Every three years, Rangahau Mātauranga o Aotearoa / New Zealand Council for Educational Research conducts the National Survey of Schools. In our most recent survey, we asked teachers and principals about everything from workload and wellbeing to the latest innovations in the classroom, providing a comprehensive summary of the state of our schools.
This series of research briefs highlights factors that can support teachers to thrive and that will create positive experiences in the school environment.
What does this research brief cover?
This brief, Teacher experiences working in Innovative Learning Environments (ILEs), highlights the importance of ongoing professional learning and development (PLD) and improved digital resourcing to improve ILE experiences, as well as improving staff morale and workload.
Key messages:
- Our analysis highlights the importance of continuing to improve digital resourcing and facilities in schools, and to provide ongoing professional learning and development (PLD) opportunities, to help improve teaching experiences in ILEs and enhance teachers’ work experiences
- Reliable digital resourcing and a strong culture of ongoing PLD are positively related, and both predict positive experiences of working in ILEs. Both are also positively associated with teachers’ work (morale and workload).
- Teacher views that some of their students feel overwhelmed in ILEs suggest the need to investigate teacher and student experiences in future studies, including the specific teaching behaviours that would help enhance student experiences in those environments.
The other briefs can be found below.
Brief 2, PLD and school-wide wellbeing as predictors of teacher morale and workload, shows how a culture of PLD and school-wide plans to manage social behaviours both enable and shape positive classroom experiences, and have positive links to overall morale levels in a school.
Brief 3, PLD, NCEA changes, and teachers’ work, highlights the links between attitudes towards NCEA changes, an ongoing culture of PLD and knowledge of how NCEA changes can improve outcomes for Māori and Pacific learners.
These briefings provide a snapshot of key areas from the data, identifying variables that can affect the school environment while also providing examples of good practice from the responses.
“Across the briefs, there is a common theme – the importance of having systems and processes in place that support teachers and their practice,” explains Kairangahau Matua Mohamed Alansari.
“Teachers are more likely to report good working experiences if their schools support them and create ongoing opportunities for development and learning – particularly as those teachers navigate new challenges and changes.”