Education Statistics of New Zealand: 2007 Publications
Publication Details
The information in these tables relates to the 2007 academic year. It covers early childhood education, primary and secondary school education. Tertiary information is not covered in these tables.
Author(s): Education Information and Analysis, Ministry of Education.
Date Published: December 2008
Executive Summary
The main source of information for the tables is a census of educational institutions carried out during July 2007. The data contained in this volume reflects a snapshot of education in New Zealand and therefore does not give cumulative enrolments over an entire year.
In these tables, the ethnicity of students at the pre-school level is normally identified by a parent or guardian. Ethnicity of students at school level is either self-identified or identified by a parent or guardian. Ethnicity is prioritised. An explanation of this can be found in the glossary.
A glossary that identifies other educational classifications and terms used in these tables can be found at the bottom of this page.
Unless otherwise stated, data in these tables was collected by the Data Management Unit of the Ministry of Education.
Early Childhood Education
The aim of early childhood education is to promote children's learning and development. The main providers of early childhood education are:
Main Early Childhood Education Providers:
Kindergartens: Kindergartens mostly operate sessional early childhood education for children between the ages of three and five.
Playcentres: Playcentres are collectively supervised and managed by parents for children aged up to five years.
Education & Care Centres: Education & Care provide sessional, all-day, or flexible hour programmes for children from birth to school age. They may be owned by private businesses, private trusts, public bodies or community trusts.
Included are a small but increasing number of services that provide Māori Immersion Education and Pacific Island Education:
Main Early Childhood Education Providers:
Homebased Services: Homebased Services which is a network of homes under the supervision of a homebased coordinator. The coordinator places children with caregivers in approved homes for an agreed number of hours per week.
The Correspondence School: The Correspondence School is a distance education service mainly for children between three and five who are unable to attend, or have limited access to, an early childhood service because of isolation, illness or itinerancy. Programmes are also available for children with special needs.
Te Kōhanga Reo Programmes: Te Kōhanga Reo programmes with a whanau development philosophy based on the total immersion of children from birth to school age in Māori language, culture, and values.
A range of licence-exempt groups, which include:
Main Early Childhood Education Providers:
Pasifika Language Groups: Pasifika Language Groups' main purpose is to provide programmes based on the values and languages of Pacific Island cultures.
Special Character Centres: Special character centres such as Early Intervention Centres and Pacific Island Centres. These groups operate with a high level of parent participation.
Ngā Puna Kōhungahunga : Ngā Puna Kōhungahunga are groups set up in community based locations that are culturally appropriate for Māori.
Enrolment Trends
A total of 190,907 children were on the regular roll of an early childhood education service at 1 July 2007, an increase of 6.1 percent since 2003.
Of all year one students attending schools at 1 July 2007, 89.5 percent had previously participated in some form of early childhood education. In comparison, 94.4 percent of European/Pākehā year one students, 89.7 percent of Asian students, 83.9 percent of Māori students and 77.2 percent of Pasifika students attended some form of early childhood education (refer to table 17).
Different Types of Services
In 2007 there were 4,479 services providing early childhood education. Of these, 3,750 were licensed. There was an overall net decrease of 17 licensed and licence-exempt services from July 2006 to July 2007.
Education and care services had the highest proportion of enrolments at licensed services (54 percent) in 2007 followed by kindergartens (26 percent). Enrolments in education and care services have increased steadily over the last ten years. In comparison the proportion of kindergarten enrolments have declined since 1998. This reflects the changing patterns of employment of parents who require services that offer all-day care rather than sessional programmes.
Figure 1: Enrolments in Early Childhood Education Services 1997-2007
Ethnic Trends
Māori accounted for 18.7 percent of all enrolments in July 2007. Education and care services had the highest proportion of Māori enrolments (38.2 percent) in July 2007, followed closely by Te Kōhanga Reo (24.4 percent).
Enrolments for children identified as Pasifika were 6.1 percent of all enrolments. Education and Care services had the largest share of Pasifika enrolments with 52.5 percent of all Pasifika enrolments.
European enrolments made up 66 percent, Asian enrolments made up 6.2 percent and other ethnic groups comprised 3.1 percent of all enrolments.
Ethnic Group | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | % Change 2003-2007 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
European/Pākehā | 121,835 | 124,043 | 124,360 | 124,154 | 125,968 | 3.4% |
Māori | 33.892 | 35,232 | 35,756 | 35,000 | 35,618 | 5.1% |
Pasifika | 11,838 | 12,062 | 11,927 | 11,492 | 11,634 | -1.7% |
Asian | 9,886 | 10,464 | 10,629 | 10,782 | 11,744 | 18.8% |
Other | 2,549 | 2,712 | 2,855 | 3,026 | 5,943 | 133.2% |
Total | 180,000 | 184,513 | 185,528 | 184,454 | 190,907 | 6.1% |
Staff at Early Childhood Services
In July 2007, 60 percent of teachers in licensed services (excluding Te Kōhanga Reo and Playcentres) had a Diploma of Teaching (ECE) or higher. A Diploma in Teaching (ECE) is the minimum qualification required for teacher registration.
