Curriculum Insights

What do students understand about our government?

Many students were able to identify what the government does, such as making laws or running the country. Fewer demonstrated a deeper understanding of how government carries out these functions, such as making decisions about public spending, developing policy, and introducing laws through Parliament.

Our data suggests that while exposure to these ideas is widespread, deeper understanding is less common.

This highlights a key challenge: moving from recognising what government does to understanding how it actually works.

More info:
https://nmssa-production.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/2023_Insight_Democracy.pdf

What does it mean to really understand democracy?

Learning about democracy goes beyond knowing facts about how government works. The real shift happens when students begin to connect ideas like fairness, representation, and participation across different contexts.

Our Insights report shows that students who develop strong conceptual knowledge can move beyond surface descriptions. They apply what they know in flexible ways, linking classroom learning to real-world experiences.

This matters because concept-led learning builds the kind of understanding students can carry with them and apply across a range of contexts, not just recall for assessment.


New Zealand Council for Educational Research - NZCER

Link:
https://nmssa-production.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/2023_Insight_Democracy.pdf

🛎️REMINDER: our final webinar in this series is THIS AFTERNOON at 3:30pm. We'll be discussing self-efficacy. We hope you can join us!🛎️

Learn how you can apply our findings on teacher, student, and principal self-efficacy in your school in tomorrow's webinar.

The final webinar in our series, Efficacious and engaged, has a broader focus on student, teacher, and principal experiences, and may be of particular interest to tumuaki and school leaders.

Anyone interested in teaching and learning in Aotearoa New Zealand is warmly welcome to attend any of the sessions.

Sign up for the free webinar:
https://curriculuminsights.otago.ac.nz/webinars/

CALL FOR TRIAL SCHOOLS: FOUNDATION WRITING ASSESSMENT

Our partner organisation New Zealand Council for Educational Research - NZCER is inviting schools around Aotearoa to trial new writing tasks with students in Years 3, 6, and 8 as part of the Curriculum Insights and Progress Study foundation writing assessment.

Results will be used to help shape tasks for the Curriculum Insights term 4 foundation writing assessment.

Students will complete two writing assessments as part of the trial.

The trial will take place in weeks 2-4 of term 3 (Monday 27 July – Friday 14 August)

Teachers will receive reports showing how their students’ writing was marked by expert markers using the e-asTTle marking rubric.

We can accept up to 300 students in each year level for this trial. Please email [email protected] by Friday, 3rd July if you would like to take part!

Please do not apply for this trial if you are already taking part in the 2026 Curriculum Insights and Progress Study.

Learn how you can apply our findings on teacher, student, and principal self-efficacy in your school in tomorrow's webinar.

The final webinar in our series, Efficacious and engaged, has a broader focus on student, teacher, and principal experiences, and may be of particular interest to tumuaki and school leaders.

Anyone interested in teaching and learning in Aotearoa New Zealand is warmly welcome to attend any of the sessions.

Sign up for the free webinar:
https://curriculuminsights.otago.ac.nz/webinars/

2025 Foundation Assessments Reports released Assessing and understanding the achievement of primary school students across the New Zealand curriculum. The NMSSA programme has been in operation since 2012.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) at 3:30pm, we are hosting a science and maths learning area webinar.

Join us to hear from our experts about how this knowledge can inform your teaching.

Register here:
https://curriculuminsights.otago.ac.nz/webinars/

🛎️Just a reminder, our Social Science and English webinar is at 3:30pm TODAY 🛎️

Register: https://curriculuminsights.otago.ac.nz/webinars/

Missed our latest webinar on the 2025 Foundation Assessments in maths, reading, and writing?

Watch the full recording and hear the study team walk through the key findings shaping the emerging picture of ākonga achievement.

Watch now: https://curriculuminsights.otago.ac.nz/news/reports-release-webinar-maths-reading-writing-2025/