Conference Programme
Breakout Session 1
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Education for Sustainability – There is no Planet B. |
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| Presenter/s: | Cherie Taylor-Patel | |
| Type: | Workshop / facilitated discussion | |
| Keywords: | Leadership, Environment, Future-focused | |
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Weaving ‘Education for Sustainability’ through curriculum, where learning is relevant, authentic and future-focused, is one of our most important leadership challenges
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Education leadership: Insights on identity from Te Ao Māori |
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| Presenter/s: | Tui Summers | |
| Type: | Research Paper | |
| Keywords: | Māori Educational Leadership | |
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Māori leadership is grounded in whakapapa and offers valuable insights for education, highlighting identity as key to addressing inequities.
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The Inner Game of Leadership: Coaching, Mentoring, and Leading in Complexity |
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| Presenter/s: | Pip Woodward | |
| Type: | Interactive workshop backed by research | |
| Keywords: | Complexity, Leading, Coaching, Self Awareness | |
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Navigate educational complexity with courage and compassion. Strengthen your coaching capability and self-awareness to drive collective school growth.
Breakout Session 2
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Crisis Management and School Leadership: When You Become the News Story |
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| Presenter/s: | Peggy Burrows | |
| Type: | Workshop / facilitated discussion | |
| Keywords: | Leadership, Manaakitanga, Crisis | |
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When tragedy touched her school, Peggy led with compassion, guiding students, staff, and community through grief, recovery, and intense media scrutiny.
Ka mua, ka muri: Looking Back to See Forward — A Developmental Model of Leadership Communication Using Motivating Language Theory and AI |
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| Presenter/s: | Toby Holmes Liz Hollingworth Paul Erickson |
| Type: | Research Paper |
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Relational leadership: Honouring the past, enacting the present, looking towards future design through mātauranga Māori integration |
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| Presenter/s: | Sharyn Heaton Andy Peart Ngaia Mason |
| Type: | Leadership Story |
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Breakout Session 3
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Beyond the Hype: Leading a Theory of Change for AI in Primary Schools |
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| Presenter/s: | Ben Witheford | |
| Type: | Leadership Story | |
| Keywords: | GenerativeAI, Change, Leadership | |
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Move beyond the hype. Discover how to intentionally weave AI into your school’s unique story to amplify authentic learning.
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Equipping school leaders to leverage research in improving teaching and learning |
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| Presenter/s: | Janet Okoko | |
| Type: | Research Paper | |
| Keywords: | Leadership preparation and development, action research | |
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The practical and cyclic nature of action research enables practitioners to carry out relevant professional development and improve school leadership.
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Healthy Meerkatting – The Strategic Pause for Sustainable Leadership |
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| Presenter/s: | Michael Fletcher | |
| Type: | Workshop / facilitated discussion | |
| Keywords: | Pause, Meerkat, Thrive | |
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Learn the art of Healthy Meerkatting – the strategic pause that shifts you from firefighting to flourishing
Breakout Session 4
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He Kaupapa Mana Wāhine: Re-imagining Leadership Pathways for Wāhine Māori Leaders in Mainstream Primary Schools |
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| Presenter/s: | Trace May | |
| Type: | Workshop / facilitated discussion | |
| Keywords: | Relational, Collective, Empowerment, Mana Wāhine | |
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Explore how mana wāhine—a culturally grounded way of leading—re-imagines leadership pathways for wāhine Māori in mainstream primary schools.
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Leading Learning Through a Cognitive-Affective Lens |
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| Presenter/s: | Emalene Cull and Mary-Anne Murphy | |
| Type: | Workshop | |
| Keywords: | belonging, purpose, mastery | |
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This workshop explores the CAL framework, showing how leaders design systems where emotional readiness and relational practices drive success
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Strong Schools Start with Strong Leaders: What Principals Do to Thrive and Lead Well |
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| Presenter/s: | Michele Morrison Kristen Moreland Sylvia Robertson | |
| Type: | Research | |
| Keywords: | Resilience, leadership, Te Whare Tapa Whā | |
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What fuels resilience in school leadership? Explore new mixed-methods research showing how principals strengthen their personal and professional resilience
Breakout Session 5
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Exploring personal experiences as leadership development pedagogy |
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| Presenter/s: | Andrea Driver | |
| Type: | Research Presentation | |
| Keywords: | Leadership development, past experiences, attributes and characteristics, effective leadership | |
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Leadership development pedagogy – a unique view
Influences on leadership – look back to look forward
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Support leaders to design and implement pedagogical change |
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| Presenter/s: | Raewyn Penman | |
| Type: | Leadership Story | |
| Keywords: | Pedagogical change, leadership, tertiary | |
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Influencing change is a core role of the leader. Come and see how leaders analysed current practice and implemented change.
