Chapter 2 Publications
Publication Details
This report of the Minister of Education on the compulsory schools sector in New Zealand pertains to 2008 (also known as the Schools Sector Report). Other editions are available on the New Zealand Schools publication home page.
Author(s): Ministry of Education
Date Published: September 2009
This report is available as a download (please refer to the 'Downloads' inset box). For links to related publications/ information that may be of interest please refer to the 'Where to Find Out More' inset box.
Chapter 2: Student Engagement
Students who are engaged in learning while at school have an advantage that will serve them later in life. Schools and parents have many reasons to work towards common goals. Many schools have set up or become involved in projects to improve student engagement and enhance student achievement.There are various influences on student engagement, among them, the classroom climate and the wider school environment, student relationships with their teachers and peers, and the involvement of their families, whānau and communities in student learning.
National and international studies show that New Zealand students are generally engaged positively in their learning. They are positive about the subjects they are learning, their teachers and working with other students. Most students have a strong connection to their school and attend regularly. Most stay on beyond the years of compulsory schooling, and many go on to tertiary institutions to continue their education.
At 1 July 2008, 758,094 students were enrolled in New Zealand schools, including those in alternative education, international fee-paying students, adult students and students with special needs. Students come from a range of ethnic backgrounds, with increasing numbers being Māori, Pasifika and Asian. Schools need to recognise and value this cultural diversity and build partnerships with families, whānau and communities to engage all of these students in compulsory schooling.
ENGAGING FAMILES, WHANAU AND COMMUNITIES
Connecting what goes on at school with students’ lives, parents, whānau and communities can make teaching and learning more relevant and effective. Teaching that taps into students’ cultural and out-of-school experiences can make learning more relevant and, as a consequence, more successful in the classroom.
In 2008 ERO reported on information resulting from 34 discussion groups and 55 parent questionnaires.27
ERO found that Māori parents and whānau expected or wanted:
- to be involved in their children’s learning and their children’s school
- teachers to have a range of skills and strategies to engage their children in learning
- for their culture and values to be acknowledged and included, for example, programmes in te reo Māori, tikanga that supported their children’s learning and Māori protocols such as mihi and karakia at meetings
- their children to become confident learners who accepted challenges and maintained their personal mana.
Factors that made engagement difficult for Māori parents in surveyed schools included teachers with negative or deficit views and attitudes about their children, rushed teacher-parent interviews, policies and procedures that were not available or clearly stated (in particular, processes for parents to raise concerns about their child), memories of their own experience of school, not having time to go on trips and not having money to support activities such as camps.
ERO found Pasifika parents wanted their children to have a good education that included themselves as their children’s first teachers; they saw the home as providing their child with a strong foundation that included maintaining their first language.
ERO found that Pasifika parents expected or wanted:
- schools to help their children learn English
- homework for their children, through which they wanted to support and learn with their children
- regular and timely communication, including face-to-face communication and newsletters translated into their own language and posted to them
- consultation on a range of matters
- Pasifika representation on the board of trustees, because it gave them a voice
- opportunities to be involved with celebrations, particularly those that acknowledged a range of achievements.
Factors that made engagement difficult for Pasifika parents included language and communication as they were not all confident speaking in English – particularly when contact with the school was only negative – witnessing negative interactions between teachers and their children, and financial costs for school uniforms and education outside the classroom.
ERO found that Pasifika parents believe that having an understanding of Pasifika families made it easier for teachers to develop relationships with them. Teachers without this understanding could seek training from Pasifika organisations.
School-Home Connections that Have an Impact on Student Outcomes
Research into parental and other school-home connections rarely includes the impact such connections have on student outcomes. The Educational Leadership BES28 builds on the Community and Family Influences BES29 to summarise the research evidence about what types of school-home connections have the largest impact on educational outcomes.
While connections between school and home have the potential to enhance outcomes, particularly for those who have been under-served or are at risk, some can be counterproductive.
The Educational Leadership BES used meta-analysis of 168 indicators of impact, of which 42 were reported effects of homework and 126 were reported effects of school-home connections. The findings were grouped into 19 categories. An effect size greater than 0.6 has a large positive effect, and Professor John Hattie suggests 0.35 is equivalent to the gains from one year’s teaching in an average classroom.
