CensusAtSchool involves an online survey for Year 3-13 students
Schools take part voluntarily, with students completing the survey during lesson time, then submitting their data to contribute to an international database.
Some questions are in common with the other countries, to provide comparisons between countries, while tailoring the remainder of the questionnaire to reflect the interests of New Zealand children.
Results and sample data are made available to teachers once the ‘census’ is complete, with classroom resources released over time.
Aims:
- Foster a positive attitude to statistics through using data that is both relevant and real
- Improve understanding of a data gathering process, its purposes and benefits to society
- Provide access to large and meaningful multivariate data sets
- Encourage effective IT teaching and learning
- Enhance the process of statistical enquiry across the curriculum
A Non-Profit, Educationally Motivated Project
CensusAtSchool NZ is hosted by the Department of Statistics at the University of Auckland in association with Stats NZ and the Ministry of Education.
International Project
CensusAtSchool NZ joins an international educational project designed to enhance statistical literacy. It began in the UK, but was based on a trial project by Prof. Sharleen Forbes of Stats NZ, which took place in 1990.
The Royal Statistical Society Centre for Statistical Education started the CensusAtSchool project in the UK in 2000 and it has since been joined by New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Ireland, Japan, South Africa, USA and Korea.
Aims:
- provide real data for data-handling activities across the National Curriculum;
- increase awareness of what a national census is, and what it is for;
- show how Information and Communications Technology can be used effectively to enhance learning and teaching resources for good practice in data handling.
