Introduction

Education systems provide students with many opportunities to learn. Learning occurs through different experiences, including time spent in classroom instruction. But how does instruction time relate to reading literacy? The knowledge, skills and capabilities that students learn in the classroom can be reinforced through self-directed study and completion of homework exercises. While this responsibility ultimately falls on each student and their whānau, educators can play a role in providing students with support for learning outside of school lessons, including making study spaces available or providing staff to help with homework.

Key findings

• In New Zealand, English learning time at school was slightly higher than the OECD average; total learning time across all lessons was about 2 hours lower per week.
• About 3% of students were receiving less than 2 hours of English instruction per week, a learning time that is associated with poor reading literacy.
• Total school learning time beyond 24 hours per week was associated with poorer reading outcomes for socio-economically disadvantaged students, but better outcomes for advantaged students.
• Less than half of New Zealand students attended schools where additional English lessons were offered outside of regular school hours, but this provision was not associated with better reading performance.
• Most students attended schools where they had access to a homework room, staff that could help with homework, and peer-to-peer tutoring outside of normal school hours.
• Education systems that provided more of their students with a homework room and staff help tended to show better reading performance.