The Extent, Nature and Effectiveness of Planned Approaches in ...

For the purposes of the questionnaire analysis, the schools have been grouped as follows:• Primary: Contributing and Full (1003 schools, 78.8%)• Intermediate (71 schools, 5.6%)• Secondary: Years 7-15; Years 9-15 (149 schools, 11.7%)• ‘Other’: Special Schools; Composite; Correspondence School; Restricted Composite (50schools, 3.9%)Geographic regions. The responding schools are representative of all geographic regions in NewZealand, as shown on Table 5 (Correspondence School not included.)Only slight regional differences occur between the sample and New Zealand as a whole. Furthermorethe representation of North and South Island schools is equivalent to the national figures.Table 5. Geographic Regions.Ministry of EducationDatabase July 2002Respondents toQuestionnaireRegion Frequency Percent Frequency PercentAuckland 517 19.2 253 19.9Bay of Plenty 156 5.8 69 5.4Canterbury 327 12.2 166 13.0Gisborne 57 2.1 23 1.8Hawkes Bay 145 5.4 76 6.0Manawatu-Wanganui 223 8.3 116 9.1Northland 156 5.8 64 5.0Otago 165 6.1 65 5.1Southland 102 3.8 53 4.2Taranaki 115 4.3 52 4.1Waikato 322 12.0 145 11.4Wellington 263 9.8 127 10.0West Coast 46 1.7 16 1.3Chatham Islands 3 .1 1 .1Marlborough 32 1.2 15 1.2Nelson 24 .9 13 1.0Tasman 35 1.3 18 1.4Total 2688 100.0 1272 100.0Approximately 836 schools in New Zealand are classified as rural, comprising 31.1% of all schools.The respondents to the questionnaire were similarly grouped, with 30.2% of the sample from ruralschools.Decile ratings. The Ministry of Education has developed a Targeted Funding for EducationalAchievement indicator, commonly known as a ‘decile rating.’ The rating is intended to be a measureof socio-economic disadvantage, and is based upon several dimensions:• Equivalent Household Income;• Parents’ Occupation;• Household Crowding;• Parents’ Educational Qualifications;164