The Impact of NCEA on Student Motivation project was funded by a Ministry of Education research contract awarded to researchers at Victoria University in the College of Education and the School of Psychology. This multi-method research project investigated the relationship between New Zealand’s National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) and student motivation to learn based on survey and interview data with a large sample of students from 20 demographically representative secondary schools from throughout the country. Students in these schools attending Years 10, 11, 12 and 13 in 2005 participated in the research from late 2005 to early 2006, completing a self-report survey and allowing access to official achievement records where available. Student input was also obtained through focus group and individual interviews. Focus groups with parents and teachers provided additional input regarding issues raised from the student voices.
These data were analysed both quantitatively and qualitatively as appropriate, providing evidence of interrelationships among how students think about study choices, their school learning and various aspects of NCEA and other assessments. For students in Years 11-13, these self-reports were correlated with actual student achievement and other self-reports regarding future plans and what they liked or disliked about NCEA and the Record of Learning (ROL). The results provide a substantive source of information regarding student perspectives on motivation and NCEA and the relationship of those attitudes and predispositions to their actual academic achievement and learning patterns.
Key findings are consistent with existing motivation theory and research but also reveal issues specific to NCEA of relevance to school efforts to maximise student motivation and academic performance. Our key findings include information regarding strengths associated with features of NCEA as well as concerns regarding some qualifications design aspects that might require modification to enhance the likelihood of achieving the original goals set for implementation of NCEA as a standards-based qualification.