Woolf Fisher Research Centre

All the people, all voices, all of those from the four winds. From Te Rerenga Wairua to Stewart Island in the South… greetings, greetings, greetings to you all!

Established in 1998 with funds from the Woolf Fisher Trust, the Woolf Fisher Research Centre is an internationally recognised research centre for the development of education and schooling success for diverse communities within New Zealand, with a particular focus on Māori and Pasifika communities.

The Centre has spent 12 years developing a model to raise and extend student achievement, working in more than 50 schools and with more than 10,000 children.

It has successfully raised literacy levels in urban decile 1 schools to within the national average, and has improved results in a range of other schools including rural and small town schools. It is recognised as one of New Zealand’s most successful projects to improve educational results for Māori, Pacific and children from low socioeconomic communities.

In addition to promoting research-based educational interventions, the centre provides a vehicle for research expertise for local communities, contributes to developing teacher education programmes which are responsive to local needs and goals, promotes tertiary education pathways and contributes to research at the The University of Auckland.

• Professor Stuart McNaughton: Director
• Dr Meaola Amituanai-Toloa: Associate Director
• Dr Mei Kuin Lai: Associate Director
• Angela McNicholl: Project Director
• Aaron Wilson: Principal Investigator
• Dr Rebecca Jesson: Principal Investigator
   

In 2010, the Woolf Fisher Trust and The University of Auckland launched a $1.25 million scholarship fund to enable teachers in Auckland and Northland to undertake school-based research aimed at improving student achievement.

The purpose of the Scholarships is to enable outstanding teachers from Auckland and Northland schools to be released from school duties to undertake a research masters degree involving training at the Woolf Fisher Research Centre in school-based research and development methods.

To find out more about how you can apply for a Woolf Fisher Lead Teacher Masters Scholarship, visit Scholarships and awards.

For 2014 Scholarship applications the deadline is 1 September 2013.

School-based research makes a difference

Woolf Fisher Lead Teacher Masters Scholarship 2013 recipients

• Aven Saleh, Randwick Park School
• Jonathan Ramsay, Oranga Primary School
• Susan Smith, Red Beach School
• Catherine Biggs, Churchill Park School

Woolf Fisher Lead Teacher Masters Scholarship 2012 recipients

• Caroline Chawke, Papatoetoe South School
• Heather Hardy, Whau Valley School
• Jacqueline Tutavake, Henderson South School
• Lynne Savage, Tangaroa College

Woolf Fisher Lead Teacher Masters Scholarship 2011 recipients

The inaugural Woolf Fisher Lead Teacher Masters Scholarship recipients who have successfully completed their masters research are:

• Patricia Holster, Clayton Park School
• Kim Henry, Northcross Intermediate
• Jan Rogers, Kaikohe East School
• Rochelle Telfer, Tikipunga High School

Read about their research (666KB PDF)

• National Co-ordination and Evaluation of Secondary Literacy Project
• Secondary Literacy Project (SLP) in schools
• The Duffy Books in Homes Programme
• West Coast Secondary
• TLRI Summer Effect
• TLRI Strategy and Sustainability
• Pasifika Schooling Improvement
• Building Evaluative Capability
• Woolf Fisher Lead Teacher Masters Scholarships