Gill Rutherford

Neighbourhood environments are increasingly being recognised as settings within which people experience well- or ill-being. However, Autistic people are seldom considered in wellbeing research, which often centres on neurotypical experiences of places. Autistic people's encounters within places, and the effects of these encounters on their wellbeing, are therefore under-researched and under-theorised. This paper considers how a relational conceptualisation of wellbeing, in conjunction with an intersectional understanding of Autistic identities, might bring together insights from critical autism studies and geographies of wellbeing to map out the relationship between autism, place, and wellbeing. Recognising that neuro-normative social landscapes often disable Autistic individuals, we argue for a relational and intersectional approach to understanding and enhancing Autistic wellbeing. We advocate for designing inclusive spaces that actively support the wellbeing of Autistic people, highlighting the vital role we, as geographers, can play in transforming socio-spatial structures to address diverse needs and foster a more equitable environment for everyone.

Demographic and social characteristics of underrepresented groups are often poorly described in pharmacy case-based learning, leading to poor representation of these groups in the pharmacy curriculum. This research project aimed to understand the lived experience of underrepresented groups with pharmacy services and to use this to inform the development of pharmacy case-based student learning materials. This was a single centre, grounded theory, qualitative study. Focus groups were undertaken with six underrepresented groups: Māori, Pacific, Asian, LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, asexual), disability, and refugee. These focus groups were conducted in Dunedin, Aotearoa New Zealand from July to August 2022. Focus group sessions were recorded and analysed to identify beliefs, ideas, and themes shared between participants and groups. Participants in all focus groups had a strong desire to be seen and represented in pharmacy cases, however this was conditional on the learning being delivered in a way that upholds their beliefs, values, and voices. From these lived experiences, cultural, environmental, personal, and social factors were identified as being critical for inclusion in pharmacy case-based learning materials. The lived experience of underrepresented populations provides critical insights that will enhance pharmacy case-based learning. The key factors that could be included in case-based learning are: ethnicity, personal beliefs, language, disability, gender identity, sexual identity, and family. To achieve health equity and improve cultural awareness and intelligence of our future pharmacy workforce, these experiences need to become more present in curricula.

The compulsory education of students who have complex learning characteristics has received little attention in New Zealand research literature. This paper explores the positive educational experiences of a student who transferred from one high school to another in the same city, which resulted in him 'actually learning'. Using Appreciative Inquiry (AI) methodology, qualitative interviews and focus groups were held with educators and the student's mother, and time was spent with the student. Thematic analysis revealed the significance of communication/relationships, values and flexible teaching and learning practices. The analysis also revealed that educators' beliefs included relational understandings of disability and a presumption of competence, while their practice evidenced elements of inclusive pedagogy.

The unjust schooling experiences of many disabled students is the impetus for this conceptual paper, which investigates the complexity involved in developing future teachers' knowledge and commitment to putting into practice disability rights-related provisions. The paper focuses on the components of Article 24 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) (United Nations 2006. United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Accessed March 1, 2020. https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CRPD/Pages/ConventionRightsPersonsWithDisabilities.aspx#24 ) that relate specifically to teacher education programmes. The concepts of dysconciousness (King 1991. "Dysconscious Racism: Ideology, Identity, and the Miseducation of Teachers." Journal of Negro Education 60 (2): 133-146) and dysconscious ableism (Lalvani et al. 2015. "Teacher Education, Exclusion and the Implicit Ideology of Separate but Equal: An Invitation to a Dialogue." Education, Citizenship, and Social Justice 10 (2): 168-183) are explored to facilitate theoretical understanding of possible reasons for injustices, including the marginalisation of many disabled students within/without the education system. Discussion then focuses on relevant research and practical strategies that may support student teachers to narrow the distance between theoretical understandings of Article 24 and its implementation in their teaching practice. In closing, the notion of dysconscious ableism is revisited in relation to its impact on teacher educators' own thinking and practice. In order to do justice to Article 24 within teacher education, and in turn, to disabled students in schools, much is possible, and we as teacher educators, alongside our student teachers, have much to (un)learn.

