Attendance in New Zealand schools 2014

Executive summary The Ministry monitors school attendance annually by means of a voluntary survey. The survey gives us some useful reference points – such as areas where there are higher rates of truancy – but it does not enable a complete analysis. Because it is based on only one week of the year, we cannot tell if there are any changes in attendance rates over the course of the year – or whether a school\u27s absence rate is caused by a lot of students being absent a little, or a few students being absent a lot. In 2014, all state and state integrated schools were invited to participate in the attendance survey.  The response rate was 75%, compared to 80% in 2013. Rates of absence have increased in 2014 compared to 2013 due to an increase in the number of teaching periods where students were truant (up from 1.5% in 2013 to 1.8% in 2014) or absent for a reason that was explained but not justified (up from 1.1% in 2013 to 1.3% in 2014). The national absence rate (both justified and unjustified absences) during the week of 9-13 June 2014 was 10.8%, or 79,000 students per day, with a margin of error of 0.7%. The 2014 national absence rate was significantly higher than the rate in 2012, but it was not significantly higher than in any other year. The total unjustified absence rate, or truancy rate, was 4.6%.  This compares to 3.9% in 2013, 3.8% in 2012, and 4.0% in 2011. The national frequent truant rate (students who were unjustifiably absent for three or more days in the survey week) was 1.3%.  This rate is higher than 2013 and 2012 (both 1.0%).  Frequent truancy was highest for students in year 13 (2.4%) and for Māori students (2.5%)

What we get for what we spend: inputs, outputs and outcomes of the Government's tertiary education expenditure 2004-2013

Summary: This report synthesises the inputs, outputs and outcomes of the Government’s tertiary education expenditure over the period 2004-2013 in the five largest tertiary education funds. In total, these funds distributed over $4 billion to providers and students in 2013. Student Achievement Component (SAC) ($2,018 million in 2013) The SAC has exhibited increased efficiency over the last 10 years, as measured by the percentage of study load completed successfully. The largest gains in efficiency occurred when the Government increased its focus on performance by introducing the Education Performance Indicators (EPIs) and performance-linked funding. The gains were largest in the polytechnic, wānanga and private training establishment (PTE) subsectors, with universities having started from a higher base. The level of efficiency stabilised in 2012 and 2013. Returns for provider-based qualifications have been maintained over time, although the impact of the Global Financial Crisis resulted in a slight drop in real earnings for new graduates. The higher employment rate of tertiary graduates compared with people with school qualifications and those with no qualifications was maintained between 2004 and 2013. Industry training ($138 million in 2013) Between 2004 and 2013, industry training exhibited a period of substantial growth and then contraction in the number of trainees. The expansion in industry training during 2006 and 2009 was associated with a drop in efficiency in terms of the rate of successful credit attainment. Since 2010, the number of delivered Standard Training Measures (STMs) and the amount of Government expenditure on industry training have decreased significantly. This decline coincided with Tertiary Education Commission’s operational review2 of industry training and the onset of the Global Financial Crisis. Although the volume of industry training declined, the credit attainment rates improved, reflecting a smaller but more efficient system of training. Student loans and student allowances ($1,599 million allocated to student loans (new lending) and $553 million allocated to student allowances in 2013) After almost doubling between 2004 and 2012, expenditure on student allowances decreased in 2013, as eligibility changes impacted on the number of recipients. Government expenditure on student loans increased slightly in 2013, despite the number of borrowers falling slightly as a result of falling participation in tertiary education. Modelling of the behaviour of school leavers shows that, after controlling for school achievement, the relative access rate to tertiary education for school leavers from less affluent areas has been maintained. Performance-Based Research Fund (PBRF) ($262.5 million in 2013) The introduction of the PBRF has been associated with an increase in the rate of citation of research from New Zealand universities. In addition, the volume of research degree completions and the rate of qualification completion have been improving. Since 2007, the base funding per point on all three PBRF components (Quality Evaluation, research degree completions and external research income) has declined in real terms. However, phased increases in the PBRF now taking place should help to offset this trend

Establishing enduring goals for education for children and young people aged 0 to 18

This Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) has been prepared by the Ministry of Education (the Ministry). This RIS provides an analysis of options for establishing an enduring strategic direction for early childhood services and schools. It forms part of a group of four RISs that recommend linked regulatory changes to set the strategic direction for the education system by letting early childhood services and schools know what New Zealand’s education objectives and medium-term priorities are, and how they contribute to, and are accountable for them. The group of four RIS include: Establishing enduring goals or objectives for education for children and young people aged 0 to 18 years (this RIS) Establishing a mechanism for government to set out its medium-term priorities for early childhood education and schooling Clarifying Boards of Trustees’ roles and responsibilities Improving accountability (planning and reporting) for schools. This group of four RISs form part of a suite of RISs on amendments to update the Education Act 1989 (the Act). The analysis and resulting policy proposals focus on meeting the needs of schooling and early childhood education now and into the future. The Ministry undertook a public consultation on the policy proposals for updating the Act between 2 November and 14 December 2015 and received over 1800 submissions. A report on the submissions is available on the Ministry’s website. The Ministry considers this document to be a fair representation of available options

