Secondary Education and Research in New Zealand

Through the 1990s the secondary sector was a site of considerable change as the Government sought to ensure that the curriculum and associated assessment practices were designed to meet student needs and the long-term goals of New Zealand society. The new regime aimed to promote student achievement and in particular to attain more equitable educational outcomes for all New Zealand students. These were policy rather than practice driven initiatives that linked somewhat tenuously to research based evidence. This paper begins by giving an overview of the secondary sector in New Zealand and these educational reforms. The overview sets the context for the following section that describes links between educational research, policy and practice during this time. Key issues within the sector are highlighted and some of the ways research has been used to monitor changes and inform policy are identified. It is argued that much of the research over the past decade has been small scale and short term and while this has served the immediate policy agenda it has provided only fragmentary evidence to inform longer term goals such as improving student performance. The paper concludes by discussing some of the current initiatives that might contribute to improving the interface between research and policy/practice in secondary education. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

新西兰中小学教育的特点及其启示

今年暑期有幸去新西兰旅游考察,尽管非专门教育考察,但一路走来导游非常热衷给我们介绍新西兰的各种教育情况,引起我们对新西兰教育,尤其是中小学基础教育的浓厚兴趣,一路上和导游讨论了很多教育问题,回国后又查阅了一些新西兰的教育文献,就新西兰中小学的教育特点梳理出几个方面并谈谈由此而获得的启示。     

Education policy and social class in England and New Zealand: an instructive comparison

This article explores the ‘middle-class pressure thesis’, the extent to which recent education policy in England under New Labour may be shaped by the need to respond to an increasingly large and anxious middle class. It discusses why the intensification of middle-class pressure on education policy in England could be expected and outlines how New Labour's education policies can be seen as a response to that pressure. In the latter part of the article the case of New Zealand is used to ‘speak back’ to the middle-class pressure thesis in England. New Zealand highlights the potent influence of England's historic and recent class context on policy by demonstrating a setting where market policies have been embraced by policy makers but where class has played a less important role. The article suggests that although the means by which social class at the local level might act back on and help shape the direction of national education policy will be difficult to investigate, it would be a rewarding direction for future policy research related to social class.     

Well-being in schools: Chinese and New Zealand approaches

Educational Research for Policy and Practice - Educational authorities across countries are concerned to promote the well-being of their children. We discuss the approach that two systems, China...     

Diversity in New Zealand early childhood education: challenges and opportunities

The early childhood education (ECE) sector in New Zealand has long been recognised for the diversity of service types and range of organisations involved in delivering ECE. However, less attention has been paid to diversity within individual ECE services. This article draws on a national survey carried out as part of a larger project, The Diversity of Diversity in Early Childhood Education, focusing on teachers’ perceptions of challenges and successes encountered when working with children from diverse family backgrounds. Educators’ attitudes towards diversity clearly influence whether they perceive working with diverse children and families positively or as a challenge. We argue that possessing positive dispositions and attitudes that enable educators to truly welcome, acknowledge and embrace diversity, together with access to professional knowledge and support services, are critical. The implications of this for policy and practice are then considered.     

A New Approach to Developing Interactive Software Modules Through Graduate Education

Educational technology has attained significant importance as a mechanism for supporting experiential learning of science concepts. However, the growth of this mechanism is limited by the significant time and technical expertise needed to develop such products, particularly in specialized fields of science. We sought to test whether interactive, educational, online software modules can be developed effectively by students as a curriculum component of an advanced science course. We discuss a set of 15 such modules developed by Harvard University graduate students to demonstrate various concepts related to astronomy and physics. Their successful development of these modules demonstrates that online software tools for education and outreach on specialized topics can be produced while simultaneously fulfilling project-based learning objectives. We describe a set of technologies suitable for module development and present in detail four examples of modules developed by the students. We offer recommendations for incorporating educational software development within a graduate curriculum and conclude by discussing the relevance of this novel approach to new online learning environments like edX.     

