2005 Beeby Fellow named
Jannie van Hees of the University of Auckland’s Faculty of Education has been selected as the recipient of the 2005
Beeby Fellowship.
The Fellowship, a joint initiative between the New Zealand Council for Educational Research and the New Zealand National
Commission for UNESCO, is worth $25,000 with the recipient expected to devote 3-4 months full-time to developing
resources drawn from their research.
Ms van Hees is currently Project Director for the Faculty’s Oracy Literacy Learning Initiative and English Language
Assistant’s Professional Development programme. Her work as Beeby Fellow will see her producing a book, supported by a
DVD/video, tackling issues that have emerged from her work. She will particularly focus on oral language, offering
teachers important perspectives about oral language, especially in relationship to classroom practices.
“Language is the basis of all learning, so it is critical everyone has the chance to develop linguistic skills that
allow them to express ideas and concepts through spoken language. One’s ability to understand and express ideas and
thinking with meaning orally, especially through the use of ‘elaborated text’, is widely recognised as having a high
impact on overall learning achievement,” says Ms van Hees.
Her work to date has primarily been concerned with learners’ abilities and teaching practices in the oracy and literacy
fields. Much of this work has been in primary school settings, but the resources developed through the Fellowship will
be equally applicable elsewhere, from early childhood to adult learning, across cultural groups, and for those for whom
English is a new or additional language.
“The Beeby Fellowship will allow me to share more widely some of the significant outcomes from my work. I believe it
will make a valuable contribution to the implementation of the oral strand of the Ministry of Education’s National
Literacy and Numeracy Strategy,” says Ms van Hees.
The Fellowship, first awarded in 1998, was established to allow the recipient to research an innovative programme they
are involved in, with a focus on aspects that have enhanced practice and students’ learning. NZCER provides educational
research and publishing support, and will publish the resource material on its completion.
ENDS