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Resource library

The Resource library includes descriptions and links to over 100 external publications (books, websites, DVDs etc). To search for a specific topic (for example “classroom strategies”), enter text in the keywords box and click Search. You can narrow your initial search using one of three filter drop-down menus:

  • “Sections” filters the resources in line with the major content sections of the website.
  • “Resources for” filters the resources according to whether they support you to further your learning, to take action, or to explore others’ stories.
  • “Relevant to” filters the resources in line with the topics covered by the subsections of the website.

Once you have searched, “Refine your results” appears on the right-hand side. This allows you to further narrow your search by adding in extra filters.

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There were 6 results.

  1. Ministry of Education: Special Education

    The Special Education section of the Ministry of Education website includes pages on ASD, including   ASD evaluation and research. While the reports are made to the Ministry of Education, they are a treasure trove of evidence that school communities...

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    Ministry of Education: Special Education

    The Special Education section of the Ministry of Education website includes pages on ASD, including   ASD evaluation and research. While the reports are made to the Ministry of Education, they are a treasure trove of evidence that school communities can use for their own decision-making. They include:

    • evaluations of professional development programmes such as Tips for Autism and of parent education programmes such as Early Bird and ASD Plus
    • a review of the effectiveness of applied behavioural analysis
    • an investigation into Māori perspectives of ASD.

    Other research publications dealing more generally with special education include:

    Resources for:
    Further learning
    Relevant to:
    Leading change, Understanding autism spectrum disorder, Understanding inclusion, Effective schools, Special education and ASD in NZ school settings, Building inclusive school cultures, Producing inclusive school policies, Evolving inclusive practices
    Contributed by:

    Ministry of Education .

  2. Barriers to School Inclusion: An Investigation into the Exclusion of Disabled Students From and Within New Zealand Schools

    Alison Kearney's recent doctoral thesis Barriers to School Inclusion: An Investigation into the Exclusion of Disabled Students From and Within New Zealand Schools is based on evidence that disabled students are being excluded from and within New Zealand schools.Kearney wanted...

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    Barriers to School Inclusion: An Investigation into the Exclusion of Disabled Students From and Within New Zealand Schools

    Alison Kearney's recent doctoral thesis Barriers to School Inclusion: An Investigation into the Exclusion of Disabled Students From and Within New Zealand Schools is based on evidence that disabled students are being excluded from and within New Zealand schools.

    Kearney wanted to know how this was happening, and why. To answer these questions she conducted qualitative research with parents and school principals, teachers, teacher aides, and a group of year 6 students. A significant number of the parents and caregivers volunteered that their child had ASD.

    Kearney’s thesis is an important contribution to our understandings about inclusion in New Zealand schools, but its length makes it more suitable for selective reading.

    One approach may be to begin with her conclusion, in which she organises her major findings in relation to five key areas: access, accountability, attitudes, knowledge, and responsibility. She then provides tables of prompts for teachers, school principals, and senior managers for each area: “These prompts are designed to help guide attention and discussion to issues that are important if exclusion is to be reduced and eliminated” (page 217). You could use these prompts to help assess your current position and then review the effectiveness of your inclusion plan, setting up a system to collate and summarise your responses so that you can track progress over time.

    Kearney, A. (2008). “Exclusion at School: What Is Happening for Students Who Are Disabled?” The International Journal of Diversity in Organisations, Communities and Nations, 7(6), pp. 219–227.

    Resources for:
    Further learning , Taking action
    Relevant to:
    Inquiry and knowledge-building, Understanding inclusion, Special education and ASD in NZ school settings, Audit
    Contributed by:

    Kearney, A. 2009 Unpublished doctoral thesis. Massey University: Palmerston North.

  3. Learning Better Together: Working towards Inclusive Education in New Zealand Schools (DVD and booklet)

    A prominent New Zealand researcher and disability advocate, Jude MacArthur creates a coherent picture of what we can aspire to in our schools.The Learning Better Together booklet is closely aligned to the principles outlined in the Index for Inclusion. The...

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    Learning Better Together: Working towards Inclusive Education in New Zealand Schools (DVD and booklet)

    A prominent New Zealand researcher and disability advocate, Jude MacArthur creates a coherent picture of what we can aspire to in our schools.

    The Learning Better Together booklet is closely aligned to the principles outlined in the Index for Inclusion. The topics addressed include:

    • medical (deficit thinking) versus social models of disability
    • what inclusion means … and what it is not
    • Māori and inclusion
    • developing an inclusive school culture and inclusive classroom practices
    • inclusive education as matter of human rights and social justice
    • students’ social experiences and learning in regular compared to special education settings
    • the need for teacher professional development
    • the role of leaders.

    A   DVD is also available.It covers similar topics as well as a range of perspectives from children, parents, teachers, and principals. It is particularly valuable for exploring the principle of inclusion and the related concepts of segregation and exclusion. It shows disabled children being included in the classroom and playground context, clearly demonstrating the benefits to them and their peers. Important principles are addressed – for example, the need for active involvement by all concerned, the need for good communication between home and school, and the role of the teacher in addressing individual needs and setting up the classroom culture.