The proportion of teachers at education and care services holding a Diploma in Teaching (ECE) or higher increased from 50.3 percent in July 2006 to 53.9 percent in July 2007.
Schools
- Education is compulsory for all children aged between six and sixteen years. Most children are enrolled at school on their fifth birthday. The New Zealand Education Act (1989) provides for free education in state schools administered by boards of trustees.
- At 1 July 2007 there were 2,463 state schools and 108 private schools, which receive some Government funding.
- Home schooling is possible for those who prefer it, on the condition that a standard of education similar to that available in a registered school is provided. At 1 July 2007 there were 6,473 students involved in home schooling.
- The Correspondence School provides education for students who cannot attend a school because they live in remote or inaccessible areas, because they are overseas, or because of illness or other special reasons.
- In the school sector an adult is defined as a student who is aged 19 years or over on 1 January of a year in which they attend school.
Figure 2: Number of Students at 1 July 1998-2007
Enrolment Trends
At 1 July 2007 there were 759,906 students enrolled at schools in New Zealand. Between 2006 and 2007, enrolments in the school sector decreased by 855 (0.1 percent).
In the Primary sector (Years 1-8), enrolments decreased by 2,160 (0.4%) whilst enrolments in the Secondary sector (Years 9-15) increased by 1,305 (0.5%)
The roll of the Correspondence School has decreased by 327 students (5.6%) between 1 July 2006 and 1 July 2007.
Regional Trends
In Auckland, where 33.3 percent of the national school population attend schools, there was a 0.4 percent increase in rolls compared with 0.4 percent in July 2006 and 0.5 percent in July 2005. Auckland is the only region to have had growth in rolls for every year in the last ten years.
Tasman, Canterbury and Bay of Plenty were the only other regions with roll growth between 2006 and 2007, with 2.1 percent, 0.6 percent and 0.2 percent respectively.
There were 12 regions whose rolls decreased between July 2006 and July 2007. Nelson and Southland had the largest decreases at -2.5 percent and -1.7 percent respectively. Southland is the only region to have had decreases for every year in the last ten years.
Ethnic Trends
The number of Asian domestic students attending New Zealand schools increased by 1.6 percent between July 2006 and July 2007. In July 2007 they accounted for 8.4 percent of the domestic school population, compared with 8.2 percent in July 2006.
The proportion of European/Pākehā students in the total domestic school population decreased slightly (from 59.0 percent in July 2006 to 58.3 percent in July 2007).
The proportion of Māori students has risen slightly from 21.6 percent in July 2006 to 21.9 percent in July 2007, and Pasifika students increased from 9.1 percent to 9.3 percent.
Domestic students exclude Foreign Fee-Paying students and NZAID scholarship students but include Exchange students.
Note:
| ||||||
Ethnic Group | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | % Change 2003-2007 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
European/Pākehā | 455,868 | 453,473 | 448,218 | 443,361 | 436,717 | -4.2 |
Māori | 157,270 | 160,732 | 162,534 | 162,385 | 164,021 | 4.3 |
Pasifika | 62,707 | 64,121 | 66,088 | 68,059 | 69,888 | 11.5 |
Asian | 56,024 | 58,737 | 60,358 | 61,857 | 62,867 | 12.2 |
Other | 12,312 | 13,048 | 14,223 | 15,382 | 16,135 | 31.1 |
Domestic Subtotal | 744,181 | 750,111 | 751,421 | 751,044 | 749,628 | 0.7 |
NZAID* | 17,574 | 14,543 | 11,369 | 9,717 | 10,278 | -41.5 |
Total | 761,755 | 764,654 | 762,790 | 760,761 | 759,906 | -0.2 |
International Students
At 1 July 2007 there were 10,869 international students attending New Zealand schools. An International student is one who is currently studying on a student permit or diplomatic passport. This excludes students from overseas with New Zealand citizenship or permanent residence or with Australian citizenship.
International students account for 1.4 percent of the school population. Of these students, 10,204 were foreign fee-paying, which was an increase of 5.8 percent between July 2006 and July 2007. The majority of foreign fee-paying students came from the Asian region.
School Leavers in 2006
56,895 students left school in 2006. Year 13 was the last year of schooling for 61.6 percent of school leavers.
