Publications
Knowledge and education publications by KERU members.
Books
- Lourie, M. and McPhail, G. (eds.) Perspectives on the knowledge problem in New Zealand education: Towards equity. Springer.
- Morgan, J. (2019). Culture and the political economy of schooling: what’s left for education? London: Routledge.
- Barrett, B., Hoadley, U. & J. Morgan, (eds.), (2018). Knowledge, curriculum and equity: Social realist perspectives. London: Routledge.
- McPhail, G., V. Thorpe. V., & Wise, S. (2018). Educational change and the secondary school music curriculum in Aotearoa New Zealand. London & New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
- Barrett, B. & Rata, E. (2014). (eds.), Knowledge and the future of the curriculum: International studies in social realism. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave MacMillan.
- Rata, E. (2012). The politics of knowledge in education. London & New York: Routledge.
- Tim Surma, Claudio Vanhees, Michiel Wils, Jasper Nijlunsing, Daniel Willingham, John Hattie, Nuno Crato, Daniel Muijs, Elizabeth Rata, Dylan Wiliam, & Paul A. Kirschner. (2025). Developing Curriculum for Deep Thinking: The Knowledge Turn. Springer. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-74661-1.
- Rata, E. (ed.) (2024). Research Handbook in Curriculum and Education. Edward Elgar Publishing. (40 chapters)
- Rata, E. and Tamati, T. S. (2022). Academic Achievement in Bilingual and Immersion Education: TransAcquistion Pedagogy and Curriculum Design. Routledge.
- Rata, E. (2002). Democratic principles in teaching and learning: A Kantian approach. Monograph research series of the Auckland College of Education. ISSN 1175-8740
- Morgan, J. (2019). Culture and the political economy of schooling: what’s left for education? London: Routledge.
Journal articles
- Lourie, M. (2020) 'Recontextualising 21st century learning in New Zealand education policy: The reframing of knowledge, skills and competencies'. New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40841-020-00158-0.
- McPhail, G. & McNeill, J. (2021). 'Music education and the neoliberal turn in Aotearoa New Zealand, Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education.'
- McNeill, J., & McPhail, G. (2020). 'One Direction: Strategic challenges for twenty-first-century secondary school music'. Music Education Research. DOI:10.1080/14613808.2020.1796952
- McPhail, G. (2020). 'The search for deep learning: a curriculum coherence model'. Journal of Curriculum Studies. DOI:10.1080/00220272.2020.1748231
- McPhail, G. (2020). 'Twenty-First Century Learning and the Case for More Knowledge About Knowledge'. New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies. DOI:10.1007/s40841-020-00172-2
- McPhail, G. (2020). 'The search for deep learning: a curriculum coherence model'. Journal of Curriculum Studies. DOI:10.1080/00220272.2020.1748231
- McPhail, G. (2020). 'Twenty-First Century Learning and the Case for More Knowledge About Knowledge'. New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies. DOI:10.1007/s40841-020-00172-2
- Pountney, R., & McPhail, G. (2019). 'Crossing boundaries: Exploring the theory, practice and possibility of a 'Future 3' curriculum'. British Educational Research Journal, 45(3), 483-501. doi:10.1002/berj.3508
- McPhail, G., & Rata, E. (2019). 'The knowledge democracy connection and music education'. Philosophy of Music Education Review, 27(2), 112-132. DOI:10.2979/philmusieducrevi.27.2.02
- Ormond, B. M. (2020). 'Historical Context in Secondary Education'. Bloomsbury Education and Childhood Studies. DOI:10.5040/9781350996526.0001
- Rata, E. (2021). 'The Curriculum Design Coherence Model in the Knowledge-Rich School Project'. Review of Education. DOI:10.1002/rev3.3254
- Rata, E. (2021). 'Context and Implications Document for The Curriculum Design Coherence Model in the Knowledge-Rich School Project'. Review of Education. DOI: 10.1002/rev3.3253
- McPhail, G., Ormond, B., & Siteine, A. (2023). 'Knowledge and the New Zealand Curriculum Refresh'. Journal of Curriculum Studies. 55:5, 509–526. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220272.2023.2256010
- Ormond, B. M. (2019). 'The impact of standards-based assessment on knowledge for history education in New Zealand'. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy and Practice, 26:2, 143-165.
