Families and communities
This article explores the perceptions of parents/caregivers, teachers, and students in an intermediate school about the success of this approach to reporting on learning.
This article looks at ways of bridging the discontinuities young children experience between three settings: the home environment, the early childhood setting, and the new entrant classroom. It highlights the empowerment that occurs for children, families, and teachers in early childhood and school settings when children’s experiences at home are known and valued.
How effective is school reporting, particularly for parents of international students? Schools spend considerable time and effort in reporting to parents, but little research has been conducted on reporting, or its ability to raise achievement. This article looks at how one high school reports on student achievement and how those reports are interpreted by students and parents whose first language is not English.
The family is one of the sites for literacy learning and that families vary both between themselves and according to culture. This article provides some suggestions with the aim of encouraging a successful sharing of information about literacy in home and school.
A series in which we ask a leading researcher to distil three key ideas from their work over the years.
From 2005–8 Mangere Bridge Kindergarten carried out a Centre of Innovation research project exploring the transition between early childhood education and school. Three teacher researchers, supported by two university research associates, developed and researched a range of strategies for supporting children’s learning as the children and their families “crossed the border” between sectors. This article summarises some of the key findings from the project and provides insights into the ways in which the transition to school can be supported.
What does the term "student voice" mean to you? Does it mean listening to students' opinions? Involving students in decisions about their learning? Giving students equal say in decisions about school management and governance? This commentary analyses and critiques the ways we tend to think about young peoples' responsibilities, roles and rights to participate.
NCEA course choices matter, especially where students or their parents have aspirations to follow an educational pathway beyond school or even just to leave their academic options open. This study, conducted in four mid–low-decile schools in Auckland and Northland, found that reaching academic aspirations requires careful and planned navigation of NCEA courses. It suggests that informing and engaging parents in their children’s NCEA educational pathways may contribute to better educational outcomes.
Pasifika students do not generally achieve as well as other students in school assessments of literacy and there are concerns about their comprehension of text. This article examines the out-of-school literacy experiences of 14 Pasifika students, with a view to enabling teachers to link to and build on them. Church and Sunday school are important sites for literacy in Samoan and English outside school.