WHAKAMANA TE WHANAU
Whakamana te Whānau: Making a Bigger Difference for Tamariki and Whānau is a te reo Māori reading literacy initiative that started in term 4, 2008 in three Rotorua schools. Hiro Grace, a Resource Teacher of Māori and a trained Taumatua,30 worked in these schools to introduce whānau members to Tatari Tautoko Tauawhi31 and then to monitor the improvements in students’ reading.
Tatari Tautoko Tauawhi is a one-to-one Māori language reading-tutoring programme that employs many of the same reading-tutoring strategies as the English language reading-tutoring programme Pause Prompt Praise,32 from which it has been derived. Reconstructed within a kaupapa Māori context, this resource can assist tutors to provide readers with supported opportunities to self-correct errors and to practise problem-solving strategies when they read.
In order to ensure that the reader understands and is able to talk about what they have read, the programme promotes the use of first previewing the text then reviewing what has been read.
At initial meetings in term 3 of 2008, staff from the Ministry of Education, Kia Atamai and Rotorua schools identified who would be involved and what their roles and responsibilities would be. At these meetings, it was decided that the Poutama Pounamu Research and Development Centre for Māori-medium learning would provide the Tatari Tautoko Tauawhi resources and assist with the initial training in schools.
Hiro Grace and Ripeka Lessels would contact schools, identify teachers, students and whānau, and organise dates and venues for training. They would also conduct pre- and post-reading assessments with the students involved and undertake to record reading-tutoring sessions so that tutors could be given feedback on the tutoring that they were providing.
Rangiwhakaehu Walker, one of the original developers of Tatari Tautoko Tauawhi, gave this advice to schools thinking about engaging with whānau:
I think the only way they’re going to be able to work with whānau is to establish those relationships… make them feel comfortable. Just like you have to make that child feel comfortable… Do that with the whānau. Have a cup of tea and talk about the programme.
So start with parents first, and then work with the wider whānau.
I think parents, they can be of great help to their tamariki. Not only if they’ve got the spare time to go to the school but also to do it at home. I think if they want their children to succeed at the kura, then they need to dedicate that time, set aside that time to be with their tamariki.
She also identified the importance of leadership:
I guess schools’ commitment to whānau depends… if the leadership is within the school, then parents can come… and sit alongside their tamaiti and listen to the reo. That would be the great advantage.
Despite this work not beginning until the first weeks of term 4, implementation went according to plan. Rotorua Primary, Ngongotahā School and Whakarewarewa joined the programme. Three teachers and 15 students from Years 3 to 5 participated throughout the term. Three tutors, one at each school, were trained to run the programme in schools. Whānau members were also taught how to use the programme at home.
Pre- and post-reading assessments were completed for four of these students, with very encouraging results. There was an average shift of one book level, the average percentage of correct words increased two percentage points and the average comprehension percentage increased from 49 to 70 percent. These schools and their communities achieved a lot in one term and, importantly, all were enthusiastic and have begun a longer, more intensive two-term project over terms 2 and 3 of 2009.
Effect sizes for homework vary widely, so it is less useful to talk about the mean effect size of homework connections and more useful to look at the types of connections with moderate to large positive effects. The best homework practices had an effect size of 1.38. They are teacher-designed interactive homework practices that engaged parents in assisting their children with learning. The least effective had a negative impact.
Overall, the mean effect size of other school-home connections (excluding homework) was 0.42, a moderate effect.
Joint connections involving parents and teachers had the greatest impact, an overall effect size of 1.81. These connections are designed to help parents or other community members support children’s learning at home and at school. Simultaneously, teachers receive professional development that aligns with, is informed by and supports the contributions of parent and community funds of knowledge.
Of the 13 analyses informing this category, 12 involved joint school-home connections led by Poutama Pounamu. Central to the work of Poutama Pounamu is the focus on ako (reciprocity in learning and teaching). Most connections focused solely on literacy, but one had an additional focus on training parents and teachers to address behavioural and learning difficulties. A case study of Whakamana te Whānau, a school-home connection led by Poutama Pounamu is described on page 27.
ENGAGEMENT WITH LEARNING
The more students engage with learning, the more successful they are likely to be. Students with positive attitudes tend to achieve better, so it is a concern that some become less positive about learning as they get older.
