Kay Hawk

Kay is a founding director of The Education Group. Prior to that she worked for many years as an adviser and researcher consultant to large corporate businesses, while completing post graduate qualifications in education. Kay set up and lead her own research company after being a founding director of the Heylen Research Centre. For the last 30 years she has worked in primary, intermediate and secondary schools of all deciles (state and independent) throughout New Zealand in a wide range of capacities. Twelve of these years were as an education lecturer and consultant with Massey University, based on the Albany Campus. She has chaired intermediate and secondary school boards and has extensive governance experience chairing not-for-profit boards.

Services to schools involve knowledge of current research and the ability to translate this into practical strategies for boards, school leaders and teachers, as well as ensuring students’ learning needs take priority and that the school is a well-functioning and effective learning community. She has directed and facilitated Ministry of Education research and development contracts over many years.

Current areas of expertise and interest include research and evaluation, leadership training, coaching, strategic planning, effective classroom teaching and learning partnerships, school assessment (especially secondary and including NCEA), school and department review, professional development, encouraging student voice and engagement, preventing and resolving conflict, and working in schools having difficulties. Her doctoral research was on preventing school decline and failure and how to intervene effectively when there are issues.