In this book United States researchers contribute their insights to New Zealand thinking on the important topic of student engagement. Professor Jeremy Finn describes what drives student disengagement and the key components to tackling it. Sandra Christenson focuses on Check & Connect, a practical programme targeting the most at-risk students and aimed at reducing school dropout rates. From New Zealand, Russell Bishop explains the Te Kotahitanga effective teaching profile and ...

This is a collection of papers from the NZCER conference on Effective School Self-Management, held in Wellington, New Zealand in October 1998.

The relevance of traditional schooling for many students in the secondary sector, particularly in the post-compulsory years, is in question. The conference presenters explored a diverse range of ideas but all pointed to accumulating evidence that new ways of thinking and different skills from those that have been traditionally valued in schools are needed.

The presenters put forward some challenging ideas:

• Changing Lanes: Young people making sense of pathways (Karen ...

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