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Competent Children, Competent Learners

Research theme: 
Project Leader(s): 

This longitudinal NZCER project tracks the development of a group of children from near 5 through school. It analyses the impact of different experiences and resources on a range of competencies, and what can help narrow the gaps between children. The age-20 phase of the research has been completed and the findings shared with policy advisers and others interested in how young New Zealanders develop through their education and how well they are supported. The researchers hope to do a further phase of the study.

The age-20 phase was funded by the Ministry of Education and NZCER.

Main aims | Project timeline | Notable features | About competencies | Reports and Papers

Main aims of the Competent Children / Learners project

  • To describe and analyse variations and changes over time in children's and young people's cognitive, social, communicative, and problem-solving competencies.
  • To see what impact children's and young people's early childhood education experiences, family resources, home activities, relations with peers, and engagement in school and school resources have on these competencies.
  • We hope that what we learn will extend and deepen our understanding of children's and young people's development, and the roles that different resources and experiences play.
  • We also hope to identify some promising directions for improving children's competency levels, and for lessening the gaps between children and young people in different circumstances.


Project timeline

We have completed research for and reported on:

  • Phase I - just before age 5 (New Zealand children start school at age 5)
  • Phase II - age 6
  • Phase III - age 8
  • Phase IV - age 10
  • Phase V - age 12. Report and summary released in August 2004.
  • Phase VI - age 14. Reports released in 2006.
  • Phase VII - age 16. Reports released in 2008-2009.
  • Phase VIII - age 20. Reports released.


Notable features

The Competent Children/ Learners project:

  • tracks the long-term development of around 500 children from the Wellington region, from just before they started school at age 5
  • gathers data comprehensively from teachers, parents, and the young people
  • has a very high rate of retention.

About competencies

What are competencies?
Competencies are combinations of knowledge, skill, and attitude, which can be observed in everyday activities, or measured by giving specific tasks.

What competencies are we exploring?
Competent Children/Learners explores a set of competencies linked with successful learning, and with satisfying economic and social participation. It covers:

  • communication
  • curiosity
  • perseverance
  • social skills
  • individual responsibility
  • literacy (reading and writing)
  • mathematics
  • logical problem-solving

Reports and papers:

Listed below are the many reports and papers from this study.

View additional reports that have been released by the Ministry of Education: Competent Children, Competent Learners.

Project funded by the Ministry of Education and by the Purchase Agreement with the Ministry of Education

Competent Children, Competent Learners project outputs:

Year published Title Author(s) publication type
2011 Competent Learners @ 20: summary of key findings Cathy Wylie Research summary
2011 Exploring connections between engagement and student voice Rosemary Hipkins Conference presentation
2011 Forming Adulthood Past, Present and Future in the Experiences and Views of the Competent Learners @ 20 Cathy Wylie and Edith Hodgen Research report
2011 Tracks to Adulthood Post-school experiences of 21-year-olds: The qualitative component of Competent Learners @ 20 Lesley Patterson Research report
2009 Competent Learners on the Edge of Adulthood: A summary of key findings from the Competent Learners @ 16 project Cathy Wylie, Edith Hodgen, Rosemary Hipkins, & Karen Vaughan Research report
2008 Student Perspectives on Leaving School, Pathways, and Careers (A Report from the Competent Learners Project) Karen Vaughan Research report
2007 Competent Learners @ 16: Competency levels and development over time C.Wylie and E. Hodgen Research report
2007 Competent Learners @ 16: Competency levels and development over time - Technical report E. Hodgen Research report
2007 Continuing contribution of early childhood education to young people's competency levels Research report
2007 Early childhood education and young adult competencies at age 16. Technical report 2 from the age-16 phase of the longitudinal Competent Children, Competent Learners study Edith Hodgen Research report
2006 Competencies at age 14 and competency development for the Competent Children, Competent Learners study sample Cathy Wylie, Hilary Ferral, Edith Hodgen, and Jean Thompson Research report
2006 Completely different or a bigger version? Experiences and effects of the transition to secondary school: Evidence from the Competent Children, Competent Learners project Research report
2006 Contributions of early childhood education to age-14 performance: Evidence from the longitudinal Competent Children, Competent Learners study Research report
2006 Growing independence : A summary of key findings from the Competent Learners @14 project Cathy Wylie, Edith Hodgen, Hilary Ferral, Rachel Dingle, Jean Thompson, and Rose Hipkins Research report
2006 Growing Independence: Competent Learners @ 14 Cathy Wylie and Rose Hipkins Research report
2006 Technical report with Growing independence: Competent learners @14 Edith Hodgen, Hilary Ferral, and Rachel Dingle Research report
2006 What matters in the transition to secondary level? Results from NZCER longitudinal research Cathy Wylie Journal article
2005 Leisure activities and adolescent engagement in school learning Cathy Wylie Conference paper
2004 Competent children at 12 Cathy Wylie, Jean Thompson, Edith Hodgen, Hilary Ferral, Cathy Lythe, and Tineke Fijn Research report
2004 Key facts summary of Competent Children at 12 report, 2004 Research report
2004 Twelve Years Old and Competent Cathy Wylie Book
2003 Beating the odds: Factors which can make a difference for New Zealand children in low-income homes Cathy Wylie Conference paper
2003 Long-term contribution of early childhood education to children's performance - evidence from New Zealand Journal article
2003 Longitudinal research - the Competent Children project Cathy Wylie Book chapter
2001 Competent children at 10: Families, early education, and schools Cathy Wylie, Jean Thompson and Cathy Lythe Research report
2001 Competent children: Findings and issues from the first 7 years Cathy Wylie Conference paper
2001 Early childhood education: An enduring legacy Journal article
2001 Making sense: relations between literacy, television and computer use Cathy Wylie Conference paper
2001 Ten years old and competent: The fourth stage of the Competent Children project - a summary of the main findings Cathy Wylie Book
1999 Competent children at 8: Families, early education, and schools Cathy Wylie, Jean Thompson and Cathy Lythe Research report
1999 Eight years old and competent: The third stage of the Competent Children project - a summary of the main findings Cathy Wylie Book
1998 Competent children at 6: Families, early education, and schools Cathy Wylie, Jean Thompson Research report
1998 Six years old and competent Cathy Wylie with Anne Else Book
1997 Spreading their wings: Seven hundred and sixty-seven parents talk about their children's home and early childhood experiences Cathy Lythe Research report
1996 Competent children at 5: Families and early education Cathy Wylie, Jean Thompson, Anne Kerslake Hendricks Research report
1996 Five years old and competent Cathy Wylie Book
1995 Competent children and their teachers: Learning about trajectories and other schemas Anne Meade and Pamela Cubey in association with Kerslake Hendricks and Cathy Wylie Research report
1993 Competent children: Influences of early childhood experiences - pilot study report Anne Hendricks and Anne Meade in conjunction with Cathy Wylie Research report