Associate Professor Tara McLaughlin BA, MEd, PhD

Contact details

• Ph: +64 6 3569099 ext. 84312
  Location: 5.44, Social Science Tower Extension
  Campus: Turitea

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Arts - Hobart and William Smith Colleges (2000)
• Master of Education - University of Florida (2003)
• Doctor of Philosophy - University of Florida (2011)

Certifications and Registrations

• Licence, Supervisor, Massey University

Prizes and Awards

• Judith Duncan Award for Research in Early Childhood Education, New Zealand Association for Research in Education, Early Childhood Education Special Interest Group (NZARE ECE SIG) 2019. Awarded to NZARE member who has made notable contributions to the field of early childhood education through the conduct of high-quality research. - New Zealand Association for Research in Education, Early Childhood Education Special Interest Group (2019)

Research Interests

• Promotion of children’s social-emotional development
• Prevention of challenging behavior
• Embedded instruction (intentional teaching) in natural learning environments
• Inclusive education
• Early intervention
• Teacher/school-family partnerships in early learning
• Interdisciplinary teaming
• Practical applications of the International Classification of Functioning –Child and Youth Version (ICF-CY)
• Comparative studies of program quality in early learning settings
• Professional learning for early childhood teachers

I approach research from a pragmatic perspective and use a range of methods to explore and examine research questions. I have extensive training in research and evaluation methodology, with a focus on single subject and group experimental design, measurement, statistical analysis, and secondary data analysis of extant data sets.

I believe research evidence should be informed from three inter-related sources of knowledge: 1) empirical research to identify relationships between teaching and learning for young children; 2) wisdom and experience of families and teachers to ensure teaching and learning practices are acceptable and feasible in real-life settings; and 3) community values and priorities to guide culturally relevant practices and desired outcomes for children.

Thematics

21st Century Citizenship, Health and Well-being

Area of Expertise

Field of research codes
Comparative and Cross-Cultural Education (130302): Curriculum and Pedagogy (130200): Early Childhood Education (excl. Maori) (130102): Education (130000): Education Assessment and Evaluation (130303): Education Systems (130100): Primary Education (excl. Maori) (130105): Special Education and Disability (130312): Specialist Studies in Education (130300): Te Whariki (Maori Early Childhood Education) (130107): Teacher Education and Professional Development of Educators (130313)

Current Projects

Current Doctoral Supervision

Main Supervisor of:

• Jess Smith - Doctor of Philosophy
  Teachers' perspectives of social-emotional teaching and learning Aotearoa early childhood
• Min Wang - Doctor of Philosophy
  Chinese Student Teachers’ Perspectives of Intentional Teaching in the Aotearoa New Zealand ECE Context: A Mixed Methods Case Study
• Ellen Zeng - Doctor of Philosophy
  Exploring Patterns of Young Children’s Social, Emotional, Behavioral and Cognitive Characteristics, and their Correlation with Internal and External Determinants and School Readiness
• Estelle Pretorius - Doctor of Philosophy
  Exploring web-based collaborative training and coaching supports for primary caregivers and kaiako to promote the early engagement and communication of autistic toddlers and preschoolers.

Co-supervisor of:

• Tamara Dahm - Doctor of Philosophy
  Collaboration between teachers and speech language therapists to positively impact children with language-related literacy needs.
• Sam Brydon - Doctor of Philosophy
  Empowering parents to use a core board with children who have complex communication needs: A multiple case study design

Completed Doctoral Supervision

Main Supervisor of:

• 2022 - Linda Clarke - Doctor of Philosophy
  Transforming early childhood teachers’ professional learning and development: A study of research, provision, and potential
• 2020 - Sarah Aiono - Doctor of Education
  An Investigation of Two Models of Professional Development to Support Effective Teaching through Play Practices in the Primary Classroom
• 2019 - Susan Bisschoff - Doctor of Philosophy
  Dynamic assessment as an early screening tool for identifying New Zealand children at risk of reading difficulty upon school entry

Co-supervisor of:

• 2018 - Monica Cameron - Doctor of Education
  Assessing Four Year Old Children's Learning: New Zealand Early Childhood Teachers' Purposes, Practices and Knowledge