POU TORU | Ākonga, Students and Inclusive Education

Part 1: ERO’s latest research has a focus on classroom behaviour – how it is affecting schools, what needs to change at a national level, and what leaders and teachers can do about it. This work draws on over 500 principal voices from across the motu.

NZPF welcomes ERO’s report. It acknowledges behaviour as a persistent issue in New Zealand schools that has been a concern for years and has never been adequately addressed. It highlights New Zealand's consistently high rates of behavior issues compared to other OECD countries. We know the detrimental impact behaviour challenges have on teacher effectiveness and student learning outcomes and have urged policymakers to prioritize solutions.

NZPF supports the report's recommendation for increased investment in support services and advocates for smaller class sizes and additional staff to address shortages until this is achieved. We endorse robust behaviour management policies at the school level, and stress the importance of equitable access to experts and specialists to implement these policies. Learning support is the key to engaging all students in the curriculum.

NZPF also acknowledges that culturally relevant approaches for Māori and Pacific Island students is critical to fulfilling our obligations under te Tiriti and meet our goals of inclusivity. We are open to talking with the government on how this can be achieved.

Here are links to short ERO research companion guides, focused on practical actions for leaders and teachers:

Guide for Leaders - Behaviour in our Classrooms (ero.govt.nz)

Guide for Teachers - Behaviour in our Classrooms (ero.govt.nz)

The summary of what ERO found out nationally is here: Time to Focus: Behaviour in our Classrooms Summary (ero.govt.nz)

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Part 2: ERO has also looked at how the rollout of New Zealand Histories is going for schools. The research team partnered with the Ministry to learn what they can change or improve for future subjects.

For our members, we recommend the short ‘insights’ guide which has been designed for school use. It has useful questions and content for school leaders and teachers: Insights for Teachers and School Leaders: Teaching Histories (ero.govt.nz)

For those who want a deep dive, the full report with detailed findings is here: Teaching Histories: Implementation of Aotearoa New Zealand’s Histories and the refreshed Social Sciences learning area (ero.govt.nz)

And the summary of the national research report is here: Summary_Teaching Histories: Implementation of Aotearoa New Zealand’s Histories and the refreshed Social Sciences learning area (ero.govt.nz)

For the full suite of resources, and more ERO insights and good practice guides, go to ERO’s new research website: www.evidence.ero.govt.nz

Phil Palfrey, John Bangma, Hayley Read, Tracy Fraser