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Special Education Needs Coordinators (SENCOs) in New Zealand secondary schools: Roles, responsibilities, and agency
(The University of Waikato, 2026-05-14) Dinneen, Anna; Sharma , Sashi; Cook , Sheralyn F.; Earl Rinehart , (Suzanne) Kerry
Special Education Needs Coordinators (SENCOs) in New Zealand secondary schools are responsible for supporting students with identified additional educational needs, amounting to as many as 700 students (up to 30%) in some larger schools. Despite the scale and importance of the role, there is currently no dedicated funding, no formalised job description, and no mandated qualifications or training for SENCOs. Furthermore, a review of existing New Zealand literature reveals a notable absence of research into the SENCO role at the secondary-school level. Compounding this lack of recognition, the inclusive education sector in New Zealand is under increasing pressure. Literature highlights a rise in the number and diversity of students requiring support, driven in part by New Zealand’s ambitious inclusive education. These changes are placing further strain on an already resource-limited sector. Grounded in constructivist theory, and using relational agency as an analytical lens, this study was motivated by the need to explore how SENCOs in secondary schools understand and navigate their roles within this complex and evolving context. By highlighting the voices of those in SENCO positions, the research seeks to better understand their lived experiences—experiences that have often gone unacknowledged by the Ministry of Education, school leadership, and even SENCOs themselves. The research was conducted in two stages. The first involved an electronic survey distributed to secondary school SENCOs in the North Island of New Zealand, designed to capture a broad understanding of who SENCOs are and what their work entails. The second stage consisted of a longitudinal case study involving three SENCOs, with nine semistructured interviews conducted over an eight-month period, to capture rich data about their experiences. Data was dealt with descriptively and analysed thematically. Findings highlight that the SENCO role is overwhelming, physically and emotionally taxing, and extends well beyond regular school hours. Participants reported being constantly available and shouldering significant emotional and administrative burdens. Participants also identified an increase in the range and numbers of students that SENCOs are required to support. The study raises concerns about whether school leaders and policymakers fully understand the scope and diversity of the needs SENCOs are addressing. This research contributes to a previously underresearched area by documenting the realities of the SENCO role in New Zealand secondary schools. It concludes with three key findings and accompanying recommendations for school leaders and the Ministry of Education. These recommendations include formalisation of the SENCO role, recognising the importance of relational agency, support from leadership, and a reconceptualisation of the SENCO role title and definition of additional learning needs to more accurately reflect the breadth and importance of the work SENCOs perform.
Prevalence, trends, and predictors of victimisation and polyvictimisation among children in England and Wales
(SAGE, 2026) Tura, Ferhat; Crivatu, Ioana; Tseloni, Andromachi; Tompson, Lisa
Childhood victimisation and polyvictimisation (experiencing two or more distinct crime types) can have lasting developmental, psychological, and social consequences. Yet there is limited research on victimisation and polyvictimisation in England and Wales using robust data sets. This study addresses this gap by investigating prevalence, trends, and individual, household, and area-level predictors of non-sexual non-familial violence, personal theft, household theft, and criminal damage and polyvictimisation using the 10- to 15-year-old Crime Survey for England and Wales (2011/2012–2019/2020; N = 25,415). A series of binary logistic regressions was performed, supplemented by visualisations. The weighted percentage of children experiencing a single type of victimisation ranged from 1.1% (criminal damage) to 5.8% (violence), while 1.1% were polyvictimised. Although most victimisation types and polyvictimisation declined over the 9-year period, reductions in polyvictimisation varied depending on socioeconomic status. Both individual (sex, ethnicity, disability) and area-level (deprivation) factors predicted polyvictimisation and individual victimisation types. Implications of the findings are discussed.
