Key documents

Examples include:

• The Evaluation of the Early Childhood Strategic Plan implementation reported that positive gains have been found in those outcomes that were the target for the Early Childhood Strategic Plan initiatives, particularly more registered teachers in ECE, quality teaching and learning practices, effective implementation of Te Whāriki, and collaborative relationships between ECE and families and whānau. However, there is some way to go to get to ‘very good’ levels of quality across the ECE sector, and improvements in both children’s participation and the quality of services was found to be uneven.
• The study of the Transition from Primary to Secondary Schooling confirmed that many students quickly adapted to the more immediate changes inherent in a move from primary to secondary school. On the whole, student achievement levels continued to improve, but the study found that students in general became less engaged in aspects of learning at school over the 18 months of the study. According to students, reasons for this included having to cope with work that was at an inappropriate level of difficulty, finding subject content uninteresting and finding how they were learning boring.
• Findings from the Competent Learners @ 16: Competent Learners on the Edge of Adulthood are consistent with results from previous phases of the Competent Children, Competent Learners study, which highlights the importance of developing early numeracy and literacy skills for later success. At 16, students’ enjoyment of classes was found to be closely linked to how students engage in learning, and engagement in learning was in turn positively linked to performance in literacy, numeracy and NCEA.
• Research publications from a range of international school-based comparative studies that New Zealand participates in have helped to benchmark New Zealand student and system-level performance in an international context. This portfolio of work highlights New Zealand’s relative strengths and identifies areas for improvement. The Research Division has recently published findings from the following major international studies: Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), which studies Year 5 students’ outcomes in reading; Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), which studies Year 5 students’ outcomes in mathematics and science; and Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), which studies 15-year-old students’ outcomes in reading, mathematical and scientific literacy.
• A series of publications from the 2006 Adult Literacy and Life Skills (ALL) survey analyses 16- to 64-year-old New Zealanders’ skills in relation to demographic, educational and labour force characteristics, and compare these to the results from the 1996 International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) and with other ALL-participating countries.

The documents referred to above, and a wide range of further documents including statistical, research and evaluation publications and education sector indicator information, are available on the Ministry’s website for statistics and research – Education Counts (www.educationcounts.govt.nz).

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Early childhood education

• Pathways to the Future: Ngā Huarahi Arataki – A 10-year Strategic Plan for Early Childhood Education 2002-2012 Schooling sector
• The New Zealand Curriculum for English-medium teaching and learning in Years 1-13
• Te Marautanga o Aotearoa curriculum for Māori-medium teaching, learning and assessment
• 2007 New Zealand Schools Ngā Kura O Aotearoa – A report on the Compulsory School Sector in New Zealand

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Tertiary sector

• Tertiary Education Strategy 2007-2012
• Tertiary Education Strategy monitoring reports
• Profile and Trends 2007: New Zealand’s Tertiary Education Sector

Strengthening Māori educational achievement

• Ka Hikitia – Managing for Success: Māori Education Strategy 2008-2012
• Ngā Haeata Mātauranga: Annual Report on Māori Education 2007/08

Strengthening Pasifika educational achievement

• Pasifika Education Plan 2008-2012

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Strengthening outcomes for students with special education needs

• Special Education Action Plan: Better Outcomes for Children 2006-2011
• The New Zealand Disability Strategy – Making a World of Difference: Whakanui Oranga

Strengthening outcomes for all ethnic groups

• Ethnic Perspectives in Policy – Helping Ethnic People be Seen, Heard, Included and Accepted

International education

• International Education Agenda: A Strategy for 2007-2012