11 - Initial teacher education statistics
This initial teacher education (ITE) statistics page gives an overview of trends in the number of students enrolling in and completing initial teacher education qualifications that may lead to registration by the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Last Updated: July 2023
Students enrolled in and completing initial teacher education qualifications by a range of demographic and other characteristics
People can enrol in and complete additional ITE qualifications throughout their career. They do this for a variety of purposes, including: career progression, specialisation and remuneration gains. These people will already be qualified to teach.
The overview focuses on students enrolling in initial teacher education for the first time and people completing their first ITE qualification. This gives a sense of the number and characteristics of people who may be available to join the teaching workforce for the first time in the future.
A link to detailed ITE statistical tables is also provided in the Downloads section, as well as technical information on how the ITE data is compiled.
What does the data show?
Domestic students enrolled in ITE for the first time
Overall trends (see Figure 1 and 2) Last Updated: July 2023
Overall
The number of domestic students enrolling in an ITE qualification for the first time decreased from 5,235 in 2021 to 4,050 in 2022 (a decrease of 23 percent or 1,185 students). When looking at the indicative teaching sector this was the result of:
- a decrease in early childhood education (ECE) ITE from 1,650 students in 2021 to 1,425 students in 2022 (a decrease of 14 percent or 225 students)
- a decrease in primary ITE from 2,405 students in 2021 to 1,765 students in 2022 (a decrease of 27 percent or 640 students), and
- a decrease in secondary ITE from 1,155 students in 2021 to 850 students in 2022 (a decrease of 26 percent or 305 students).
After the large COVID-19 related increase in domestic first-time ITE students in 2021, the border reopening and continued low unemployment have likely contributed to the decrease in ITE students in 2022. Enrolment levels are now broadly at similar levels to those seen in the years prior to the COVID-19 related surge in students.
There was also a decrease of 23 percent in Māori medium ITE students which represented a decrease of 45 students (these students are already included in the sector data above).
ECE
The number of ECE students decreased in 2022, following on from the significant rise in 2021 related to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the decrease, the number of students in 2022 (1,425) remains 15 percent above the 2017 low point in ECE enrolments (1,240).
Primary
Like student numbers in other ITE teaching sectors, the number of first-time domestic primary students decreased significantly in 2022 following the large COVID-19 related rise in 2021. In 2022, primary ITE student numbers (1,765) were close to what was seen in 2016 (1,755), which represented a low point in primary ITE enrolments.
Secondary
Secondary ITE numbers have displayed a similar pattern of a large increase in 2021 followed by a significant decrease in 2022. As a result, the number of secondary domestic first-time ITE students reached 850 in 2022. This number of students in 2022 was 5 percent above the low point in enrolments seen in 2016 (810).
Figure 1: Number of domestic students enrolling in ITE for the first time by indicative teaching sector
Note: where students enrol in or complete an ITE qualification which prepares them to teach in more than one sector, we report them in each of these sectors.
Indicative teaching sector | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Notes:
| ||||||||||||||||||
ECE | 2,025 | 2,090 | 2,200 | 2,420 | 2,990 | 2,985 | 2,295 | 2,120 | 1,805 | 1,575 | 1,410 | 1,255 | 1,240 | 1,315 | 1,440 | 1,355 | 1,650 | 1,425 |
Primary | 2,495 | 2,380 | 2,455 | 2,160 | 2,565 | 2,785 | 2,230 | 2,375 | 2,025 | 1,840 | 1,885 | 1,755 | 1,770 | 2,055 | 2,025 | 1,920 | 2,405 | 1,765 |
Secondary | 1,455 | 1,330 | 1,305 | 1,135 | 1,400 | 1,370 | 1,145 | 1,170 | 1,050 | 970 | 895 | 810 | 900 | 905 | 875 | 890 | 1,155 | 850 |
Unknown | 65 | 40 | 55 | 85 | 65 | 45 | 35 | 30 | 20 | 20 | 15 | 15 | 10 | 30 | 10 | 10 | 35 | 15 |
Total | 5,625 | 5,490 | 5,715 | 5,665 | 6,820 | 6,940 | 5,565 | 5,595 | 4,825 | 4,360 | 4,170 | 3,835 | 3,915 | 4,300 | 4,345 | 4,170 | 5,235 | 4,050 |
Māori medium
In 2022, the number of first-time ITE Māori medium students decreased by 23 percent to reach 155. This followed a decrease of 20 percent in 2021, an increase of 22 percent in 2020, and a decrease of 23 percent in 2019. These large swings in the number of starters are due in part to the relatively small numbers involved in Māori medium ITE.
