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.…

The recruitment and retention of technology teachers in New Zealand is facing a potential crisis point. Worryingly, there are continuing misconceptions about the purpose and nature of technology education, and an ageing demographic in this sector of the teaching community. It is becoming increasingly difficult for schools to attract and appoint…

A standards-based assessment system provides opportunities to join curriculum intentions to demonstrations of complex learning. In this article we use New Zealand's senior secondary qualifications system--the National Certificates of Educational Achievement (NCEA)--to illustrate how adaptations of existing structures might help to better reflect…

Numerous countries are introducing National Qualifications Frameworks (NQFs), or preparing to introduce them, despite the limited empirical evidence for their effectiveness. This paper takes advantage of recent additions to the evidence base on NQFs in order to assess their impacts, focusing on comprehensive frameworks. It also presents analytical…

Research has found differences in students' abilities, attitudes, and family and community background to be the largest source of variation in student learning, but these are difficult for policymakers to influence, at least in the short run. However, the single most significant school variable affecting student achievement is "teacher…

This report explores the achievement of school leavers from state and state-integrated boys' schools. The analysis from 2010 to 2012 shows school leavers from state boys' schools had higher qualifications than their male counterparts who attended state co-educational schools. The research was carried out for the Association of Boys' Schools of New…

This report documents views and experiences of the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) from the New Zealand Council for Educational Research's (NZCER's) 2012 National Survey of Secondary Schools. Responses from teachers (1,266) and principals (177) predominate, but the report also reflects the responses from parents (1,477) and…

Bandura's concept of self-efficacy has been the focus of numerous research studies related to teacher self-efficacy. Most studies have investigated Bandura's first three sources of self-efficacy beliefs: mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, and social persuasion--with much less emphasis placed on Bandura's fourth source, the role of…

This paper and the four commissioned works on which it is based are guided by the important question: How can we start valuing practices and outcomes of teaching and learning that are difficult to reduce to numbers? As the process of developing indicators for the Post-2015 education targets unfolds, some of the targets are at risk of being dropped…

The purpose of this paper is to review recent developments related to the development of indicators of educational progress in the context of the Post 2015 deliberations to generate a new international architecture for educational investment through to 2030. There have been a plethora of suggestions and several parallel consultation processes…

This report reviews the conceptual debates and existing data sources that relate to three ambiguous and controversial targets included in the post-2015 education framework: Relevant Learning Outcomes; Knowledge, Skills, Values, and Attitudes (for education for global citizenship and sustainable development); and Teachers and Safe, Inclusive, and…

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) has become a policy priority in many countries. A growing body of research recognises that it provides a wide range of benefits, including social and economic benefits, better child well-being and learning outcomes as a foundation for lifelong learning, more equitable outcomes and reduction of poverty, and…

This study investigates the predictive correlations between results from the New Zealand National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA), a standards-based qualification, and university grade point averages achieved by first-year students in one large New Zealand University (and, for comparison purposes, also presents correlations from the…

This paper discusses the results of the first comprehensive longitudinal study of qualification retention, completion and progression in tertiary education in New Zealand. Of the cohort of domestic students which started a qualification at a public tertiary education provider in 1998, 40% had gained a qualification by the end of 2002, 9% were…

This 150-page monograph, based on a broad research program, delineates educational qualifications obtained from a 1966 census, and includes demographic trends in the labor force and extensive data on the educational background of the labor force. With many detailed tables, charts, and statistics, the monograph probes educational qualifications…