Talking Across the Divide: English Teachers Respond to the NCEA

Abstract

The implementation of the National Certificate of Educational Achievement as a single, senior secondary school qualification in New Zealand has been a fraught process marked by a good deal of acrimonious debate. This article reports on a research project that brought together two groups of secondary English teachers, one self-described as in favour of the NCEA and one as opposed to it. Both groups were invited to describe aspects of their practice, share their views on aspects of the NCEA and engage in a focus group where they explored these views with other teachers. Certain predictable trends were found in the responses of both groups but there was also an interesting degree of convergence. On the basis of this convergence, a possible way forward for reform of the NCEA is suggested.