The Competent Learners @ 16 (CL@16) project33 found that children are well placed for learning if they:
- enjoy reading
- have interests that provide goals and challenges
- have a sense of achievement
- have interests that involve communication or the use of symbols.
The time spent in quality early childhood education (ECE) was found to have a significant relationship to achievement at age 8 and age 10 (in literacy, mathematics and logical problem-solving measures). In 2008, 95 percent of new entrants participated in regular ECE, an increase from 91 percent in 2000. Pasifika new entrant students had the lowest prior participation rates in ECE, 85 percent in 2008. The rate is also low for Māori new entrant students, at 90 percent in 2008.34
Students in CL@16 who left school early tended to have had lower competency at age 5 but similar, positive attitudes to learning. Disengagement with learning often started before students turned 12, and escalated in adolescence.
Classes that students found most engaging had teachers who framed things clearly, showed an interest in the students, made connections with students’ interests and experiences, gave feedback that helped students see what to do next and offered plenty of practical activities.
Providing cultural and sporting activities in schools and neighbourhoods encourages students to develop interests and is more effective than providing passive or one-off events.
ENGAGEMENT AT SCHOOL
Participating in education is fundamental to student achievement. Most indicators show that 80–90 percent of New Zealand students are effectively engaged in schooling. This includes students who attend on a regular basis and stay on at school, the qualifications they achieve while at school (see Chapter One) and their progression to tertiary education. When students are engaged in learning, they actively participate in school and classroom activities, and feel both safe and a sense of belonging at school.
Student Retention in Senior Secondary Schooling
A key indicator of continuing engagement is retention – the proportion of students who continue to attend school beyond the minimum school leaving age. Retention rates are influenced by the level of engagement that students have with school and the availability of alternatives such as employment and learning opportunities in tertiary institutions.
In 2008, 82 percent of 16.5-year-olds and 62 percent of 17.5-year-olds stayed on at school. Figure 2.1 shows that the apparent rate of retention of 16.5-year-olds and 17.5-year-olds has been steady or improving since 2001.
Figure 2.1: Retention of 16.5- and 17.5-year-old Students in School by Gender, 2001-2008
There is a clear difference between the retention of female students and male students. Figure 2.1 shows that, in 2008, 86 percent of females and 79 percent of males stayed at school until the age of 16.5 years, and 67 percent of females and 58 percent of males stayed until the age of 17.5 years.
Measuring Retention
The historical measures of student retention in senior secondary schools to age 16.5 and age 17.5 are estimates derived from the aggregate roll returns. They represent a snapshot of retention at a point in time, as at 1 July. The aggregate roll returns capture the ages of students only in years. These indicators are therefore a measure of those who stay at school to ages 16.5 and 17.5 (on average), respectively. Also, since the denominator for each is the number of students in the 1 July roll return from the year students were aged 14.5, net migration can affect results.
Since 2007, schools have used ENROL, a central electronic register for school enrolments, to submit disaggregated school leaver data. Table 2.1 shows the results, using different methods, for the proportions of students remaining at school at different ages in 2008.
These two methods of data collection show large differences, the key factor being that they measure different age groups (for example, 16.5 in the disaggregated data and 16.0 in the aggregated data).
In 2008, there was improved retention to age 16, due to the second year of reduced early leaving exemptions. Regardless of the source, it is clear that Māori student retention rates are lower than non-Māori. Pasifika students continue to have a higher than average retention rate in all age categories.
Proportion of Students Retained to Age Disaggregated Data | Apparent Retention Aggregated Data | |||||
Year | Ethnicity | 16.00% | 17.00% | 18.00% | 16.50% | 17.50% |
Māori | 98 | 66 | 29 | 66 | 40 | |
Pasifika | 99 | 85 | 48 | 85 | 70 | |
2008 | Total | 99 | 81 | 41 | 82 | 62 |
Managing Student Enrolments
ENROL was implemented in New Zealand schools in 2006–2007. For each student enrolled, this national database holds demographic information, the eligibility criteria under which students enter school, the year level, movements between schools and some information on their destination when they leave the school system.
This simple set of data is potentially very powerful for analysis because it records events over time. For example:
- some schools anecdotally report a high student turnover – the number of students coming and going between schools could be used to develop a more formal way to measure this
- some schools report on students who are only enrolled for short periods and the difficulty that this poses for continuity in their schooling – ENROL can help us to understand the prevalence of short stays in schools and, over time, can quantify how much schooling these students miss out on.
