Figure 1.--.
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Figure 1.--. |
New Zealand's schools were influenced from the onset of the country's modern era by Engish attitudes toward education which were highly elists. Despite thus background and influenced of colonial administrators, New Zealand enbraced free public elementary education fromman early period. It was not until after World War II tha free public secondary education became widely available. Today New Zealand educators are grapling with the same difficult educational issues of other western democracies.
New Zealand's earliest schools were established by missionary groups to educate and Christianize the Maoris. Some private secular organizations also played a small role. [DW: describe first elem schools] The country's first secondary school was St. John's Theological College which was founded in 1843 by the Anglican Church. Although initially skeptical, many Maoris soon saw the practical value of the education offered by the missionaries. While some parents demanded bribes to send their children to school many did so voluntarily.
The Constitution Act of 1852 established provincial councils which were given responsibility for education. The councils established many public elementary schools during the 1850s and 1860s including schools in rural areas. Early efforts by the councils, however, did not result in the development of a country-wide net work of free public schools. Some councils chose to offer financial help to denominational schools rather then establish provincial public schools. Thus denominational schools funded at least in part by some councils assumed great importance in some provinces. This created some dissension, however, as the various denominations quarreled over alleged favoritism in the allocation of these funds. Others question the principle of public support for denominational schools. The new schools founded or funded by the councils were elementary schools. The Governor, Sir George Grey, in an effort to promote the establishment of secondary schools approved a series of land grants to help local communities to finance secondary schools, both colleges and grammar schools. Local officials, however did not immediately establish state secondary schools. The first secondary schools were private schools. Christ's College was founded in Christchurch based on the English public (private) schools (1851).
One of the first was Auckland Grammar School, a school for boys which was founded in 1869 after trustees were sure that the income from the original land grant would support a school. While established as a public school, the 68 boys who originally enrolled were required to pay tuition.
Early New Zealand secondary schools were established by individual acts of parliament. These were not free schools. The parents paid fees. The curruclum was very traditional, stressing Latin, English, and history. The schools were run on the basis of English public schools and grammar schools with prefets and a heavy emphasis on sport.
The first state secondary school on South Island was Christchurch Boys High School (1881). Free places were not introduced until 1904.
The constitutional reform of 1876 which abolished the provinces and established a centralized colonial government had a significant impact on New Zealand education. The central Government assumed full responsibility over public education. The Education Act of 1877 approved in the following year was New Zealand's first real move to establish a national, secular education system. The Government proceeded to establish an extensive public, secular system of elementary schools. Elementary school attendance was made free and compulsory to age ???. A National Curriculum was introduced. Public assistance to denominational schools was terminated. The New Zealand Catholic Church decided to establish their own system of parochial schools. (See: "Parochial Schools.") A Department of Education (DOE) was created to oversee district educational boards in each of 12 new school districts. The board members were chosen from school committees which had been elected by the householders in each school district. The initial focus was on primary education, but provision was made for several new public secondary schools under separate acts. Several of New Zealand's best known public secondary schools were established during this period, including: Nelson College (18??), Christchurch Boys High School (1881), >>>>. While these new secondary schools were state schools, they followed the curriculum and curriculum, and traditions of English Public (private) schools. Parents were required to pay fees. The fees and entrance requirements reserved attendance to only a small number of students.
Figure 2.--School Cadet Corps became extremely popular in New Zealand during World War I. |
New Zealand schools during this period were bastions of British society. The values and culture promoted was British. Maoris were not legally excluded from the schools, but because most Maori lived in isolated rural areas, relatively few attended Pakeha elementary schools and were almost never attended Pakeha secondary schools. There was no place for Maori culture in the schools. Some schools existed for Maori children, but even these schools focused on British culture and Maori culture and values were not recognized as valuable. Many Maori parents refused to send their children to the schools.
Various groups pushed during the Liberal governments of the late 19th and early 20th centuries to improve the state system of elementary schools and to establish a system of state secondary schools. The DOE significantly expanded and improved the elementary system during this period. While secondary schools were opened by groups of trustees in most large cities no centralized system of secondary education existed at the turn of the century. One of the key figures during this period was George Hogben who served as Inspector General of Education from 1899-1915. He was an energetic, progressive spokesman for the expansion of the state system. He helped to establish a progressive, modern curriculum and examination system. Hogben helped to give the state system a national focus and purpose which it formerly lacked. He helped improve the competency of New Zealand teachers few of which had professional qualifications and raised salaries. He expanded technical education. The educational system continued Hogben helped create was academically rigorous, but highly selective.
