Research indicates that as students move through the school system, many begin to experience difficulties with reading. With this mind, this study explored current practices and perceptions about reading programmes for 11-13-year-old students in New Zealand schools. The study employed an online survey designed to investigate current reading…

This report is a synthesis that explores "opportunities for professional learning" that might occur when teachers work together to moderate their judgments about students' work. Since such conversations are inherently social, the synthesis employs the lens of sociocultural learning theory. It draws together key themes from the small…

Objective: This study sought to investigate teachers' perceptions of a physical activity-related professional development intervention. Design: Interview-based qualitative approach founded on the interpretive paradigm. Setting: Purposive selection of one high-rated independent, and one low-rated public primary school from Auckland, New Zealand.…

PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study) was inaugurated in 2001 as a follow-up to International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement's 1991 Reading Literacy Study. Conducted every five years, PIRLS assesses the reading achievement of young students in their fourth year of schooling--an important transition…

Evidence-informed collaborative inquiry is central to the improvement of teaching and learning for diverse students. This research investigated the impact of a professional learning intervention on the improvement of social studies teachers' practice, and their students' learning. Data were gathered from 26 primary and secondary teachers before,…

The nature of knowledge needed for teaching elementary science and the development of such knowledge is a focus of ongoing research in science education. Internationally, there is a move to include scientific literacy as an aim of science education curricula. In order to teach such curricula teachers need two types of subject matter knowledge…

The roles and workloads of teachers have been widely noted as changing considerably over recent decades. In this 2009 replication of a 1992 study, 379 New Zealand primary school educators are surveyed regarding their workloads, how these changed and their perceived sustainability. It investigates how respondents believe that educational reforms…

Continuing emphasis given to computer technology resourcing in schools presents potential for web-based initiatives which focus on quality arts teaching and learning, as ways to improve arts outcomes for all students. An arts e-learning collaborative research project between specialist on-line teacher/researchers and generalist primary teachers…

In this study we investigated whether teachers' pedagogical and content knowledge of writing would increase as an outcome of teachers taking a research lens to their practice to raise students' writing achievement. Using student achievement data as a baseline, teachers examined and refined their practice using an inquiry process. The study took…

This paper examines the pedagogical and organisational changes three lead teachers made to their statistics teaching and learning programs. The lead teachers posed the research question: What would the effect of contextually integrating statistical investigations and literacies into other curriculum areas be on student achievement? By finding the…

The National Education Monitoring Project (NEMP) is responsible in New Zealand for the national assessment of primary school children's achievement in the essential learning areas, one of which is social studies. Individual interviews are one of the approaches used to assess students' understanding. The assessors are registered teachers, selected…

How can tertiary education in regions respond innovatively and collaboratively to issues regarding teacher supply and quality, especially in regions of teacher shortages? This research report focuses on one response. The Rotorua regional primary teaching flexible learning option was established by the Christchurch College of Education (CCE) in…

The recent publication of "The New Zealand Curriculum" calls for students to become connected, creative, confident life-long learners. To realise this vision, fundamental change is required in the way teachers and students think about and participate in classroom-based teaching and learning. This paper discusses one aspect of an action…

This article reports on the action research (AR) approach adopted by one New Zealand (NZ) primary school to review and improve its appraisal system. Historically the staff had demonstrated considerable negativity towards appraisal. The classic reconnaissance, implementation and evaluation phases of AR were adopted by the case study school as a…

The nature of expertise in astronomy was investigated across a broad spectrum of ages and experience in China and New Zealand. Five hypotheses (capable of quantification and statistical analysis) were used to probe types of expertise identified by previous researchers: (a) domain-specific knowledge-skill in the use of scientific vocabulary and…