The award honours Brian Sutton-Smith. Professor Sutton-Smith was awarded the first Education PhD in New Zealand in 1954. The Sutton-Smith Doctoral Award is awarded annually for an excellent Doctoral thesis by an NZARE member. The Award was approved at the 2004 NZARE Annual General Meeting, awarded for the first time in 2006. The award consists of a written citation and a cash prize of $1000. 

Purpose of the Award

This award honours Brian Sutton-Smith. In 1954 Professor Sutton-Smith was awarded the first Education PhD in New Zealand. The Sutton-Smith Doctoral Award is awarded annually for an excellent Doctoral thesis by an NZARE member.

In making its decision, a sub-committee of NZARE Council will consider the theses' contributions to new knowledge in education, which may be empirical, theoretical and/or methodological. Contributions to educational theory, practice, policy, innovation, and research methodology will be considered equally. Originality, thoroughness and high quality design and analysis will also be considered.

The Award was approved at the 2004 NZARE Annual General Meeting, awarded for the first time in 2006. The award consists of a written citation and a cash prize of $1000. The NZARE Council retains the right to make no award in any one year. The Award will be conferred at the NZARE annual conference, and notified in the Association's publication Input (He Pātaka Tuku Kōrero) and on its website.

Nominations

The Nominator is to be the Chief/Main Supervisor and must be a current NZARE member. The Nominee must be a current NZARE member. Those nominated must have been undertaken in New Zealand within a New Zealand tertiary institution.  Those nominated must have been undertaken at a New Zealand and/or have clear implications for New Zealand education.

Nominations must include:

• Name, address /phone/email details of nominator(s) and nominee;
• Thesis title;
• An electronic copy of the thesis (NB the selection panel will focus on the Discussion and Conclusion Chapters in coming to a decision);
• A substantial letter of nomination;
• Copies of the examiners’ reports;
• A recent colour photo of nominee;
• Confirmation from your University that the examination period is complete (please note this does not mean you need to have graduated;
• Current NZARE membership can be verified by contacting nzare.eo@gmail.com

Award Selection

In each year a sub-committee appointed by the NZARE Council will receive and consider the nominations and make a recommendation to the Council regarding conferring the award. The final decision must be ratified by the Council. The Council retains the right to make no award in any one year.

Criteria for Selection

• Nominee is a current NZARE member;
• Research work has been undertaken within a New Zealand tertiary institution and has clear implications for New Zealand education;
• Nominee’s work contributes to new knowledge in education, which may be empirical, theoretical and/or methodological;
• Nominee’s work contributes to educational theory, practice, policy and innovation capable of improving equitable social outcomes; 
• Nominee’s work shows evidence of originality, thoroughness and high-quality design and analysis.

 The successful applicant will be informed of the award prior to the annual NZARE conference. Unsuccessful applicants will be notified by email and/or letter after the selection process has been completed and the successful candidate has accepted the award.

Brian Sutton Smith Biographical Notes 

Brian Sutton-Smith was born in Wellington in 1924. He trained as a teacher, completed a BA and MA, and taught in primary schools prior to taking up a doctoral fellowship with the then University of New Zealand. Professor Sutton-Smith's PhD was titled The historical and psychological significance of the unorganized games of New Zealand primary school children. Following the completion of his PhD Professor, Sutton-Smith travelled to the USA on a Fulbright Travel Grant and Smith Mundt Research Fellowship. After a brief period back in New Zealand teaching in a primary school and working as a sessional assistant in educational psychology at Victoria University, he returned to the USA in 1957 and began an outstanding academic career with a major research focus on children's games, adult games, children's play, children's drama, films and narratives, as well as children's gender issues and sibling position.

Professor Sutton-Smith was the author and editor of some 50 books, the first of which was Our Street (1950, Reed) for New Zealand children, written in their own way of speaking. He was also the author of some 350 scholarly articles. The children's novel Our Street, about his own growing up in the suburb of Island Bay in Wellington, is a metaphor for Professor Sutton Smith's life work. 

Professor Sutton-Smith's academic life was 10 years at Bowling Green State University, Ohio; 10 years at Teachers College, Columbia University New York; and 17 years at the University of Pennsylvania. He has been at times known as a Professor of Psychology, a Professor of Education, a Professor of Human Development, and a Professor of Children's Folklore.

Brian Sutton-Smith passed away March 2015.