This is the first report from a new initiative called TLRI Project Plus.  It aims to add value to the Teaching and Learning Research Initiative (TLRI), which NZCER manages on behalf of the government, by synthesising findings across multiple projects. This report focuses on two projects in statistics education and explores the factors that contributed to their success. 

This exploratory study considers the feasibility of measuring the "international capabilities" of New Zealand students in Years 12-13. The work was done by NZCER for the Ministry of Education and is available on the Education Counts website.

This exploratory study considers the feasibility of measuring New Zealand senior secondary (Years 12/13) students' "international capabilities". Building on background work undertaken by the Ministry's International Division, the methodology had three components. Analysis ...

This page has moved - click here to go to the new page about Curriculum for the Future.

This evaluation aims to understand how well the Teach First programme has been implemented and to what extent it has achieved its objectives. It is the first phase of a four-year independent evaluation commissioned by the Ministry of Education.

Teach First NZ is a partnership with the University of Auckland to attract university graduates and professionals to secondary schools serving lower-decile communities. People with specialist undergraduate degrees in high-priority subject areas ...

This report explores the achievement of school leavers from state and state-integrated boys' schools. The analysis from 2010 to 2012 shows school leavers from state boys’ schools had higher qualifications than their male counterparts who attended state co-educational schools.

The research was carried out for the Association of Boys’ Schools of New Zealand.

In 2012, 28 percent of boys leaving state and state integrated schools came from 43 boys’ schools ...

This paper explores the issues around professional learning and development (PLD) for science and makes suggestions for a rethink of PLD approaches to science in primary schools. 

This article examines a critical incident during research investigating a new assessment system for on-job learning in carpentry. The system was designed to establish clear relationships between supportive learning environments and purposeful, professional assessment of learners’ progress through “naturally occurring evidence” on the building site. However, an unfortunate set of circumstances produced an assessment “perfect storm” for a training advisor’s workplace visit. It provoked distress and disquiet for all the ...

This report presents the main findings from the NZCER national survey of primary and intermediate schools, conducted in July and August 2013. It reports on the views of principals, teachers, boards of trustees and parents. It covers many aspects of school experience, including school resources, school interactions with government agencies, the New Zealand Curriculum in schools, National Standards, student wellbeing, and use of technology.

A book chapter in The Piketty Phenomenon: New Zealand perspectives 

About the book:

Few books have had the global impact of Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-First Century. An overnight bestseller, Piketty’s assessment that inherited wealth will always grow faster, on average, than earned wealth has energised debate. Hailed as ‘bigger than Marx’ (The Economist) or dismissed as ‘medieval’ (Wall Street Journal), the book is widely ...

How can educational research could contribute to the development of a more future-oriented learning system? This article discusses an attempt to synthesise ideas from the “21st century learning” literature with current knowledge about practice issues and future possibilities for innovation in New Zealand education, in order to distil a set of principles for a more future-oriented system. We hope this synthesis might provide a platform for educators, researchers, policymakers, and ...