NZCER has conducted national surveys of schools since 1989, drawing on the views of school principals, teachers, trustees and parents. Sampling methodology is used to draw a random sample of schools for the survey. Using the recent 2013 Primary and Intermediate School National Survey as an example, this paper gives details and some discussion around the methodology used. It explores the strengths and weaknesses of the methods used, as well as potential improvements for future surveys.
The paper was presented to the New Zealand Association for Research in Education (NZARE) conference in December 2013.