    The DVD shows that strategies for supporting students with special education needs (for example, visual schedules and social stories) are really just about knowing learners well and explicit teaching, and can be used to benefit others. The key message of both the DVD and the booklet is that inclusion is about responding to diversity and that it is a fundamental human right, not an act of beneficence.

     MacArthur, J. (2009). Learning Better Together: Working towards Inclusive Education in New Zealand Schools. Wellington: IHC New Zealand.

    Resources for:
    Further learning , Taking action
    Relevant to:
    Leading change, Understanding inclusion, Effective schools, Special education and ASD in NZ school settings, Building inclusive school cultures, Producing inclusive school policies, Evolving inclusive practices
    Contributed by:

    MacArthur, J. 2009 IHC New Zealand.

  4. Success for All – Every School, Every Child

    Ministry of Education (2010). Success for All – Every School, Every Child. Wellington: Ministry of Education. (factsheet) Success for All – Every School, Every Child sets out the Government’s vision of a fully inclusive education system by 2014. It places...

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    Success for All – Every School, Every Child

    Ministry of Education (2010). Success for All – Every School, Every Child. Wellington: Ministry of Education. (factsheet)

    Success for All – Every School, Every Child sets out the Government’s vision of a fully inclusive education system by 2014. It places confident schools, students, parents/caregivers, whānau, and communities at the heart of this vision. It is based on an extensive literature review by Mitchell (2010) and on the Governments’ Review of Special Education 2010: Discussion Document and the Public Response Summary.

    In the past, students were prepared for school; now schools are expected to gear up for their students.

    From the Ministry’s web page on this policy, you can download information (including a factsheet and a set of FAQs) and can read about the associated initiatives.

    The Ministry’s Statement of Intent 2011/12–2016/7 provides further details of the actions being taken nationally to implement the policy and achieve its targets.

     Ministry of Education (2011c). Statement of Intent 2011/12–2016/7. Wellington: Ministry of Education.

    Resources for:
    Further learning
    Relevant to:
    Leading change, Understanding inclusion, Effective schools, Special education and ASD in NZ school settings
    Contributed by:

    Ministry of Education 2010 Wellington: Ministry of Education.

  5. Special Education

    This section of the Ministry of Education website describes how the Ministry works with schools to support the vision of a more inclusive education system. It is a substantial site that is worth revisiting.Some of the information is for educators...

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    Special Education

    This section of the Ministry of Education website describes how the Ministry works with schools to support the vision of a more inclusive education system. It is a substantial site that is worth revisiting.

    Some of the information is for educators and boards of trustees, some for parents. It is organised under the following headings:

    The publications and resources are well worth exploring. Parents, for example, will be interested in the booklets on services, starting at primary and at secondary school, and on leaving school; the National Transition Guidelines; and the Family/Whānau File, which can be used for sharing information about their child as they grow up.

    Resources for:
    Further learning , Taking action
    Relevant to:
    Understanding autism spectrum disorder, Effective schools, Special education and ASD in NZ school settings, Building inclusive school cultures, Producing inclusive school policies, Evolving inclusive practices, Managing transitions, Specific issues for secondary schools
    Contributed by:

    Ministry of Education.

  6. Moving Beyond Luck and Love

    Stace, H. (2011). “Moving Beyond Love and Luck: Building Right Relationships and Respecting Lived Experience in New Zealand Autism Policy”. Unpublished PhD thesis, Public Policy, Victoria University of Wellington.In her doctoral thesis Hilary Stace, herself the mother of a son with ASD...

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    Moving Beyond Luck and Love

    Stace, H. (2011). “Moving Beyond Love and Luck: Building Right Relationships and Respecting Lived Experience in New Zealand Autism Policy”. Unpublished PhD thesis, Public Policy, Victoria University of Wellington.

    In her doctoral thesis Hilary Stace, herself the mother of a son with ASD and now a lecturer at Victoria University, traces the history of New Zealand public policy about ASD and considers how it might be transformed through attending to the ‘lived experiences’ of people with ASD and of their families/whānau. At the same time, her thesis provides insight into a range of other issues and concepts, including: 

    • the social versus the medical model of inclusion
    • different ways of thinking about ASD and the concept of an ASD culture
    • ASD and social justice
    • the concept of ‘right relationships’
    • the development and implementation of the New Zealand ASD Guideline.

    This  conference presentation provides an opportunity to get an overview of Stace’s key ideas. Its PowerPoint format makes it very easy to use to prompt discussion.

    Stace, H. (2011, November). “Tackling Wicked Problems: Lessons from Autism Policy”. Paper presented at the New Zealand Disability Studies Conference, University of Otago, Dunedin.

    Resources for:
    Further learning
    Relevant to:
    Leading change, Understanding autism spectrum disorder, Understanding inclusion, Special education and ASD in NZ school settings, Building inclusive school cultures, Producing inclusive school policies
    Contributed by:

    Stace, H. .

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