- Harris, R., & Ormond, B. (2019). 'Historical knowledge in a knowledge economy – what types of knowledge matter?' Educational Review, 71:5, 564-580.
- Ormond, B. M. (2012). 'Aligning curriculum and assessment - divergent approaches in the framing of knowledge'. Curriculum Matters, 8, 9-32.
- Ormond, B.M. (2017). Curriculum decisions - the challenges of teacher autonomy over knowledge selection for history. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 49:5, 599-619.
- Siteine, A. (2017). Recognising ethnic identity in the classroom: A New Zealand study. International Studies in Sociology of Education, 26(4), 393-407.
- McPhail, G. (2016). The fault lines of recontextualisation: the limits of constructivism in education. British Journal of Educational Research, 42(2), 294–313.
- Tamati, S. T. (2011). The trans-acquisitional approach: A bridge to English in kura kaupapa Māori. Pacific-Asian Education, 23(1), 91–102.
Book chapters
- Ormond, B. (2025). Decolonisation and the curriculum: applying a social realist lens, pp. 68-86, in G. McPhail, R. Pountney and L. Wheelahan, Emerging perspectives from social realism on knowledge and education - curricula, pedagogy, identity, and equity. Routledge.
- Lourie, M. (2021). Subject knowledge in education policy. In Lourie, M. and McPhail, G. (eds.) Perspectives on the knowledge problem in New Zealand education: Towards equity. Springer.
- Morgan, J. (2020). The prospects for knowledge socialism in one country. In: M. A.Peters, T. Besley, P. Jandrić, X. Zhu (eds.) Knowledge socialism: the rise of peer production: collegiality, collaboration and peer production. Springer.
- Morgan, J. (2021). Why we still need a political theory of the curriculum. In: Lourie, M. and McPhail, G. (eds.) Perspectives on the knowledge problem in New Zealand education: Towards equity. Springer.
- McPhail, G. (2020). Curriculum Integration in Flexible Learning Environments, Challenges for Teachers, and Teacher Education. In M. A. Peters (ed.), Encyclopedia of Teacher Education (pp. 6) Springer. DOI:10.1007/978-981-13-1179-6_369-1
- McPhail, G. (2021). Approaches to teaching for achieving equitable outcomes. In Lourie, M. and McPhail, G. (eds.) Perspectives on the knowledge problem in New Zealand education: Towards equity. Springer.
- Ormond, B. (2021). Knowledge marginalisation in curriculum and practice: Walking the tightrope between curricula freedom and accountability. In M. Lourie & G. McPhail (eds.) Perspectives on the knowledge problem in New Zealand education: Towards equity. Springer.
- Rata, E. (2020). The History of an Intellectual Dispute at Auckland’s School of Education. In X. Bonal, E. Coxon, M. Novelli & A. Verger (eds.), Education, globalisation and the state: Essays in honour of Roger Dale (pp. 153-166). New York: Peter Lang.
- Rata E., McPhail G. (2020) Teacher Professional Development, the Knowledge-Rich School Project and the Curriculum Design Coherence Model. In: Fox J., Alexander C., Aspland T. (eds.) Teacher Education in Globalised Times. Springer.
- Rata, E. (2021). Foreword. In Lourie, M. and McPhail, G. (eds.) Perspectives on the knowledge problem in New Zealand education: Towards equity. Springer.
- Rata, E. (2021). Powerful knowledge and a progressive subject curriculum. In Lourie, M. and McPhail, G. (eds.) Perspectives on the knowledge problem in New Zealand education: Towards equity. (pp. 14-23). Springer.
- Rata, E. (2021). Curriculum Coherence and the CDC Model: a History example. In Lourie, M. and McPhail, G. (eds.) Perspectives on the knowledge problem in New Zealand education: Towards equity. (pp. 37-51). Springer.
- Rata, E. M. (2020). Academic Knowledge and Democracy. Education in Democratic Societies, Vol. II, Edited by Prakash Iyer. Proceedings of the International Conferences in Philosophy of Education, 2013-2017. CinnamonTeal Design and Publishing and Azim Premji University, Bangalore, India.
