MEDIA RELEASE
2004 TEFANZ / NZCER Excellence in Educational Journalism Award Announced
Ruth Laugesen, reporter at the Sunday-Star Times, has been awarded the 2004 Excellence in Educational Journalism Award
sponsored jointly by the Teacher Education Forum of Aotearoa New Zealand (TEFANZ) and the New Zealand Council for
Educational Research (NZCER).
The award, and a cheque for $2000, was presented to Ruth Laugesen today by Minister of Education Hon. Trevor Mallard at
the TEFANZ 2004 national conference held at the Auckland College of Education.
The winning entry, In a Class of Their Own, explored whether boys do better at single sex or co-ed schools and was first
published by the Sunday-Star Times on 14 September 2003. The article was based on original research into an area in
which there is high public interest but a lack of information.
The judging panel commented that Ruth Laugesen’s feature was a high quality piece of writing about a nationally
important issue in education, written from a fresh perspective which would appeal to a large range of readers.
The two main criteria used by the judges were a significant contribution to community understanding and debate of issues
in education, and journalistic excellence. Entries were received from radio, television and the print media with the
judges commenting that the standard of journalism and presentation of topics was very high.
The judging panel for the award comprised:
- Dr Stuart Middleton, Executive Director Student Affairs, Manukau Institute of Technology
- Ruth Mansell, Chairperson, New Zealand Council for Educational Research.
The inaugural award, sole-sponsored by TEFANZ, was presented to Gael Woods of Radio New Zealand in 2002, while the
TEFANZ / NZCER 2003 award was presented to John Gerritsen, editor of New Zealand Education Review.
ENDS