The Process Of Developing a New Curriculum for Lower Secondary Education in Guatemala

The intention of this article is to present the way in which a proposal was put forward for a national basic curriculum for the lower level of secondary education in Guatemala, within a general curricular reform of the education system. In this process, the International Bureau of Education and UNESCO’s national office in the country provided technical advice. The article examines the socio-cultural and educational context, some conceptual foundations for the curricular reform, the construction of the curriculum for lower secondary education, some features of the proposed curriculum and the outlook for the future. The process of curriculum construction included a diagnosis, drawing up a strategy for reforming the first cycle of secondary education and preparation of the proposed curriculum. Likewise, the authors present the steps that must be taken in order for the national basic curriculum to be adopted, subject, amongst other factors, to the availability of funding. Original language: Spanish Linda Asturias de Barrios (Guatemala) Doctorate in Anthropology from the University at Albany, State University of New York. Postgraduate studies in Public Policies and Intercultural Affairs at the Universidad del Valle, Guatemala. She has taught at secondary school and university level. As a researcher, she has published books and articles on ethnology, development and education in Guatemala and Central America. At the Ministry of Education she has worked as Co-ordinator of the National and International Co-operation Unit (1997–1999), Co-ordinator of the Reform of Secondary Education (2004–2006) and Co-ordinator of the Reform of Lower Secondary Education (2007). E-mail: lindaasturias@yahoo.com Verónica Mérida Arellano (Guatemala) Teacher of secondary school language and literature and graduate in Literature and Philosophy at Rafael Landívar University. She completed a master’s degree in education and curriculum at the University del Valle, Guatemala. She has been a university lecturer. She has published books and articles on the teaching of Maya as a mother tongue and Spanish as a second language. She has worked as curriculum specialist at the Ministry of Education (1985–1991) and as Co-ordinator of Teacher-Training Programmes at Rafael Landívar University. From 2005 to 2007 she acted as Curriculum Consultant for Lower Secondary Education at the Ministry of Education. E-mail: vmeridaguate@yahoo.com.mx     

Poetry is an Unfamiliar Text: Locating Poetry in Secondary English Classrooms in New Zealand and England during a Period of Curriculum Change

Undertaken during a period when changes in the assessment of English in public examinations at 16+ were becoming embedded in classroom practice, this comparative research explores where poetry is located within the newly aligned examination assessment frameworks of New Zealand and England. It comments on how these frameworks are locally interpreted by a sample group of English teachers in two culturally diverse cities. It identifies the challenges for assessment of poetry writing and retention of poetry study at examination level that are instantiated within these contexts. In investigating poetry’s location, key issues are highlighted about teachers’ perceptions of poetry, confidence and the support needed for examination level teaching of a genre that is in danger of becoming increasingly unfamiliar to many students.     

Schooling for Faith,Citizenship and Social Mobility: Catholic Secondary Education in New Zealand, 1924–1944

The increased demand for secondary schooling, which took place in New Zealand in the years after 1924, had important consequences for the Catholic educational mission. No longer was it sufficient to provide a comprehensive elementary system of education that transmitted a ‘simple faith to a simple people’, and a secondary schooling for the educational advancement and social mobility of the select few. Justified on the basis of the need to protect the faith of the growing number of pupils going on to secondary school, the expanded educational mission was also grounded in a new Catholic identity as ‘moral’ patriotic citizens committed to Catholic family values and successful participation in New Zealand society. Catholic secondary schools offered a utilitarian secondary education, which focussed on success in state‐mandated examinations, to the children of parents ambitious for their social and economic success in the world. Nevertheless, there were tensions in a Catholic educational mission that worked for the social and educational advancement of Catholic pupils while aiming for their ultimate salvation and the protection Catholic religious and cultural values.     

中新两国中、高等职业教育衔接的比较研究

中国与新西兰在中、高职教育衔接方面有相似之处也有重大的差异。对中、新两国的中、高职衔接的内容和模式,特别在目标、课程、衔接手段、专业衔接等方面及其各自的特点进行了比较研究。     

Craft Education in Lower Secondary Schools in England and Japan: A comparative study

This paper compares provision for and the practice of craft education in England and Wales and Japan. Particular attention is given to craft within the National Curriculum subject of art in England and Wales and Japan at lower secondary level and to current perceptions of its educational value. Some of the key dilemmas faced by both English/Welsh and Japanese policymakers and practitioners are identified, together with cultural factors impacting on the status of craft and its successful implementation. We conclude by reflecting on the value of comparative studies of education to the research teams concerned.     