In 2022, almost three quarters (74 percent) of Māori medium first-time ITE students were enrolled in immersion programmes.
The vast majority of Māori medium first-time ITE students were enrolled in programmes at the primary sector level. In 2022, 94 percent of first-time students were enrolled in primary programmes. The remaining students were enrolled in programmes at the ECE level.
Domestic students enrolled in Māori medium ITE qualifications
Figure 2: Number of students enrolling in Māori medium ITE qualifications who were enrolling in ITE for the first time, by indicative teaching sector
Demographic characteristics (see Figures 3-5)
In 2022, 74 percent of first time domestic ECE students were aged under 35. This proportion peaked with 80 percent aged under 35 in 2017, and has generally trended downwards since then. In the primary sector, the proportion of first-time students aged under 35 increased from 77 percent in 2020 to 83 percent in 2022. In the secondary sector, the proportion of first-time students aged under 35 was 77 percent in 2022, down from 83 percent in 2015.
First-time students in the ECE sector were almost exclusively women (97 percent in 2022), with lower proportions of women in the primary (82 percent in 2022) and secondary sectors (59 percent in 2022). These proportions have not changed significantly in recent years.
The proportion of first-time domestic students who were Māori has generally been relatively stable across all sectors in the last four years. In 2022, 16 percent of ECE first-time students were Māori compared with 15 percent in 2021, and 16 percent in 2020 and 2019. The proportion of primary ITE students who were Māori was up slightly to 24 percent in 2022 from 23 percent in 2021. This compared with proportions of 26 percent in 2020 and 22 percent in 2019. In the secondary sector, the proportion of first-time students who were Māori was 14 percent in 2022, the same as in 2021 and 2019, while there was a value of 13 percent in 2020.
The low number of first-time students who are Pacific Peoples makes identifying trends difficult. But, over the last four years the proportion of first-time students in the ECE and primary sectors has remained relatively stable, while the proportion of Pacific Peoples in secondary ITE decreased to 6 percent in 2022 after being 8 percent in 2020.
Figure 3: Age distribution of domestic students enrolling in ITE for the first time by indicative teaching sector
Figure 4: Gender distribution of domestic students enrolling in ITE for the first time by indicative teaching sector
Figure 5: Ethnic group distribution of domestic students enrolling in ITE for the first time by indicative teaching sector
Study-related characteristics (see Figures 6 and 7)
The majority of first-time students in the ECE and primary sectors study at the bachelors degree level. In 2022, 74 percent of ECE students and 63 percent of primary students were enrolled in bachelors degrees. In the secondary sector, bachelors degree provision has decreased in recent years so that now first-time students are enrolled exclusively at the graduate diploma, postgraduate diploma, and masters degree level.
Since the last of the colleges of education (CoEs) were merged with them in the mid-2000s, universities have dominated first-time ITE student provision in the primary and secondary teaching sectors. In 2022, 86 percent of primary sector students and 88 percent of secondary sector students were studying at universities. In the ECE sector private training establishments (PTEs) have the largest proportion of first-time students in 2022 (61 percent) followed by Te Pūkenga (21 percent) and universities (18 percent).
In 2022, 52 percent of first-time ECE students studied on an extramural basis, compared with 26 percent of primary students and 35 percent of secondary students.
In 2022, the vast majority of first-time primary sector students (93 percent) and secondary sector students (91 percent) were studying full-time, compared with 64 percent in the ECE sector.
In line with the decrease in ITE students seen at the national level, the number of first-time domestic ITE students also decreased in all broad regions of study in 2022. The data shows that the fastest rate of decline in students was in Auckland (down 27 percent) followed by the Rest of the North Island (down 21 percent) and the South Island (down 20 percent).
Figure 6: Distribution of domestic students enrolling in ITE for the first time by qualification type and indicative teaching sector
Figure 7: Distribution of domestic students enrolling in ITE for the first time by sub-sector and indicative teaching sector
International students enrolled in ITE for the first time
The number of first-time international students decreased by 44 percent in 2022, reflecting the impact of COVID-19. In 2022, 76 percent of first-time international students were enrolled in an ECE qualification.
