Congratulations to Associate Professor Maxine Pfannkuch of the University of Auckland for receiving a lifetime achievement award from the NZSA. Maxine has written many wonderful resources here for CensusAtSchool.

If you studied statistics at secondary school in the last quarter of a century, your learning was influenced by Maxine Pfannkuch of the Department of Statistics. Associate Professor Pfannkuch studies how people, mostly school students, draw statistical conclusions from data and from graphics, and looks for ways to teach them to do it better. Her work has led to many improvements to high-school statistics curricula here and overseas.

And Associate Professor Pfannkuch’s contribution has been recognised with a lifetime achievement award from the 68-year-old New Zealand Statistical Association (NZSA). The Campbell Award commemorates Professor James Towers Campbell (1906-1994), who was the first president of the NZSA. The award requires an “exceptional” publication record, and “prolonged and outstanding” contribution to statistical education as well as involvement in “major, innovative research projects that have direct relevance to New Zealand”.

Read the rest of the article here »

From January 2016, Statistics New Zealand’s Schools Corner will no longer be available.

From February 2016, relevant resources will be relocated to here CensusAtSchool and the nzmaths website.

One contributor to the CensusAtSchool/TataurangaKiTe Kura project is Dr Ian Christensen, who has been helping us to formulate the questionnaire in te reo Māori and also adapt CAS resources for the Māori-language pāngarau (maths) classroom. (You can search for those resources here).

Over the years, Ian has contributed to the development of the maths vocabulary and resources used in kura kaupapa (Māori-language schools). He works at a Māori language education and research organisation called He Kupenga Hao i te Reo, based in Palmerston North. He Kupenga Hao i te Reo has just published for the Ministry of Education a level 3 statistics textbook and accompanying teacher handbook called Te Tauanga (tauanga is the Māori word for statistics), which focuses on the statistics and probability strand of the pāngarau curriculum. Further books focusing on statistics at levels 4 and 5 of the curriculum will follow later in 2015 and early 2016.

We’re delighted to see that Ian has made good use of CensusAtSchool questions and data, and we are hoping that this will encourage more reo-Māori classrooms to take part in the Māori-language version of the census and accompanying resources. Thanks Ian!

Copies of the textbook can be ordered free of charge.

Radio New Zealand interview with Anne Patel: First national data on school bullying confirms its prevalence (June 12, 2015)

Maori Television: Students believe verbal abuse is biggest bullying problem in schools (June 12, 2015)

NZ Herald: Biggest bullying problem in NZ schools revealed (June 12, 2015)

Stuff: Verbal abuse a problem in New Zealand schools, children’s census finds (June 12, 2015)

Stuff: CensusAtSchool: Less texting, more social media (June 13, 2015)

But wait, there’s more …

The CensusAtSchool bullying data came out, coincidentally, on the “Day of Silence”, an event to raise awareness of the damaging effect of  homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying, name calling and harassment in schools. Here’s a story from Radio New Zealand’s Morning Report:

Bullying of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students (June 12, 2015)

School students think verbal mistreatment is the biggest bullying issue in schools – higher than cyberbullying, social or relational bullying such as social exclusion and spreading gossip, or physical bullying.

The insights have emerged from the long-running CensusAtSchool/TataurangaKiTeKura, a national statistics education project for primary and secondary school students. Supervised by teachers, students aged between 9 and 18 (Year 5 to Year 13) answer 35 questions in English or te reo Māori about their lives, then analyse the results in class.

Already, more than 18,392 students from 391 schools all over New Zealand have taken part in CensusAtSchool, which started on March 16. (Click here to see which of your local schools are taking part).

Students were asked how much they agreed or disagreed with statements about each type of bullying.  A total of 36% strongly agreed or agreed that verbal bullying was a problem among students at their school, followed by cyberbullying (31% agreed or strongly agreed), social or relational bullying (25% agreed or strongly agreed) and physical bullying (19% agreed or strongly agreed).

This is the first time CensusAtSchool has asked about bullying, says Ōtāhuhu College teacher Anne Patel, a member of the CensusAtSchool team. “Information about the scale of bullying is hard to get in New Zealand because we don’t have a way of quantifying it on a national level.  But as CensusAtSchool is anonymous and available to students in every school in the country, we are getting a unique student-eye view of its scale and prevalence.”

