Faculty of Education

A central question that animates my research is: What supports quality teaching? I have applied this question to curriculum-based teaching and learning in schools, teacher preparation, my own teaching within initial teacher education, and more broadly to teaching in the academy. 

My research coalesces around the practice of teaching and lived experiences of teachers and learners. I have published in relation to curriculum issues and developments and how teachers navigate curriculum changes, teacher development and teacher preparation programmes and systems, practice-focused research in initial teacher education, pre-service teacher identity development as culturally responsive and sustaining teachers and as critically engaged educational professionals, twenty-first century education and development of critical information literacy and digital citizenship, social sciences education, and gender relations and ICT in schooling contexts. 

A major research project I was involved in as a co-investigator was the Teaching and Research Learning Initiative (TLRI) research project titled "Shifting the conceptualisation of knowledge and learning in the integration of the new New Zealand Curriculum in initial and continuing teacher education." My current research projects relate to understanding curriculm developments and teachers' voices in relation to curriculum changes, practice-oriented assessment in teacher education, and exploration of the complexity of teaching.

I began my career as a secondary school teacher, before moving into teacher education and academia. This grounding as a teaching professional means that I value relationships with teachers and their roles as curriculum leaders and developers.

My research is broadly cross-disciplinary in nature and has two key areas. The first is an interrogation into what cognitive development in learners looks like, primarily the study of the development of literacy ability, and its component factors, from early childhood to adolescence. This includes exploring factors that influence development such as executive function, neurodiversity, wellbeing, learning difficulties, use of digital technologies, and home literacy practices. The second research area examines what the beliefs and practices of parents and of teachers looks like, and the implications for children. This includes what exploring what effective literacy instruction looks like in the use of explicit instruction, text use, the application of teacher knowledge and how to meet the needs of students. My research explores these areas in English learning but also examines literacy development and learning across languages.

My research has led to my involvment in the changes to literacy practices across the motu. I led the development of the Ready to Read Phonics Plus series and the Scope and Sequence underpinning the series for the Ministry of Education. I also contributed to the development of the Better Start Literacy Approach (BSLA). Other national level work for the Ministry of Education includes being a member of the Literacy and Communication Group that developed the unpublished Common Practice Model, being a member of the writing team for the redevelopment of the Year 0-6 English curriculum in Te Matāiaho, revising aspects of the PACT assessment tool, and contributing the the development of the Phonics Check assessment used in the first year of school.

Current research supervision (Masters and PhD) is available in the following areas:

• Factors related to learning to read and spell words in beginning readers and learners experiencing difficulties, including orthographic learning, the use of decodable texts, levels of explicit instruction, early literacy experiences
• Kaiako / teacher experiences, self-efficacy, knowledge, beliefs and practices in literacy across the educational sectors 
• Home literacy experiences and the relationship to literacy and langugage including well-being, self-efficiacy, bilingual learning, and literacy outcomes

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.

Dr. Jude Bautista is Senior Lecturer of Literacy Education at the School of Curriculum, Pedagogy, and Assessment of the Faculty of Education, University of Canterbury, New Zealand. Prior to working at UC, he was Associate Professor of Reading, Literacy, and Language Education in the College of Graduate Studies and Teacher Education Research of the Philippine Normal University in Manila, Philippines. He has a background as a teacher-educator, working with a diverse range of student populations including postgraduate and initial teacher education students across the Philippines. Prior to his university career, he was a primary school educator, teaching the English language to speakers of other languages (Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Taiwanese, and Filipino students).

Dr. Bautista has a background as lead researcher in the Philippine Literacy Coordinating Council's national policy project relevant to developing the country's foundational framework for exemplary community-based literacy programmes and engagement. His research methods are mostly qualitative and mixed, employing designs such as grounded theory, phenomenology, hermeneutics, narrative inquiry, critical visual and multimodal discourse analysis, and verbal protocols, among others.

Dr. Bautista holds undergraduate qualifications in Elementary Education and Literacy Education, an MA in Teaching Reading, and a PhD in Reading Education, all from the Philippine Normal University. Currently, he is also pursuing another postgraduate qualification in Indigenous Studies at the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. Dr. Bautista is a licensed professional teacher (registered) both in the Philippines and in New Zealand.

