Significant changes are taking place in New Zealand secondary schools. The assessments used for NCEA Level 1 have been redeveloped and the New Zealand Curriculum is under review. To be able to apply the NCEA assessments Materials Technology teachers require versatile knowledge. This research investigates the place of teacher accumulated prior knowledge (APK) in formative assessment practices within the Materials Technology classroom. In addition, this study investigates what professional learning and development (PLD) is needed for newly qualified career changer teachers who have recently completed an initial teacher education programme. The literature from a New Zealand context refers generally to the specific skills and knowledge required for Materials Technology education but is not state in a meaningful way what APK is required. Within international literature, specific aspects of APK, formative assessment practices, and professional learning and development needs are discussed.

To investigate the problem, from the participants’ perspectives, an interpretivist worldview was used as the theoretical framework. The methodological approach was an exploratory case study, which enabled the participants to share their lived experiences in order for the study to answer the research questions. Six participants were purposively recruited. Semi-structured interviews were used to find out their perceptions about, the role of their APK in the MT classroom, their experiences with formative assessment, and their views on their future PLD needs. The data was collated through a process of coding, and then analysed to identify the key findings.

This study has three main findings; the accumulated prior knowledge of career changer MT teachers means they are well positioned to meet the requirements of NCEA assessment practices, participant understanding of formative assessment, and PLD needs for MT teachers. These findings generated a model for the development of newly qualified career changer MT teachers’ knowledge, which has implications for PLD, NCEA assessment capabilities, and initial teacher education.