The regions with the lowest proportion of students leaving school with little or no attainment are Otago with 6.9 percent, Southland with 8.2 percent and Nelson with 8.4 percent.
The regions with the highest proportion of students leaving school with University Entrance were Nelson with 39.2 percent, Otago with 38.5 percent and Auckland with 37.5 percent.
Glossary of Educational Terms
Activity Centre
Centre for secondary students experiencing problems with schooling and in need of alternative options. Activity centres are attached to a local secondary school for administrative purposes.
Adult Student
A domestic student who has continued at a school and is aged 19 years or over on 1 January of the roll count year.
Alternative Education Student
A young person aged between thirteen and a half and sixteen years of age who has become alienated from the education system. As they are either unwilling to attend a regular school or schools are unwilling to enrol them in a mainstream setting they attend an Alternative Education Programme
Authority
Describes the ownership of each educational institution
Bilingual Classes
Classes in which some students in a school are involved in Māori-medium education for three to twenty hours per week or for 12 to 80 percent of the time.
Bilingual School
A school where all students are involved in Māori-medium education for three to twenty hours per week or for 12 to 80 percent of the time.
Childcare Centres
(see Education and Care Centres).
Correspondence School
National school providing distance learning for full-time students, dual enrolled students, adult students and those with special education needs unable to attend regular school. Provides early childhood, primary and secondary
Education.
Domestic Students
Domestic students exclude Foreign Fee-Paying students and NZAID scholarship students but include Exchange students
Dual Enrolled Student
A student who is enrolled at their local school whilst studying subjects through the Correspondence School that their local school is unable to provide.
Education and Care Services
These services provide sessional, all-day, or flexible hour programmes for children from birth to school age. They may be privately owned, community-based, or operated as an adjunct to a business or organisation. Individual Education and Care Services may be known by many names, including crèches, private kindergartens, aoga, punanga reo, and childcare centres. These services are teacher-led and required to meet the teacher registration targets.
Ethnicity
The ethnic group or groups to which a student belongs. A parent or guardian normally identifies ethnicity of children at the pre-school level. Ethnicity of students at school level is either self-identified or identified by a parent or guardian. Ethnicity is prioritised. (See separate entry
Exchange Student
An international student studying in New Zealand under an exchange programme approved by the New Zealand Government.
Foreign Fee-Paying Student
An international student who meets full tuition costs on their own or from funds provided to them by sponsors other than the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Full-Time Equivalent Student (FTE)
At secondary schools an FTE is calculated by adding together class contact hours of each part-time student, dividing by 20, and rounding to one decimal place.
Full-Time Teacher Equivalent (FTTE)
One full-time teacher equivalent is a teacher employed for a full working week. At schools an FTTE is calculated by adding together class contact hours, dividing by 25, and rounding to two decimal places.
Homebased Services
Early childhood services where early childhood education is provided to small groups of children in a caregiver/educator's or child's own home. Home-based care services are grouped together in networks, which are supervised by co-coordinators who are registered teachers.
Homeschooling
A generic term for children schooled at home during the compulsory schooling ages (6 to 16). To home school a child the parents/caregivers must satisfy the Ministry that the child will be taught at least as regularly and as well as in a registered school. If satisfied the Ministry issues an exemption certificate and the student is deemed to be "homeschooled". Homeschooling parents/caregivers are given an annual grant to help with the cost of learning materials or programme purchase.
Immersion Class/es
Classes in which some students in a school are involved in Māori-medium education for more than 20 hours per week or more than 80 percent of the time.
Immersion School
A school where all students are involved in Māori-medium education for more than 20 hours per week or more than 80 percent of the time.
International Student
An overseas student who has come to New Zealand for the purpose of education, and/or is currently studying on a student permit or diplomatic passport. This excludes students from overseas with New Zealand citizenship or permanent residence or with Australian citizenship.
Kindergarten
A teacher-led early childhood service represented by the New Zealand Kindergartens Inc. (NZKI) or the New Zealand Federation of Free Kindergartens, that provides sessional programmes for mainly three and four year old children.
Kura Kaupapa Māori
A state school where the principal language of instruction is Te Reo Māori and which follow the Te Aho Matua teaching and learning philosophy.
Kura Teina
An applicant school accepted into the preparation and assessment process for establishment as a Section 155 Te Aho Matua Kura Kaupapa Māori. It is an off-site satellite unit of an existing Kura Kaupapa Māori called a Kura Tuakana. Each Kura Teina is provided with governance, management, mentoring and professional support by a Kura Tuakana.
Learning Zone
Each subject has a level of study (learning zone) associated with it to indicate the class level at which it is generally studied. The learning zone may differ from the student's year of schooling (e.g. a year 13 student studying science at NCEA Level 1is recorded in the year 11 learning zone).