Head of the School of Social and Cultural Studies in Education and co-Director of Te Puna Rangahau i- Ako, the Digital Education Futures Lab at the University of Canterbury. I am a Commonwealth of Learning Chair with a research focus exploring (post)digital (in)equality in Tertiary Education with a particular focus on perspectives and opportunities in the Pacific region. 

Dr Helena Cook is a Samoan/Irish lecturer in the School of Social and Cultural Studies. Helena’s research centres on the experiences and aspirations of young people, with a focus on justice, cultural knowledge, and the reimagining of civic life in Aotearoa. Her current work is anchored in her Royal Society | Te Apārangi Mana Tūāpapa Future Leader Fellowship, through which she is leading an in-depth study of how Pacific young people understand and engage with politics. This project explores culturally grounded forms of political participation and the barriers and opportunities that shape meaningful youth civic engagement in Aotearoa. Alongside this project, Helena investigates how young people navigate and contest systems that shape their lives, and the ways those systems might better support youth voice and leadership. Through this research, Helena aims to contribute to decolonial scholarship, culturally grounded practice, and more just educational and civic futures for Māori and Pacific youth 

Helena is the Programme Coordinator for the Youth and Community Leadership programme, and chair of the Civics and Citizenship working group of the New Zealand Political Studies Association. She sits on the board of Te Whare Kōhungahunga o UC I Early Childhood Learning Centre, is an Associate Editor for the New Zealand Journal of Teachers Work and has been a keynote speaker on the topics of identity, inclusive leadership, Pacific education, and political representation. Her professional experience has focused on the recruitment, retention, and success of Pasifika students at tertiary institutions and the academic support of international aid and development scholarship students, integrating her research with practitioner expertise.

Helena is excited to receive enquiries from students interested in fields of equity and education, Pacific education, civics and citizenship, youth voice, and political representation. She looks forward to also supervising interdisciplinary projects, particularly from politics and sociology.

Studying towards a Doctor of Philosophy
Working thesis title:
The Role of cultural practices in te reo Māori language revitalisation
He whare kōrero te Whare Pora. A House of Weavers and speakers. What is the Role of Cultural Practice in Language Revitalisation?

Qualifications & Memberships

Bachelor of Education (University of Waikato)
Diploma of Teaching (Primary) (University of Waikato)
Master of Education, Hōaka Pounamu | Māori Bilingual and Immersion Teaching and Learning (University of Canterbury)
Research Interests
Rahera Cowie (Ngāi Tahu, Ngā Puhi, Ngāti Kahu) is a lecturer in Mātauranga Māori (Initial Teacher Education) and Hōaka Pounamu (Master's of Māori Education). Her research focuses on the traditional art of raranga (weaving) and the revitalisation of te reo Māori. She holds a Bachelor of Education from the  University of Waikato and a Master of Māori Education endorsed by Hōaka Pounamu from the University of Canterbury. Her interests include Māori language revitalisation, advancing Mātauranga Māori in education, and the global revitalisation of Indigenous knowledge systems.

As an educational and pedagogical ethicist, my research explores the moral dimensions of teaching and learning. I am interested in the complex dynamics between values and action – how values shape ethical assertions that, in turn, influence educational policy, practice, and images of the child. Drawing on a range of philosophical perspectives, my work engages concepts such as the moral imagination and the practice of attention to reimagine education in ways that recentre relationships, wellbeing, and human flourishing.

Love is a key dimension of attention, and is a key value and moral concept that informs my research inquiry. Love is not only a critical dimension of a life well-lived, it is also a lens through which teachers can interrogate the aims of their pedagogical approaches, to refine and reposition learning to see tamariki in their best light. A teacher's ability to see, empathise, and ethically respond to the child, their family members, and teaching colleagues can be greatly enhanced through an understanding and application of attention and the moral imagination in everyday situations. As co-lead of the Infant and Toddler Network and co-president of OMEP Aotearoa, my role as an early childhood ethicist supports actions of advocacy to advance Te Tiriti o Waitangi, address issues of social justice and sustainability, and enable teachers to recognise and respond to the agency of children within their everyday teaching practices.

I am interested in Masters and Doctoral level candidates that can see their work aligning with my research interests, and I welcome research proposals that may prompt or provoke new thinking about early childhood education as a relational, ethical and moral undertaking.

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/