PISA 2003: Student learning approaches for tomorrow’s world

Introduction and note to readers

This report presents the New Zealand results from the PISA 2003 survey on various characteristics of 15-year-old students as learners. As well as assessing students’ knowledge and skills in mathematics, science, problem solving and reading, students were given a questionnaire which included questions on student background, engagement, motivation, self-belief, and learning strategies. Since the main focus of the 2003 assessment is mathematics, this report primarily focuses on student approaches to learning alongside their performance in mathematics.

Important note on interpretation

The approaches to learning indicators are all based on self-reporting through the student questionnaire. They do not, therefore, measure directly what students do when they learn; they measure their own perceptions of what they are like as learners.

The report is based around ten indicators constructed by the OECD. Each indicator comprises an index of scores for each student based on their answers to a range of questions. The indicators and the categories in which they are grouped are:

Evidence from earlier research played an important part in the construction of these indicators. PISA identified student characteristics that make positive approaches to learning more likely, and students were asked several questions about each characteristic. However readers should bear in mind that constructs such as motivation and enjoyment of mathematics and the use of particular learning strategies are based on self-reporting by students rather than direct evidence on the extent to which such strategies are used.