Role

Emily is the Kaiarataki Rangahau | Research Leader at Te Rito Maioha. The main focus of her role is supporting Te Rito Maioha staff with research and taking all opportunities to enhance our national and international profile in the wider research world.

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Education Background

Emily has been an educator for 40 years. She started primary teaching in 1989 at Pasadena Intermediate in Auckland. She then moved into initial teacher education in 1998 at Auckland College of Education on a two year contract which got her hooked on postgraduate study. She moved back to Hawke’s Bay in 2000 and worked for School Support Services at Massey University until she had her two boys. While they were young she worked as a professional learning and development facilitator, completed her masters, taught part-time and started her PhD. She joined EIT’s primary teaching degree in 2013 and served as the Programme Leader from 2016-2024. During that time she was also promoted to Associate Professor and contributed to the national TEFANZ Executive, advocating for quality initial teacher education in Aotearoa New Zealand. For the last two years she has worked as a consultant in a variety of projects including for the Teaching Council and the Ministry of Education.

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Research Background

Emily’s research interests always have had something to do with her work focus. Her Masters and PhD research looked at how intermediate students could provide their teachers professional learning about effective teaching and how teachers and students could share pedagogical decisions. More recently she has been involved in a large Learning in Nature project, where she explored the implications of innovative learning environments for student teachers on practicum and she has documented school partners’ insights about co-delivering initial teacher education. Emily is a qualitative researcher, she loves the privilege of listening to people’s perspectives on their life, learning and work.

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Teaching Interests

Emily believes people have to have a meaningful reason to learn, a reason meaningful to them. Her teaching approach involves finding her students’ meaningful reasons and connecting with these as a starting point for joint learning.

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Recent Publications

Nelson, E. (2026). ‘Paying it forward’: School partners’ perceptions of ‘authentic partnership’ for co-enacting initial teacher education. Teachers and Teaching, 32(5), 987-1005.

Nelson, E., & Lewis, K. (2026). ‘Walls up, walls down’: How enduring and shifting ILE practice architectures shape preservice teachers’ practicum experiences. Review of Education, 14(2), e70166.

Nelson, E., & Charteris, J. (2025). Shifting power relations in innovative learning environments: Implications for initial teacher education and practicum. Oxford review of education, 51(3), 452-468.

Nelson, E., & Cowie, B. (2024). Rethinking student agency through ‘material agency’ in the context of learning in nature. Environmental Education Research, 30(9), 1535-1551.