英国中等教育的市场化改革

教育市场化是当代英国教育改革的重要内容,本主要探讨了市场原则对英国中等教育的影响,如增强家长的择校权、设立中央直接拨款学校、创办城市技术学院、推动学校教育的私有化和推行教育行动区计划等。     

Development Education Revisited: The New Zealand Experience

Until the mid-1980s, New Zealanders were progressing in their understanding of the causes of and strategies for overcoming world poverty and injustice. However, the arrival of more multinational aid agencies and the increased competition for the donor dollar have given rise to a new conservatism in the development debate. This has coincided with the imposition of structural adjustment policies in New Zealand which provides an opportunity to demonstrate connections between poverty and powerlessness, and parallels between the growth of poverty and inequality at home and in "underdeveloped" countries. The government, the media and the wealthy agencies conceal these parallels and promote aid responses based on charity. This excludes from the development debate the increasingly marginalised sectors of New Zealand society and undermines the international solidarity essential for building strategies for change.     

Developing Empathy Through Design Thinking in Elementary Art Education

Past research has suggested incorporating design thinking in upper elementary art education helps students develop what are known as the Four Cs: collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking. As an instructional strategy, design thinking focuses on empathy first and provides a structure for students to work through real-world, complex problems in small groups. This exploratory qualitative case study examined the effects of teaching empathy through design thinking in upper elementary art education. Eight teachers participated, representing public, private, charter, and independent school settings. Data included student observations, interviews, and journal reflections. An analysis of findings resulted in three conclusions: (a) design thinking can foster the development of empathy in preadolescents, (b) art education curricula at the upper elementary level can include design thinking, and (c) design thinking is a valid strategy for teaching empathy. Including empathy within art education promotes a classroom culture that is respectful and understanding of others, with students becoming advocates of justice, equity, and inclusion. As society continues to struggle with bullying, physical violence, and social unrest, teaching empathy has the potential to change how students relate to each other in the classroom, and, ultimately, in the world at large.     

University continuing education in a neoliberal landscape: developments in England and Aotearoa New Zealand

This paper explores the impact of changing higher education policies and funding on university adult and continuing education in England and Aotearoa New Zealand. It discusses some of the contextual factors contributing to sustaining continuing education in New Zealand, against the tide of developments elsewhere, and in spite of its subjection to the influence of neoliberal policies since the 1980s: an ethos of public knowledge dissemination, acknowledgement of the universities' role as ‘critic and conscience’ of society, a broad commitment to educational equality and a strategic as well as pragmatic approach. The paper describes developments in one New Zealand continuing education department as it experiences institutional and political change. The author concludes that, in spite of demonstrating considerable resilience, the structures and activities of continuing education departments in New Zealand are as fragile as they have been in England. ‘Radical hope’ is advocated as the university‐based adult educator's response in difficult times. It involves challenging the assumptions of neoliberalism, and reaffirming the political nature of adult education.     

新西兰教育及管理体制

新西兰现代教育出现的时间不长,但发展较快.目前已形成了面向国际的多元文化教育体系.本文从学前教育、小学教育、中学教育、高等教育以及管理体制上对新西兰教育作了全面介绍.     

Inclusive Education in New Zealand: culture,context and ideology

Parents and teachers in New Zealand who have developed inclusive, non‐ discriminatory classrooms and schools are supported by education and human rights legislation and by recent policy on special education. Resistance to inclusion within the education system may be seen as reflecting disablist attitudes and practices. Inclusion values diversity, not assimilation. It is consistent with separate development, which might be chosen, for example, by those in the deaf and Maori communities as a means to maintain their language and culture. Education policies and practices are examined from the perspective of disability as a sociopolitical issue within a broader context of new right, libertarian ideologies that have impacted on the resources and structure of education and other state activities in New Zealand over the last decade.     

Developing an Assessment Stance in Primary Art Education in England

Many English primary teachers find the notion of assessing children's work in art difficult. This paper reports on work carried out with non‐art‐specialist primary teachers’ and student teachers’ use of a three‐point assessment model and related tasks, which supported teachers and students to engage critically with children's development, or lack of it, in observational drawing. This enabled teachers and students to develop appropriate planning and differentiated strategies for children's work in art. Equally important is that in engaging with these assessment tasks they were able to develop aspects of the critical language needed for teaching and learning in art.