Secondary schools have used ENROL since July 2006, and we can quantify the stated destination of 2008 school leavers35 with it. Of these, 10,073 left school during the academic year, before 1 November 2008, and a further 43,130 left school at the end of the year and had not re-enrolled in school by 1 March 2009.
Of the 2008 school leavers who left during the academic year, 48 percent stated employment (without further education/training) as their destination. Figure 2.2 shows this proportion is higher for 16- and 17-year-old school leavers than 18-year-old school leavers. Leavers who complete the academic year are more likely to be transitioning to further education and training (with or without employment).
Figure 2.2: Destination of 2008 School Leavers
Attendance
Regular attendance at school is fundamental to student achievement and leads to better life outcomes for students. Truancy impacts on student safety and community well-being. Over time, patterns of non-attendance can place students at risk of poor achievement and early disengagement from school. It is therefore important to recognise gaps in attendance and help students re-engage in learning as soon as possible.
A student is truant if he or she is away from school without good reason. Most students attend school every day, but the 2006 national attendance data showed that, on average, around 4 percent of students are absent without explanation for part or all of the day. Secondary school students and students of Māori and Pasifika ethnicities have much higher rates of truancy than other students.
Attendance is an area of focus for schools involved in the Student Engagement Initiative (SEI). Many of these schools are using or moving towards using an electronic attendance register with their student management systems. It takes time to train administration staff and get full staff support for the new system. SEI schools report that getting data on the electronic systems immediately is allowing early contact with families and whānau and highlighting engagement and learning in the classroom. This allows schools to put in place support for targeted at-risk students.
Improving Student Engagement
The SEI is a programme designed to reduce suspensions, exclusions and early leaving exemptions, and to increase participation. SEI schools receive support and funding to develop approaches that will raise their levels of student engagement.
The SEI has lowered suspension rates in its original cohort of secondary schools. The overall age-standardised suspension rate36 for these schools dropped from 35 students per 1,000 in 2000 to 15 students per 1,000 in 2008, a reduction of 56 percent. This compares with a 12 percent increase in the overall age-standardised suspension rate over the same period for secondary schools that have never been part of the SEI.
Figure 2.3 shows that the age-standardised suspension rate for Māori students in the original SEI schools dropped from 73 students per 1,000 in 2000 to 25 students per 1,000 in 2008, a reduction of 66 percent. This compares with a 9 percent increase in the Māori age-standardised suspension rate over the same period for secondary schools that have never been part of the SEI. Pasifika students in the original SEI schools showed little change in age-standardised suspension rates between 2000 and 2006. The rate has since dropped from 32 students per 1,000 in 2006 to 22 students per 1,000 in 2008, a reduction of 35 percent. This compares with a 13 percent increase in the Pasifika age-standardised suspension rate over the same period for secondary schools that have never been part of the SEI.
Figure 2.3: Age-standardised Suspension Rates for Secondary Schools, by Student Engagement Initiative (SEI) Status and Ethnic Group, 2000-2008
In 2008, there were 107 schools involved in the SEI initiative. For examples of good practice, see findings from What Makes a Difference in SEI Schools? on page 32.
WHAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE IN SEI SCHOOLS?
Schools in the SEI focus on student retention and achievement. They use student engagement, behaviour and attendance data to revise their student behaviour policies and help students and their families and whānau overcome the cycle of disruptive behaviour.
Overall suspension rates have been reducing in SEI schools, but rates for Māori and Pasifika students, particularly Māori boys, remain high in some schools.
Improving behaviour, reducing truancy and making contact early with families and whānau remain major focuses at many of these schools. Most SEI schools have support in place for students who have crossed the boundaries of reasonable behaviour. Suspension is seen as another tool to give a student time out to reflect on the consequences of their behaviour and how it affects others.
The SEI recognises that boys have higher rates of suspension and is trying to address the difference through curriculum changes, having male or cultural role models/mentors, establishing boys’ social groups and involving other agencies earlier with boys and whānau.
