Scholarships for Teacher, Physiotherapist

Media Release September 27, 2006
From NZEI Te Riu Roa For Immediate Use
35.06

Scholarships for Early Childhood Teacher & Physiotherapist

A physiotherapist at a school for students with cerebral palsy and an early childhood head teacher have today been awarded research scholarships by the education union, NZEI Te Riu Roa.

Sue Donnell, who works as a physiotherapist at Carlson School in Auckland, and Ramila Sadikeen, the head teacher at Brooklands Kindergarten in New Plymouth, have each received $5000 research grants from the union.

The scholarships have been awarded at the NZEI Te Riu Roa Annual Meeting in the Wellington Town Hall.

Sue Donnell will be using her scholarship to look at developing a partnership between Carlson School, where 90% of the students are in wheelchairs, and a school for students with similar special needs in Fiji.

Ramila Sadikeen will be researching ways that kindergarten teachers can strengthen their links with Maori communities to enhance learning and bicultural practices at kindergartens.

“This is the first time we’ve awarded scholarships to an early childhood teacher and a support staff member,” says NZEI Te Riu Roa National President, Irene Cooper. “I’m delighted to be presenting them to Sue and Ramila as they are both worthy recipents.”

“Their research projects will provide real benefits to their school and kindergarten and I’m sure the knowledge they gain will also be use to other special schools and early childhood education centres,” says Irene Cooper.

Any early childhood teacher or school staff worker who belongs to NZEI can apply for a scholarship and a total of 67 sent in an expression of interest. They can be used for research projects linked to their work, completing a qualification or attending a professional conference.

NZEI had previously provided study awards to primary teachers and principals, who are NZEI members. Teachers and principals can now obtain Study Leave Awards from the Ministry of Education, so NZEI decided to establish the Scholarships for its early childhood teacher and support staff members, to enable them to do research or upgrade qualifications.

ENDS

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