Summary

The majority of teachers of Year 7-10 students in New Zealand report positive teacher-student interactions and a pleasant learning environment, though bullying remains an issue.

Key Findings

Almost all teachers (97%) agreed that teachers and students at their school get on well with each other and 90 percent agreed that teachers can rely on each other at their school.

The majority of teachers (70%) felt that students in their class take care to create a pleasant learning environment. Most teachers (85%) felt able to address disruptive behaviour in the classroom. Ninety percent of teachers had received training in classroom management as part of their initial teacher training and just under half (47%) had participated in professional development focused on student behaviour and classroom management in the 12 months before completing the survey.

However, teacher reports of disruptive classroom behaviour increased between 2014 and 2017, although New Zealand rates remain similar to the OECD average. In classes where there were more disciplinary issues, teachers reported less time being spent on teaching and learning. Since 2014, the average proportion of class time teachers spent on actual teaching and learning had decreased from 81 percent to 77 percent, with corresponding increases of time spent on classroom management (from 12% to 15%) and administrative tasks (from 7% to 8%).

The majority of New Zealand schools do not experience frequent safety-related incidents, however rates of reported intimidation or bullying among students are high compared to other OECD countries, with 35 percent of principals reporting this as a daily or weekly occurrence. New Zealand also showed one of the largest increases in principal reports of daily or weekly bullying among students between 2014 and 2017 (16%).