This is the main report from the age-20 phase of the longitudinal Competent Learners study.

The study has tracked the impact of early childhood education and then later educational experiences and time use out of school on children’s development, in terms of competencies such as reading and writing, and attitudinal competencies such as perseverance, curiosity and self-management. The age-20 phase looked at the impact of earlier school performance, engagement in school and experiences of learning on NCEA performance. It also looked at how the young people had fared since they left school; what role school experiences and performance played and what they were gaining from current study and employment.

Factors the researchers looked at included:

•  the cost of leaving school without a qualification
•  the value of NCEA to the young people
• the sort of advice they had received and from whom
• the importance of learning habits, engagement in learning etc, carried over from school

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