Assessment in early childhood education in New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in Educational Psychology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand

The researcher aimed at developing an understanding of the range of approaches to assessment of children in early childhood education in New Zealand. The method of a questionnaire was used. One questionnaire explored the range of assessment methods used by teachers, how well teachers understood the purpose of assessment, how comfortable they felt using a variety of methods, and how they used the information collated from assessments for child, teacher and programme development. A second and similar questionnaire was used to clarify the aims of pre-service ECE teacher education in relation to assessment practices for early childhood education in New Zealand. The research data revealed mixed results regarding teacher confidence in assessment, the use of multiple assessment methods, the role of ECE teachers in assessment, the assessment of all the necessary learning areas, the regularity of assessments, and the effectiveness of assessment methods used. The importance of early childhood assessment, the role of teachers in early childhood assessment, the implementation and management of assessment practices, and the related pre-service ECE teacher education received, should be reviewed by the Ministry of Education and the pre-service ECE teacher education programmes in New Zealand.