Key Findings

Findings on learners aged under 25 years of age

• Students often knew what they needed to learn, but needed teachers and stakeholders to consult them to find out.
• Developing life skills alongside academic and work-ready skills was essential.
• Three quarters preferred practical learning opportunities.
• Students wanted to choose how they approached their own learning.
• They wanted a different structure and teaching and learning approach to the compulsory school environment.
• Technologies and visual learning media as learning tools were favoured ways to learn.
• Effective relationships between students and between students and teachers improved learning experiences and outcomes.
• Pastoral care was considered an important means for providing wrap-around support and learning opportunities for students with challenging personal lives.

Findings on professional development

• Professional development focused on obtaining and acting on learner feedback was essential.
• Relational and relevant learning and teaching was key to improving outcomes.
• High-quality teaching and learning environments with student support made a difference.
• Students valued learning and teaching activities that helped them transition to and prepare for employment, higher learning and careers.
• Communities of practice were effective professional development for teachers of students aged under 25.
• Educational leadership that understood content knowledge, pedagogy and teacher support was essential.
• Teachers highly valued reflective and reflexive learning and teaching conversations that occurred in multiple places in an educational setting.

Key Recommendations

Recommendations for teachers and stakeholders

• Learner consultation | Consult students on what they need to learn effectively.
• Skills development | Teach life skills alongside academic and work-ready skills.
• Practical learning | Provide practical learning opportunities.
• Learning choices | Allow students to choose how they approach their own learning.
• Provide new opportunities | Give students a change to experience a teaching and learning approach that is different to the compulsory school environment.
• Use different media | Use technologies and visual learning media as learning tools.
• Establish relationships | Encourage learners to relate to one another and to their teachers as a way to improve the learning experience and learning outcomes.
• Develop pastoral care options | Give students the wrap-around support they need to overcome challenging personal lives.

Recommendations for professional development

• New integrated professional development decision-making model | Whole organisations (including teachers, staff developers and management) should trial a new multi-tiered professional development approach that puts the ākonga/student voice at the centre (refer to figure 1).
  
  
  

  Figure 1: New integrated professional development decision-making model

• Relational and relevant learning and teaching | leaders should ask themselves and reflect on the following questions: What do I need to know and do to support teachers catering for students with diverse needs? How do I support and facilitate staff development that ensures the diverse needs of students are met in my organisation? How do I promote and ensure that teachers have access to a range of opportunities to develop pedagogical, learning and teaching skills?
• Leadership-driven quality teaching and learning and staff support | leaders should ask themselves and reflect on the following questions: What team-based processes are required to ensure whanaungatanga and a positive collective learning environment for under 25-year-old learners? How is data relating to student engagement and achievement analysed and shared to inform teaching in my teams/organisations? Is reflective teaching practice fostered and underpinned by a range of learning theory and evidence-based practice for the under-25s? What opportunities are available for staff to develop innovative creative teaching strategies which also reflect an ethic of holistic care for learners?
• Professional communities of practice | leaders should ask themselves and reflect on the following questions: What structures and resources can be allocated to ensure teachers have access to a range of pedagogical learning and teaching resources that can be adapted to suit their own contexts?