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Key Competencies

This page gives access to key NZCER publications and resources relating to the Key Competencies as outlined in the NZ school curriculum. These publications and resources have been written or generated by NZCER researchers. New items will be added as they become available.

Recent Key Competencies research publications

Author(s): Rosemary Hipkins
Research report - 2018
Author(s): Sue McDowall and Rosemary Hipkins
Research report - 2018
Author(s): Cathy Wylie and Linda Bonne

This is a comprehensive picture of the current experiences and challenges for secondary schools in New Zealand. It presents the findings from NZCER's national survey of secondary schools, conducted in July and August 2015.  It includes the perspectives of principals, teachers, parents and board of trustee members on a wide range of issues.

Research report - 2016
Author(s): Karen Vaughan

Secondary schools aim to develop young people to be “confident, connected, actively involved lifelong learners” (New Zealand Curriculum, 2007)

Journal article - 2012
Author(s): Rosemary Hipkins

This report explores teachers' practice and thinking about one of the eight principles in the New Zealand Curriculum, learning to learn. It draws on data from teachers' responses to NZCER's 2012 National Survey of Secondary Schools.

Research report - 2015
Author(s): Cathy Wylie and Linda Bonne

This report presents the main findings from the NZCER national survey of primary and intermediate schools, which was conducted in July and August, 2013.

Research report - 2014
Author(s): Rachel Bolstad

How can educational research could contribute to the development of a more future-oriented learning system? This article discusses an attempt to synthesise ideas from the “21st century learning” literature with current knowledge about practice issues and future possibilities for innovation in New Zealand education, in order to distil a set of principles for a more future-oriented system. We hope this synthesis might provide a platform for educators, researchers, policymakers, and other stakeholders in education to engage in ongoing discussion about how to develop “next practice” and achieve system change.

You can read the full text for this article for free.

Journal article - 2011
Author(s): Karen Vaughan and Lorraine Spiller

This report is concerned with the key transition support system of school-based career education. We argue that long-standing deficiencies in career education require a new framework to address young people’s needs. We discuss exploratory research with two schools on how career management competencies can be put into practice to provide this new framework. We suggest that career management competencies have the potential to be a transformative “core service” in career education. They can re-invigorate the direction of schools and sharpen the focus for the New Zealand Curriculum principles and vision of young people becoming confident, connected, actively involved lifelong learners.

Research report - 2012
New Zealand students' intentions towards participation in the democratic processes: New Zealand results from the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study
Author(s): Rosemary Hipkins with Paul Satherley

This report analyses findings from the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS), which was undertaken in New Zealand in 2008, around the time of the general election. It explores how students perceive responsible adult citizenship and looks at their current interests and abilities. The students were also asked to look to their futures and say which of a range of social and political activities they will be most likely to do, or not do when they are adults.

Research report - 2012
Author(s): Cowie, B., Hipkins, R., Keown, P., & Boyd, S.
Research report - 2011
Author(s): Rosemary Hipkins, Bronwen Cowie, Sally Boyd, Paul Keown, and Clive McGee
Research report - 2011
Author(s): Rachel Dingle with Sally Boyd
Conference paper - 2009
Author(s): Miles Barker, Rosemary Hipkins and Rex Bartholomew

This paper explores what a focus on the Key Competencies might mean for the learning area of science.

Research report - 2004
Author(s): Rachel Bolstad, Sally Boyd, Ally Bull, Beverley Cooper, Bronwen Cowie, Jenny Ferrier-Kerr, Rosemary Hipkins, Anne Hume, Paul Keown, Clive McGee, Anne Mckim, Judy Moreland, Michele Morrison, Merilyn Taylor, and Russell Yates

This interim research report provides examples of how some schools have approached the revised curriculum and the Key Competencies, and discusses the processes, tensions, and opportunities of leading and managing curriculum change.

Paper - 2008
Author(s): Bronwen Cowie, Rosemary Hipkins, Sally Boyd, Ally Bull, Paul Keown, Clive McGee, with Beverley Cooper, Jenny Ferrier-Kerr, Anne Hume, Anne McKim, Judy Moreland, Michele Morrison, Rachel Bolstad, Lorraine Spiller, Merilyn Taylor, and Russell Yates

This research report provides examples of how some schools have approached the revised curriculum and the Key Competencies, and discusses the processes, tensions, and opportunities of leading and managing curriculum change.

Research report - 2009
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This article provides examples of how some schools have approached the revised curriculum and the Key Competencies, and discusses ways of leading and managing curriculum change.

Journal article - 2009
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An analysis of a student dataset that shows us the important role of the teacher in creating a learning environment that enables students to strengthen the key competencies

Professional learning resource -
Author(s): Rosemary Hipkins

This paper discusses the possible purposes for assessing the Key Competencies, and the assessment approaches that fit with these purposes.

Journal article - 2007
Author(s): Rosemary Hipkins

Conference paper - 2009
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This research report provides examples of how six schools explored the Key Competencies, and discusses the processes, tensions, and opportunities of leading and managing change.

Research report - 2006
Author(s): Rosemary Hipkins

This paper overviews the background to the development of the Key Competencies, and explores the scope of each Key Competency.

Paper - 2006
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This paper explores some of the theory underpinning the Key Competencies and what this tells us about possible ways of measuring progress in, and assessing, the Key Competencies.

Paper - 2005