The relationship between student attitudes to school survey results and NAPLAN results

Kristina Turner and Maryanne Pale
Swinburne University of Technology, Australia

In recent years many policy and curriculum reforms aimed at improving Australian students' literacy and numeracy levels have been introduced into schools and in initial teacher education. Despite this, the Australian National Assessment Plan, Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) data indicates that there has been little or no improvement in Australian students' literacy and numeracy levels over recent years. Some researchers propose that there is a correlation between students' positive affect, engagement and relationships and their academic outcomes. Using correlation analysis this study set out to identify if there was a statistically significant relationship between the Victorian Department of Education and Training's student Attitudes to School Survey and academic outcomes as measured by NAPLAN standardised testing. This study finds some statistically significant relationships between student Attitudes to School Survey results and NAPLAN scores. This paper presents a study that provides a unique contribution to the current knowledge base around the correlation between student Attitudes to School Survey results and NAPLAN academic outcomes. These findings may have applicability in similar contexts.
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Authors: Dr Kristina Turner is a lecturer in Primary Education at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia. Her research interests are in teacher and student wellbeing, student engagement, student learning outcomes, pedagogical practice, how teachers find meaning in their work, teachers' character strengths and twenty-first century pedagogical practices. Email: kcturner@swin.edu.au Web: https://www.swinburne.edu.au/research/our-research/access-our-research/find-a-researcher-or-supervisor/researcher-profile/?id=kcturner Dr Maryanne Pale is a lecturer in Primary Education at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia. Her research interests are in English and literacy curriculum and pedagogy, assessments in education, Pasifika education, and culturally and linguistically responsive pedagogies. Email: mpale@swin.edu.au Web: https://www.swinburne.edu.au/research/our-research/access-our-research/find-a-researcher-or-supervisor/researcher-profile/?id=mpale Please cite as: Turner, K. & Pale, M. (2019). The relationship between student attitudes to school survey results and NAPLAN results. Issues in Educational Research, 29(1), 282-300. http://www.iier.org.au/iier29/turner.pdf