Licence-Exempt ECE Groups
A service that has been issued an exemption from licensing requirements, in recognition of the fact that more than half of the children attending attend with a parent.
Licensed ECE Services
Any premises used regularly for the education or care of three or more children under the age of six must be licensed except where specifically exempted by the Minister of Education.
Māori-Medium Education Students
Students are taught curriculum subjects in both Māori and English (bilingual) or in Māori only (immersion) as well as learning Te Reo Māori.
MoE Year Level
Prior to 2006 this was known as Year of Schooling. MOE Year Level measures the number of years of schooling a student has received and provides the Ministry of Education with a method of counting students for funding and staffing purposes. MOE Year Level for most students is based on the date they first started school. It is independent of the way schools are organised and independent of the particular programme of study that a student may undertake.
National Certificate of Education Achievement (NCEA)
A qualification on the National Qualification Framework based on credits from all unit and achievement standards.
New Zealand Agency for International Development (NZAID)
Student A student on a scholarship from the New Zealand Agency for International Development. Prior to 2004, this was known as a MFAT Scholarship
New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA)
An independent body that quality-assures secondary and tertiary qualifications and education providers; evaluates overseas qualifications and administers the New Zealand Register of Quality Assured Qualifications and the National Qualifications Framework, including the NCEA.
National Qualification Framework
A framework on which qualifications and skill standards can be registered subject to certain quality criteria being met. Uses a system of levels to indicate progressively more difficult or complex learning outcomes.
Ngā Puna Kōhungahunga
License-exempt groups in community based locations that are culturally appropriate for Māori.
Other: Vote Education
State special schools that are funded by the Ministry of Education but not owned by the Ministry.
Pacific-Medium Education
Students are taught curriculum subjects in both Pacific languages and English (bilingual) or in Pacific languages only (immersion).
Playcentres
Early childhood services that belong to an association affiliated with the New Zealand Playcentre Federation Inc. A primary characteristic of playcentres is that families manage and implement the education programme
Playgroups
Community-based groups of parents and pre-school children whose playgroups meet for one to three sessions per week.
Prioritised Ethnicity
Prioritised ethnicity output reduces multiple ethnic responses to a single ethnic response so that the count of ethnic groups equals the total count. The current system of prioritisation gives precedence to responses in the following order: first 'Māori', then 'Pacific Peoples', followed by 'Asian', 'Other' and 'European'
Regular student
A domestic student, who is aged less than 19 years at 1 January of the roll count year. Includes: Students in general classrooms and those in special needs units. Excludes: Foreign fee-paying students, NZAID-funded students, alternative education students, and adult students.
School Leaver
Students leaving secondary school to enter the workforce, further education or training.
- Main Urban
Very large urban areas centred on a city or major urban centre. Main urban areas have a minimum population of 30,000. - Secondary Urban
Centred on the larger regional centres. Secondary urban areas have a population between 10,000 and 29,999. - Minor Urban
Urbanised settlements centred around smaller towns. Minor urban areas have a population between 1,000 and 9,999. - Rural
Have a maximum population of 999.
- Primary
- Full Primary (Year 1-8)
- Contributing (Year 1-6)
- Intermediate (Year 7 & 8)
- Composite
- Correspondence School (see separate entry)
- Restricted Composite (Year 7-10)
- Secondary
- Secondary (Year 7-15)
- Secondary (Year 9-15)
- Special
- Special School (see separate entry)
Special School
A school providing specialist education or support for students with specific physical, behaviour, sensory or intellectual support needs.
Stand-downs
The formal removal of a student from a state school for a specified period. A stand-down of a student can total no more than five days in any term, or ten days in a school year. Following a stand-down, the student returns automatically to school.
State Integrated Schools
Integrated schools follow the state curriculum requirements but retain their "special character" (religious observances, for example). The proprietors provide accommodation while the state pays day-to-day expenses, including teacher salaries.
Suspensions (school)
The formal removal of a student from a state school until the Board of Trustees decides the outcome at a suspension meeting.
Te Kōhanga Reo
An early childhood institution administered by the Te Kōhanga Reo Trust. The programmes are based on the total immersion of children from birth to school age in Māori language, culture, and values.
Te Reo Māori
The Māori language.
Teen Parent Unit
A unit, attached to a host secondary school, providing educational programmes for teenagers who are pregnant or who have prime responsibility for their children's care; and who have enrolled within the age range to receive free education (i.e. up to age 19 years).
Wharekura
The Year 9-15 component of Kura Kaupapa Māori that are composite schools. Wharekura are not recorded distinctly from Kura Kaupapa Māori in Ministry data collections, so are not reported on separately within these tables.
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