With the release of Ka Hikitia – Managing for Success in 2008, schools and SEI teams from the Ministry have been looking at targets that are appropriate for SEI schools. Strategies include support for at-risk Māori students, greater involvement of whānau around attendance and a greater awareness by teachers of the needs of Māori students. These appear to be having a positive impact in reducing suspensions of Māori students. For example:
- the principal at Onehunga High School attributes the decrease in Māori suspensions to putting in place appropriate cultural support for key personnel. Careful selection of staff for teaching and transitioning Māori students has also been a focus
- the deputy principal at One Tree Hill College reports that property redevelopment to a whānau structure, the implementation of restorative practices, targeted literacy and numeracy classes for Year 9 and 10 students and an increased level of support for Māori students have all helped Māori students engage more in learning.
The Pasifika Education Plan was promoted strongly by the Ministry Pasifika team in 2008, with fono attracting large numbers of Pasifika families. The Plan supports SEI school strategies to ensure early contact with families around attendance and behaviour issues, and positive interaction for academic mentoring, goal-setting and achievement. The principal of Avondale Intermediate School reports that the social worker employed to liaise between family and school is helping to minimise engagement and learning issues.
Many SEI schools attribute the change in suspension rates to a change in school culture and behaviour management policies, and the adoption of a more restorative approach. More rigorous monitoring of attendance data also helps schools to identify engagement issues early. Schools continue to focus on some or all of the following:
- A restorative approach, with many schools investing in more staff training. More schools see restorative practice as key to developing an inclusive school culture.
- Collecting and using reliable attendance data. School and whānau engagement is vital for improving attendance. Identifying at-risk students and providing support are also important.
- Engagement in the classroom, revolving around positive staff/student relationships and school structure, and focusing on a relevant curriculum in the classroom.
- Schools are looking at the difficulty some students experience moving from having one teacher in Year 8 to having many teachers for integrated studies in Year 9. School whānau structure, staff coaching and mentoring through learning communities are examples of possible changes.
- Analysis of behaviour issues suggests that new students arriving mid-year would benefit from a more rigorous induction. Transition processes can expand to include transition of students and staff during the year and include more schools in the transition plan, if appropriate.
All SEI schools recognise that effective change is a long-term process. They also recognise that it is important to take time to get ‘buy-in’ from staff, students and communities so that change becomes part of the school culture. Principals and senior management teams report that conferences are a vital forum for discussing ideas. These are some of the changes effected by SEI schools in 2008:
- Wairoa College implemented CACTUS, a youth self-esteem programme. It also uses restorative practices more regularly and has more trained staff in this area. It has regional rōpu meetings – partnership meetings with parents on local marae.
- Tauranga Girls’ College tüakana (Years 12 and 13 students) work with tëina (Year 9 students) to encourage engagement and attendance.
- Matamata College employs a full-time social worker to work with at-risk students and help with attendance issues. Where appropriate, the social worker develops an educational career plan, arranges work experience and liaises with families and whānau.
- Central Hawke’s Bay College employs a Māori male as a learning motivator to work with students who are not engaged in the classroom. He works with groups or individuals until they are ready to integrate back into mainstream classes.
Staying at School
International evidence indicates that the longer students engage in schooling the better their outcomes in later life. Students who stay at school into the senior secondary years usually have better health, more stable employment and higher earnings than early leavers. There is also a link between staying on at school and reduced offending in adolescence.
Early Leavers
To reduce the relatively high number of early leavers, the Ministry of Education strengthened its early leaving application and approval process in May 2007.
The evidence so far suggests the new process has been successful. After seven years without much change, the rate of demand for early leaving exemptions declined by 78 percent from 70 applications per 1,000 15-year-old students in 2006 to 15 applications per 1,000 15-year-old students in 2008. At the same time the proportion of applications that were declined by the Ministry of Education increased from 6.6 percent in 2006 to 28 percent in 2008 (see Figure 2.4).
Figure 2.4: Rates of Early Leaving Exemptions, 2000-2008
Schools report that early leaving exemptions are no longer seen as an option and are not even discussed. The community, students and teachers expect that students will stay at school. Schools are using mentoring, career support networks and programmes to help students map out a career path. A number of schools use the Creating Pathways and Building Lives (CPaBL) programme to encourage goal-setting and career planning at Years 9 and 10.
