The challenges of sociocultural assessment are complex but exciting. Discussion and debate will help to broaden the boundaries and empower practitioners to reconceptualise assessment so that they focus not just on individual experiences, but also on the experiences of the group within the principles of Te Whäriki.

The ideal that early childhood centres in Aotearoa/New Zealand are places where children and families “belong” raises questions for families who are in the process of looking for a centre to “belong” to. What image of inclusion with regard to disability, ethnicity, and diverse family structures do early childhood centre ...

Interviews with nine families about the transition to school for their special needs children showed that parents faced rejection and a multitude of dilemmas over access to resources, specialist support, and the amount of time their child was able to have at school. Sue Wartmann offers a set of principles ...

A survey of the science interests of Year 5 students was attached to Assessment Resource Bank material sent out to schools for trialling in terms 1 and 2, 2001. Overall the results show that there are clear preferences for particular topics/areas of study, though these preferences may vary by gender.

When young children move from one educational setting to another, it is important to understand the context of their prior experiences. Most children starting primary school have already experienced transition. Early childhood transitions include starting at an early childhood service or centre, and moving sequentially or concurrently from one early ...

Each year, the National Education Monitoring Project (NEMP) engages teachers to work intensively with children administering a wide range of assessment tasks, and to mark children’s recorded performances. It has been found that teachers benefit enormously professionally and personally from these experiences, taking away many valuable insights about teaching, the ...

Three years’ research work with 14 primary school teachers and two principals in technology education has shown how effective research, development, and negotiated intervention strategies can be introduced to enhance student learning. Student gains in learning could be attributed to enhanced formative interactions, which resulted from improved teacher knowledge of ...

A study examined the attitudes of Indigenous students from the south-west of Western Australia towards their first and second dialects, Aboriginal English and Standard Australian English, and the attitudes they attributed to parents, teachers and peers. The findings indicate that context and location were influential factors. Age and gender differences ...