This report identifies and discusses the many interwoven factors that impact on students’ decision making with regard to the ongoing study of sciences, both in the final year of secondary school, and on transition to tertiary level studies.

It addresses two closely related key questions:

• Why do students choose to continue with sciences in Year 13 of their school studies?
• Why do students plan to take up (or not take ...

This report for the Ministry of Education describes the results of a broad survey for the Competent Children project.

By telephone, 767 parents or caregivers were asked about the early childhood education experiences, home experiences, and home resources of children who turned five between late 1993 and mid 1994.

While new graduates of teacher education programmes are employed as provisionally registered teachers, they are still expected to plan, teach, and assess a full classroom programme with support from a tutor teacher.

This small-scale study explores the ways in which beginning teachers learn their classroom assessment roles and responsibilities.

The learning process begins with their initial teacher education programme and is completed by the employing schools, who are responsible for ...

This report informs the Ministry of Education's research programme into the Special Education 2000 provisions.

It is based on the results of interviews with a range of Māori organisations, iwi, and whänau on special education issues for Māori.

This report is an overview of the data from our survey of New Zealand primary schools, which was conducted in June 2007.  Two detailed reports from the data will be published next year.

The survey questions teachers, principals, board of trustee members and parents on all aspects of primary schools, including funding levels, curriculum, job satisfaction and use of ICT.

New Zealand has had self-managing schools for 18 years now - long enough to identify the strengths and weaknesses of our approach.

To get some insight into ways we might build on our strengths and improve our system, chief researcher Dr Cathy Wylie paid a visit earlier this year to Edmonton Public Schools, a large, urban district in Alberta, Canada. She outlines for us how Edmonton operates self-managing schools and ...

A background paper that reviews the national and international literature on councils such as the one proposed in the Education Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2001

Occasional paper 2002/1

A recent High Court decision could have a major impact on education for children with special needs.

 In late 2005, NZCER was contracted to provide support to the Normal Schools as they began to review teaching and learning practices to incorporate the new Key Competencies framework into their school context.

There were two aspects to the NZCER contract. One was working with the Normal Schools Association to assist in providing professional development workshops to school staff on the Key Competencies and curriculum change. A second aspect was working with ...

Occasional Paper 2002/2

A new review of the research evidence about differences affecting the quality of early childhood education.