New Zealand Principal Magazine

Section

Reviews

Executive Bookclub

Karen Brisco and Hayley Read

2026 Term 2 May Issue

All the time, Every time, All of us, Everywhere! The intentional transformation of a failing school By Iain Taylor Leadership is the beating heart of every successful school. The story of Iain Taylor’s journey at Manurewa Intermediate is not only a great read, it is also a beacon of optimism in an educational landscape that […]

Book Reviews

Pat Martin & Pip Desmond

2025 Term 4 November Issue

A cat detective, a girl band, and a slice of our sporting history are some of the subjects covered in the 2025 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. Detective Beans and the Case of the Missing Hat Author and illustrator: Li Chen Publisher: Penguin Random House Australia 2024 Winner, Junior Fiction, 2025 […]

Book Reviews

Pat Martin & Pip Desmond

2025 Term 3 September Issue

Earth Matters: Two innovative New Zealand non-fiction books encourage children and young people to reimagine our cities and explore the natural world under our noses. Ultrawild: An Audacious Plan to Rewild Every City on Earth Author and illustrator: Steve Mushin Allen and Unwin 2023 Is it possible to crush climate change and save the planet […]

Book Reviews

Pat Martin & Pip Desmond

2025 Term 2 June Issue

Studies on school principals’ wellbeing make for grim reading, according to Heidi Hayward, principal of Dunedin Intermediate School. Heidi participated in ‘The New Zealand Primary Principal Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Survey (2016–2021)’ and says, ‘The research shows a significant deterioration in school principals’ wellbeing across the timeframe.’ The research showed that 72 per cent […]

Book Reviews

Pat Martin & Pip Desmond

2025 Term 1 March Issue

From beach holidays to colonisation: something for everyone in New Zealand picture book awards Pat Martin and Pip Desmond review the picture books short-listed for the 2024 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. There’s a bedtime story about the beach, a search-and-find mission with a message, a girl who’s afraid of the […]

Book Review

Geoff Lovegrove

2024 Term 1 March Issue

What is the force that draws people to become teachers? What drives them? What motivates them to leap out of bed each morning, eager to start another day in the classroom? Crucially, what is it that keeps them in the profession? What keeps them returning after every term holiday to begin another classroom adventure with […]

On Being Dyslexic

Geoff Lovegrove

2022 Term 3 September Issue

This is a remarkable story of courage and success against the odds. Teachers need to read this. They will learn from it, and many will change their approaches to children who struggle with their learning. It became clear to Whanganui born author Sarah Platt, at a very early age, that she could not read or […]

The Search for better Educational Standards a Cautionary Tale

Lester Flockton

2018 Term 1 March Issue

A Cautionary Tale Martin Thrupp, Springer International Publishing, 2018 Lester Flockton Professor Martin Thrupp has proven himself to be a researcher of integrity who is committed to uncompromised truth when investigating and responding to Government education policies and associated policy machinations. There are few of his ilk in our country, so he is particularly well […]

Vital Connection: Why we need more than Self-Managing Schools

Cathy Wylie

2013 Term 2 June Issue

Adapted from a review by Bruce Hammonds In the 1980s a new political ideology infiltrated Anglo American countries. It was a time of dramatic change as democratic welfare states were gradually replaced by what has come to be known as the ‘Market Forces’ approach. This approach is based on small government, valuing self-interest, privatisation, competition, […]