About 80 people attended the seminar, titled Parenting Teenagers for Success at School, at Bayfield High School this week.
With more than 25 years' experience in senior school management, Mr Driessen is a regular speaker at national and international education conferences, and gives worldwide workshops and seminars to teachers, parents and school boards.
He told those gathered that much of what he had learnt over the years came from the parents of teenagers he spoke to after their son or daughter got into trouble at school.
"Talking to a lot of parents gave me a lot of wisdom.
"Gradually, I transferred all the knowledge of the parents and took the bits I thought worked best."
Mr Driessen offered much advice, including how to motivate teenagers, make homework part of their life, provide structure and inspiration to help them achieve, and how emotional wellbeing influences their learning.
He also explained why some boys' and girls' learning styles were different, why teenagers needed help with their organisation skills, why challenges and goals were so important, and the importance of sport and hobbies.
"It isn't easy [being a parent], but it's not rocket science either."
Mr Driessen's trip to Bayfield High School was not a coincidence.
He was the former assistant principal at Wanganui High School, where he worked with Judith Forbes, Bayfield High School's new principal.
While at Wanganui High School, Mr Driessen began his research into teen parenting by implementing the Wanganui High School learning project.
It was an exploratory research project focusing on boys' educational achievement, consisting of 16 different trials and involving 25 staff - including Mrs Forbes.
In 1998, he received the Davies Trust Educational Research Grant for research into boys' education, and was awarded a grant by the New Zealand Ministry of Education to conduct a major project concerning the improvement of boys' educational outcomes.
Mr Driessen said his findings showed that parents had a great influence on their teens' achievement, and his seminars gave parents a deeper understanding of what motivated their teens, and showed them how they needed to be supported in order to become outstanding pupils.
