In this study, NZCER provides a snapshot of how generative artificial intelligence (AI) is emerging in teaching and learning within Aotearoa New Zealand’s primary classrooms (Years 5–8).
This report contains survey responses from a cohort of 266 primary school teachers who were disproportionately interested in generative AI; and from a second cohort of 147 students spread across four case study schools.
He kitenga | Findings
Taken together, the surveys suggest that generative AI is in use in New Zealand primary schools by both teachers and students as well as pointing to gaps in policy, resourcing, and professional learning.
Teacher findings
- Surveyed primary teachers were experimenting widely with generative AI tools, chiefly for lesson planning, assessment design, and personalising learning materials.
- Most teachers relied on free chatbots, especially ChatGPT and Google Gemini, supplemented by AI‑enabled content platforms such as Twinkl.
- Three-quarters of responding teachers have no school‑funded premium AI tool access, and a similar proportion do not pay for their own tools, leaving most teachers using older, less capable large language models (LLMs) that are often more prone to error or bias.
- Even among our cohort of disproportionately interested teachers, fewer than half felt confident teaching responsible AI use, and most (85%) wanted more training in the use of generative AI tools.
- Teachers seemed unsure about what environmental impact generative AI might have and whether the educational benefits outweigh environmental costs.
Student findings
- Roughly nine in 10 ākonga had heard of AI and more than half reported using generative AI tools, though regular (at least weekly) users were still in the minority.
- Self-reported student use was higher outside school than inside, and activities ranged from drawing images and chatting with AI tools “like a friend” to fixing writing or getting homework ideas.
- Many pupils viewed AI as helpful yet also “a bit like cheating”, and most were unsure of the rules at their schools.
- Most students did not recall adult guidance on when or how to use AI.
This report suggests a need for centrally supported professional learning, better privacy-protected access to premium LLMs, culturally supportive school and national policies, and iterative integration of age‑appropriate AI critical literacy in the curriculum. Aotearoa New Zealand could potentially draw on emerging frameworks in countries such as Australia, Canada, and the UK, tailoring these to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi and other aspirations for the education of tamariki in Aotearoa New Zealand.