Stock-take of funding system for school-age education in New Zealand

Introduction This report provides you with a detailed stock-take of the current system for funding school-age education in New Zealand. At a high level, the stock-take is organised around the key policy questions that underpin a schooling funding system. We could consider each of these policy questions to progressively and systematically review schooling funding: Choices about funding access to schooling Choices about how delivery of education services is funded Choices about how funding is provided Choices about how funding is calculated Choices about the timing of resourcing Choices about how funding can be use

Enhancing off-site manufacturing through early contractor involvement (ECI) in New Zealand

Procurement strategies that enable early contractor involvement (ECI) in design may enhance off-site manufacturing (OSM) by overcoming previously identified barriers to its uptake. Involving constructors during the design stage can reduce the risk of design buildability issues, and standardising traditionally bespoke ECI processes may help overcome cultural resistance to unfamiliar OSM technology. Following literature review and using case studies, document analysis and legal doctrine, a two-stage ECI conceptual process model for New Zealand is proposed. This was tested and refined following feedback at a conference. The model comprises a first-stage pre-construction contract and a second-stage standard-form construction contract. Key process variables are considered with solutions to provide collaboration and transparency while maintaining competitive fixed pricing across the supply chain. Legal doctrine analysis is used to distinguish between design buildability obligations and design codes compliance. The model contributes towards the development of a standard form for pre-construction contracts

Curriculum in early childhood education: critical questions about content, coherence, and control

A continuing struggle over curriculum in early childhood education is evident in contemporary research and debate at national and international levels. This reflects the dominant influence of developmental psychology in international discourses, and in policy frameworks that determine approaches to curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment. Focusing on early childhood education, we argue that this struggle generates critical questions about three significant themes within curriculum theory: content, coherence, and control. We outline two positions from which these themes can be understood: Developmental and Educational Psychology and contemporary policy frameworks. We argue that within and between these positions, curriculum content, coherence, and control are viewed in different and sometimes oppositional ways. Following this analysis, we propose that a focus on ‘working theories’ as a third position offers possibilities for addressing some of these continuing struggles, by exploring different implications for how content, coherence, and control might be understood. We conclude that asking critical questions of curriculum in early childhood education is a necessary endeavour to develop alternative theoretical frameworks for understanding the ways in which curriculum can be considered alongside pedagogy, assessment, play, and learning

Bridging the gap between academia and standard setters

Purpose This commissioned paper reviews literature outlining reasons for a perceived gap between academics and standard setters as policy makers. The aim of this paper is to emphasise how academics and standard setters can collaborate on accounting and audit research and assist standard setters to act in the public interest. Design/methodology/approach The approach is primarily a literature and document review of relevant issues, summarising New Zealand’s standard setting arrangements, providing examples of successful policy-changing research, and making recommendations on future research topics. Findings Despite the long-held views of a gap between academic researchers and standard setters, increasingly standard setters utilise research and request input from academics in their deliberations. Standard setters can increase the likelihood of relevant research by promoting critical issues for research and connecting their practitioner networks with academics. Academics can bridge the gap by selecting topics..

Distinguishing transient versus stable aspects of depression in New Zealand Pacific Island children using Generalizability Theory

Abstract Background: The distinction between temporary versus enduring or state/trait aspects of depression is important. More precise distinction would improve understanding of the aetiology of depression and those aspects most amenable to intervention thus identifying more homogeneous, dynamic targets for clinical trials. Generalizability Theory has been proposed as useful for disentangling state and trait components of psychopathology. Methods: We applied Generalizability Theory to determine the relative contributions of temporary and enduring aspects of depression in a widely used screening measure of depression the - 10-item Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI-10; Kovacs, 1985). Participants were children of Pacific Island descent living in New Zealand (n= 668). Data were collected at ages - 9, 11, and 14 years. Results: The CDI-10 demonstrated acceptable generalizability across occasions (G=.79) with about one third of variance in total scores attributed to temporary and two thirds to more enduring aspects of depression. There were no other significant sources of error variance. Two items were identified as more sensitive than the remaining eight to more dynamic symptoms. Limitations: Studies with briefer test-retest intervals are warranted. Use of this Pacific Island cohort limits generalisability of findings to other cultures and ethnicities. No data were collected on whether participants had received intervention for depression. Conclusions: While the CDI-10 reliably measures both stable and transient aspects of depression in children, the scale does not permit clear distinction between them. We advocate application of Generalizability Theory for developing state/trait depression measures and determining which existing measures are most suitable for capturing modifiable features of depression