Domestic students completing an ITE qualification for the first time
Overall trends (see Figures 8 and 9) Last Updated: July 2023
Following the significant COVID-19-related increase in graduates in 2021, the number of graduates in 2022 has decreased in line with a decrease in enrolments. The number of domestic students completing their first ITE qualification decreased from 4,095 in 2021 to 3,410 in 2022 (a decrease of 17 percent or 685 graduates). When looking at the indicative teaching sector this was the result of:
- a decrease in early childhood education (ECE ) ITE from 1,240 graduates in 2021 to 1,135 graduates in 2022 (a decrease of 8.5 percent or 105 graduates)
- a decrease in primary ITE from 1,830 graduates in 2021 to 1,450 graduates in 2022 (a decrease of 21 percent or 380 graduates)
- a decrease in secondary ITE from 1,020 graduates in 2021 to 815 graduates in 2022 (a decrease of 20 percent or 205 graduates)
There was also a decrease of 3.7 percent in Māori medium ITE graduates which represented a decrease of 5 (these graduates are already included in the sector data above).
Although the number of first-time domestic ECE ITE graduates decreased by 8.5 percent in 2022, it remained 20 percent higher than the low point in 2019.
The number of first-time domestic primary ITE graduates reached 1,450 in 2022, a decrease of 21 percent on the previous year. As a result of this decrease, the number of graduates in 2022 was roughly in line with the numbers of graduates completing their studies between 2016 and 2020.
After reaching just over 1,000 graduates in 2021, the number of secondary graduates decreased in 2022 and has returned to similar levels of graduates experienced in 2019 and 2020.
Figure 8: Number of domestic students completing an ITE qualification for the first time by indicative teaching sector
Note: where students enrol in or complete an ITE qualification which prepares them to teach in more than one sector, we report them in each of these sectors.
Indicative teaching sector | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Notes:
| ||||||||||||||||||
ECE | 1,040 | 1,380 | 1,440 | 1,765 | 1,755 | 1,780 | 2,125 | 2,140 | 2,030 | 1,665 | 1,380 | 1,130 | 1,095 | 950 | 945 | 1,010 | 1,240 | 1,135 |
Primary | 1,730 | 1,885 | 1,950 | 1,760 | 1,925 | 1,670 | 2,075 | 2,085 | 1,925 | 1,885 | 1,630 | 1,470 | 1,505 | 1,505 | 1,535 | 1,380 | 1,830 | 1,450 |
Secondary | 1,145 | 1,210 | 1,120 | 1,065 | 1,205 | 1,105 | 1,200 | 1,045 | 860 | 880 | 805 | 765 | 865 | 875 | 835 | 820 | 1,020 | 815 |
Unknown | 70 | 50 | 45 | 25 | 10 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
Total | 3,750 | 4,295 | 4,350 | 4,405 | 4,680 | 4,485 | 5,315 | 5,165 | 4,720 | 4,365 | 3,785 | 3,330 | 3,455 | 3,325 | 3,315 | 3,220 | 4,095 | 3,410 |
Māori medium
In 2022, the number of first-time ITE Māori medium graduates decreased by 3.7 percent to reach 130 (a decrease of 5). This followed an increase of 15 graduates in 2021.
In 2022, 62 percent of graduates were from immersion programmes.
In 2022, 96 percent of graduates were in primary sector programmes. The remaining students were in ECE-level programmes.
Figure 9: Number of domestic students completing Māori medium ITE qualifications who were completing their first ITE qualification
Demographic characteristics by teaching sector (see Figures 10-12)
First-time ITE graduates have generally been getting younger in the ECE sector. The proportion of ECE graduates aged under 35 years has increased from 53 percent in 2007 to 67 percent in 2022. In the last five years, the proportion of graduates aged under 35 in primary ITE has been relatively constant at around 77 percent. In secondary ITE, the proportion of graduates aged under 35 had decreased from 83 percent in 2015 to 77 percent in 2022.
First-time graduates in the ECE sector were almost exclusively women (96 percent in 2022). Women were relatively smaller proportions, but still majorities, of primary (84 percent in 2022) and secondary (60 percent in 2022) sector graduates.
In 2022, the proportion of ITE graduates who were Māori decreased in all three teaching sectors. In ECE, the proportion of Māori graduates decreased from 16 percent in 2021 to 12 percent in 2022, the number of Māori graduates in primary ITE decreased from 21 percent in 2021 to 20 percent in 2022, and the number of Māori graduates in the secondary sector decreased from 14 percent in 2021 to 12 percent in 2022. Of the three teaching sectors, primary ITE (20 percent) has the highest proportion of Māori graduates in 2022.
