Student engagement

This small exploratory study was carried out in 2021 by the New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER) for the National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa. The project is part of a wider suite of six studies commissioned by the National Library as part of their Communities of Readers initiative. This initiative foregrounds the benefits of reading for pleasure and the equitable distribution of these benefits across all communities in Aotearoa New Zealand.

This paper presents an evaluation that draws on large-scale ‘student voice’ contribution. Using the context of a mental health programme that was piloted in secondary schools in Aotearoa New Zealand, this paper explores the importance of a student voice agenda in evaluations. 

This report summarises the findings from case studies of seven schools that are part of the Positive Behaviour for Learning School-Wide (PB4L-SW) initiative. 

The Sport in Education initiative was introduced by Sport NZ in 2013 to demonstrate the contribution that the context and concepts of sport can make to enhancing teaching and learning for schools and students. Eight schools were chosen to demonstrate that this approach is equally valid across genders, geographic locations, roll sizes and differing socioeconomic environments.

This report prepared for Sport New Zealand covers stories based on successful practice from two years of the Sport in Education initiative. The success stories are activities which teachers considered had made a difference.

At the heart of all new programmes, initiatives, policies or curriculum documents designed for school settings is an attempt to change some aspect of school practice. Therefore, an understanding of the key messages and lessons learnt about effectively managing change in schools is important background for anyone trying to implement new approaches in school settings.

This literature scan summarises some of the key messages and lessons learnt from the school change literature and considers how these could be applied to the implementation process of the Sport in Education initiative developed by Sport New Zealand.

Three NZCER staff members have contributed to a new book, Handbook of Research on Student Engagement, released in the United States by publishing firm Springer. NZCER chief researcher Cathy Wylie was a co-editor of the book along with Sandra Christensen and Amy Reschly. NZCER chief researcher Rosemary Hipkins and senior researcher Charles Darr wrote chapters for the book. It brings together research on student engagment from a range of disciplines.