Broadening Curriculum Choices
Gateway and the Secondary Tertiary Alignment Resource (STAR) broaden educational options for senior secondary students by offering them work-based learning or courses with tertiary providers. These courses can lead to the attainment of credits in NCEA or recognised tertiary qualifications.
Schools use Gateway and STAR, and the curriculum’s flexibility, to develop broad programmes of learning that work for students at their school.
In 2008, 16,800 school students undertook courses with tertiary providers through STAR, and 9,700 students participated in work-based learning through Gateway.
Behaviour
Behaviour is an important element of learning within all levels of the curriculum framework, for example, managing self and relating to others (The New Zealand Curriculum) and well-being and belonging (Te Whāriki) are core competencies.
Evidence suggests37 that positive educational experiences and a good level of academic achievement can contribute significantly to enhancing self-esteem and confidence, better employment, life opportunities and social support.
Schools, families, whānau and students share the responsibility for and responses to reducing disruptive behaviour, with the Ministry providing support and leadership. Positive school cultures or safe learning environments require cross-school approaches to tackling bullying or poor behaviour.38
Positive outcomes are achievable through:
- effective teaching and positive teacher-student and school-community engagement
- positive support rather than punishment
- understanding that culture counts
- early intervention when necessary
- programmes with a strong evidence base.
Support, services and programmes make the greatest difference when they are coordinated and complement messages from schools and teachers.
Disruptive behaviour takes a serious toll emotionally and in educational terms. It is a barrier to learning, and research shows that severe behaviour difficulties at a young age are a predictor of poor life outcomes.39 Poor behaviour is caused by a multitude of factors and requires well structured, multi-systemic intervention.40
Additional Support and Services
The provision of targeted support for students with moderate and severe behaviour difficulties recognises and supports the additional workload for teachers.41
The Ministry of Education and other agencies provide a number of additional funding pools and services. These mainly focus on addressing behavioural difficulties:
- Severe Behaviour Service – $35 million, 200 staff, 4,500 students supported.
- Interim Response Fund – $2 million.
- Residential Behaviour Schools – three schools, 100 students per annum.
- Project Early – two clusters, 90 students.
- High and Complex Needs Unit – $6 million joint initiative by the Ministries of Health, Education and Social Development.
- Incredible Years Parent Training Programme – 1,100 parents in 2008; provided through the Ministry of Education, Special Education, District Health Boards (child and adolescent mental health services) and non-government organisations.
- Supporting Positive Behaviours website – resources and information.
Initiatives that contribute to a range of needs, including addressing behavioural difficulties, include the following:
- The Special Education Grant to all schools – $35 million.
- The Enhanced Programme Fund for schools with moderate needs – $8 million.
- Professional leadership programmes, in-service training and professional development such as Te Kōtahitanga, Te Kauhua and TIPS for autism.
- Resource Teachers: Learning and Behaviour (RTLB) – $75 million, 780 teachers.
- The Student Well-being Mental Health Education Initiative – 75 schools.
- Off-site and activity centres – short-term provision $1.8 million, 15 centres.
- Student Engagement Initiative (SEI) – $1.7 million for 100 schools.
- Non-enrolment Truancy Service – $4.5 million, 89 providers.
- Traumatic Incidents Response Teams – 400 incidents in 2007.
- Social Workers in Schools – 122 in 330 low decile schools.
- B4 School Checks by the Ministry of Health, which include a behaviour screening tool.
- Early Intervention – $32 million.
Around 780 RTLB are itinerant within clusters of schools. These clusters receive referrals for students and teachers requiring interventions for behaviour and learning difficulties. In 2008, approximately 30 RTLB attended training with Special Education staff on how to support teachers with students who have challenging behaviours. The training for Special Education staff and RTLB was an example of collaboration to ensure a seamless provision of service for students and teachers in the clusters. A number of RTLB were involved with Te Kōtahitanga, which supports the raising of Māori student achievement by providing professional development for teachers.
Support and interventions for children with the most severe behaviour problems are critical. These behaviours are persistent, outside the age-expected norm and expressed across social settings. Research shows that these behaviours are at a high cost to individuals and society.42 Severe behaviour in childhood leads to poor adult outcomes.