The low number of first-time graduates who are Pacific Peoples makes identifying trends difficult. In 2022, the proportion of graduates who were Pacific Peoples increased in the primary and secondary sectors, while decreasing slightly in the ECE sector. In the primary sector, the proportion of Pacific Peoples increased from 7.7 percent in 2021 to 9.0 percent in 2022 and in secondary the proportion increased from 6.4 percent to 7.4 percent. The proportion of Pacific Peoples in the ECE sector decreased from 7.3 percent to 6.2 percent. In 2022, primary ITE had the highest proportion of Pacific Peoples graduates (9.0 percent).
Figure 10: Age distribution of domestic students completing an ITE qualification for the first time by indicative teaching sector
Figure 11: Gender distribution of domestic students completing an ITE qualification for the first time by indicative teaching sector
Figure 12: Ethnic group distribution of domestic students completing an ITE qualification for the first time by indicative teaching sector
Study-related characteristics by teaching sector (see Figures 13 and 14)
In the ECE and primary sectors, although the majority of first-time ITE graduates complete bachelors degrees, the proportion has generally been declining over the last six years. In 2022, 68 percent of ECE graduates completed an ITE bachelors degree, compared with 84 percent in 2016. In primary ITE, 57 percent of graduates completed a bachelors degree, down from 66 percent in 2014. In secondary ITE, first-time graduates mainly complete graduate diplomas, postgraduate diplomas and masters degrees. In 2022, 69 percent competed graduate diplomas, 13 percent completed postgraduate diplomas and 17 percent completed masters degrees.
Universities continue to produce the vast majority of first-time graduates in primary and secondary ITE. In 2022, 90 percent of graduates in primary and 88 percent in secondary were from universities. PTEs now produce the largest number of first-time ECE graduates. In 2022, 56 percent of ECE graduates were from PTEs, compared with 22 percent from universities and 21 percent from Te Pūkenga.
Figure 13: Distribution of domestic students completing an ITE qualification for the first time by type of qualification and indicative teaching sector
Figure 14: Distribution of domestic students completing an ITE qualification for the first time by sub-sector and indicative teaching sector
In line with the decrease in ITE graduates seen at the national level, the number of first-time domestic ITE graduates also decreased in all broad regions of study in 2022. The data shows that the fastest rate of decrease in graduates was in the Auckland region (17 percent) followed by the Rest of North Island (15 percent) and the South Island (11 percent).
Across the curriculum subject areas that secondary ITE graduates have studied to teach at school, in line with the decrease in completions in 2022, eight of the nine broad subject areas had a decrease in graduates between 2021 and 2022. The only broad subject area to show an increase was Languages.
The largest changes in the distribution of the broad teaching subjects between 2021 and 2022 was a decrease in share from 35 percent to 32 percent in Social sciences, a decrease in share from 13 percent to 10 percent in Technology and a decrease from 18 percent to 15 percent in English. There was an increase in share from 13 percent to 16 percent for The Arts.
At the more detailed subject level, the data shows the biggest change in numbers related to a decrease in graduates in Social Studies (from 220 in 2021 to 155 in 2022) and Health Education/Science (from 115 in 2021 to 65 in 2022). In both cases, the decreases in 2022 followed a significant increase in graduate numbers in 2021. The largest increase in graduates between 2021 and 2022 was in General Science (from 95 in 2021 to 110 in 2022.
International students completing an ITE qualification for the first time
The number of first-time ITE international graduates with an ITE qualification increased by 4.3 percent in 2022 to reach 600 (an increase of 25). Of these 2022 graduates, 93 percent were in the ECE sector.
Technical Notes
How do these initial teacher education (ITE) statistics differ from other field of study data published by the Ministry of Education?
Although the Ministry of Education publishes other enrolment and graduate data for students who studied in the field of education, the ITE statistics exclude qualifications that do not lead to provisional teacher registration (such as certificates that are preparatory qualifications). In doing so, the initial teacher education statistics present a more accurate picture of teacher training in New Zealand.
Determining the likely sector of teaching of initial teacher education students/graduates
Using the administrative data reported to the Ministry of Education by tertiary education providers, the following process was used to determine the likely sector of teaching (early childhood education (ECE), primary, or secondary) for each student/graduate:
Step 1:
The New Zealand Classification of Education (NZSCED) code for the initial teacher education qualification the student was enrolled in (or completed) was used to map the qualification to a sector of teaching. The mapping used is presented in Table 2. For example, a student enrolled in or completing a qualification with an NZSCED code of 070101, 070118, or 070120, was assigned to the ECE sector.
