TCELT Research Seminar: June 2026

This presentation will be online (MS Teams) on 3 June 2026:

• 11:00-12:00 BST (UK)
• 22:00-23:00 NZST (NZ)

Dr Hazel Woodhouse and Professor Sally Peters, University of Waikato, will share their findings from a study funded by the Teaching and Learning Research Initiative (TLRI) exploring the experiences of former refugee and migrant children and their families as they transition to ECE and school in Aotearoa New Zealand. 

The research responds to increasing migration, with arrivals rising by 135% in 2023, particularly among children aged 3-8 years old. While starting ECE or school is significant for all families, recently settled migrants and refugees often face additional complexities, including language diversity, cultural differences, socioeconomic challenges, and, for some, experiences of trauma. Working in partnership with a Migrant and Refugee Settlement Service, three ECE centres, and two primary schools in the Waikato, the study focuses on what families find challenging and helpful during transitions. Data includes interviews with seventeen recently settled families, dialogic drawing with twelve children aged 3-8 years (Ruscoe, 2022), and insights from settlement staff and teachers.

Framed by the view that transitions are processes rather than events, the study draws on Bronfenbrenner and Morris’s bioecological model (2007) to explore how migration, settlement, and education intersect across contexts, relationships, and identities. We will share early findings, including case study stories of two families and discuss the importance of holistic, relational support in shaping children’s agency, participation, and sense of belonging, demonstrating how collaborative, strengths-based approaches can enable new settler families and their children to thrive.

Speaker biographies

Dr Hazel Woodhouse is an early childhood lecturer at the University of Waikato with over 30 years’ experience in early childhood and primary settings in the UK and New Zealand. Her PhD explored digitally facilitated, collaboratively constructed transitions to school. Her research focuses on transitions, digital technologies, and cross-setting relationships, and she is currently co-leading a project examining how former refugee and migrant children and their families experience transitions to ECE and school in Aotearoa New Zealand. 

Professor Sally Peters is a Professor at Te Kura Toi Tangata School of Education at the University of Waikato. Sally has a background in early years education and a particular interest in young children’s development. Sally has led or co-led a number of projects exploring aspects of learning, development and transition experiences as well as evaluating a programme to enhance ECE participation through the provision of food, clothing and health products. Many of her research projects have involved working in partnership with teachers in ECE services and schools. Currently, she is co-leading two research projects, one exploring transitions to education for refugee and migrant children and their families and the other investigating how professional development for early childhood educators can contribute to 3-6-year-olds’ oral language, literacy and maths development.

If you do not have a link to join, please email [email protected]