Understanding the affective impact of schooling upon disabled students' identities and sense of worth is the focus of this chapter. Students' perspectives are drawn from a range of recent international literature and interpreted within a framework that draws from theoretical concepts of disability and justice. Possible ways of addressing the inequities experienced by many disabled students are then outlined within the context of teacher education, in recognition of its role in developing future teachers. Troubling student teachers' (and teacher educators') assumptions and interpretations of disability is imperative to right the wrongs that damage too many students' lives.

This chapter discusses the need to respect and listen to the views of disabled children in general, and in relation to tourism specifically. It starts by defining the concept of voice and summarizes the broader debates and arguments regarding children's voice. The chapter then continues to cover how some children's voices, referred to as 'conventional voices', are privileged over others (such as disabled children). The subsequent section reflects on two strands of tourism research related to disability and children and highlights disabled children's invisibility and omission of their perspectives in tourism research. The chapter then provides a brief discussion of the challenges of researching with disabled children and outlines some ethical and practical considerations. Overall, this chapter serves as a springboard for further inquiry concerning disabled children's inclusion in tourism research.

In this article, Gill Rutherford seeks to understand, from the perspectives of teacher aides, the influence of their work on the school experiences of New Zealand students with disabilities. Rutherford contributes to a growing body of international research regarding the role of teacher aides that documents the complex and ambiguous nature of their work. Ironically, given the injustice of assigning unqualified teacher aides to students whose learning support requirements (through no fault of their own) often challenge teachers, the findings of the study suggest that aides may contribute to the development of a more just education by virtue of their relationships with students with disabilities. Teacher aides’ knowing and caring about students in terms of their humanity and competence resulted in their recognizing and addressing injustices experienced by students. In acting on students’ behalf, in “doing right by” each student, these aides enabled students to enact their formal right to education. The study findings, interpreted within a framework of relational social justice, add another dimension to what has already been documented in research literature about the paradoxical nature of teacher aides’ work.

Disabled students’ experiences of working with teacher aides constitute a recent focus of international inquiry. To date in New Zealand, there has been no specific investigation of this aspect of education, despite the widespread reliance on teacher aide support as the primary means of responding to disabled students’ presence in schools. Similarly, there are very few New Zealand studies in which teacher aides are the primary participants. This thesis seeks to address this absence in New Zealand educational research by exploring students’ and teacher aides’ experiences of working together, in order to understand the impact of assigning responsibility for students who have complex learning support requirements to teacher aides who require no qualification, training, or experience to work in this role. This interpretive qualitative study is positioned in a multi-dimensional framework of current disability, social justice, and sociology of childhood theorising. A series of semi-structured meetings were held with ten students, aged eight to seventeen years, who attended schools in the South Island of New Zealand. As well, semi-structured interviews were conducted with eighteen teacher aides who worked in a range of primary, intermediate, and secondary schools in the same geographic area as the student participants. Data were interpreted utilizing both inductive and deductive means of analysis. Students’ participation in the research and their contributions to the findings demonstrated their competence, agency, and heterogeneity. Students conveyed a sense of the importance and value of the teacher aide’s role, if clearly defined and carried out in a positive, professional manner within the context of supportive schools. The findings relating to teacher aides’ experiences highlighted the diverse, ambiguous nature of their roles, conceptualised as a continuum of support ranging from aiding teachers in inclusive contexts, to aiding students in assimilationist circumstances, to assuming the role of teacher or babysitter for students in exclusive educational environments. Analysis of teacher aides’ experiences revealed the fundamental importance of relationships in coming to know students in terms of their humanness and competence, and in underpinning teacher aides’ efforts to do the right thing by students. Participants also identified the need for all adults involved in the policy and practice of education to develop shared understandings of respectful, socially just ways of thinking about disability and childhood as the foundation of a common commitment to teach all students well. The insight generated by participants, who represent perhaps the least powerful of students and employees in New Zealand schools, illuminates some of the most significant changes that need to occur in the thinking and practices of people involved in educational policy-making, teacher and teacher aide education, and schools. Addressing these educational deficits may contribute to the development of a socially just education system that is respectful of and responsive to human difference while recognising and respecting our mutual humanness.