Figure 1.-- The modern New Zealand Educational System is composed of many different types of schools. There are a wide variety of state schools reflecting different areas, religions, and gender policy. The state has pledged to retain the distinctive nature of the Catholic and other private schools integrated into the state system. These boys attend a Catholic college that has been integrated into the state system. |
The modern New Zealand Educational System is composed of many different types of schools. There are a wide variety of state schools reflecting different areas, religions, and gender policy. The state has pledged to retain the distinctive nature of the Catholic and other private schools integrated into the state system. As a result of the Governments integration policy, New Zealand has a relatively small private sector. Parental concerns over standards in the state sector mean that many parents continue to opt for an independent education.
The Catholic Church has established parochial schools in almost all European countries and their former colonies. The development of the schools was generally different in catholic and protestant countries. Catholic countries have generally looked on the catholic schools as an important part of the country's education system and provided state funds. Protestant countries, on the other hand, often looked on the catholic schools with suspicion. Some refused to provide any state funds to support the schools. Today the parochial schools face severe financial problems. The declining numbers of priests and nuns means that the church have had to recruit lay teachers at considerably higher wages. Many schools have had to close or amalgamate. As a result, obtaining state funds is critical for continued operations.
The Catholic schools are an important part of the overall education system. The large number of private Catholic schools is the primary reason that about 25 percent of Australian children attend private schools, one of the highest proportions in the world.
New Zealand Catholics, mostly Irish immigrants, established a dual system during the late 1800s because of the protestant bias of the public schools. New Zealand Catholics never suffered the violent behavior that occurred in the United States. Local Government officials and school administrators and teachers in New Zealand were almost exclusively protestants that in most instances had little sympathy toward the Irish or their Church. New Zealand Catholics eventually built a school system which educated about 15 percent of the country's school population. The system was financed through the substantial sacrifice of low and middle income Irish parishioners. The first schools were all coeducational [Dennis: accurate?] elementary schools. The secondary schools were all single sex, mostly boys' schools. The first coeducational Catholic secondary school was St Pete's in Gore which was opened in 1969. The schools were maintained with modest tuition charges and innumerable community raffles, collections, sales of rum cake, and many varied fund raising events. As the cost of education spiraled upward in recent years, especially with the increasing need to hire secular teachers, New Zealand's Catholic Church found it increasingly difficult to finance its schools. Many schools were forced to close or amalgamate. Many of today's coeducational Catholic schools have been amalgamated from two or more older boys' and girls' schools. The Government steadfastly refused to provide financial support for private schools, including the Catholic schools. That support which finally was approved in the 1970s, however, proved insufficient. As a result of financial pressure, the Catholic Church decided to integrate into the state system when the Government offered private schools an arrangement allowing them to preserve their special character. (See "Integration.") Individual Catholic schools during 1978-84, worked out the integration arrangements with the Government. All New Zealand Catholic schools now operate as integrated public schools. The schools continue to show the continued participation of the many dedicated brothers and sisters as well as the continuing support of parents in many varied school activities.
American education developed as a dual system in the 19th Century. As the American public education system was developing in the mid-1800s, a virulent anti-Catholicism was sweeping the country. Such religious intolerance resulted in widespread disorder and violence against Catholics, leading to the Philadelphia Bible riots of 1844. Protestant mobs attacked Catholics, burning their homes and churches. The Pennsylvania state militia had to be called up to restore order. In many locations, Catholic children were bullied in the developing public schools which while secular were dominated by protestants. Catholics during this period decided to form and fund their own schools out of concern over the protestant-bias in the public schools. The dual system which developed continued well into the mid-1900s when the economics of supporting private schools forced many Catholic parishes to close or amalgamate schools, especially small high schools. The U.S. Constitutional separation of church and state has prevented the Catholic schools from receiving any state funds. The growing multi-culturalism and successful assimilation of Catholic ethnic groups, especially the Irish and Italians which were the main stay of the parochial system, has further reduced the demand for Catholic schools. Many non-catholic parents are interested in catholic schools because of their reputation for stricter discipline and more stronger academic programs. This has been an especially important factor among non-catholic blacks in many inner-city catholic schools. The expanding population of mostly Hispanic catholics is another important factor.
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