New Zealand’s literacy strategy seeks to translate into reality the broad policy goals of equipping all New Zealanders with the knowledge, skills and values to be successful citizens of the 21st century. A major focus of the national literacy strategy is to raise reading and writing achievement through teacher professional development, particularly of those currently not achieving well. This paper examines how these policy goals were progressed through a professional development initiative that emphasised evidence-informed inquiry and knowledge building at all layers of the system, including that of the national Ministry of Education. Student achievement improved significantly.

Student assessment information formed the touchstone for learning at all system layers. This information in itself was insufficient, however, and evidence of teacher knowledge and practice was also sought in the interests of progressing students’ learning goals. The focus of professional learning for teachers was based on what they needed to learn in order to promote the learning goals for their students. Student achievement information was used to assess the effectiveness of any changes. Similarly, the professional learning of school leaders was based on inquiry into the effectiveness of their current practices and what they needed to learn in order to lead school-level change. The same evidence-informed inquiry and knowledge building processes were evident for the professional development facilitators who visited the schools, the project leaders, and Ministry of Education officials. Thus complementary evidence-informed inquiry processes developed throughout the system layers.

The visiting facilitators were pivotal in the success of the project. Their influence spanned all system boundaries from Ministry of Education policy makers to teachers as they translated the more theoretical and generic policy messages on which the project was based into those that could be understood by practitioners in schools.