Te Rito Maioha Early Childhood New Zealand

VOICES OF DIVERSITY: Exploring disabled students lived experience of accessibility and inclusion in online tertiary education in Aotearoa New Zealand

Are you currently studying, or have you studied, in a fully online tertiary programme with no face-to-face interactions?
If you are also 17 years or older, and identify as disabled, we warmly invite you to participate in our research project!
By participating in this you will complete an online questionnaire which will take approximately 15 minutes.

The purpose of this study is to gain insights into the lived experiences of disabled students in fully online tertiary education in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Your voice matters. By sharing
your experiences and insights you will be contributing to informing online teaching and learning policy and practice in Aotearoa/New Zealand tertiary education.

We are a research team of five academic staff from Te Rito Maioha. Participation is voluntary, you can skip
questions and withdraw from completing the questionnaire at any time. Your replies are anonymous and kept securely.

Take part here: www.surveymonkey.com/share/9991857f-72b5-48fb-a070-78b3e5702e8a

Although we use the term ‘disabled people’ in our research project, we acknowledge and respect that “there are many ways of talking about disability or disabled people (Whaikaha – Ministry of Disabled people, 2025, p. 8 ).

New Zealand cannot solve an investment problem by moving money around. Early Childhood Education is a public good and a strategic national investment. Any reforms must strengthen quality, workforce sustainability and affordability, not trade one off against another.

You can read our media release here:
https://www.ecnz.ac.nz/articles/news/ece-funding-review-cannot-succeed-without-new-investment

Early childhood advocates fear funding review will put business bottom lines over children Many early childhood advocates are worried about the future of their sector as consultation for a major funding review winds up.

Lovley to chat to a number of our graduates at the ECC's The Power of Choice Conference in the Tākina Convention Centre at Te Whanganui-a-Tara.

Most people think the debate about early childhood education is about funding. It isn't. The real debate is about purpose.

Is ECE primarily there to support workforce participation?

Or is it one of the country's most important public investments?

How we answer that question determines everything that follows, from teacher qualifications to ratios, funding and quality.

Our latest State of the Sector article explores why one idea could shape the future of early childhood education in Aotearoa.

www.ecnz.ac.nz/articles/news/The-Hidden-Theory-Shaping-Early-Childhood-Education

To read all the articles:
https://www.ecnz.ac.nz/state-of-the-sector

Te Rito Maioha will be making an organisational submission, but one submission cannot represent the experiences of thousands of kaiako working across Aotearoa. Every voice matters.

Individual submissions help decision-makers understand how funding settings affect different services, communities and children.

Submissions close on Thursday 6 August.

🔗Links to make a submission and to the full article on how to make a submission are in the comments.

Come along to our Pasifika Fono! Everyone is welcome to join us in Whanganui and Palmerston North to share kai, learn more about your study options and connect with our team. See you there!

📆Whanganui Community Centre
📍6:30pm Wednesday 12 August

📆Te Rito Maioha REC Palmerston North
📍6:30pm Thursday 13 August

“ENRICH reinforces what the early childhood sector has long understood: children learn best through responsive relationships, rich conversations and intentional teaching.” Read more: https://www.ecnz.ac.nz/articles/news/ENRICH-investment-shows-evidence-matters