OECD Review on Evaluation and Assessment Frameworks for Improving School Outcomes

Foreword 

The education system of New Zealand today reflects our bicultural heritage, relatively short colonial history and the enduring vision of a world-leading education system that enables every student to be successful. This section outlines significant influences on the development of the system.

Egalitarian intentions

The egalitarian approach to the development of education in New Zealand can be seen in the provision of a variety of schooling structures and the opportunity for all students to experience success through a broad national curriculum.

The 1877 Education Act established that a primary education for New Zealand students would be ‘free, compulsory and secular’. The development of national primary education provision emphasised the right of every student to expect a similar standard of education regardless of school location and size. By the early twentieth century the secondary schooling system was in place. A range of options, such as combining primary and secondary education in District High Schools, served rural populations. The Correspondence School extended provision to students in remote areas.

The development of the liberal progressive tradition in the 1920s shaped the direction of the system for several decades. From the 1930s intermediate schools (Years 7-8) were set up to bridge the transition between primary and secondary schooling; a complete review of the primary school curriculum was undertaken; a core curriculum for the first two years of secondary schooling developed; and changes made to the examination system that enabled the provision of a wider range of subject choices for students. The policies and practices established in the 1940s, to ensure a well balanced education for the wide range of students entering post-primary education, influenced developments in the structure of secondary schooling, as well as curriculum provision, for the next 50 years.

Social change through the 1960s, including the call for women’s rights and justice for indigenous peoples, followed by the economic downturn in the 1970s, generated dissatisfaction with an education system that did not appear to be providing equality of outcomes for all students. A number of reports in the 1980s identified the need to broaden curriculum provision, improve retention rates and provide for an equitable assessment system in secondary schooling.

Administering for Excellence (1988) and Tomorrow’s Schools (1988) set the direction for structural reform of the education system, with responsibility for governance and management of individual schools devolved to elected boards of trustees. In making provision for Māori communities to set up and govern their own schools, Tomorrow’s Schools enabled the development of the Māori-medium sector.

Following the structural reforms of the 1980s, the national curriculum was comprehensively revised in the 1990s and a new standards-based qualifications system introduced from 2002, the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA).

Influence of the Treaty of Waitangi

The Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840 by Māori chiefs and representatives of the British Crown. The Treaty is recognised as a founding document of New Zealand and an important constitutional document relevant to the process of government. Over time, the principles established through Treaty jurisprudence have formed the basis of obligations on the Crown and on Māori.

In education, these obligations have been expressed through the establishment of Māori education pathways that foster and support the Māori language and culture. For Government this has required a focus on how the delivery of education must be improved for Māori learners. Ka Hikitia – Managing for Success 2008-2012, the Māori Education Strategy, is based on principles that seek to ensure that education for and with Māori enables ‘Māori to succeed in education as Māori’. As well as seeking system shifts to improve the education experience and outcomes from education for each Māori learner, the Ministry of Education also maintains educational partnerships with Iwi (tribal) groups through relationship instruments.

The Māori-medium education sector provides the opportunity for students to learn through te reo Māori in Māori cultural settings from early childhood to tertiary education.

The challenge of increasing diversity

New Zealand’s population projections show rapidly increasing diversity by ethnicity and multiple cultural heritages. Projections¹ indicate that over half of students in schooling will identify with multiple and non-European ethnic heritages within the next five years. In 2009, almost a third of students in New Zealand schooling were Māori (22 percent) and Pasifika (10 percent).

On average, New Zealand students achieve as well or better than students from other countries in core areas such as reading, mathematics and science. Compared with similar countries, a greater proportion of young people achieve at the highest levels. However, the system serves some groups of students, in particular Māori and Pasifika students and students from low socio-economic communities, less well. Although in recent years the relative outcomes for these groups have improved, greater progress in reducing educational disparities is necessary.

The last decade has been characterised by increased recognition of the critical importance of improving the quality of teaching² and its responsiveness to the diversity of the student population, supported by effective professional leadership³. Using the evidence about what works to ensure that the system responds effectively to the needs of every learner demands shifts in practice at every level.

Conclusion

The education system has evolved alongside the development of New Zealand as a nation with an egalitarian outlook, a concern for social justice and a desire to ensure equality of opportunity. These features have contributed to the development of an education system that provides multiple pathways and flexible options with central control over policy development but devolved responsibility for policy implementation within a national accountability framework.

The current education priorities focus on a nationally driven effort to address the education system’s major challenges: reducing the achievement disparities within and across schools, particularly for Māori and Pasifika students, improving the education outcomes for all young New Zealanders, and Māori enjoying education success as Māori.

Footnotes

1. Statistics New Zealand (April 2010). National ethnic population projections: 2006 (base) – 2026 update. www.stats.govt.nz National Population Estimates. Wellington.
2. Hattie, J. A. C. (2009). Visible Learning. New York: Routledge.
3. Robinson, V., Hohepa, M., & Lloyd, C. (2009). School Leadership and Student Outcomes: Identifying What Works and Why. Best Evidence Synthesis. Wellington: Ministry of Education.