This article shares findings from an 18-month research project at Te Whai Hiringa, a primary school in Hawke’s Bay, where over 90% of learners identify as Māori, or Pacific peoples. The project explored how play-based learning and culturally sustaining pedagogy can be integrated into a single, purposeful approach. Drawing on ...

Released in 2024, the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) report on creative thinking, Creative Minds, Creative Schools, ranked New Zealand 5th out of a total of 81 participating countries. This inaugural PISA study of creative thinking reflects a growing global interest in creativity as an essential competency. Creativity is ...

As the Aotearoa New Zealand Government reforms increasingly challenge the place of play in primary education, this study offers timely insights into the experiences, perceptions, and practices of four new entrant teachers who are successfully implementing play-based learning in four Auckland schools. This small, qualitative study highlights that play-based learning ...

Rosemary Hipkins talks with Julie Roberts about the role of rich tasks in the refreshed mathematics curriculum, and opportunities for teachers to enhance this aspect of their professional practice. Julie also introduces readers to a set of Rich Tasks Planning Cards available from NZCER.

There is increasing recognition that the underachievement and disengagement of students, particularly Māori and Pasifika, in New Zealand schools is in large part a result of systematic factors that disadvantage these students. In response to the urgent need for change in our classrooms, the dialogic highway is a research-based approach ...

The presence of dogs in schools is increasing, yet there is little Aotearoa New Zealand-based research about the wellbeing and learning benefits of dogs for students. The study aims to provide insight into educators’ perspectives about the purpose, implementation, and impact of dogs in New Zealand schools. Participants in an ...

Teaching controversial issues is particularly challenging in today’s world of misinformation, disinformation, and fake news. This article explores how critical thinking can be embedded in such discussions using the street smarts critical thinking model. The study focuses on the contentious use of the poison 1080 as a case study, systematically ...

This mixed-methods small-scale study focused on the nature of the vocabulary in classroom talk in two Year 13 religious education (RE) classes at a New Zealand Catholic school. The main aim was to inform support for English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) students who struggle with the linguistic demands ...

Issue 1 2025 offers a practical compendium to commence the journal’s year for Set: Research Information for Teachers. Each article provides a clear framework for teaching its specific topic with real examples from the classroom.

Effective assessment is ako—a reciprocal relationship in which knowledge and wisdom are shared and mutual learning occurs. For this reason, NZAI (New Zealand Assessment Institute) was established in 2018. It brings together educators from schools, professional learning and development providers, educational agencies and researchers for collective learning through its annual ...