| Best Evidence Syntheses (BES) |
The best evidence synthesis iterations draw together, explain and illustrate through accounts and case studies, bodies of evidence about what makes a difference to improve education outcomes. |
| Career Services |
Career Services assists in the achievement of Government education, training and employment goals through the provision of high quality career information, advice and guidance services. |
| Early Intervention services |
Specialists and support staff provide Early Intervention support for children with special education needs who require additional support from the time they are born until they are settled in school. The need may be a physical disability, a sensory impairment, a learning or communication delay, a social, emotional or behavioural difficulty, or a combination of these. |
| Education Counts |
Education Counts is an online resource to increase the availability and accessibility of information about education statistics and research. Education Counts can be considered a ‘one-stop shop’ for such information, including demographic, contextual and statistical analysis, and technical information to support the use and interpretation of data. |
| Education Review Office (ERO) |
The ERO is the government department that reviews and reports publicly on the quality of education in all New Zealand schools and early childhood education services, including private schools, kura kaupapa Māori (Māori language immersion schools), special schools and kōhanga reo (Māori language early childhood education groups). |
| Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) |
ICT includes any communication device or application encompassing: radio, television, cellular phones, computer and network hardware and software, satellite systems and so on, as well as the various services and applications associated with them, such as video-conferencing and distance learning. |
| Kaupapa Māori education |
Kura kaupapa Māori are schools in which the principal language of instruction is te reo Māori and education is based on Māori culture and values. Most kura kaupapa Māori cater for students from Years one to eight, and a few (wharekura) cater for students up to Year 13. |
| National Administration Guidelines |
National Administration Guidelines are guidelines and/or requirements relating to school administration. |
| National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) |
NCEA is the senior secondary school national qualification, which was introduced in all New Zealand schools in 2002. |
| National Education Goals |
National Education Goals are goals set by the Government for the education system of New Zealand. |
| National Education Monitoring Project (NEMP) |
NEMP aims to obtain a broad picture of the achievement and other educational outcomes of representative samples of students in New Zealand schools at Years 4 and 8. Each year, over a four-year period, different areas related to the curriculum are assessed. |
| National Standards |
National Standards will set clear expectations on what students should be able to achieve in literacy and numeracy, and by when. These will be reported to parents in plain language. |
| New Zealand Curriculum |
The New Zealand Curriculum sets the direction for teaching and learning in the 21st-century. It was launched in November 2007 and will be progressively implemented until February 2010,when it will become mandatory and replace current curriculum documents. |
| New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) |
NZQA provides national and international leadership in assessment and qualifications. NZQA provides quality assurance for secondary and tertiary qualifications and education providers; recognition of qualifications, including from overseas; administration of national assessment for secondary qualifications; administration of the New Zealand Register of Quality Assured Qualifications; and stewardship of the National Qualifications System. |
| New Zealand Teachers Council |
The New Zealand Teachers Council is the professional body for all registered teachers working in early childhood education, primary, secondary, tertiary and other teaching situations. It has responsibility for teacher registration and oversight of teacher education, and has a role in teacher conduct and performance issues. |
| Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) |
PISA is an international study of reading literacy, mathematical literacy and scientific literacy among 15-year-olds. |
| Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) |
PIRLS is an international comparative study of reading achievement. |
| Te Kotahitanga |
Te Kotahitanga is a research project and professional development programme that supports teachers to build more effective teaching and learning relationships to improve the educational achievement of Year 9 and 10 Māori students in English-medium secondary schools. |
| Te Marautanga o Aotearoa |
Te Marautanga o Aotearoa is the new curriculum for Māori-medium teaching, learning and assessment launched in September 2008. It is New Zealand’s first curriculum to be developed and written in te reo Māori and sets the direction for teaching and learning in Māori-medium schools and settings. |
| Te Whāriki |
Te Whāriki is the Ministry of Education’s early childhood curriculum policy statement and provides a framework for children’s early learning and development, emphasising the learning partnership between teachers, parents and families. |
| Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) |
The Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) gives effect to the Government’s priorities for tertiary education, and funds post-compulsory education and training offered by universities, institutes of technology and polytechnics, colleges of education, wānanga, private training establishments, foundation education agencies, industry training organisations, and adult and community education providers. |
| Trades Academies |
Trades Academies will be centres of excellence that specialise in providing school pupils with learning opportunities relevant to a career in trades or industry. |