Introduction

Context

I am very grateful for receiving the Career Changers scholarship. It has allowed me to concentrate solely on my training to be the best kaiako that I can be. It has given me the drive to continue on this journey in the long future and carry on the whānau legacy of teachers. Mai ia kokonga o toku ngākau. Ngā mihi ra. (Recipient survey)

[What advice would you give others thinking of applying for a scholarship?] Don’t study teaching just because you can get a scholarship, teaching is a big commitment. But if you are really keen and committed to become a teacher, then the scholarship can be a great help to support your study time and keep you out of debt, as it has been for me. (Recipient survey)

Teach NZ scholarships are funded, managed, and administered by the Scholarships and Awards team within the Ministry of Education (the Ministry). The Teach NZ scholarship programme is designed to lift the number of people entering the teaching profession by providing financial assistance and support to those who may not otherwise be able to undertake teacher study.

Two platforms of the Education Portfolio Work Programme that intersect most obviously with this review are: developing a future-focused Education Workforce Strategy; and having a continuous focus on raising achievement for Māori learners through development of a strategic pathway for Māori-medium education and providing long-term solutions for the supply of Māori language teachers. The future-focused workforce strategy will

focus on attracting, recruiting and retaining a high quality education workforce and leaders to ensure that every learner achieves education success within the public education system, including long-term supply solutions for Māori language teachers. (Cabinet paper, Education Portfolio Work Programme: Purpose, Objectives and Overview, paragraph 65)

The Education Council has also been engaged in lifting the quality and status of teaching through their Initial Teacher Education (ITE) and Leadership strategies. One goal of the Leadership Strategy is that “Teachers have equitable access to learning and support that develops their leadership capabilities in ways that are responsive to their aspirations and needs” (Draft Leadership Strategy, p. 6).

The ITE vision paper states:

It is critical that ITE programmes attract and prepare teachers who can respond to the challenges and opportunities of a rapidly changing world, developments in learning sciences and shifting educational needs. We have high expectations for graduating outstanding teachers because we know that a critical component of an effective education system is the preparation of those responsible for teaching our children and young people. (Education Council, Initial Teacher Education 2021, p. 2)

What we were asked to do

The Ministry contracted the New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER) to develop a new scholarship framework that ensures the programme is fit for purpose, responsive to teacher supply pressure, and meeting the needs of the public in supporting entry into ITE. This proposed framework should fit within the Ministry’s wider work programme and identify how and to what extent a scholarship programme can contribute to:

• Equity: providing financial assistance to enable those who would not normally be able to afford to take up ITE to do so.
• Supply: providing scholarships to encourage people to complete teaching qualifications in areas that are experiencing supply pressure.
• Status: using the scholarship programme to lift the status of the profession.

We posed four broad questions to frame our review:

1. Who are Teach NZ scholarships working for and why? Who are they not working for and why not?
2. Are the scholarships an effective support for meeting wider goals for teacher supply, and in
   particular equity goals?
3. Are the scholarships meeting their own goals?
4. How is the system of bonding working out in practice? Is it working for the intended purpose?

Between December 2017 and April 2018 we conducted surveys of scholarship recipients (2012–2017) and of current ITE programme leaders; we interviewed recipients, and ITE provider and Māori-medium principals’ representatives; and we conducted two stakeholder workshops. We also analysed a Ministry dataset of scholarship applicants and recipients from 2012 to 2017. More information about data collection is given in the Methodology section.

The scholarship programme has not been static between 2012 and 2018. The Ministry made a number of changes to the types of scholarships available in any one year in response to teacher supply modelling. These changes are reflected in our data; for example, the secondary English scholarship was only offered in 2012, and the number of early childhood education (ECE) undergraduate scholarships available decreased considerably over this period with the criteria changing to focus on those wanting to study ECE with a focus on Māori or Pasifika identity, language, and culture.

What we found

The review found that for those who “fit” the model the scholarship programme works well. It provides financial assistance for those people wanting to teach who would have found it very difficult financially to study full time. The model works where people are realistic about teaching and the work involved and are able to move to study and for a job, if necessary. It works when recipients are well supported at every stage of the scholarship journey: applying for a scholarship; undertaking ITE; applying for a job; and fulfilling certification and bond requirements. When the model works it improves outcomes for families, whānau, and communities; and in most cases we found that the model did work. However, for a sizeable minority, one or more aspects along the journey were not achieved, or were achieved under considerable duress.

The review draws on findings from multiple sources with multiple perspectives where the goals of the scholarship—equity, supply, and status—often appear to be in conflict with each other. What appears to be a “solution” for one group can have negative consequences for another. Tensions arise over sector differences and priorities, Māori-medium education alongside the need to provide more te reo Māori teachers in English-medium schools, regional challenges, and competing ITE and teacher union agendas. For example, the most difficult area to attract and retain teachers is in Māori-medium but recent teacher shortages in Auckland have tended to overshadow this as an area of urgent need.

It is likely that the scholarship programme has set itself goals that it cannot address equally and the Ministry needs to prioritise its purpose: Is it addressing long-term shortages, improving equity for teachers and students, raising the status of teaching, or improving the quality of teachers?

The structure of this report

The purpose of this review has been to generate recommendations for a revised scholarship programme. We have used data from all sources to develop these recommendations.

Section 2 contains our recommendations for a revised scholarship programme. These are presented as a series of tables, with recommendations given for each stage of the scholarship “journey”. Each recommendation is described in terms of the likely positive outcome and possible negative consequences in relation to equity, supply, status, quality, student/teacher wellbeing, and financial implications. We also provide some options for “reframing” the scholarship programme.

Section 3 presents the analysis of the Ministry dataset of all applicants and recipients. This provides the big picture of how the scholarship programme operates, who it is working for, and who it is not working for. Section 4 answers each of the review’s overarching questions. Following a Conclusion, details of the methodology and all research instruments are included as appendices.