The Government determines the educational structure, with some variation from the basic structure allowed under specified circumstances with permission from the Minister of Education. The Ministry of Education provides policy advice to the Government and helps to implement education policy. It is also responsible for developing specifications for the curriculum (curriculum statements), allocating resources and monitoring effectiveness. Local government has no educational role.
All state primary and secondary schools (and all integrated schools, schools which were previously private but have now been integrated into the state system) are governed by boards of trustees, which include elected parent and community volunteers, the school principal and a staff representative. Secondary school boards of trustees must also have a student representative. Boards of trustees have considerable autonomy and work to develop, in each school, a written charter of aims, purposes and objectives, validated by the Minister of Education.
Compulsory education (and post-compulsory upper secondary education for 16- to 18-year-olds) is funded by the Government to varying degrees, depending on the type of school (state school, integrated school or private school) and on the year levels of the students. However, local communities often contribute to the expenses of local schools. In principle, compulsory education is provided free. Many schools do, however, levy voluntary contributions from parents to augment their income.
In 1998, private school students accounted for 3.4 per cent of the total New Zealand school population. This percentage is decreasing gradually year by year in view of the continued integration of private schools into the state school system (integrated schools, see below). Private schools charge fees, but also receive some funding from the Government. They are governed by their own independent boards, but are required to meet certain standards in order to be registered.
Since the early 1980s, many private schools - particularly denominational schools - have integrated with the state system. Such integrated schools retain their individual character (generally a philosophical or religious belief) and incorporate this into the school programme, while adhering to state curriculum requirements. Integrated schools receive the same government funding for each student as state schools, but the buildings and land are privately owned. In 1997, integrated schools represented almost 11 per cent of all New Zealand schools; the majority (78 per cent) were Roman Catholic schools.
The principal language of New Zealand is English, spoken by around 91 per cent of the population. The significant minority languages include Maori (spoken by 4.2 per cent of the population) and Samoan (two per cent). English and Maori are the official languages and, where students are enrolled in Maori-medium education (either bilingual - English and Maori, or immersion - Maori only), Maori is the language of instruction. In 1997, 3,200 out of 700,000 students (ages five/six to 17/18) were involved in Maori-medium education (either bilingual or immersion).
Education is compulsory for all children between their sixth and sixteenth birthdays. Parents commit an offence and are liable for prosecution if they do not meet this requirement. Children may enrol and receive a free education at any state school from their fifth birthday until the 1 January following their nineteenth birthday (or their twenty-first birthday for students with special educational needs). Most children start school at the age of five. Some students with special needs may be permitted to attend school on a part-time basis.
Primary schools provide the first level of compulsory schooling. They cater for children from the age of five to age 10-11 (Standard 4). Children aged 11- 12 and 12-13 (Forms 1 and 2) may either be in a separate intermediate or middle school, or in a primary, secondary, or composite school (all-through school) (sometimes also known as an ‘area school). Secondary schools usually provide for students from age 13-14 (Form 3) to age 17-18 (Form 7).
In New Zealand, the term 'early childhood education' is used to refer to the provision of education and care for young children and infants before they begin school. Most children receive some form of pre-school education, at least at the ages of three and four. Most children aged five are admitted to the junior phase of primary schools, although education does not become compulsory until the age of six years. The main forms of early childhood centre are kindergartens, playcentres, childcare centres, family day-care schemes (also known as home-based services), community playgroups, and te kohanga reo (Maori 'language nests'), Pacific Islands early childhood centres (PIECCs) and Pacific Islands language groups (PILGs).
Post-compulsory upper secondary students are catered for in secondary schools and elsewhere. General secondary education (that is, compulsory lower and post-compulsory upper secondary education) caters for students aged 13 to 18 years, although compulsory lower secondary education ends at age 16. Most secondary schools cater for students aged 13-18 (Forms 3-7). Schools are required to ensure that students in post-compulsory upper secondary education maintain a balanced curriculum, building on the broad and balanced education of their earlier years, but that this curriculum also recognises the diverse educational and training needs of students at this level.
Students with special educational needs are provided for in a range of settings, including special schools, specialist facilities in regular, mainstream schools, and in mainstream classrooms. The majority of students with special educational needs receive education in a regular class setting but, in cases where a child's needs cannot be met within the ordinary school system, a number of other services are available.