- Siteine, A. (2021). Knowledge and student identity. In M. Lourie & G. McPhail (eds.) Perspectives on the knowledge problem in New Zealand education: Towards equity. Springer.
- Tamati, T. (2021). The TAP/CDC combination for bi/multilingual students to acquire the academic language required for subject knowledge. In M. Lourie & G. McPhail (eds.) Perspectives on the knowledge problem in New Zealand education: Towards equity. Springer.
- Tamati, S. T. (2019). TransAcquisition pedagogy with emergent bilinguals in indigenous and minority groups for cultural and linguistic sustainability. In C. Seals & V. Olsen-Reeder (eds.), Embracing multilingualism across educational contexts. Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington.
- Lourie, M. (2020). Recontextualising 21st century learning in New Zealand education policy: the reframing of knowledge, skills and competencies. New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies.
- Rata, E. (2019). Knowledge-Rich Teaching: A Model of Curriculum Design Coherence, British Educational Research Journal. Vol. 45 Issue 4, p. 681-697.
- McPhail, G., Rata, E., & Siteine, A. (2018). The Changing Nature of Music Education. In G. McPhail, V. Thorpe & S. Wise, Educational change and the secondary school music curriculum in Aotearoa New Zealand. (pp. 74-91). London & New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
- McPhail, G. (2018). The future just happened: lessons for twenty-first century learning from the secondary school music classroom. In G. McPhail, V. Thorpe, & S. Wise, S., Educational change and the secondary school music curriculum in Aotearoa New Zealand (27-41). London & New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
- McPhail, G. (2018). Music teachers talking: views on secondary school curriculum content. In G. McPhail, V. Thorpe, & S. Wise, S., Educational change and the secondary school music curriculum in Aotearoa New Zealand (131-147). London & New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
- McPhail, G. (2017). Rethinking what it means to be a teacher through a mixed modality approach. In J. Tetnabe & C. Mutch, Understanding enduring ideas in education: A response to those who 'just want to be a teacher' (pp. 82-94). Wellington: NZCER.
- McPhail, G & Rata, E. (2017). A Theoretical Model of Curriculum Design: ‘Powerful Knowledge’ and ‘21st Century Learning’. In B. Barrett, U. Hoadley, and J. Morgan (eds.), Knowledge, Curriculum and Equity: Social Realist Perspectives (pp. 63-79). London: Routledge.
- McPhail, G. (2014). Pathways to powerful knowledge: A case for Music’s voice. In E. Rata & B. Barrett (eds.), Knowledge and the Future of the Curriculum: International Studies in Social Realism (pp. 123 -135). Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan.
- Ormond, B. M. (2018). Conceptions of knowledge in history teaching. In B. Barrett, U. Hoadley, J. Morgan (eds.) Knowledge, curriculum and equity: Social realist perspectives (pp. 102-116). New York: Routledge.
- Ormond, B., & Morgan, J. (2015). A history curriculum for New Zealand in the 21st century. In J. Morgan (ed.) The 21st Century Curriculum? (pp. 152-161). Auckland: Edify Ltd.
- Ormond, B. M. (2014). Powerful knowledge in History: Disciplinary strength or weakened episteme? In B. Barrett, E. Rata (eds.) Knowledge and the future of the curriculum: International studies in social realism (pp. 153-166). Houndmills, Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
- Rata, E. (2018), ‘A Durkheimian Approach to Knowledge and Democracy’. In David Guile, David Lambert and Michael Reiss (eds.), Sociology, Curriculum Studies and Professional Knowledge: New Perspectives on the work of Michael Young. (pp. 73-83). London & New York: Routledge. Chapter 5. ISBN: 978-1-138-67583-4 (hbk)
- Rata, E. (2018) Connecting Knowledge to Democracy. In Barrett, B., Hoadley, U. & J. Morgan, (eds.), Knowledge, curriculum and equity: Social realist perspectives. (pp. 19-32); London: Routledge.
- McPhail, G. & Rata, E. (2018). A theoretical model of curriculum design: ‘Powerful Knowledge’ and ‘21st Century Learning’. In Brian Barrett, Ursula Hoadley and John Morgan (eds). Knowledge, curriculum and equity: Social realist perspectives. Chapter 6. Routledge.
