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Michael GaffneyProgramme Co‑ordinator (Early Childhood Education)
Lecturer | Mātauraka Kōhukahuka
Member of the Kaiāwhina Māori – Māori student support team
PhD, MA, MEd, BA, Dip Tchg

Kāi Tahu

Dunedin Campus
Waea | Tel +64 3 479 4214
Īmēra | Email michael.gaffney@otago.ac.nz
Tari | Office 2.04, Tower Block, College of Education, Dunedin

Biography

I am a Lecturer in the Early Childhood Education Programme. My research interests are quite broad as a result of working at the Childrenʻs Issues Centre, University of Otago from 1995–2010 as a researcher and lecturer. During this time I was involved in the development and teaching of the Post Graduate Diploma of Child Advocacy and supervising students in the Masters of Childhood and Youth Studies programme.

My current research interests often take me into evaluation studies of social and education service providers. I am particularly interested in how people learn to be parents and how communities, including early childhood settings, can support them. I am involved in a couple of Ministry of Social Development activities locally – Strengthening Families http://www.strengtheningfamilies.govt.nz and Community Response Forums https://www.communityresponse.org.nz

Research interests

  • Childhood Studies: Children and Young People's views of their experiences
  • Disability Studies and inclusion
  • Socio-Cultural theory and Communities of Practice
  • Social and Educational Evaluation

Publications

Gaches, S., Gaffney, M., Carvalho, R., Curtis, A., & Gunn, A. (2024, February). The care-FULL work of early childhood professionals. Verbal presentation at the Performance of the Real Research Theme Interdisciplinary Conference: Performing Care and Carelessness, Dunedin, New Zealand.

Gaffney, M., & McAnelly, K. (2023). Talking the talk but failing to walk the walk: The Highest Needs Review and the long, winding road towards inclusive education in Aotearoa New Zealand. Proceedings of the New Zealand Association for Research in Education (NZARE) Conference. 1019. Retrieved from https://nzare.org.nz/

Gaches, S., Carvalho, R., Curtis, A., & Gaffney, M. (2023). Mā te ahurei o te tamaiti e ārahi i ā tātou mahi: Let the uniqueness of the child guide our work [Panel discussion]. Proceedings of the 29th Reconceptualizing Early Childhood Education (RECE) Conference : Pathways: Where we've been, where we are, where we want to go. (pp. 8). Retrieved from https://receinternational.org/

Waterworth, K., Gaffney, M., Taylor, N., & Gibson, B. E. (2023). The civil rights of disabled children in physiotherapy practices. Physiotherapy Theory & Practice, 39(3), 547-559. doi: 10.1080/09593985.2021.2011511

McAnelly, K., & Gaffney, M. (2022). High needs review: Literature review. Commissioned by Ministry of Education. Dunedin, New Zealand: Kanorau Research. 69p.

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