About Janet Stowell

JANET STOWELL: EDUCATIONIST
Janet is a self-employed education specialist, teacher, facilitator, and author. A fully registered experienced teacher.
Janet has worked in various teaching and management roles in New Zealand schools. Primary trained, she has taught across all levels and deciles, from new entrants to Year 8, in both urban and rural schools. Her experience includes teaching principal, assistant principal, SENCO (Special Education Needs Co-ordinator), and RTLB (Resource Teacher: Learning & Behaviour). Janet worked as an RTLB from 2009 to 2023 in the Waikato and Auckland, working with new entrants to Y10. She is dedicated to supporting both teachers' and parents’ understanding of xecutive functions and how they affect a student’s ability to learn and behave. Passionate about teaching and learning, she thinks deeply about education and the issues facing learners in today’s world.

Janet's Education Qualifications

• Master of Specialist Teaching in Learning and Behaviour – Massey University - 2017
  • Specialist Teaching Professional Inquiry: A (2016) – (Teach NZ Study Award)

  • Supervision and Mentoring in Specialist Teaching: A- (2015)

  • Evidence-based Practice in Learning and Behaviour Diversity: A- (2012)

  • Practicum in Learning and Behaviour Diversity: A (2012)

  • Theory & Foundations of Learning & Behaviour Diversity: A- (2011)

  • Core Theory & Foundations of Specialist Teaching: A+ (2011)

• Bachelor of Teaching - University of Waikato - 2004
• Certificate in Adult Teaching - Auckland Institute of Technology - 1995
• Trained Teachers Certificate - NZ Department of Education - 1978
• Teachers College Diploma - Auckland Teachers’ College - 1977

Janet’s area of expertise is executive functions:

Janet completed a professional inquiry research paper about executive functions for her Master of Specialist Teaching in Learning and Behaviour through Massey University. She graduated in March 2017 and afterwards pursued her passion for finding out more about executive functions and sharing this knowledge with others. Executive functions, is an umbrella term for a set of cognitive skills and processes that enable people to make decisions, solve problems and manage their own thinking and behaviour in order to achieve future goals. The three core executive functions are response inhibition, cognitive flexibility and working memory. The higher order executive functions are organisation, time management, goal setting planning/prioritising and task initiation. These critical life skills (executive functions) help us to be self-managing, self-motivating, self-monitoring and ultimately self-regulating. Executive functions are all about actions: not what we know, but how we use what we know to get things done.

CV of Executive Functions Workshops:
2025:
Te Kuiti SENCOS
Te Awamutu LSCs
Te Awamutu Intermediate
MOE Advisors & Hamilton ORS Teachers
2024:
Ngaruawahia Primary School Staff and their invited guests
Ngaruawahia Primary School Teacher-aides
Motumaoho School Staff
2023:
Te Parirau o Tainui Waka - Cluster 14 RTLB
Firth Primary School Staff
2022:
Tauranga Kaahui Ako: DPs, APs, LSCs, teachers
Tauranga Moana - Cluster 18 RTLB

2021:
Dyslexia Plus Whangarei - teachers, parents and children
Taumaranui/Te Awamutu - Cluster 17 RTLB

Manurewa - Cluster 12 RTLB
2020:
St Kentigern Boys’ School – Auckland
Manurewa - Cluster 12 RTLB

2019:
Key Speaker - Learning Disabilities Association NZ Conference (LDANZ)
Christchurch - Cluster 34 RTLB and their invited guests
The Kauri Centre, Hamilton
Maeroa Intermediate School Staff
Melville Intermediate School Staff
2018:
Marian Catholic School Hamilton – Junior School Staff
Marian Catholic School Hamilton – Parent workshop
Hukanui School – SENCO and students

Recent Achievements:
2019 - 2022:
Wrote and self-published ‘Growing Self-regulating Kids: The Executive Functions Toolkit for Parents’.
2016 - 2018:
Wrote and self-published ‘The Executive Functions Toolkit for Classroom Teachers’.
2015 - 2016:
Completed Master of Specialist Teaching in Learning and Behaviour through Massey University, graduated with distinction March 2017.