington State University, “The Impact of Covid 19 on Principal and Teacher Wellbeing” led through Mary Immaculate College, Limerick, Ireland, and the Teaching & Learning Research Initiative (TLRI) project entitled, “Co-constructing a culturally and linguistically sustaining, Te Tiriti -based Ako framework for socio-emotional wellbeing in education”. I am also involved in other research projects investigating students’ emotions in higher education, in New Zealand and Ireland, having been a visiting scholar at the University of Limerick, Ireland, in 2019. Previous research includes investigating the emotional impacts of the Christchurch February 2011 earthquake on Christchurch teachers, funded by the University of Canterbury Digital Archive (CEISMIC), an investigation into emotions in tertiary teaching, funded by AKO Aotearoa and a Marsden-funded PhD scholarship investigating the role of emotion in children’s classroom learning as a co-researcher in the Project on Learning (1999 - 2002), led by the late Professor Graham Nuthall. In 2006, I was the Inaugural Recipient of the Sutton-Smith Doctoral Award for excellence in a PhD in Eductation. In 2011, I received the Fulbright-Cognition Scholarship in Educational Research Award which enabled me to spend six weeks at the Health Education and Behavior (HEB) Lab at Yale University, where key EI research programmes have been developed, and six weeks as Visiting Scholar to the Department of Educational Leadership at Wichita State University, Kansas.

My teaching, research and service are guided, influenced and inspired by the metaphorical notion in Samoan  – ‘ole talatalaina ole upega lavelave, the untangling of the tangled net’.  This notion contextualizes the reality of my role as an educator, a researcher and a community leader in seeking solutions that can help resolve matters that impact on the lives of students, families and communities.  Such expression captures the real essence of why I serve my community, why I am fully engaged in research and why I am passionate about teaching.  My interest in Pasifika education as a whole and educational leadership completely capture my aspiration to engage in research to improve outcomes for Pacific learners.  My passion in these areas inspires me to develop a new research methodology known as the Soalaupulega Samoa Research Theoretical Framework (SSRTF).  Such methodology captures the relationship between people and the research matter.  It opens doors to deep thinking in seeking solutions to resolve issues impacting on the lives of the community. Soalaupulega theoretical framework is a taonga I offer to the research community, locally, nationally and globally.

In my personal life, I  am a father of 4 children.  My wife is an Early Childhood teacher.  I have a leadership role in my church as Bishop, a role that gives me the opportunity to work with people of all ages, genders, cultures and so on.  As a leader in this capacity, I enjoy working with young people supporting them in all they do in life.  In my role in education at UC, I have the opportunity to develop, coordinate and lead the Pasifika Education Initiative - known as the Samoa Malaga. I developed this initiative as a strategy to help non Pasifika teachers, school leaders, academics, initial teacher educators etc to increase their knowledge of Pacific cultures and contexts to support this whole kaupapa on raising the achievement and engagement of Pacific learners.  The completion of my PhD in 2023 has been the highlight of my last 4 years in my role in education.  The fulfilment of this achievement motivates me to carry on and continue to give something back to my Pasifika families and communities in lifting the engagement and achievement of Pacific students.

Nikki Tod’s professional background includes primary classroom teaching, school management and governance, plus lecturing and leadership in Initial Teacher Education. Teaching and research interests include effective pedagogy and authentic learning experiences, mana-enhancing mentoring practices, and culturally responsive education. High quality teaching practices, and learning experiences that promote engagement and achievement for all students, is at the core of Nikki's own teaching and research, and is advocated for in course development and delivery. Nikki currently supports the development, teaching and course cordination of Social Sciences curriculum courses, Professional Practice courses, plus the Teacher as Practitioner and Teacher as Professional Ako BTchLn courses. Nikki also contributed to the design of the UC micro-credential titled Mentoring Teachers. She facilitates and leads cultural exchange programmes between UC and Sonoda University (Osaka, Japan). Nikki is always open to assisting and supporting students, plus promoting effective partnerships with schools.

Ko Te Arawa te waka
Tamatekapua te tupuna
Ngātoroirangi te tohunga
Ko Te Arawa te iwi
E haruru nei te whenua mai i Maketū ki Tongariro
Ko Ngaroma Williams e mihi atu ki a koutou
Tēnā tātou katoa.

Ki te hoe: Navigating our spaces to become confident bilingual and bicultural practitioners

My scholarship is grounded in mātauranga Māori and kaupapa Māori ways of knowing, being, and doing. I explore the relationships between Māori and non-Māori streams of knowledge and how these can be integrated meaningfully in educational practice. A central question that guides my work is: How might teachers and educators listen deeply to whakapapa (identity), te reo Māori (language), and tikanga (culture) as they strengthen their pedagogical knowledge and practice?

Too often, the hidden drivers of pedagogy remain anchored in Western-oriented values, processes, and motivations. In Aotearoa New Zealand, adopting genuinely bicultural and bilingual pedagogies gives life to the intent of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and honours this nation’s dual heritage. As Co-Director of Te Rū Rangahau – The Māori Research Laboratory, I am committed to advancing Māori research and supporting work that is responsive to Māori and Indigenous aspirations.

I welcome doctoral candidates whose research aligns with Aotearoa New Zealand’s bicultural early childhood curriculum and reflects kaupapa Māori principles that are locally grounded and globally relevant. I am also passionate about supporting Indigenous scholars who seek to strengthen identity, language, and culture in early years and education contexts worldwide.

Sue is a Senior Lecturer who teaches mathematics education and professional practice courses in a three-year primary Initial Teacher Education Programme. She is still a registered primary teacher and regularly works in primary schools, mentoring pre-service teachers during their practicum experiences.  She has recently completed her doctoral thesis which focussed on the planning and pedagogical reasoning processes of primary pre-service teachers during their final practicum experience. She also leads and carries out work related to tertiary teaching within the Faculty of Education. She connects with several communities through goverance work in schools and other educational settings. Prior to joining the University of Canterbury, Susanna was a primary school teacher, Deputy Principal, and a primary mathematics advisor.

Sue  welcome enquiries from prospective Ed.D or Ph.D students seeking a second supervisor in areas such as, primary teaching, primary mathematics education, pedagogical reasoning for planning and teaching, design for teaching and learning, and professional learning. She also has experience using multiple case study methodology and innovative methods for collecting data from pre-service teachers  during their practicum experiences.