Exemplifying Toitūtanga and the pursuit of excellence - Dr Rachael Burke

Dr Rachael Burke began her long and productive research career as an anthropologist with a special interest in how cross-cultural assumptions impacted young children, their teachers, families and communities – both in this country and over her seven years living and working in Japan. Rachael came to Toi Ohomai in 2020, and is an integral part of our ECE master's programme, alongside mentoring researchers from her own teaching team while enthusiastically taking up offers to join inter-institutional research collaborations.

Rachael is currently collaborating with external colleagues with one research project examining children’s inquiry and a second assessing how safe and inclusive Te Pūkenga campuses are for rainbow students; she is also completing a study with internal Toi Ohomai colleagues to evaluate te reo Māori teaching strategies in early childhood education programs. In addition, Rachael continues to publish from an individual research project which examines how the ‘image of a child’ held by beginner teachers from migrant backgrounds influences their practice.

In 2024 alone, Rachael presented both individually and with colleagues at eight conferences and symposia. She also authored, and co-authored six peer-reviewed journal publications:

Burke, R. (2024). From protecting to empowering tamariki: How beginner teachers from migrant backgrounds embody culture in New Zealand early learning settings. He Kupu: The Word, 8 (1), 29-42.

Burke, R.S. (2024). "I don't know if I'm working well or not": How beginner ECE teachers from migrant backgrounds negotiate professional practice in Aotearoa New Zealand. Scope: Work-based Learning, 6, 42-50. 

Burke, R.S. (2024). Looking Forward, Facing the Past: How the Lived Experience of Childhood Impacts on the Practice of Beginner ECE Teachers from Migrant Backgrounds in Aotearoa New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Asian Studies, 26 (2), 19-36.

Probine, S., Burke, R., Perry, J., Alderson, J., Heta-Lensen, Y., McElevey, F., & Wrightson, H. (2024). Disrupting the disrupters: The potential of children’s inquiry approaches in early childhood education. Early Childhood Folio, 28 (2), 14-19. 

Probine, S., Perry, J., Burke, R., Alderson, J., Heta-Lensen, Y., Wrightson, H., & McAlevey, F. (2024). Unique approaches to children’s inquiry in early childhood education in Aotearoa New Zealand. Early Education Journal, 69 (1), 5-16.

Smith, L., Gremillion, H., Burke, R.S., Kelsey, F., & Addington, L. (2024). Rainbow students’ experiences in New Zealand’s vocational education system: do they feel safe, included and supported? Kotuitui: New Zealand Journal of Social Sciences Online, 16 December 1-18. 

From September-October 2024, Rachael was a Visiting Fellow in Educational Development with the Centre for Teaching and Learning at the University of Windsor in Ontario, Canada.

At the end of the year, Rachael was the recipient of a Toitūtanga values award from Toi Ohomai, recognising the huge contribution she has made to the organisation, her colleagues and the research culture.