This report projects Northern Ireland's skills base through to 2030 and compares this to a number of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. The report shows that on current trends Northern Ireland will continue to lag many other countries on a number of measures of learning and skills in 2030. These shortfalls can…

The purpose of this study is to compare Turkish novice teacher induction system with China, New Zealand, and Germany in terms of assignment to teaching, duration of induction, and opportunities provided in programs. Those countries selected are known to have the best practices for induction training. Despite their differing policies regarding…

A sense of belonging and wellbeing at school influences educational and health outcomes. Here we widen the traditional focus of Assessment News to focus on the use of student wellbeing data in schools. We discuss the Wellbeing@ School (W@S) toolkit that is freely available to support schools to self-review as they examine and monitor student…

The mid-term evaluation of the Partnership for ODFL in the Pacific Project was commissioned by the Commonwealth of Learning to examine the initial two years of the five-year activity. The evaluation was undertaken by Standard of Proof, the MFAT MERL panel, providing specialist services in monitoring, evaluation, measurement and research and…

In response to community and sector needs, in 2020 an Initial Teacher Education (ITE) provider in Aotearoa/New Zealand developed a Bachelor of Teaching (Primary) programme with a unique design as an alternative pathway into the profession. The design elements of the programme included being field-based, online, and with a bicultural kaupapa. This…

Background: While dietary sources of calcium are important for bone health, the intake of milk and milk products decreases as children get older. A free milk in schools program may mitigate this decrease in milk consumption. We evaluated the Fonterra Milk for schools program (a free milk initiative) by determining changes in children's milk…

Evaluations of environmental education (EE) programmes and resources are becoming increasingly visible and important. While benefits accrue through evaluation, many programmes and resources have yet to realise these. Issues such as a lack of clear objectives, reliance on traditional, summative approaches and inattention to context have prevented…

In 2023, Auckland Council's Sustainable Schools Team (SST) piloted a project called "Mana Ora: Students Decarbonising Schools." The aim was that students, with guidance and support from teachers and SST, would plan and implement climate and sustainability action projects linked to decarbonisation within their schools. Eighteen Mana Ora…

Social and political change is occurring in Aotearoa New Zealand and tikanga, matauranga, te reo Maori (the Maori language) and Te Tiriti o Waitangi (Treaty of Waitangi) are increasingly being recognised in diverse political and legal contexts. This article explores whether the political science discipline in Aotearoa New Zealand is keeping pace…

Of the major aspects of language use, perhaps the least frequently taught and the least understood by teachers is the system of turn-taking Wong and Waring [2010. "Conversation Analysis and Second Language Pedagogy: A Guide for ESL/EFL Teachers." New York: Routledge]. For second language learners, this may be an important contributing…

The importance of a safe climate for human health is recognised by healthcare professionals, who need to be equipped to deliver environmentally sustainable healthcare and promote the health of natural systems on which we depend. The inclusion of climate-health in Australian and New Zealand accredited master-level public health training and medical…

The growing demand for an increasingly skilled competitive workforce and the associated demand for change and responsiveness in the provision of technical vocational education and training (TVET) has led to the development of stronger links between New Zealand and the People's Republic of China. A collaborative model programme project aims to…

"Sorted in Schools, Te whai hua -- kia ora" is a financial capability programme for secondary school students in English-medium (EME) and Maori-medium (MME) education settings. The programme aims to equip all young New Zealanders for their financial future. The first resources were piloted in 2018, and schools and kura started to use the…

In January 2016, the International Association of Student Affairs and Services (IASAS) offered a global professional mentoring programme that would link student affairs leaders internationally with new graduates and early career professionals in student services. Protégé participants were primarily new graduates of preparatory programmes in…

Ellis (2003) identifies four key criteria that distinguish a "task" from the types of situational grammar exercises that are typically found in the more traditional language classroom. This study investigates how well teachers were able to design tasks that fulfilled these four criteria (Ellis, 2003) at the end of a year-long…