Rudge, L. (2021). The growth of independent educational alternatives in New Zealand. International Journal of Progressive Education, 17(6), 324-354. (original) (raw)
Related papers
Leading Transformative Education Reform in New Zealand Schools
New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies, 2018
The vision of New Zealand's Ministry of Education is to "lift aspiration, raise educational achievement for every New Zealander". However, our national statistics show us that this goal remains elusive for many students, particularly those who identify as Māori. In order to both raise the educational achievement of all students, and to reduce the disparity between our Indigenous and non-Indigenous students, we need a comprehensive system of school reform. Over 20 years of research and developments have led to the development of a model of educational reform: ako: critical contexts for reform. Ako is a term in te reo Māori (Māori language) that describes a reciprocal teaching and learning relationship, where educators and students learn from each other. The reform is grounded in a commitment to equity, excellence and belonging for all, and to working towards the twin success trajectories of learning and achieving for the future, and ensuring students' identity is strong and secure. The three contexts for reform are: cultural relationships for responsive pedagogy; home, school and community collaborations and adaptive expertise driving deliberate professional acts. When school leaders focus coherently on all three contexts, reform and student progress is accelerated.
International Journal of Leadership in Education, 2016
This paper discusses expectations, policies and practices that currently underpin education within the New Zealand context. It acknowledges the ongoing failure of this policy framework to positively influence reform for Indigenous Māori students in regular, state-funded schools and highlights the need for extensive change in the positioning and expectations of educators if Māori learners are to realise their true potential. The paper then considers leadership models to reimagine and lead a transformative educational reform that aims to include the aspirations and contributions of all members of the school's communities, especially those who have historically been marginalized. Finally it considers the implications of this model for international application. The New Zealand context Achievement disparities, between specific groups of students in New Zealand, continue over time to be well documented within regular, state-funded schooling. Even though these groups of students are clearly identified both nationally and within schools, little has effectively disrupted this trend or promoted significant positive change (Auditor-General, 2012; Berryman, 2008). The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) testing across the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries continues to show New Zealand's education system as one that delivers high quality but low-equity, in terms of education outcomes (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, 2009). Low-equity systems have students who are being underserved by the education system. Although PISA highlights the marginalization of groups of students specifically in education, in New Zealand this is neither a recent phenomenon nor is it confined to education (Bishop, Berryman & Wearmouth, 2014). Descriptions of high quality and low-equity education systems, driven by deficit-oriented approaches, are familiar to educators across the world (Sleeter, 2011). The learners disproportionately underserved in New Zealand's secondary-schools continue to be Māori.
Session D - Achieving Quality and Equity for Māori Secondary School Students in New Zealand
2014
Berryman has advanced along a unique career pathway that has both challenged and enabled her to make substantial and distinctive contributions to solution-focused theory and research in education. Her research and teaching have been firmly focused on finding new ways to improve educational outcomes for Māori students and families in both Māori-medium and English-medium educational settings. As a researcher, she has collaborated extensively with school leaders, classroom practitioners, families, communities and other professionals to bring about education reform. She has worked with educators in New Zealand and also in parts of Canada and the USA.
2009
The New Zealand education system produces high levels of academic performance (Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development OECD, in Timperley, Wilson, Barrar, & Fung, 2007). Contradictorily, New Zealand is also one of the few countries that produce a huge divide in performance levels between Maori and other minority culture groups on the one hand, and non-Maori and dominant culture groups on the other (ibid.). However, school policies on Maori student initiatives appear to generate minimal success for Maori students. Therefore, an urgent critique, and transformation of school policies are required to bring about better educational outcomes for Maori students. Hence, this qualitative study is underpinned in critical and socio-constructivist theories, and adopts a Kaupapa Maori orientation that is grounded in the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. Obstacles to Maori student achievement were firstly identified to determine how partnership relationships among students, whan...
WHAKAMANA MĀORI: SOCIOCULTURAL PERSPECTIVES OF MĀORI EDUCATION IN AOTEAROA
Abstract This thesis aims to explore the journey Māori have taken with regards to education in Aotearoa and investigate current perspectives of Māori involved in education. Historically, Māori have been forced, through assimilation, to adopt and accept methods of teaching and learning that are inconsistent with traditional Māori education practices. These historical practices are also evident in the current dominance of euro-centric education philosophies and practices observed in many schools throughout Aotearoa New Zealand today. The study is based on Kaupapa Māori theory and utilised qualitative research methods to explore 13 Māori teachers’, parents’ and board of trustee members’ observations and experiences of tamariki Māori in educational settings. The study provided a forum and audience for participants’ observations and reflections. Their kōrero (dialogue) was recorded and thematically analysed. Four overarching themes identified were: Te Ao Māori, Tino Rangatiratanga, Ako, and Tangata Whenua. A series of subthemes were also identified within each main theme. These themes with accompanying quotations from participants provide a voice for the people interviewed to express their narrative concerning education of their tamariki (children). The voices of participants also alluded to a range of potential strategies and solutions that could support Māori tamariki to experience education success. Central to improving outcomes for Māori is the need for whānau, school teachers, management and governance to reconsider their worldviews and practices to better align with the cultural needs of Māori, and to recognise the ongoing impact of historical injustices. Reflection on the significance of Ka Hikitia is presented along with a range of recommendations for key stakeholders to empower their positions and ensure their influence is felt throughout schools and their communities.
New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies, 2015
At a cost of 30 shillings a year for two issues, the first issue contained six articles and five book reviews, thus starting fifty years of exploring educational policy, practice and philosophical issues relevant for our times. At first glance, it could be argued that little has changed. The articles include a mix of qualitative and quantitative research on issues such as indigenous education, the teaching of literacy, understanding learning, historical events of note, and the impact of policy. The New Zealand Official Year-Book, 1966 identified the 'trends and problems' in education as: the dramatic increase in the school population during the postwar years. At a time when smaller classes were being planned for, the intake of pupils became greater than ever before and this slowed up the move to reduce the size of classes. Such reduction, however, is still regarded as a major educational objective. The problem has been complicated by a general shortage of adolescent labour and there has been difficulty in training sufficient teachers to staff the schools.