There is a focus on intervening early in the life of a child when a problem becomes apparent. Special Education, along with other agencies, delivers the Incredible Years Parent Training Programme, which provides parents with increased skill and confidence to address severe behaviour problems. Research here and overseas suggests that this programme is effective.43
Bullying
Bullying is a safety issue that has a wide-reaching impact on both the recipients and the initiators. Bullying in any form is harmful and should always be treated seriously. There must be a clear and consistent response to establish that this behaviour is unacceptable in the school community.
While bullying may have little effect on resilient students, it can cause a great deal of harm to those with inadequate support.44 There is less bullying in schools where there is regular support for those who are bullied.45
Many approaches, programmes and interventions support schools in creating positive learning environments, and schools can use whichever they believe will meet their particular need, including:
- a whole-school approach
- classroom-based interventions
- targeted interventions.
Stand-downs and Suspensions
Standing-down or suspending students is one option a school may take in order to manage serious cases of disruptive or unsafe behaviour. The decision to stand-down or suspend is a difficult one because student engagement and learning may be further compromised by a student being taken out of school.
Stand-downs and suspensions affect a small proportion of students, with less than 1 percent being suspended and less than 3 percent being stood-down in 2008.
The age-standardised stand-down rate46 increased from 26 students per 1,000 in 2000 to a peak of 31 students per 1,000 in 2006 but decreased to 29 students per 1,000 in 2008.
As in previous years, the most common reported behaviours that led to a stand-down in 2008 were continual disobedience, physical assault of other students and staff, and verbal abuse of other students and staff. One of these three reasons was reported in 70 percent of all stand-downs in 2008.
The age-standardised suspension rate has decreased by 22 percent between 2000 (7.9 students per 1,000) and 2008 (6.1 students per 1,000), including a 6.1 percent reduction from 2007 to 2008.
The most common reported behaviours that led to a suspension in 2008 were continual disobedience, misuse of drugs (including substance abuse) and physical assault of other students and staff. Between 2000 and 2008, there was a drop in the number of students suspended for drug-related behaviour and an increase in those suspended for continual disobedience and physical assault of other students.
The continual disobedience category is worth closer monitoring and analysis because it includes many complex behaviours.
The reduction in drug-related suspensions may be the result of a shift in attitude within schools to view and treat drugs as a health issue rather than primarily as a behaviour issue.
Stand-downs and suspensions are more frequent among males and young teenagers. Over 70 percent of cases involved males, and 62 percent involved students in the 13–15-year-old age group.
There is a correlation between the socio-economic mix of a school and age-standardised suspension rates. Low decile schools (deciles 1 and 2) draw their students from communities with the highest degree of socio-economic disadvantage. These students are over four times more likely to be suspended than students from deciles 9 and 10 schools.
Māori students have the highest rates of suspensions and stand-downs. In 2008, the age-standardised suspension rate for Māori students (13.1 students per 1,000) was 1.8 times higher than for Pasifika students (7.2 students per 1,000) and over three times higher than for European/Pākehā students (3.9 students per 1,000). Similarly, the age-standardised stand-down rate for Māori students (53.6 per 1,000) was 1.6 times higher than for Pasifika students (33.7 students per 1,000) and 2.6 times higher than for European/Pākehā students (20.8 per 1,000).
Most suspended students return to some form of schooling, either returning to their own school, entering an alternative education programme or accessing The Correspondence School’s services. A small proportion leave schooling altogether.
CONCLUSION
Although most New Zealand students are actively engaged in education, educators continue to face a number of challenges. It is especially important to support student outcomes by engaging with their communities to celebrate students’ diversity and successes as well as disciplinary issues.
Pedagogical leadership and effective teaching, and engaging with students’ family and whānau are key to ensuring good outcomes for students. The most effective school-home connections are those involving parents and teachers.
Students who leave school early and without qualifications risk lasting social and economic disadvantages as they move through adult life. Encouragingly, after seven years without significant change, the number of 15-year-olds receiving early leaving exemptions has recently halved.
