Our research

I roto i Te Kura Huanui: Ko ngā kura o ngā ara angitu, ko ngā uiui me ngā whānau Māori, kaiārahi, kaiako, kaimahi, kaumātua hoki e tūhura ana i te ngākau titikaha o ngā hapori ki te whakarauora, ki te whakapakari hoki i te reo Māori me ngā tikanga Māori mō ā rātou mokopuna, tamariki, uri whakatupu anō hoki. 

Te Kura Huanui: The treasures of successful pathways and supporting documentaries explore the Māori-medium education pathway, through a rich collection of interviews and research conducted in partnership with early founders, whānau, leaders, graduates, kaiako, kaimahi and kaumatua.

Science is important – we rely on science and scientific thinking in almost every endeavour in our modern society. High quality science education at school is essential for learners who want a career in science, but it is also important for all learners to help them understand the scientific issues that whānau, communities, and nations face. Issues such as climate change, healthy living, and innovation all depend on science.

Early childhood education services had to quickly adapt to changing requirements and periods of uncertainty due to Covid-19. During lockdown, services had to transition to supporting children to learn from their homes. After lockdown, they had to support children to return to services and continue their learning in a Covid-19 world. This summary highlights the efforts of early childhood services to support students and their whānau.

ERO has a comprehensive and fast-tracked work programme underway to understand the ongoing impact of Covid-19 on students, services and schools, and on teaching and learning in Aotearoa New Zealand in the English and Māori medium education sectors.

Māori educators and a Māori student draw from their own experiences to discuss the concept of identity and the central role schools play in the identity development of Māori students.

This booklet is for all parents and caregivers who have infants and toddlers in an early childhood education service, or who are thinking about enrolling their child in an early childhood service. It gives you an idea of what you can expect from high quality early childhood education and the questions you can ask a service about the education and care of your child. 

The report examines how well 235 early childhood services supported infants and toddlers to become competent and confident communicators and explorers.

This good practice report presents examples from five early childhood services where priorities for children’s learning were well considered and reflected on.

This national report discusses how effectively 147 early childhood services used Equity Funding and the extent to which the Equity Funding objectives of participation and quality in early childhood services were achieved.

We have also published a companion report - Use of Equity Funding in Pacific Early Childhood Services.

This national report is one of two reports that present the findings of a 2012 national evaluation about curriculum priorities. 

This national report is one of two reports that present the findings of a 2012 national evaluation about curriculum priorities.

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. 

Early childhood education has been an important focus for the Education Review Office for over 20 years. This report uses findings from ERO's national evaluations of early childhood education and individual services' education reviews to highlight the factors that contribute to high quality early childhood education and care, as well as those that contribute to poor quality. The report provides a good starting point for further discussion for anyone involved in early childhood education including education providers, policy makers and teachers.

This report complements the national evaluation report, Success for Māori Children in Early Childhood Services, March 2010. It presents examples of good practice from nine early childhood services, identified during their ERO reviews, which had practices that were working for Māori children and their parents and whānau.

This evaluation also raises questions about the links between implementing a bicultural curriculum and reviewing its impact for Māori children. This is the next step for services that already have strong bicultural curriculum. Reflecting on and questioning the extent to which Māori children experience success as learners is part of the challenge for managers and educators in early childhood services. The findings of this evaluation indicate that many services have some way to go in working with parents and whānau and enabling Māori children to become competent and confident learners.

The Education Review Office (ERO) undertook a national evaluation of the implementation of self review in 397 services in Terms 1, 2 and 3, 2008. The evaluation focused on how well self review was understood, supported and implemented in each service and the extent to which it led to improved management and educator practice. 

ERO is interested in what happens in the classroom and also in how parents and the community can help in the education of school students. We have therefore evaluated the way schools engage their parents, whānau and community. The result is a collection of three reports on different aspects of Partners in Learning: the findings of the evaluation; examples of good practice; and the voices of parents. This report sets out the views of parents and others in the community about their role in the education of their children.

This Education Review Office (ERO) report is based on the findings of a study involving 16 early childhood services and one umbrella organisation undertaken as part of each service’s regular education review during Term 4, 2007.  

Assessment informs an early childhood service’s programme and educators’ teaching practices. ERO evaluated the quality of assessment in all the early childhood services reviewed in Terms 3 and 4, 2006.

Services were at varying stages in their understanding and implementation of assessment practices, as not all had yet participated in professional development.