Comprehensive survey of New Zealand secondary schools

Comprehensive survey of New Zealand secondary schools

A comprehensive new survey on current experiences and challenges for secondary schools in New Zealand has been released.

It was conducted by the New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER) in July and August 2015. The analysis draws on responses from 182 principals, 1777 teachers, 232 board of trustee members and 1242 parents and whānau, to provide a representative picture of New Zealand state and state-integrated secondary schools.

Funding, Communities of Learning, curriculum and assessment, student wellbeing and behaviour, and digital technology are among the topics canvassed in the survey, which is part of an ongoing NZCER series.

69% of teachers who responded rated their overall morale as good or very good, up from 57% in 2012. Stress levels and workloads for teachers had also improved somewhat since 2012.

However, morale levels for principals have slipped since NZCER’s 2009 and 2012 surveys and reported stress levels remained about the same.

NCEA looms large in secondary schools, with principals saying the biggest issue they grapple with is NCEA workload for teachers (65% said this, up from 49% in 2012). Overall, both principals and teachers voiced support for NCEA but also felt it had narrowed the curriculum and had a negative impact on student wellbeing.

Forty percent of teachers said students were doing practice NCEA exams in Years 9 and 10.

Student behaviour was more positive than in previous surveys. 15% of principals rated student behaviour a major issue, compared with 26% in 2012 and 33% in 2009. There was also evidence of schools doing more to support student wellbeing.

Funding remained problematic, with only 14% of principals describing their school’s government funding as sufficient. However, schools appeared to be more successful in keeping their finances stable, reducing spending and relying on non-government funds such as international students and parental provision of digital devices.

A bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policy was in place in more than 60% of schools. In those schools, 20% of principals said the inability of parents to afford a device was a barrier for a large number of students. The decile differences were stark: 88% of principals from low-decile (1-2) schools reported an inability or unwillingness of parents to buy a device, compared with just 3% of principals in decile 9-10 schools reporting this as an issue.

There were clear differences in decile across the survey including in funding pressure, student behaviour, and views about NCEA. Decile 1-2 schools faced the biggest challenges in meeting their students’ needs.

“It’s good to see the pick-up in behaviour since our last survey in 2012” said report author Dr Cathy Wylie, “It shows the value of providing secondary schools with some useful support. Other ongoing issues for schools like the workload for students and staff associated with NCEA and the additional demands on decile 1-2 schools also merit a more coherent approach.”

ENDS

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