The family is one of the sites for literacy learning and that families vary both between themselves and according to culture. This article provides some suggestions with the aim of encouraging a successful sharing of information about literacy in home and school.

Can teachers themselves answer the questions they ask the children in their classrooms as part of instructional literacy programmes? This article explores the results of a Phonological Awareness Test administered to a sample of teachers in order to establish their personal phonological awareness understandings.

This article looks at ways of bridging the discontinuities young children experience between three settings: the home environment, the early childhood setting, and the new entrant classroom. It highlights the empowerment that occurs for children, families, and teachers in early childhood and school settings when children’s experiences at home are ...

The introduction this year of the draft key competencies (paralleling the five strands of Te Whāriki) brings an exciting new development to the early childhood as well as the primary and secondary sectors. This article discusses learning dispositions and their relation to the key competencies, and suggests three ways ...

The Parker Brothers' 1971 game of "Careers" may be light-hearted but the career decisions faced by young people leaving school today are no game.  Those decisions are considered more serious and seem more complex now.

Karen Vaughan discusses findings from the Prospects and Pathways study of young people moving into tertiary study and employment, and their bearing on ...

Gardner's theory of Multiple Intelligences (MI) has been well received by many educators. Most of the literature on MI, however, concentrates on the primary school sector. This article considers the implications of MI for both primary and secondary sectors and suggests why the latter has been less responsive.

Why has the Curriculum Marautanga Project chosen the competencies of relating to others, managing self, participating and contributing, thinking, and using language, symbols, and texts?  Why now and what next?

This article overviews the background to the development of the key competencies, and looks at their connections with the previous ...

In this final issue of set for 2005 we are pleased to bring you an additional feature, “What’s New With the ARBs”. This will appear regularly. Along with “Assessment News”, readers will now have ongoing updates on current issues, new resources and research aimed at supporting classroom teachers design programmes ...

In an exploratory study that raises questions for the future teaching of problem solving, algebra, and context-based problems, Year 12 students were questioned about their thought processes while they attempted to solve selected word problems. Their responses challenged the researchers’ assumptions. Given the emphasis on problem solving in the curriculum ...

This article presents results from a national survey on the extent, nature, and effectiveness of planned approaches for identifying and providing for gifted and talented students. Recent national data on gifted education and policy development are combined with practical ideas for identifying and providing for those with mathematical promise.