The school year begins in late January. In primary schools, the school year comprises 394 half days, while in secondary schools (and composite schools), the school year comprises 380 half days. These figures cannot be varied. Children usually attend school on five days, Monday to Friday, and the school day generally begins at about 9:00 a.m. and finishes at about 3:00 p.m (3:30 p.m for secondary schools), with intervals mid morning, for lunch and in the afternoon. Consequently, the teaching day/time in class usually consists of around five hours, or around 25 hours per week of teacher class contact time.
The school year is divided into four terms, with periods of holiday between each. Students have a six-week, end of year summer holiday (in December and January), with three two-week breaks between each of the other terms.
Coverage of seven, so-called ‘essential learning areas’ and eight groups of ‘essential skills’ is compulsory during the ten years of statutory primary and lower secondary education. This aims to ensure a broad and balanced education. The essential learning areas are broad, recognisable categories of knowledge and understanding, which provide the context within which essential skills, attitudes, and values are developed.
The seven compulsory essential learning areas are: language and languages, mathematics, science, technology, social sciences (may be further broken down into subjects such as social studies, history, geography and economics), the arts (includes the individual disciplines of dance, drama, music and the visual arts), and health and physical well-being.
The eight groups of essential skills - the skills to be developed by students across the curriculum throughout the years of schooling - are communication skills, numeracy skills, information skills, problem-solving skills, self-management and competitive skills, social and cooperative skills, physical skills, and work and study skills.
Religious education is usually offered in denominational schools only.
The environment, culture and heritage are included in a number of the essential learning areas. The Government has, for example, recently released an environmental education strategy, which includes the publication of environmental education guidelines for schools. These guidelines are not mandatory, but demonstrate how the objectives of the various curriculum statements (particularly social studies, science and technology) can be implemented through environmental contexts.
The curriculum also specifies eight groupings of essential skills, which are regarded as important for students to achieve their potential and to participate fully in society and the world of work (see above).
The New Zealand approach is not a textbook-based curriculum. Consequently, books are not approved by the State.
The Government is involved in textbook production in a limited way. Learning Media, a crown-owned company, publishes a range of resources that are provided free to schools. The actual use of these resources is not mandatory, and how and when they are used is decided by schools/teachers. A number of commercial publishers also produce materials for use in schools.
Parents providing their children with Ministry of Education-approved home-based schooling are given an annual grant to help with the cost of learning materials.
School-based continuous assessment is a common feature of education. The Ministry of Education makes various resources available to assist in this, including Assessment Resource Banks (ARBs), an online collection of assessment materials in English, mathematics and science, and Assessment Tools for Learning and Teaching (asTTle), which are tools to assist in the assessment of literacy (English and Maori) and numeracy.
Since 1997, many primary school children have been assessed on school entry, usually at age five. School entry assessment, which is not compulsory, comprises a series of nationally standardised tasks designed for use as soon as practicable after a child has started school. This is usually within four to six weeks of the first day of school.
A sample of three per cent of children in Year 4 (aged eight to nine years) and in Year 8 (12- to 13-year-olds) is involved in the National Education Monitoring Project, NEMP. This is an annual assessment which covers all curriculum areas over a four-year period and involves around 3,000 students in 260 schools who are randomly selected to take part. The support and approval of parents and schools is sought. Two experienced teachers visit each selected school and, during one week, they assess 12 students, each taking part in four one-hour assessment sessions.
In secondary phase education, students are assessed for the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) (see below).
Most students completing compulsory education (aged 15 to 16) take the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA). This is a credit-/unit-based qualification. Level 1 is usually completed at the end of compulsory education; level 3 on completion of post-compulsory upper secondary education (aged 17-18). Results are recognised by tertiary institutions and employers.
15. Initial teacher training
Teacher training in New Zealand is offered by a range of institutions including colleges of education, universities, polytechnics and private tertiary education providers/teacher training establishments. Training courses are available for early childhood, primary and secondary education. There is also a course for teaching children from birth to eight years of age. In addition, there are options for part-time, remote, campus-based and specialist programmes. Programme approval is the joint responsibility of the Teachers' Council and the New Zealand Qualifications Authority.
In general, students seeking to train as teachers must be at least 17 years of age, be able to demonstrate that they are qualified to enter a degree or diploma programme and that they have personal qualities that make them 'fit to be a teacher'.