Elementary education: The New Zealand educational system well into the Twentieth Century was basically an elementary system providing only a basic education. The Government did make significant improvements in the quality of elementary education. Few working class children, however, had the opportunity to continue their education beyond the elementary level.
Inspector General Hogben relentlessly pushed for the creation of a national system of secondary schools. The secondary schools basically followed the formal, academic methods and curriculum of British public (private) schools and grammar schools, secondary schools for academically talented children. Even new District High Schools created in rural areas generally followed the British pattern. Many New Zealanders continued to believe that secondary education was an expensive luxury for most teenagers. Schools fees and the General Proficiency Examination (GPE), a demanding entrance examination similar to the British Eleven Plus Examination, restricted attendance to mostly middle-class and affluent students.
One feature at New Zealand secondary schools were school Cadet Corps. We do not have detail about New Zealad Military Cadet Corps. We do not know about the legal basis for the Corps or when the first units were organized. Many of the early New Zealand schools has such corps, often created soon after the schools founding. Christchurch Boys High School, for example, created its Cadet Corps in 1883, only 2 years after it founding. Thousands of young New Zealanders received basic military training at the schools, playing important roles in the two world wars and many smaller conflicts. These corps were discontinued after Government support was finally withdrawn in 1970. Comparable cadet corps still exist in Australia.
New Zealand loyally followed Britain into World War I. New Zealand units combined with the Australians and were called the Australian-New Zealand Army Corps. Their first major asction was at Galipoli and casualties were very high. The ANZACs were then redeployed to the Western Front in France where losses were very also very high. Schools in New Zealand organized events for the Old Boys being sent abroad. Graduates of secondary schools who has participated in the school cadet program were often appointed officers in the New Zealand units posted abroad. A good example of what happened at New Zealand schools can be seen at Christchurch Boys High School. Colonel Stewart, an Old Boy, commanded the Canterbury Battalion at Galipoli. There were 154 Old Boys from the chool who volunteered and were deployed. The school held the first ANZAC service (1916). Eventually 786 Old Boys served in the miitary and 140 were killed. The ANZACs returned in 1918 and there was a jubilent reception at the school. [Ash] All New Zealand schools which existed at the time now have a memorial to the Old Boys who served.
World War I had a great impact on New Zealand politics. As in Britain, the War was seen as a failure of the existing power structure. There were increasing demands for social legislation to create a more egaltarian society. One of these was a more open educational system offering opportunities for all levels of New Zealand society.
New Zealand significantly reformed its education system during the 1930s and 40s. Important steps were taken to expand educational opportunity for all New Zealanders, reforms that had been championed by the Labour Party. The Great Depression resulted in the election of a Labour Government dedicated to expanding opportunity. Peter Fraser, Labour Education Minister from 1935-40 and a wartime Prime Minister, was a Scot with a mission--to establish an egalitarian educational system open to all young people regardless of family background. The Labour Government in 1936 took the decisive step of creating a national secondary system. The most significant step was to eliminating the GPE which had restricted access to secondary education to an elite few. The Government made free, state-funded education available to all New Zealanders up to 19 years of age who had finished primary school. Other steps significantly improved public education. Teacher salaries were increased attracting better qualified personnel. The curriculum was significantly broadened. More attention was given to the design of school buildings. The school leaving age was raised to 15 in 1944. Greater attention was devoted to Maori education. (See "???".)