- Rata, E. (2017) Ethnic Revival. In Fathali M. Moghaddam (ed). The SAGE Encyclopedia of Political Behavior, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
- Siteine, A. (2017). Daring to know: The liberal tradition and education. In C. Mutch & J. Tatebe (eds.), Understanding enduring ideas in education: A response to those who 'just want to be a teacher' (pp. 67-81). Wellington, New Zealand: NZCER Press.
- Pountney, R., Rata, E. and Swift, D. (2025). Exploring curriculum coherence and professional knowledge. In Wyse, D. Baumfield, V., Mockler, N. and R. M. Reardon (eds.), The BERA-SAGE International Handbook of Research-Informed Education Policy and Practice. pp. 780-802. Sage.
- Nuijinsing, J., Rata, E., Vanhees, C., Geudens, A., Surma, T., and D. Muijs, D. (in press). Re-imagining the Curriculum: A Case Study of the Knowledge Turn in New Zealand and Flanders. In Swift, D., and B. Barrett (eds.), Knowledge Production and Exchange in Education: New Perspectives from Social Realism for Curriculum and Professional Practice. Routledge. (7th Cambridge Symposium Volume).
- Rata, E. (2025). Logic in the Curriculum Design Coherence Model: How the Model Creates Coherence. In McPhail, G, Pountney, R, Wheelahan, L (2025). Emerging Perspectives from Social Realism on Knowledge and Education Curricula, Pedagogy, Identity, and Equity. Routledge. Chapter 8. (6th Cambridge Symposium)
- Rata, E. (2024). (ed.), Introduction. Research Handbook in Curriculum and Education. Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 1-6.
- Rata, E. (2024). The Curriculum Design Coherence Model. In Research Handbook in Education and Curriculum. Edward Elgar Publishing. (pp. 261-279) Chapter 18.
- Rata, E. (May 2023). Foreword. In Johnston, M. Save Our Schools: A Manifesto for Improving New Zealand’s School System. New Zealand Initiative.
- Rata, E. (2023). Foreword. In Sakhiyya, Z and Mulya, Teguh Wijaya (eds.), Education in Indonesia: Critical Perspectives on Equity and Social Justice. Springer. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-99-1878-2
Book reviews
- Rata, E. (2022) Review of Cuthbert and Standish (eds.), What Schools Should Teach: Disciplines, subjects and the pursuit of truth. The Curriculum Journal, Volume 33, Issue 1, 145-146. 10.1002/curj.124
- Rata, E. (2010). Review of Karl Maton and Rob Moore (eds), 'Social Realism, Knowledge and the Sociology of Education, Coalitions of the Mind. Continuum'. In International Studies in Sociology of Education, 171-178. 2010
- Ormond, B. M. (2022) Book review - 'Knowing History in Schools – Powerful knowledge and the powers of knowledge' (edited by Arthur Chapman). The Curriculum Journal, 33:1, 147-9.
PhD theses
- Collis, Bill (2019). A Social Realist Case Study of Knowledge and Pedagogy in the First Two Years of Electrical Engineering Education. (Unpublished doctoral thesis). University of Auckland.
- Ormond, B. (2019). Knowledge in History Education: Teachers as Curriculum Makers. (Unpublished doctoral thesis). University of Auckland.
- Siteine, A. (2018). Knowledge, Identity and Curriculum: A Sociological Study of Ethnicity in New Zealand Education. (Unpublished doctoral thesis). University of Auckland.
- Tamati, S. T. (2016). Transacquisition pedagogy for bilingual education: A study in kura kaupapa Māori. (Unpublished doctoral thesis). University of Auckland.
- Tamati, S. T. (2011). The trans-acquisitional approach: A bridge to English in kura kaupapa Māori. Pacific-Asian Education, 23(1), 91–102.
- Catherine Law (2025). Curriculum Design for the Teaching Profession: A Curriculum Design Coherence Model Intervention Study. (Unpublished Doctoral Thesis) University of Auckland.
- Rochelle Lawrence (2023). Teacher decision-making in a contested curriculum: A study of New Zealand social studies. (Unpublished Doctoral Thesis) University of Auckland.
- Cris Lynch (2022). History of Science Education in New Zealand. (Unpublished Doctoral Thesis) University of Auckland.
