The New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER) was asked to carry out research for the Ministry of Education related to the future of Special Assessment Conditions (SAC) in the context of the National Certificates of Educational Achievement (NCEA). This report details our findings related to the current application of SAC entitlement…

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…

This report presents the findings from a research project on curriculum integration in New Zealand schools, carried out by NZCER in 2018-19. The purpose of the research was to explore teachers' rationales for curriculum integration; the approaches and practices used to integrate curriculum; and the learning opportunities such approaches provide…

This research, which is the second part of a two-part study, was commissioned by the New Zealand Productivity Commission to inform their study of the future of work in New Zealand. The main research question asks, in essence: In what ways are secondary school subject-choice systems, and students' subject choices, positioned to respond to future of…

This research, which is the first part of a two-part study, was commissioned by the New Zealand Productivity Commission to inform their study of the future of work in New Zealand. The main research question asks, in essence: In what ways are secondary school subject-choice systems, and students' subject choices, positioned to respond to future of…

In March 2019 the Ministry of Education (MOE) commissioned NZCER to conduct an exploratory study of curriculum levelling in the Science and Mathematics and Statistics learning areas of "The New Zealand Curriculum" (NZC). The study was prompted in part by a desire to probe possible reasons for patterns of achievement reported by the…

This is one of two papers developed for an Ministry of Education funded project, Competencies in New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZC). This paper draws on archived policy discussion papers to document the provenance of the key competencies included in the "New Zealand Curriculum" ("NZC"). The second paper analyses…

This is one of two papers developed for a Ministry of Education (MOE)-funded project, Competencies in New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZC). The first paper draws on archived policy discussion papers to document the provenance of the NZC key competencies. This second paper analyses a series of research projects to describe how…

This is the third report in the Teaching and Learning Research Initiative (TLRI) Project Plus series of analyses. It presents the findings from an exploratory investigation of the impacts of the Teaching and Learning Research Initiative (TLRI). The investigation sought evidence of the extent to which TLRI is meeting its three core aims: (1)…

The big-picture vision of the New Zealand Curriculum (NZC) says it is important to foster students' dispositions to learn and to contribute as active members of society. The key competencies directly support this vision. NZC describes them as "capabilities for living and lifelong learning." Key competencies direct attention to students'…

This report explores teachers' practice and thinking about one of the eight principles in the New Zealand Curriculum, learning to learn. It draws on data from teachers' responses to the New Zealand Council for Educational Research's (NZCER's) 2012 National Survey of Secondary Schools. The author discusses the meaning and potential of the phrase…

The phrase "Education 3.0" is used to signal a complex and still-evolving paradigm shift from the traditional schooling models of the 19th and 20th centuries (Education 1.0), via an intensified focus on teachers' and school leaders' accountabilities in relation to students' learning (Education 2.0), towards a more holistic model of…

This report documents views and experiences of the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) from the New Zealand Council for Educational Research's (NZCER's) 2012 National Survey of Secondary Schools. Responses from teachers (1,266) and principals (177) predominate, but the report also reflects the responses from parents (1,477) and…

This report documents findings from comprehensive end-of-year student surveys conducted by Albany Senior High School (ASHS) at the end of 2009 and 2010, its first two years of existence as a newly built senior secondary high school. The New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER) was given access to the collated survey data for the…

Literature that discusses transformative change in schools typically draws on experiences of renewal and change in existing schools. This report explores the shaping of a new school with the intent, established at the very outset, of offering a curriculum for the 21st century. The report discusses four key aspects of curriculum innovation at this…