An emerging influence in early childhood education policy and practice is a focus on the rights and perspective of the child.

This 2001 NZCER conference explored the role of early childhood services in fostering competent children, active in their own contribution to society, and engaged in settings that are inclusive of all children and their families. An emphasis was on the implications for policy, practice, and research, considered alongside the ...

Visions for Mäori Maori Education brings together a mosaic of views and thoughts on Māori education for the future. It offers a range of perspectives from a number of contributors including parents, politicians, and teachers.

Issues of tino rangatiratanga, Māori pedagogy, and the responsibilities of Māori educators and politicians are discussed. Highlighting these and other relevant issues will contribute to strategies that break through barriers and support positive initiatives.

This ...

The first three stages of the Competent Children research project looked at the study children at ages 5, 6, and 8. This next stage measures their performance at age 10 when they were in their fifth school year.

Because the study has followed the children over five years it has been possible to look at the relationships of earlier experiences and resources to children's current competency levels.

Among these are ...

A summary of the main report Competent Children At 6: Families, Early Education, and Schools. This part of the Competent Children study revisits the original group of 300 children, aged 6, after they have been at school for a year. How have the children's competencies changed? This book describes and analyses variations and changes in children's cognitive, social, communicative, and problem-solving competencies. It also examines the impact that children's ...

What makes a competent 5-year-old? This book gives a summary of the research report - Competent Children at 5. It highlights the impact, shown in the research findings, of the children's family resources and early childhood experiences on the development of their cognitive, social, communicative, and problem-solving competencies. Thought-provoking and very readable.

See also the full Competent children at 5 report

The third stage of the Competent Children project looked at what might be making a difference to children's competency scores at age 8. The analysis included some things children experienced at this age, such as the type of school they went to, their out-of-school activities, and their reading at home. It also included some experiences from the time before they started school, and from the time they were 6, such ...

Guest editorial in Itirearea Issue no.1 February 2006, p.1 and p.5

Recent New Zealand research suggests that students choose science subjects at school believing that these will lead into further learning and work pathways.  But do students get enough information at school to help them to navigate these pathways?

This article discusses an initiative called 'The Business of Science' which aimed to provide Year 13 students in the Waikato region with information about the direction of New Zealand's economy, and the future ...

Looks at the challenges for students involved in moving from primary or intermediate schools to secondary schools.   Draws on research from the longitudinal Competent Children / Competent Learners research project, age 14 findings.

The full journal article published in:

Middle Schooling Review, (New Zealand Association for Intermediate and Middle Schooling) Issue 2, November 2006. p. 26-28

A summary of the research report – Competent Children at 12

Cathy Wylie

The Competent Children project, funded by the Ministry of Education and NZCER, follows a group of about 500 New Zealand children from near age 5, when they were in early childhood education, through until they leave school.

This book gives a detailed summary of the main findings from the report of the fifth stage of the ...