Science education has an important role to play in supporting our young people to meet the complex challenges of the modern age. Students need a curriculum that can prepare them to work collaboratively, competently and confidently to address the wicked "glocal" problems of our time. Rangatahi themselves recognise this - those involved in…

The Highest Needs Review was undertaken by the Ministry of Education from 2021-2022. Its purpose is to ensure that children and young people with the highest needs for learning support achieve their full potential through positive education outcomes and that they receive the right support, when they need it, and for as long as they need it. NZCER…

"Sorted in Schools, Te whai hua -- kia ora" is a financial capability programme for secondary school students in English-medium (EME) and Maori-medium (MME) education settings. The programme aims to equip all young New Zealanders for their financial future. The first resources were piloted in 2018, and schools and kura started to use the…

Effective strategic planning is an integral part of a principal's role, but this is a skill for which many principals are largely unprepared. The Springboard Trust's Strategic Leadership for Principals Programme (SLPP) is a 10-month leadership development programme for principals in New Zealand. Participants must have 2 years of experience as a…

The long-running National Survey of Schools project is part of the New Zealand Council for Educational Research's (NZCER's) Te Pae Tawhiti programme of research, funded through the Ministry of Education. NZCER has run a national survey of English-medium secondary schools every 3 years since 2003. For the 2021 National Survey of Secondary Schools,…

The "Teaching, School, and Principal Leadership Practices Survey" (TSP) was developed to give schools robust data about key practices that research has shown are worth paying attention to because of their direct and indirect effects on student learning. Drawing the data together from all participants schools in any given year creates a…

It is timely to take stock of the wellbeing of educational research in Aotearoa New Zealand. The major Education Work Programme 2021 includes a Research, Evaluation and Development Strategy. Te Ara Paerangi--Future Pathways Green Paper has launched a major review of the design of public funding for research institutions and for research taking…

Around 600 schools have used the free, research-based Teaching, School and Leadership Practices (TSP) survey since it was first offered in 2017. This brief report is based on interviews with 10 principals who've used TSP three years in a row. The report shows the principals find it informs their own development and appraisal, identifies priorities…

The national COVID-19 lockdown during school Term 1 and continuing in Term 2 2020, provided a unique context to investigate?children's experiences of informal, everyday learning in their household bubble. In Terms 3 and 4, 178?children in Years 4-8 from 10 primary schools agreed to participate in a group art-making activity and?an individual…

This New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER) research project explores the ways five diverse secondary schools shaped their timetables to support innovation in teaching and learning. The timetable is often a taken-for-granted presence in schools even though it plays an important role in how teaching and learning are experienced. This…

Ten Auckland schools piloted a school carbon calculator between June and November 2021. The pilot aimed to build knowledge about: (1) how schools can use a School Carbon Footprint calculator to understand their school's carbon emissions, build knowledge about climate change mitigation, and take steps to reduce their school's carbon footprint; and…

This report presents the findings of a small exploratory study carried out in 2021 by the New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER) for the National Library of New Zealand | Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa. The project is part of a wider suite of six studies commissioned by the National Library as part of their Communities of Readers…

2019 was the third year that the Teaching, School, and Principal Leadership Practices Survey (TSP) was available for free use by schools. The questions in this survey draw on a strong body of evidence about effective practices. The TSP asks teachers and principals to rate how often a practice occurs or how well the practice is done. This 2019…

Every 3 years the New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER) surveys principals, teachers, trustees, and parents at a random sample of English-medium primary schools to provide a national picture of what is happening in teaching and learning. This allows comparisons and tracking of how things change over time. This report presents many…

"Making a place in the world: Experiences of those who took less conventional paths from school" is the latest report from the NZCER longitudinal study "Competent Learners" that has followed young New Zealanders from their final months in early childhood education to age 26. This research aimed to find out how those who leave…