Working Toward 2050: Rural American Insights and Aotearoa Considerations — A Conversational Leadership Workshop |
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| Presenter/s: | Toby Holmes Jentre Olsen Kellen Adams |
| Type: | Workshop / facilitated discussion |
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Breakout Session 6
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Beyond the Clock: AI as a Cognitive Teammate for Pedagogical Leadership in Aotearoa |
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| Presenter/s: | Olivia Fernandes and Felix Marattukalam | |
| Type: | Research presentation and interactive workshop | |
| Keywords: | AI, Education, Leadership, Decision-Making in Education, Mentoring, Leadership Framework | |
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Reframing AI as a cognitive teammate to reclaim the reflective space needed for effective mentoring and leadership in our kura.
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Motivating others and ourselves: Sports psychology skills for educational leaders. |
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| Presenter/s: | Sylvia Robertson and Ross Notman | |
| Type: | Workshop | |
| Keywords: | Motivation; Sports psychology; Transformational school leadership | |
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Have you ever wondered how sports psychologists motivate athletes to perform? There are strategies here for us to use too.
When Behaviour Escalates: Leadership, Systems and Designing Beyond Consequence |
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| Presenter/s: | Sue Chandler |
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Breakout Session 7
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Ko te Hāpai Ō: Forefronting Kaiako Māori Leadership |
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| Presenter/s: | Tania Cliffe-Tautari & Hiria McRae |
| Type: | Workshop / facilitated discussion |
| Keywords: | Kaiako Māori, Leadership, Indigenisation |
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Let’s explore kaiako Māori voice from our TLRI study, unpacking how we can indigenise leadership to reflect te ao Māori!
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Leading for Wellbeing: School Leadership in Underprivileged Rural Madrasahs in Indonesia |
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| Presenter/s: | Putri Wuri | |
| Type: | Research Paper | |
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Student wellbeing remains vulnerable in underprivileged rural madrasahs. Can school leadership unlock new opportunities for change?
Breakout Session 8
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Appreciative mentoring and coaching as a pathway to strengths-based leadership |
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| Presenter/s: | Jen Davy and Debbie Ryder | |
| Type: | Workshop / facilitated discussion | |
| Keywords: | Leadership Mentoring Coaching | |
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Kaiko view the learner from a strengths-based perspective. Do we apply this to our own practice as mentors, coaches and everyday leaders?
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Ka Mua, Ka Muri: Leadership Lessons from Whakarongo Pīkari (Listening) |
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| Presenter/s: | Naketa Ikihele | |
| Type: | Workshop / facilitated discussion | |
| Keywords: | Listening, School leadership, Coaching conversations, Feedback, Relational leadership | |
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Practical listening hacks for leaders to strengthen trust, feedback conversations and everyday leadership impact.
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Leading for Humanity: Insights from Global Educators |
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| Presenter/s: | Kristen Moreland | |
| Type: | Research Paper | |
| Keywords: | leadership, personal growth, compassionate practices | |
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Discover what a global study reveals about educational leaders who bring compassion, belonging, and grounded purpose to their daily work.
Breakout Session 9
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Fakafekauaga: Evolving educational leadership through relational and collective practice |
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| Presenter/s: | George Makapatama | |
| Type: | Workshop / facilitated discussion | |
| Keywords: | Fakafekauaga; Paradigm shift; Relational leadership; Collective wellbeing; Community-centred practice; Interconnectedness; Inclusive education; Educational leadership transformation | |
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Fakafekauaga evolves leadership and teaching: fostering relational, collective, and culturally responsive practice for diverse educational communities
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From the end of my run: Emergence of the next chapter of leadership |
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| Presenter/s: | Jay Kedian | |
| Type: | Research Paper | |
| Keywords: | Phenomenology, leadership questions, futures orientation | |
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Linking past perspectives in order to question and drive innovation. Sharing 10 questions to help leaders clarify their future journeys.
Wednesday May 13
Please click on the Breakout Session rows to pop up a list of each of the sessions in that time slot and to show the room for each session.
Leading beyond Yourself
Designing Your Legacy: Practical Tools for Leading Lasting Impact
Thursday May 14
Leading with Curiosity: Designing the Future by Asking Better Questions
Youth Leadership
Friday May 15
Kia kakapa ai te manawa o te tini - so that the hearts of all beats strong: Leading for equity, leading for hope
Kia kakapa ai te manawa o te tini - so that the hearts of all beats strong: Leading for equity, leading for hope
Doing What's Right, Not Whats Easy
Invitation to NZEALS 2028
Heart to be handed over