set 2012: no. 1

The focus section of this issue of set is a collection of articles that discuss various aspects of key competency development in the early primary school years. These articles were selected from a wider collection first published in a special edition of Early Childhood Folio.  

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 is focused on the quality of teacher practice itself, whereas indirect instructional leadership creates the conditions for good teaching. Indirect… Read more

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 of primary school students successfully planning investigations, collecting and graphing their own data and drawing statistical… Read more

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 teachers looking to enhance their practice in this area, the ethics-in-science planning tool presented in this article might be a useful resource to consider. The tool… Read more

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 play the "whole game" of science.

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 new entrant and Years 1/2 class as an example of the authors’ efforts to balance competing forces that simultaneously conserve and disturb social studies’ disciplinary… Read more

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 metaphor—te tuangi—to theorise the relationship between a learner (akonga) and a teacher (kaiako) in a cultural and social context.

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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 document the learning of key competencies and the learning of the subject-related learning areas at the same time. She recognises that the two go together like "clasped hands with… Read more

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 value of analysing case studies, and began to describe them as co-constructed pathways of learning. This article sets out the case study for one of the… Read more

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?