Sector | NZSCED Code | NZSCED Name |
---|---|---|
ECE | 070101 | Teacher Education: Early Childhood (Pre-Service) |
070118 | Bilingual Early Childhood Teacher Training (Pre-Service) | |
070120 | Immersion Early Childhood Teacher Training (Pre-Service) | |
Primary | 070103 | Teacher Education: Primary (Pre-Service) |
070122 | Bilingual Primary Teacher Training (Pre-Service) | |
070124 | Immersion Primary Teacher Training (Pre-Service) | |
Secondary | 070105 | Teacher Education: Secondary (Pre-Service) |
070126 | Bilingual Secondary Teacher Training (Pre-Service) | |
070128 | Immersion Secondary Teacher Training (Pre-Service) |
Step 2:
A number of initial teacher education qualifications do not identify a single sector of teaching via an NZSCED code, as they can produce graduates for more than one teaching sector.
In these cases, to determine the likely sector of teaching for each student/graduate, the courses a student enrolled in as part of the initial teacher education qualification were analysed. The study load (as measured by equivalent full-time students (EFTS)) in courses assigned to any of the initial teacher education NZSCED codes in Table 1 (or in courses that had a name that identified a sector of teaching) was then aggregated and a student was assigned to a teaching sector where they had the largest study load.
Where the likely sector of teaching for a student/graduate could not be identified using Step1 and Step 2 the sector was treated as "unknown".
Because the likely sector of teaching is a derived characteristic, it should be treated as indicative only.
Determining who is enrolling in ITE for the first time or completing their first ITE qualification
People can enrol in and complete additional ITE qualifications throughout their career. They do this for a variety of purposes, including: career progression, specialisation and remuneration gains. These people will already be qualified to teach.
To get a sense of people who are new to teacher training we split the enrolment data into those enrolling in ITE for the first time in that year and those who have been enrolled in ITE qualifications in previous years.
To identify the students new to ITE, we look back to 1994 using historical datasets to see if they have studied previously. If we don’t see a prior enrolment, they are treated as new to ITE in that year. As the unit record data only goes back to 1994, there may be older students who we identify as being new to ITE who may in fact already have studied an ITE qualification in the period prior to 1994.
Similarly, for ITE completion data, we report who is completing an ITE qualification for the first time and those who have already completed an ITE qualification in the past. This gives a sense of how many graduates may be available to join the teaching profession.
Focusing on 'first-time' students gives a more accurate picture of who may be available to join the teaching profession for the first time in the future.
More detail on this is provided in the Technical notes sheet in the Excel statistical tables.
Treatment of multi-teaching sector qualifications
In the reporting of official ITE statistics, where students enrol in or complete an ITE qualification which prepares them to teach in more than one sector, we report them in each of these sectors.
More detail on this is provided in the Technical notes sheet in the Excel statistical tables.
Region of study
In the ITE enrolment statistics, where a student is studying intramurally, the delivery site of the courses they enrolled in is used to identify study region. Where a student is studying extramurally, the postal code of the term address of the student is used to determine study region. Where study region cannot be determined we treat the study region as unknown.
For the ITE completions data, the study region of the last year of enrolment in the qualification is used to determine the study region.
It should be noted that the region an ITE student studies in may not be related to the region where they commence teaching.
Assigning a student as intramural or extramural
To assign a student as intramural or extramural the study load in courses/papers they are enrolled in within the qualification in a year is examined and if the majority of the study load is on an intramural basis they are assigned to that status (and vice versa). So a student who is classified as intramural may still be doing an extramural based paper.
The teaching subjects of secondary sector graduates
The initial teacher education data in sheet ITE.COM8 presents the teaching subject(s) of secondary sector graduates. Tertiary education providers can report up to three teaching subjects for each graduate via the Single Data Return and the data is available from 2019.
The subjects reported in sheet ITE.COM8 do not necessarily represent the subjects that the graduate may teach at school.
The initial teacher education data is compiled at the qualification level
The initial teacher education statistics reported here were compiled at the qualification level. Therefore, if a student was assigned to a particular sector of teaching, all of the EFTS for that student in that qualification in that year were assigned to that sector.
Māori medium statistics
The Māori medium statistics are reported for programmes that meet Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand requirements for Māori medium. The Māori medium data is available from 2016 onwards as the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand requirements for Māori medium came into force on 1 January 2016.
As well as reporting the total number of students enrolled in and completing Māori medium ITE qualifications, we have split the data into bilingual or immersion provision. This terminology is in line with NZSCED definitions.