To help gain greater insights into the teaching and learning needs of students in the middle years of schooling in New Zealand the Ministry of Education designed and undertook an exploratory study in 2008. This brochure provides an outline of the study, The Education of Years 7 to 10 Students: A focus on their teaching and learning needs (Durling, Ng, and Bishop, 2010), together with a summary of key findings.
Purpose
The study sought to answer the following research questions:
- What qualification do teachers of Years 7 to 10 students in New Zealand currently hold?
- How confident are Years 7 to 10 teachers in teaching various subject areas?
- What relationships exist between teacher confidence and teacher qualifications?
- Do New Zealand educators consider that teachers of Years 7 to 10 require specialised skills, knowledge and personal attributes to effectively teach this age group? If so, what are they?
- What teaching strategies and classroom environments do Years 7 to 10 students find most engaging?
- How well do teacher education and induction programmes prepare Years 7 to 10 teachers to teach this age group?
Methodology
Principals and teachers in a representative sample of schools with Years 7 and 8 and/or Years 9 and 10 students were surveyed for their views relating to the research questions. The questionnaire that was mailed out contained a number of rating scale items plus open response questions.
A total of 183 principal and 406 teacher questionnaires were completed and returned. Responses were received from participants in 185 schools.
In addition to the survey, small groups of teachers and students in 13 of the participating schools nationwide took part in focus group sessions; the focus group participants also provided written responses to a small number of questions to help give a more in-depth picture of participants’ views overall.