WHERE TO FIND OUT MORE
Visit www.educationcounts.govt.nz
Indicators
Education and Learning
Student Participation
Schooling
- Truancy from school
- Stand-downs and suspensions from school
- Exclusions and expulsions from school
- Early leaving exemptions
- Retention of students in senior secondary schools
Family and Community
- Education of primary caregiver: schooling
- Children living in low income households
- Children experiencing hearing loss: new entrants
Visit www.tki.org.nz/r/student_support
Supporting Positive Behaviours – Information
- Support
- Culture
- Bullying
- Classroom
- Individuals
- Community
- Playground
- Success factors
- Research
- Ministry funding and resources
- Professional development
- Strategies
- Programmes
- School stories
Taumata Whanonga 2009 (Behaviour Summit) website
Visit www.minedu.govt.nz/theMinistry/EducationInitiatives/TaumataWhanonga
Footnotes
- Education Review Office. (2008). Partners in Learning: Parents’ Voices. Wellington: Education Review Office.
- Robinson, V., Hohepa, M. and Lloyd, C. (2009). School Leadership and Student Outcomes: Identifying What Works and Why. Wellington: Ministry of Education.
- Biddulph, F., Biddulph, J. and Biddulph, C. (2003). The Complexity of Community and Family Influences on Children’s Achievement in New Zealand: Best Evidence Synthesis Iteration. Wellington: Ministry of Education.
- Ngā Taumatua are Resource Teachers for Literacy in Māori language education.
- Glynn, T., Atvars, K., Furlong, M. and Teddy, N. (1993). ‘From Pause Prompt Praise to Tatari Tautoko Tauawhi: A Bicultural Process of Adaptation’ in Towards Excellence: Providing Effective Services for Learners with Special Needs. Conference Proceedings. Dunedin: New Zealand Special Education Service, p40–43.
- McNaughton, S., Glynn, T. and Robinson, V. (1987). Pause, Prompt and Praise: Effective Tutoring of Remedial Reading. Birmingham: Positive Products.
- Wylie, C., Hogden, E., Hipkins, R. and Vaughan, K. (2008). Competent Learners on the Edge of Adulthood. Wellington: Ministry of Education.
- Increasing participation is an important target in both Ka Hikitia – Managing for Success: Māori Education Strategy 2008–2012 and the Pasifika Education Plan 2008–2012. Ministry of Education. (2008). Ka Hikitia – Managing for Success: Māori Education Strategy 2008–2012. Wellington: Ministry of Education. Ministry of Education. (2008). Pasifika Education Plan 2008–2012. Wellington: Ministry of Education.
- Statistics on school leavers count students leaving between 1 March and the end of February. Hence, 2008 school leavers left school between 1 March 2008 and 28 February 2009.
- The age-standardised stand-down and suspension rates remove differences due to one group having an older or younger population, providing an estimate of how groups of schools, or overall rates by year, might compare if they had the same age distribution.
- Lassen, S., Steele, M. and Sailor, W. (2006). ‘The Relationship of School-wide Positive Behavior Support to Academic Achievement in an Urban Middle School’ in Psychology in the Schools, 43(6), p701–712.
- Schools are responsible for the behaviour of their students. National Administration Guideline (NAG) 5 (i) requires school boards of trustees to provide a safe physical and emotional environment. Boards provide behaviour management plans that set out the policies expected across the school. Professional leadership and effective teaching are key.
- Findings from the Dunedin Longitudinal Study and Christchurch Health and Development Study. See: dunedinstudy.otago.ac.nz and www.chmeds.ac.nz/research/chds/.
- Church, R. (2003). The Definition, Diagnosis and Treatment of Children and Youth with Severe Behaviour Difficulties: A Review of Research. Wellington: Ministry of Education.
- Meyers, L. and Evans, I. (2006). Literature Review on Intervention with Challenging Behaviour in Children and Youth with Development Disabilities: Final Report. Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington.
- Advisory Group on Conduct Problems. (2009). Conduct Problems: Best Practice Report. Wellington: Ministry of Social Development.
- Fergusson, D., Stanley L. and Horwood, L. (2009). ‘Preliminary Data on the Efficacy of the Incredible Years Basic Parent Programme in New Zealand’ in Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 43(1), p76–79.
- Rigby, K. (2000). ‘Effects of Peer Victimization in Schools and Perceived Social Support on Adolescent Well-being’ in Journal of Adolescence, 23(1), p57–68.
- Slee, P. and Rigby, K. (1994). ‘Peer Victimization at School’ in Australian Journal of Early Childhood, 19(1), p3–10.
- The age-standardised stand-down and suspension rates remove differences due to one group having an older or younger population, providing an estimate of how groups of schools, or overall rates by year, might compare if they had the same age distribution.
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