Management control for innovation: a review and research directions
(Emerald, 2026-04-29) Akroyd, Chris; Barros, Rúben Silva; Lövstål, Eva; Pan Fagerlin, Wen; Wu, Julia Yonghua
Purpose: Research on management control for innovation has shifted from viewing control as primarily constraining to recognizing that control can also enable innovation. However, common ways of classifying control such as mechanisms, tools or types of use can understate what makes management control in innovation settings distinctive. This paper aims to propose a vocabulary to support richer explanations of how management control both constrains and enables innovation over time. Design/methodology/approach: Drawing on the management control literature and the papers in this Special Issue, the authors develop a vocabulary that foregrounds six dimensions of management control that become especially salient in innovation contexts. These dimensions are Temporal, Reflexive, Adaptive, Performative, Pluralist and Strategic (TRAPPS). Findings: The TRAPPS vocabulary highlights six dimensions of management control that become especially salient in innovation settings. While innovation unfolds across multiple time horizons and phases (Temporal), it also involves learning about and reconsidering the effects of control (Reflexive) and sometimes requires reconfiguration as innovation paths shift (Adaptive). It is further shaped by sociomaterial arrangements that make some possibilities visible and actionable while pushing others into the background (Performative). It is influenced by multiple stakeholders and competing evaluative criteria (Pluralist) and by priorities and resource commitments that set direction (Strategic). The TRAPPS vocabulary therefore helps to show how different papers in the Special Issue foreground different dimensions and, in turn, reveals openings for future research Originality/value: The TRAPPS vocabulary of six dimensions can be used independently or alongside more general management control frameworks. In doing so, these dimensions highlight questions that may be overlooked when controls are treated as stable tools or mechanisms and provide a vocabulary for understanding management control for innovation.
Changing representations of indigenous identity through the language of picturebooks
(2026-02-03) Barbour, Julie
How do picturebook writers express Indigenous identities? How can picturebooks support readers to develop their understandings of Indigenous languages and cultures? In this lecture, we will focus on picturebooks published by Indigenous publisher HUIA, focusing on representations of te reo Māori (the Indigenous Māori language). In addition to identifying words and phrases from te reo Māori, we will consider how writers position those words in text to support reader comprehension, and how illustrators contribute to and enhance our understandings of cultural meanings. Unfolding research in this area points to shifting methods in writing that enhance the reader's access to new knowledge.
Investigating gamma power as a neural marker of mindfulness-related change
(The University of Waikato, 2025) Panzer, Erik; Doborjeh, Zohreh
Background: Mindfulness training has been shown to influence both psychological well-being and brain function. Neurophysiological studies using electroencephalography (EEG) have found that mindfulness practice can alter brain oscillations, particularly within frequency bands linked to attention, awareness, and emotional regulation. Despite growing evidence that mindfulness affects brain dynamics, the specific impact of mindfulness training on resting-state gamma activity and how such changes relate to psychological outcomes and facets of mindfulness remains underexplored. This study aimed to investigate the neurophysiological effects of mindfulness training, with a focus on gamma-band EEG activity and its association with psychological functioning. Method: This study used a longitudinal design with two groups (mindfulness training vs control). Resting-state EEG and self-report measures; Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) was collected at baseline (T1) and after a 6-week training period (T2). The primary focus was on gamma-band activity across five brain regions, (frontal, frontocentral, temporal, centroparietal, and occipitoparietal) and their relationship with mindfulness outcomes. Results: At T2, gamma power in frontal regions negatively correlated with the “Acting with Awareness” facet of mindfulness. Regression analyses showed that EEG activity, particularly Left Frontal Lower Gamma at T2 predicted mindfulness scores, explaining an additional 47.2% of the variance beyond baseline levels. Higher gamma power was associated with lower self-reported awareness, suggesting mindfulness training reduced neural activation in regions linked to automatic processing. These effects were not present in the control group. Conclusion: These findings indicate that mindfulness practice is associated with changes in gamma-band neural oscillations, which may reflect enhanced attentional control and reduced cognitive interference, key mechanisms underlying mental health resilience. By identifying gamma-band EEG markers predictive of mindfulness improvements, this study provides a foundation for developing personalized, brain-informed interventions that can be integrated into clinical settings to support stress reduction, emotional regulation, and overall mental well-being.