A lot of emphasis is currently placed on the need for principals to be instructional leaders or leaders of learning. In the study of the instructional leadership of secondary principals reported in this article, the authors argue that instructional leadership can be both direct and indirect. Direct instructional leadership ...

A key way students develop their statistical understanding at primary school level is by undertaking data-rich investigations. This article suggests scaffolding students through a statistical enquiry cycle in which students define the problem, plan the investigation, collect and analyse the data, draw conclusions and communicate their findings. It gives examples ...

Ethics is a valuable way to approach science in primary school because grappling with ethical issues engages students. Focusing on ethics encourages students to extend their understanding of scientific concepts as it is essential to have a sound grasp of the science in order to meaningfully evaluate different positions. For ...

There’s a lot that primary school teachers can do to help develop their students’ science learning. This article sets out straightforward possibilities, including encouraging students to observe the world and talk about their ideas. It argues that there’s a need for students to learn about some topics in depth and ...

This article considers the delicate positioning of social studies in a context of curriculum integration. The common primary school practice of integrating social studies as part of a wider inquiry may inadvertently challenge the integrity of the discipline. The article outlines a vignette of a civic engagement inquiry by a ...

This article explores the shift from "essential skills" to "key competencies" in the school curriculum. Drawing on information gathered from teacher interviews and observations at a New Zealand primary school, this article suggests that culture and context strongly shape and influence the interpretation of key competencies. The authors develop a ...

In this article, Yvonne, a junior school teacher, describes how she decided to explore how key competencies could be integrated into the daily programme, and assessed, without creating extra workload for teachers. The article outlines how, with support from Keryn and Sue, Yvonne developed a way in which she could ...

Two teachers research the documentation, continuity and complexity of key competencies in their combined new entrant, Year 1 and Year 2 classroom. They wanted to find ways to make the continuity visible without losing the complex interconnection of three aspects: key competencies, subjects and topics of interest. They saw the ...

There seems to be an increase in children entering school with globally delayed development, including poor gross and fine motor skills. What ways are there to increase these students’ skills so they are able to access more activities?

In the last edition of Assessment News (Part 1 of this “quick guide”), we looked at how measurement error limits the precision of test scores. In this edition of Assessment News we examine how another source of error—sampling error—affects how we can use test results for a group. For example ...