Our research

This is ERO’s second national evaluation report looking at the extent to which the principles of The New Zealand Curriculum are evident in schools’ curricula and enacted in classrooms. The curriculum principles are intended to be the basis of curriculum decision-making at schools. 

In this evaluation Partnership with Whānau Māori in Early Childhood Education, ERO focused on the extent to which:

• services understood and valued the identity, language and culture of Māori children and their whānau, particularly when the child and whānau enter the service
• managers and educators built positive relationships with the whānau of Māori children; and
• each service worked in partnership with the whānau of Māori children. 

Evaluation at a Glance: What ERO Knows About Effective Schools explores five themes from a cross-section of ERO's evaluations in primary and secondary schools over the past four years:

• A focus on the learner
• Leadership in an inclusive culture
• Effective teaching
• Engagement with parents, whānau and communities
• Coherent policies and practice in a cycle of continuous self review

ERO evaluated how well schools included students with high needs. Approximately three percent of the student population have significant physical, sensory, neurological, psychiatric, behavioural or intellectual impairment. ERO’s evaluation showed that approximately half of the schools in the study demonstrated inclusive practice, while 30 percent had ‘pockets of inclusive practice’ and 20 percent had few inclusive practices.

This 2010 report is the second the Education Review Office has published on the educational achievement of Pacific students in New Zealand schools. The evaluation looked at the achievement, engagement and presence in school of Pacific students, and progress made in the three years since the previous report.

This report complements ERO’s major evaluation, Partners in Learning: Schools’ Engagement with Parents, Whānau and Communities, published in May 2008. It presents case studies of eight schools, identified during ERO reviews, that were successful in engaging with their parents, whānau and the wider community. The report also discusses key factors that contribute to the success of this engagement.

This Education Review Office report provides schools and policy makers with examples of how 10 New Zealand secondary schools successfuly support boys' education. The schools in this study were selected on the basis of their good overall levels of student achievement, previous positive ERO reports and their well-developed pastoral care and support strategies. Five boys' schools and five coeducational schools are used as case studies