PISA 2006: School context of science achievement: How ready are our 15-year-olds for tomorrow's world?

Introduction

The international findings were published by the OECD in two volumes in 2007 (OECD, 2007a & 2007b). This report is part of a series on New Zealand’s participation in PISA 2006. A summary of key New Zealand results from this study was published in December 2007 (Telford & Caygill, 2007). Other reports in the series include a report on 15-year-old students’ science achievement, the attitudes to and engagement with science of 15-year-old students, and reports on the mathematics and reading achievement of students in PISA 2006.¹

The priorities of the Ministry of Education in schooling (Ministry of Education, 2007a) include strong professional leadership, resourcing, effective teaching, parents and whānau, and healthy confident kids. This report begins by examining the overall structure and management systems in place in schools, with particular attention paid to the demographic characteristics of schools, approaches to school management, the way secondary schools use grouping to deal with diversity in the student population, and resources invested in education. Next, an analysis of the science teaching taking place in schools, including extra activities to promote science will be presented. Finally, the report examines principals’, students’ and parents’ perceptions of school climate, along with students’ opinions on how well schools are preparing them for a science-related career. Comparisons are made with other OECD and selected partner countries, and the relationships between school context and achievement are examined.

A number of points need to be noted when interpreting data about the schools attended by 15-year-old students in PISA.

• Information was collected from principals, students and parents. No input was sought from other staff in the schools, so any information about teachers and teaching is based on indirect observations and does not come from the practitioners themselves.
• Many New Zealand 15-year-old students would have attended two or more schools since entering the schooling system, in which case the information collected on their current school will reflect only part of the individual’s schooling experience.
• The intention of this report is to look at the learning environment of 15-year-old students. Therefore, the data are analysed and reported in order to make statements about the proportions of students attending schools with a particular characteristic, rather than the proportion of schools with that characteristic.
• In most schools, only a portion of the 15-year-olds enrolled participated in PISA. Information from school principals is analysed and reported so that it reflects the education received by all 15-year-olds enrolled in each school.
  

Footnote 

1. Caygill et al., 2008; Caygill, 2008; Marshall et al., 2008; others in press.