This paper provides a review of recent empirical research investigating middle leadership practices in New Zealand secondary schools. Eight academic articles and one report are included to establish an analysis of the recent evidence of practices of curriculum middle leaders. The majority of the research utilises mixed methodology and aligns…

In Aotearoa New Zealand stark social class inequities persist between Maori (Indigenous) and Pacific people and the Pakeha (New Zealand European) majority. These inequities are apparent in domains including education, income, health, and incarceration. The article explores the relationship between streaming (tracking) and historically rooted…

The long-running National Survey of Schools project is part of the New Zealand Council for Educational Research's (NZCER's) Te Pae Tawhiti programme of research, funded through the Ministry of Education. NZCER has run a national survey of secondary schools every 3 years since 2003. As part of the 2022 National Survey of Secondary Schools, we…

The Ministry of Education provides schools with equity funding, in addition to their core funding, so they can work in different ways to help students with socioeconomic barriers reach their potential. Through Budget 2022, the Government has provided a 50% ($75 million) increase in equity funding. From January 2023, the Ministry has used the…

Many studies claim the importance of goal-setting for school improvement but few outline specific practices. This study highlights specific goal-setting practices associated with successful school improvement efforts. It reports on a 2-year collaborative research project, which closely examined three principals' goal-setting practices in the…

The present article investigates the relationship between the degree of tracking and inequalities in reading literacy of second-generation and non-immigrant students in 28 Western countries. The article takes into account that next to between-school tracking, there are also more subtle forms of tracking, such as tracking within schools or classes.…

To understand the evolution and current status of qualitative research in School Psychology, we reviewed 4,346 articles published across seven school psychology journals between 2006 and 2021. The bibliometric analysis indicates that publication of qualitative research has increased over the years, but remains small (3%) when seen against the…

A wide research base in general Pacific education literature supports active learning activities that encourage students to work collaboratively. Many schools engage Pacific students in group-based learning together with other pedagogies to increase their achievement. Despite this, the education of Pacific origin students in Aotearoa New Zealand…

Truancy, a complex, unresolved educational issue in countries with compulsory attendance policies, has the potential to cause further educational inequity in times of a global COVID-19 pandemic. At the time of this study, there was a paucity of research regarding youth perspectives of truancy compared to adult perspectives. To address this gap in…

This article conceptualises and presents the authors' framework for critical reflection-on-action. 'He Anga Huritao' (translated as a 'framework for reflection') was developed as part of the dialogic discourse intended to transform how New Zealand beginning teachers reflect on their practice. The framework makes reference to concepts of teacher…

New Zealand's defined coastal boundaries, isolation and small population were favourable factors to minimise the spread of COVID-19. Decisive governmental leadership and a public willing to comply with high-level lockdown in the first phase, resulted in minimal disruption to assessment. But as the pandemic progressed through Delta and Omicron…

For partnerships between non-Maori teachers and Maori parents in English-medium education to productively support student learning, parents must first associate positive feelings with three layered interaction types involving their child's teacher. The first interaction type is the teacher with their teacher self; the second is teacher-student…

In 2021, an OECD team undertook analysis of Republic of Türkiye's data from two international assessments--the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA)'s Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). The analysis aimed to…

This "Spotlight" presents data and analysis on vocational education and training (VET) from Education at a Glance 2023. VET is a key component of most education systems in OECD countries. About one in three 25-34 year-olds have a vocational qualification as their highest level achieved, whether at upper secondary, post-secondary…

Information and communication technology (ICT) has become an important tool for school systems as they seek to enhance education and make it more efficient. This has become all the more apparent and urgent with the COVID-19 pandemic. But what degree of access do students from different socio-economic backgrounds have to ICT-based quality…