This is a thematic report drawing together responses from our 2006 survey of secondary schools, and the 2007 survey of primary schools.
Each survey questioned principals, teachers, board of trustee members, and parents. The areas covered in the report include curriculum priorities in primary and secondary schools, use of ICT, innovation and barriers to innovation, and views about national standards.
Methodology
NZCER’s national surveys are carried out at periodic intervals. There are four different surveys in any one set—for principals, teachers, trustees, and parents. Each set of surveys is tailored to either early childhood, primary, or secondary education. Use of at least some repeat questions allows changes over time to be documented. Similarly, where relevant, the same item may be used to compare responses at different stages of education; for example, primary compared to secondary.
Questions organised around two key themes inform the teacher responses, both primary and secondary, reported in the sections that follow: curriculum and assessment; ICT; and learning. Principals answered questions related to school-wide learning and leadership; primary principals also answered questions related to innovations and change, and secondary principals had a group of questions on curriculum, assessment, and ICT. Responses to questions from other themes are included as appropriate. Copies of the survey questionnaires are available on request from NZCER.