- Xiaoming Tian (2021). The School Curriculum in China Today: A Study of Economic, Political, and Social Influences. (Unpublished Doctoral Thesis) University of Auckland.
- Deborah Lomax (2021). The Liberal Paradox for Muslims educated in New Zealand. (Unpublished Doctoral Thesis) University of Auckland.
Media and podcasts
Graham McPhail
- https://blogs.shu.ac.uk/kierg/2021/02/21/driving-learners-to-abstraction/
- https://educationhq.com/news/ncea-review-why-starting-with-big-ideas-is-a-big-mistake-78983/
- https://educationcentral.co.nz/opinion-dr-graham-mcphail-do-we-throw-out-the-music-with-the-man/
- https://educationcentral.co.nz/opinion-graham-mcphail-approach-mles-with-caution/
https://educationcentral.co.nz/the-role-place-and-space-of-knowledge-in-new-zealand-education/
Elizabeth Rata
- Rata, E. (2021). ‘What we are teaching our kids is ill-conceived’, Newsroom, 16 February. https://www.newsroom.co.nz/ideasroom/what-were-teaching-our-kids-ill-conceived
- Rata, E (2020). NZ history - what to teach? Newsroom, 7 July 2020 https://www.newsroom.co.nz/ideasroom/elizabeth-rata-nz-history-what-to-teach
- Rata, E. (2019). NZ History Curriculum a Trojan Horse, Newsroom, 17 September. https://www.newsroom.co.nz/@ideasroom/2019/09/17/811099/the-nz-history-curriculum-a-trojan-horse
- Rata, E. (2019). Interview. Australian Teacher Magazine. 30 September 2019 EducationHQ New Zealand
https://nz.educationhq.com/news/65303/compulsory-history-should-open-the-door-for-national-curriculum-academic/ - Rata, E. (2019). Abandoning Reason. Newsroom 23 April https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2019/04/23/544502/abandoning-reason-endangers-our-survival
- Rata, E. (2019). Knowledge Blind Spot. Newsroom. 18 February
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2019/02/18/449015/elizabeth-rata-nzs-knowledge-blind-spot - Rata, E. (2018). Closing Education’s Knowledge Gap. Newsroom, 15 August https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2018/08/05/179420/closing-nzs-knowledge-gap
- Rata, E. (2018). The Basic Flaw in Our Education System. Newsroom, 17 April https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2018/04/16/105007/elizabeth-rata
- Rata, E. (2018). NCEA system gets learning the wrong way round. Newsroom. 5 July https://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=12082872
- Rata, E. Education Central, May 2018
https://educationcentral.co.nz/keru-symposium-to-focus-on-the-what-and-the-how/ - Rata, E. Newsroom, April 2018
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2018/04/16/105007/elizabeth-rata - Rata, E. (2017). ‘Handicapped by Knowledge Blindspot’ NZ Herald, 7 December, A34.
- Rata, E. (2025). Historical interpretation would be a grave mistake. Otago Daily Times. 11 January https://www.odt.co.nz/opinion/historical-interpretation-would-be-grave-mistake
- Interview. Michael Laws, The Platform. 22nd April 2025 https://theplatform.kiwi/podcasts/episode/elizabeth-rata-on-auckland-universitys-apology-over-biological-sex
- Interview. Leah Panapa The Platform, 29th January 2025 https://theplatform.kiwi/podcasts/episode/elizabeth-rata-on-the-treaty-of-waitangi-principles
- Interview with Peter Boghossian, December 2024 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiTM43F67GM
- Interview with Michael Laws, The Platform, 6 December 2024 https://theplatform.kiwi/podcasts/episode/elizabeth-rata-on-how-ideology-has-influenced-teaching-standards
- Rata, E. (2023). Curriculum Design: How to design a Knowledge Rich School Curriculum using the Curriculum Design Coherence Model https://www.nzinitiative.org.nz/research/education/curriculum-design
- Michael Laws, The Platform, 1 September 2024 https://theplatform.kiwi/podcasts/episode/elizabeth-rata-on-the-indigenisation-of-universities
Archives
Rata, E. (2023). The Lilburne Rata Archive of New Zealand Education 1870s-1970s. https://sites.google.com/view/lilburne-rata-archive-nz/home