Looking more closely at each category:

Verbal bullying

• Overall, 36% of schoolchildren who took part strongly agreed or agreed that verbal bullying was a problem at their school.
• Verbal bullying was more of a problem in high schools (39% of students agreed or strongly agreed) than primary schools (29%).
• Verbal bullying was more of a problem for girls in co-ed schools (43% strongly agreed or agreed) than girls in single-sex schools (33% strongly agreed or agreed).

Cyberbullying

• Overall, 31% of students who took part strongly agreed or agreed that cyberbullying was a problem at their school.
• Girls were more likely to say cyberbullying was a problem at school (34% strongly agreed or agreed) than boys (26% strongly agreed or agreed).
• Cyberbullying was more of a problem in high schools. A total of 19% of boys at primary school strongly agreed or agreed that bullying was a problem in their schools, but 31% of boys at high school. A total of 22% of girls at primary school strongly agreed or agreed that cyber-bullying was a problem in their school, but 40% of girls at high school.
• For boys, cyber-bullying was more likely to be a problem in co-educational settings: A total of 32% of boys in co-ed schools strongly agreed or agreed that cyber bullying was a problem, against 23% of boys in single-sex schools. However, the picture was quite different for girls. A total of 40% of girls in co-ed schools strongly agreed or agreed that cyber bullying was a problem in their school, and the corresponding figure for girls in single-sex schools was also 40%.

And who were cyber bullies? Overall, 69% of all students who took part said that cyberbullies were equal numbers of boys and girls.

Social/relational bullying

Overall, 25% of students who took part strongly agreed or agreed that social/relational bullying was a problem at their school.

Physical bullying

• Overall, 19% of students who took part said physical bullying was a problem at their school.
• Physical bullying was more of an issue for boys (22% agreed, strongly agreed) than girls (16%).
• Physical bullying appeared to be a bigger problem for boys at co-ed schools (24% strongly agreed or agreed) than at single-sex boys’ schools (16%).
  However, physical bullying was seen to be bigger problem in the eyes of girls in co-ed schools (17% strongly agreed or agreed that physical bullying was a problem at their school), than those in single-sex schools (9%).

Anne Patel says of particular interest is the data showing that students in single-sex schools were less likely to report bullying as a problem. “The question we now need to ask is: why this is? What is it about these schools that students perceive bullying to be less of a problem?”

CensusAtSchool, now in its seventh edition, is a collaborative project involving teachers, the University of Auckland’s Department of Statistics, Statistics New Zealand and the Ministry of Education. It is part of an international effort to boost statistical capability among young people, and is carried out in Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, the US, Japan and South Africa. The countries share some questions so comparisons can be made, but the majority reflect New Zealand students’ interests.

Here’s some beautiful photos of tamariki in Room 2 at Strathmore School taking part in CensusAtSchool 2015:

      
Thanks to Whaea Rachel Rawiri for sending these in!

Singer and The X-Factor New Zealand judge Stan Walker is Kiwi kids’ favourite local celebrity by far, according to the first insights to emerge from CensusAtSchool/TataurangaKiTeKura, the only national survey of what schoolchildren are thinking, feeling and doing.

Walker, 24, who shot to fame after winning Australian Idol in 2009, was way ahead of any other local celebrities after day three of CensusAtSchool/TataurangaKiTeKura, a long-running, online educational project that brings statistics to life in the classroom. Supervised by teachers, students aged between 9 and 18 (Year 5 to Year 13) answer 35 questions in English or te reo Māori about their lives, then analyse the results in class.

CensusAtSchool/TataurangaKiTeKura was launched on Monday morning, and by 5pm on Wednesday, more than 2,500 students had taken part.

Among the questions they answered was “Who is your favourite New Zealand celebrity?”, and they could name anyone. Many said they didn’t have a particular favourite, but among those who did, Walker, of Tūhoe and Ngāti Tūwharetoa, picked up 25% of the votes. Second was Auckland singer Lorde, 18, whose 2013 debut single, Royals, was an international hit. She got 21% of the vote.

CensusAtSchool/TataurangaKiTeKura co-director Rachel Cunliffe, an online communications and youth culture specialist, says that Stan Walker’s talent, coupled with his sincerity and positive nature, makes him very appealing to children and young people. “Stan Walker rose above a really rough childhood, and that’s inspirational. He’s also a role model – he was campaigning against bullying long before it became a huge issue on The X Factor New Zealand this week.”

Rachel Cunliffe says that Lorde’s appeal lies not only in her music, but in her refusal to be anything other than herself.  “She’s a positive, strong, empowering personality.”