New Zealand again followed Britain, but this time made its own declaration of war on Germany (1939). Teachers were given leave of absences for military service. The ANZACs again played a major role in the war. ANZAC forces made up an important part of the British forces in the North African campaign. Schools throughout New Zealand prepare parcels for the soldiers. The deployment of the ANZACs to North Africa created a major crisis when the Japanese bombed Pear Harbor and declard war (1941). Both Australian and New Zealand found themselves virtually defencelass with most of their armies in New Zealand. The British had asured both Dominions that the bastion of Singapore would prevent Japanese advances. The fall of Singapore opened both countries to Japanese attack (February 1942). Only the American naval victory in the Coral Sea turned back the Japanese (March 1942). American military forces flowed into both Australia and New Zealand to prepare for offensives against Japanese held islands. The British victory at El Alemain defeated the Afrika Korps (October 1942). Two of the three brigadiers in the New Zealand Division were Old Boys of Christ Church Boys' High School. Opperation Torch (November 1942) laid the ground work for the defeat of the Axis in Tunisdia (May 1943). This allowed for the redeployment of the ANZACs back home. The War was the first experience with Americans for most New Zealanders. The experience of the War changed the New Zealand view of Britain. The country no longer saw Britain increasingly as as a foreign country, one of many countries with which t had relations. This was reflected in many areas, including education. After the War New Zealand educators begin looking at educationl programs in America.
The major act under which the country's educational system currently operates is the Education Act of 1964. The Act established a standardized system of control and management for the state system. It provided for free compulsory education for all children from 6 to 15 years of age, although children could begin school at age 5. It established 10 educational boards to oversee primary schools throughout the country. School boards continued to be responsible for secondary schools.
The issue of state support for private schools was a major issue in New Zealand during the 1960s. The Labour Party was ideologically opposed to private schools, especially state funding for private schools. Labour opposition to state assistance was moderated by the fact that large number of Labour supporters were of Irish ancestry and thus Catholic. They were opposed to cutting state funds to Catholic schools. The Catholic Church was finding it increasingly difficult to support its extensive system of parochial schools. The Government finally decided in 19?? to provide supplementary fees to pay teacher salaries at private schools. This was a major decision as teacher salaries are the major operating expense at any school. Private education, however, continued to be a divisive issue in egalitarian New Zealand where many view private schools as elitist. A Labour Government in 197? approved the Integration ????????????????? Act which provides for the voluntary integration of private schools within the state system. The Government guaranteed that each school could preserve their unique character. (See: "Integration.") The Catholic Schools as well as a large number of private schools have since integrated and New Zealand now has one of the smallest private sector of any Western Democracy. A Labour Government ended state support for private schools in 19??.
New Zealand began a major assessment in 1987 of the administration of education. The basic administrative structure of the New Zealand education system was little changed from that established in 1877. Some educators felt the country's educational system still reflected 19th Century values and was over-centralized, too complex, and needed to be modernized as the country approached the 21st Century. The Government appointed a task force in 1987 to assess administrative structure. That task forced recommended a variety of reforms aimed primarily at the devolution of the system to empower local officials, teachers, and parents. The Government published a policy document in August 1988 explaining proposed reforms, Tomorrow's Schools - The Reform of Education Administration in New Zealand. The Government implement a major restructuring in October 1989 based on the findings of the task force. Many of these changes were provide for in the Education Act of 1989. The key change was to make the individual school the basic administrative unit of the New Zealand education system.
A Government appointed review team assessed the progress of the Tomorrow's School policy in 1990, publishing its assessment as Today's Schools: A Review of the Education Reform Implementation Process (the Lough Report) which suggested some administrative changes including a clearer MOE focus on its policy role and better management of Crown property assets.
The new National Government elected in October 1990 gave considerable attention to education and in December 1990 announced a major review of educational spending and policy. Seventeen separate reviews were completed by April 1991 and the resulting Government decisions announced July 1991 in Education Policy: Investing in People - Our Greatest Asset. Essentially the new National Government retained most of the Tomorrow Schools reforms, but sought economies through better management practices. The Government also sought to expand choice and resumed financial assistance to the independent sector which the Labour Government had terminated.
The Government adopted a new system in 1991 for funding tertiary education. Tertiary institutions were given bulk grants based on the number of students and courses taken. A Study Rights policy [DW: ???] was implemented in 1992. The Government pays a subsidy toward a student's tuition costs. A student loan financing scheme was also introduced in 1992. New Zealand still lags behind other western countries in the proportion of young people pursuing tertiary studies. The goal is to increase the number of 16-19-year olds pursuing tertiary studies.
Ash, Graeme. "The School We Magnify" (1991).
