There is a wealth of information available to assist boards in their governance role. On these pages you will find links to some of the external research NZSTA has used to underpin our advocacy for member boards. The links provided here are intended as a useful starting point, not a complete list.
International Research
The Lighthouse Study
Connecting with your community
Effective professional development
Economics
International comparisons
Student achievement
Accountability and trust
Future of education
University of Bath research papers
New Zealand Research
New Zealand schools
School governance and leadership
Expectations
Accountability and trust
Student voice
School finances
Other Documents
Tomorrow’s Schools education reforms
Administering for Excellence – effective Administration in Education
[“The Picot Report”]
Tomorrow’s Schools – the Reform of Education Administrations in New Zealand (1998)
Human rights
Political party education reports
o Lighthouse I - Summary (IASB)
o Lighthouse Phase II - Brief Summary (IASB)
o The Boards Role: Engaging Families to Improve Learning (IASB)
o Guiding Questions: Family & Community Connections to Improve Learning (IASB)
o ISBF Family, School, Community Connections Brief (IASB)
o Characteristics of Professional Development Info Brief (IASB) - link to website has been disestablished
o The economics of happiness: Building genuine wealth (Anielski, 2007)
o The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better. (Wilson & Pickett 2009)
OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)
Every three years PISA surveys 15-year-olds in the principal industrialised countries, and assesses how far students have acquired knowledge and skills considered essential for full participation in society.
o PISA 2009 Results: Executive Summary (OECD, 2010)
McKinsey & Co.
McKinsey’s Social Sector Office work in more than 50 countries on six continents, carrying out hundreds of projects each year on issues related to global health, economic development, education, philanthropy, and climate change.
o How the world's best-performing school systems come out on top (2007)
o How the world’s most improved school systems keep getting better (2010)
Cumulative and residual effects of teachers on future student academic achievement - (link disestablished)
(W. Sanders & J Rivers, 1996)
o 2002 Reith Lectures. Baroness Onora O’Neill
§ Lecture 1: Spreading Suspicion
§ Lecture 2: Trust and Terror
§ Lecture 3: Called to Account
§ Lecture 4: Trust and Transparency
§ Lecture 5: Licence to Deceive
Changing Education paradigms (TED talks - YouTube video)
An extremely good animation of a talk by Sir Ted Robinson about the way various countries are trying to change education from 19th-century to 21st-century ways of thinking.
Experiments in self-teaching (TED talks - YouTube video)
Professor Sugata Mitra has conducted a series of experiments to see how far children with no formal education can teach themselves from a computer with no adult intervention. The results are astounding.
University of Bath research papers
The School Governance study (University of Bath)
The "hidden givers": a study of school governing bodies in England (University of Bath)
New Zealand Research
New Zealand schools
NZ Council for Educational Research (NZCER)
An independent educational research organisation with a bicultural focus. They have an international reputation for producing quality educational research and research-based resources, including:
o NZCER Research reports
o NZCER National Surveys
o National Standards - Thinking wider about sources of evidence (NZCER, 2010) (pdf 260KB) - Members only
o School Governance: Board of Trustees Stock take (NZSTA, 2008)
o Reports from the Crombie Lockwood - Vero Scholarships
o New Zealand Country Report on Improving School Leadership (OECD, 2007)
Beliefs and Expectations about Learning and Achievement
(BELA) project - final report
o Whither Accountability? Working Paper No.18. State Services Commission, 2003.
o Whakarongo mai - Stories from the inside (1.8 MB)
o How do Effective Schools Manage Their Finances (NZCER, 2004)
o An Increasing tightness – pressure points for schools’ financial management. (NZCER, 2005)
o School Funding Study: Update. (NZCER, 2006)
o Schools’ Use of Operational Funding (ERO, November 2006)
o Review of Schools' Operational Funding (Ministry of Education, 2006)
o Schools’ Use of Operational Funding: Case Studies (ERO, June 2007)
o Pilot Survey of School Finances (Polson Higgs, 2008)
[“The Picot Report”]
(Report of the taskforce to reform education administration, 1988)
o Index
o Introduction (pdf)
o Exec Summary (pdf)
o Ch 1: Approach (pdf)
o Ch 2: Outline of Existing System (pdf)
o Ch 3: Analysis of Existing System (pdf)
o Ch 4: Achieving Reform (pdf)
o Ch 5: Local Structure (pdf)
o Ch 6: Central Structure (pdf)
o Ch 7: Specific Issues (pdf)
o Ch 8: Making the Change (pdf)
o Ch 9-: Financial Costs-Benefits and Concluding Note (pdf)
Appendices
o A1 Five Diagrams Showing Flows Within the System (pdf)
o A2 Guidelines for a Charter for Schools (pdf)
o A3 Example of Bulk Grant Formulae (pdf)
o A4 Some Key Facts and Figures (pdf)
o A5 List of Submissions and Other Consultations (pdf)
Tomorrow’s Schools - The Reform of Education Administration in New Zealand
(Rt. Hon. David Lange Minister of Education, 1988)
o United Nations Convention on the rights of the child (UNCROC) Fact Sheet
A 4-page summary provided by UNICEF.
o Universal Declaration of Human Rights
o Real Education Project report (pdf)
(Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, 2011 )
o Step Change: Success the only Option (link to document has been disestablished)
Report of the Inter-Party Working Group for School Choice (ACT, National & Māori Party, 2010)
o Free to Learn (link to PDF document has been disestablished)
A report on policy options relating to the funding and regulation of schools that will increase parental choice and school autonomy in New Zealand. (ACT, 2010)