More than 1,700 teachers from 834 schools all over New Zealand have registered for CensusAtSchool, which started on Monday, March 16 and runs until May 29. (Click here to see which of your local schools are taking part).

CensusAtSchool, now in its seventh edition, is a collaborative project involving teachers and the University of Auckland’s Department of Statistics, with support from Statistics New Zealand and the Ministry of Education. It is part of an international effort to boost statistical capability among young people, and is carried out in Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, the US, Japan and South Africa. The countries share some questions so comparisons can be made, but the majority reflect New Zealand students’ interests.

Watch this video featuring Sue Hodge from Elm Park school in Pakuranga and Julie Middleton from the CensusAtSchool team on Te Kāea, Māori Television’s news show, on March 17.

The Ministry of Education and Statistics NZ are encouraging teachers to sign up to CensusAtSchool, an online statistics project that turns students into “data detectives”.

Students aged 9 to 18 (Year 5 to Year 13) use a variety of digital devices to answer 35 online questions in English or te reo Māori about their lives and opinions.

Students answer questions such as: Where did you eat your dinner last night? Is bullying among students a problem at your school? About how many txt messages did you send yesterday? Which two teams will contest the Rugby World Cup final? They are also asked to carry out activities such as weighing their schoolbag.

Ministry of Education Deputy Secretary for Student Achievement Dr Graham Stoop says more than 1600 teachers from over 800 schools are taking part in CensusAtSchool in their maths and statistics classes from March 16 until May 29. The data will then be released for classroom analysis.

“Students love becoming ‘data detectives’. This is a fun and engaging way for them to learn about the relevance of statistics to everyday life. CensusAtSchool is linked to the national statistics curriculum, so we encourage teachers in primary and secondary schools to take part,” says Dr Stoop.

The project is run every two years by the University of Auckland’s Department of Statistics, with support from Statistics NZ and the Ministry of Education.

Statistics NZ’s education manager Andrew Tideswell says statistical literacy is essential in a data-driven world. “Students with strong statistical skills are not only in demand in the workplace, they’re in a position to make informed decisions about the data around them every day.”

New Zealand schoolchildren will share their thoughts on bullying in a nationwide survey that launches this week.

CensusAtSchool/TataraungaKiTeKura is a long-running, online educational project that brings statistics to life in the classroom. Supervised by teachers, students aged between 9 and 18 (Year 5 to Year 13) answer 35 questions in English or te reo Māori about their lives, then analyse the results in class.

Already, more than 1618 teachers from 808 schools all over New Zealand have registered for CensusAtSchool, which runs from March 16 to May 29. (Click here to see which of your local schools are taking part).

For the first time, children will be asked for their opinions on bullying. CensusAtSchool co-director Rachel Cunliffe says the questions were developed in response to calls for greater discussion of the issue, which has been identified as a major problem in New Zealand.

“Bullying of any type – whether its verbal bullying or cyber-bullying – can have a huge and negative impact on children’s learning,” she says. “And as statistics is about recording what happens in real life, we have an opportunity to hear what children really think about the problem and, hopefully, encourage greater discussion of bullying.”

The bullying questions are as follows: Is bullying among students a problem at your school? When did you first personally experience or become aware of bullying behaviour? Who do you think are cyberbullies? How old do you think cyberbullies are?

Other questions in the survey this year ask students to undertake practical activities such as weighing their schoolbag, and paint a picture of their lifestyle through questions such as: Where did you eat your dinner last night? About how many txt messages did you send yesterday?

CensusAtSchool, now in its seventh edition, is a collaborative project involving teachers and the University of Auckland’s Department of Statistics, with support from StatisticsNZ and the Ministry of Education. It is part of an international effort to boost statistical capability among young people, and is carried out in Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, the US, Japan and South Africa. The countries share some questions so comparisons can be made, but the majority reflect New Zealand students’ interests.

Notes to media
Contact CensusAtSchool co-director Rachel Cunliffe at censusatschoolnz@gmail.com or phone 027 3833 746. For more information on CensusAtSchool New Zealand 2015, visit http://www.censusatschool.org.nz. To find out which of your local schools are participating, click here.  To see the questions, click here.

About CensusAtSchool co-director Rachel Cunliffe
Rachel holds a BSc (Hons) in Statistics from the University of Auckland and co-directs CAS with Professor Chris Wild of the Department of Statistics at The University of Auckland. Rachel owns web company cre8d design and speaks about online communications and youth culture. To download a free high-resolution picture of Rachel, click here.