How can we support teachers to develop a lifelong learning orientation for themselves and for students?  This question is highly pertinent today as we examine the outcomes for education in the light of the changes to society in the knowledge era. 

This paper is part of a series of three that draw on insights gained about lifelong learning from the evaluation of the Curriculum Innovation Projects.  This evaluation charted the ...

New Zealand is one of the few countries which have made the individual school the major locus of educational administration. This paper looks at some of the findings of a four-year NZCER qualitative study of ten 'ordinary' primary schools which have gained a reputation for the improvements they have made in recent years. Wylie and Mitchell try to show school development as a journey rather than a checklist of factors ...

This paper summarises the characteristics lifelong learners might be expected to develop as outcomes of their schooling, and aligns these characteristics with the sorts of teaching practices that could develop them. Student data from the Curriculum Innovation Projects suggests that there is some way to go to achieve changes in practice intended to foster lifelong learning goals.

Paper presented at the NZARE conference, University of Otago, Dunedin, 6 – 9 ...

Reviews the status of educational research in New Zealand.

Paper presented to the 5th UNESCO-NIER Regional Meeting of Directors of Educational Research and Development Institutes, Tokyo, January 2003.

This paper begins by looking at different perspectives on standardised testing. It then identifies some of the dilemmas involved with testing and considers how the NZCER project teams responsible for the redevelopment of new PAT tests in mathematics and reading responded to these and at the same time worked to produce new possibilities.

Paper presented at the New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER) conference: Making progress - measuring progress ...

Research on self-regulation of children's learning is seldom set at lower primary school levels.  Indeed, there are conflicting views about the ability of young childen to self-regulate their learning.  We have found that, with appropriate teacher support, and the use of purposefully constructed learning materials, Year 1, 2, and 3 children were able to demonstrate what we consider to be foundational aspects of self-regulated learning.  This paper reports on an ...

In this paper, Cathy Wylie examines the history and impact of school choice policies in New Zealand.

Although 91% of primary students and 84% of secondary students attend their first choice school, roughly 30% of students do not attend schools closest to their homes, suggesting there is some competition for students between schools. Low-income schools are less likely to produce qualified students, and competition does not appear to have induced ...

Videotaped sessions of students working on 'fair testing' investigation scenarios were analysed (N = 204). 

The analysis suggested avenues for the development of strategies that could help develop teachers' pedagogical content knowledge for teaching the skills used during a simple 'fair testing' investigation.  Most conversation during each activity focused on specific aspects of measuring or task completion so that the overall investigation appeared to become a series of disjointed episodes.  ...

With the advent of New Zealand’s NCEA reforms, subject choice is becoming more complex.

In this paper we suggest that the notion that traditional subjects will be important ‘just because’ is no longer an adequate basis for sound subject choice decision-making.

We report on students’ opinions and beliefs about their Year 11 subject choices, collected during the initial stages of a 3-year longitudinal study. The research, Learning Curves: Meeting Student ...

Have we neglected to communicate key ideas about how science is different from other types of knowledge building, and so unwittingly sustained a communication gap between 'science' and 'the public'?

This paper explores five broad principles for developing communication strategies that address the substance of science while still meeting the challenge of varying the tone of the message for six different sectors of the New Zealand public.

The paper was ...