Research publications from our research teams.
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This longitudinal NZCER project has tracked the development of a group of learners from when they were in early childhood education, through school and into adulthood. Over the years, its findings have been well used in policy and practice. The final phase of the project returned to the cohort when they were 26. Three reports from this phase are now available.
Longitudinal study gives valuable insights into the lives of New Zealanders in their mid-20s
This report discusses the potential of games to support learning, and what innovative game-based (or “gameful”) learning and teaching practices can look like in a range of New Zealand school settings. Over 2 years, we undertook fieldwork in 14 schools, interviewed 21 teachers and more than 100 students ranging from Year 3 to Year 13. We looked at learning and teaching practices involving all kinds of games (physical, role play, tabletop, and digital), and how games, game design, or gamification fitted in with teachers’ curriculum and pedagogical goals.
These are the key findings from NZCER’s latest survey of secondary schools, conducted in August and September 2018. NZCER has done these surveys every 3 years since 2003. They provide a comprehensive national picture of what is happening in our schools, how things have changed over time, and the impact of policy changes. They also provide insights into how teachers, principals, trustees, and parents and whānau experience our secondary education system.
You can either download the full report or by sections.
How can schools support students to make progress in reading and writing?
To explore this question, the project identified schools that have sustained positive achievement in literacy over five years, and asked what they did to achieve this.
The goal was to uncover common themes which might help other schools work towards similar lifts in literacy achievement.
The report suggests there are three essential elements that combine to create a framework to support progress in literacy achievement:
Students’ maths self-efficacy is their belief that they can solve mathematics problems, and has been shown to have links with mathematics achievement. This research was conducted over three years, and investigated the extent to which Year 4 to 10 students viewed themselves as capable learners of mathematics, and how these views were associated with their achievement in mathematics.
An Observation Survey of Early Literacy Achievement (the Observation Survey) is used widely in NZ schools to assess progress in early literacy learning, and also to identify children who need additional help to make appropriate progress with reading and writing after one year at school.
NZCER was contracted by The Marie Clay Literacy Trust (MCLT) to update the New Zealand norms, and to produce achievement information for the Observation Survey. Two reports were produced, see attachments below.
How can education help students grasp the complexity of the systems surrounding us? Jane Drake, Rolan Kupers and Rose Hipkins authored "Complexity—a big idea for education?" for the International School magazine.
This chapter addresses a complex challenge that is yet to be widely debated in initial teacher education. How might teacher educators more effectively educate beginning teachers to respond to so-called 'twenty-first century' learning imperatives?
The authors draw on six principles identified in a 2012 study of 'future focused' trends in education.
In term 2, 2017, four teachers at Hutt Central School initiated an inquiry into games across their Year 5/6 syndicate. The inquiry spiralled into a variety of learning opportunities, taking slightly different directions across the four classrooms and continuing to 'run in the background' for the rest of the year.
This report outlines findings from a literature review of trends in assessment policy and practice, which was commissioned by the Ministry of Education (the Ministry).
The primary purpose of this report is to inform the Ministry as it considers updating its position on assessment, last articulated in the position paper titled Assessment (Schooling Sector) 2011 (Ministry of Education, 2011).
