Appointment trends and patterns from 120 primary and intermediate schools are presented in this initial Principal Appointments Data Report.

Findings include:

• the quantity and quality of applicants short-listed and selected for the primary principalship,
• information about the decision-making process involved in the selection, and
• information about principals leaving their positions.

In 1996 the New Zealand Principals' Federation sent a questionnaire to principals of schools which had recently been reviewed by the Education Review Office (ERO). This report analyses the answers to provide a representative picture of the impact of ERO reviews on New Zealand primary schools.

This paper reports on a national research project, the first of its kind, that investigated the practice of environmental education in New Zealand schools. The research included a review of New Zealand and international environmental education literature, a survey of nearly two hundred New Zealand schools, and case studies of environmental education practice in eight schools.

In this paper we describe and discuss key features of current practice in environmental ...

This report presents the findings of an evaluation conducted in 2002 of the Learning Media developed, electronic storybook The Game and other stories. The resource targets reluctant readers at Years 7-10, particularly Māori and Pasifika boys.

The evaluation focuses on the effectiveness of The Game when used as part of class-based reading units in supporting reluctant readers and influencing their attitudes and achievement. It provides examples of ways in ...

Māori and Pasifika students are over represented amongst students who are underachieving in school science.  New Zealand's science curriculum aims to be inclusive of these students and to that end suggests contexts for learning that take account of different types of life experiences.  While equity is intended, such approaches may stereotype students, appropriate their cultural backgrounds, and alienate them from experiences of school science learning that could encourage their subsequent ...

The Picking up the Pieces review of special education is available on the Education Counts website.

A discussion of what has been learned  about issues and possibilities for building staff:parent relationships in a research project, "Parent involvement in children's learning", undertaken collaboratively by teams of teachers, professional development advisers and researchers in New Zealand and Australia.

Keynote address to the Eighth Early Childhood Convention, "Making change for children now: Shaping early childhood today", 22-25 September 2003, Palmerston North.

Keynote address to NZEI Te Riu Roa Conference, Collaborative approaches in the early years, Wellington, 4-7 April 2002.

Evaluative research is a powerful tool for education researchers. It is through evaluative research that the process of reflection and learning-in-action can occur for many practitioners in the field of education: from policy to the classroom and teacher practice.

It has been argued that the most reliable and valid technique of evaluative research is the utilisation of externally contracted researchers. The intention is to enable results to be, to the ...

Feminist and post-colonial research have highlighted learning issues for students who do not see a place for themselves within science, as this is traditionally represented in school science education.

The use of narrative pedagogy is seen by some as a means of overcoming some of these issues, but translating the intention to use narrative into actual classroom resources is less well understood.

This paper outlines some issues that arose during ...