Articles

By Irene Zohrab
Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand

The New Zealand tertiary institutions, which include both universities and polytechnics, provide a relatively low cost, generally high quality, English-language education in a modest environment. Overseas student fees for undergraduate and masters level courses are typically of the order of $20,000 - $30,000 NZ ($12,000-$18,000 US) per year of full-time study. In a major concession introduced at the beginning of 2006, overseas student fees for Ph.D. programmes were reduced to the same level as the corresponding fees for local students, namely about $20,000 - $25,000 NZ per year. Although Auckland University is the only New Zealand University to achieve consistently high overall international ranking, all six major universities share a common background and many common features. All have some faculties or departments of excellence.

To set these comments in perspective, we provide in this article a short introduction to the New Zealand education system. We start with a very brief sketch of New Zealand history, and conclude with an account of some current problems affecting both school and university education. The two intermediate sections focus on schooling in New Zealand, and on New Zealand tertiary education.

The views expressed are our own. We are not education specialists, and our views should not be taken as being either authoritative or representative. Much useful information about the current system can be gleaned from the Ministry of Education's Website, http://www.minedu.govt.nz; see, in particular, the section `Schooling in New Zealand - a Guide.' Details about university programmes and fees are best found from their individual Websites (e.g. www.vuw.ac.nz for our own university, Victoria University of Wellington). Statistical data can be found in successive New Zealand Year Books; the data quoted here are from the 2003 Yearbook. Among other sources, C.E. Beeby's `Biography of an Idea: Beeby on Education' gives a lively account, by one of the major players, of the development of education in New Zealand during the middle years of last century. Many of the ideas currently prevailing in New Zealand School administration have their origins in the report `Tomorrow's Schools' by a Committee chaired by.

No people, no mammals, no snakes; a world of trees, birds, insects and small reptiles, evolving in isolation in the South Pacific.

The first settlers were Polynesians (the Maori), who arrived in New Zealand from islands in the South Pacific. They had no written language but strong oral traditions and cultural beliefs. The different tribes still trace their origins to the ocean-going canoes in which their ancestors arrived. Their religious beliefs encompassed a rich mythology of gods and heroes, and emphasized the close spiritual links between man and nature.

The first European settlers arrived in New Zealand in the early 1800's, a mixture of adventurers, whalers, missionaries, and ex-convicts from Australia. They were mainly of British origin, with smaller numbers of French, Germans, Dutch, Yugoslavs and others. Systematic settlement started after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, which gave the Maori British citizenship and land rights, in return for allegiance to the British crown. The New Zealand Company, which was responsible for the first settlements, organized settlements from different parts of Great Britain. It envisaged New Zealand as an opportunity for the planned development of a balanced society, with different classes playing their different roles in its activities, but free from the pressures and inequities of life in Britain. From its discovery, New Zealand also attracted interest from scientists on account of its unique vegetation, birds, and geology.

Many of the early British settlers were of working class background, enduring the hardships of the voyage for the chance of creating a better life for themselves and their children. When the New Zealand Company's initial plans ran into difficulties, mainly because the rich landowners on whom the Society's financial plans depended were not sufficiently forthcoming, such settlers were able to realize an ambition perhaps inconceivable in their country of origin: to acquire a piece of land of their own. Close behind that came the ambition to establish better opportunities for their children. Education, meaning in their eyes the ability to read and write and do arithmetic, was one of the principal factors they saw as opening paths that had been denied to them. Such factors lie behind the early development and continued tradition of social welfare legislation in New Zealand. The New Zealand Education Act of 1877 introduced free, compulsory, and secular education at primary level. It was followed before the turn of the century by universal suffrage, including voting rights for Maori. Secondary education developed more slowly, being of interest mainly to the small numbers of richer landowners and merchants; education to age 15 did not become compulsory until after the second world war.

The second half of the 19th century saw protracted and fiercely contested wars between Maori and European over land. Whatever principles may have been embodied in the Treaty of Waitangi, many of the local governments either directly assisted, or turned a blind eye to, attempts to cheat the Maori of a fair return for land they held. The Maori wars were a brave but doomed attempt by the Maori to claim back what they felt they had lost. By the turn of the century they were greatly reduced in numbers, as much by European diseases as by war, demoralized, and in some danger of disappearing. Nevertheless, they found leaders who saw the importance of salvaging their sense of identity, of training young and talented people in the skills that would enable them to tackle the Europeans in their own terms, and in continuing their attempts to obtain justice in relation to their land claims. In the last two decades, their efforts have borne fruit in terms of major land compensation claims being awarded to different Maori groups, the acceptance of Maori as a second language in the courts, and the introduction of elementary Maori language and customs into the compulsory primary school programme.

The British efforts in the first and second world wars were loyally supported by the New Zealanders, who provided troops and suffered heavy casualties in both wars. The wars also provided an opportunity for Maori to show their qualities as fighters, and led to new feelings of fraternity between Europeans and Maori.

New Zealand was severely affected by the depression in the mid- and late 1930's, which ushered in a further period of active social welfare legislation. The 1950s and 1960s saw continuing high prices for the agricultural products (meat, wool, and dairy products).

that were New Zealand's main exports, and, together with its advanced social welfare legislation, led New Zealand to a leading position in terms of general living standards. The last few decades of the 20th century, however, have seen some reversal of this role. The entry of Great Britain into the European Common Market in 19?? -- closed off New Zealand's automatic selling rights to the U.K., and forced it to find new markets. The lowering value of exports, and the high cost of imports, led to government over-expenditure and the need to cut back, or at least to contain, mushrooming social welfare costs.

Indeed, somewhat paradoxically, it was a Labour (left-wing) government in the 1980's which was the first to introduce new right policies, removing subsidies from agricultural and other industries, privatizing many state activities, including transport and the provision of power and telephone facilities, and encouraging the development of private as well as state medical and educational institutions. Subsequently, such changes were extended by both major parties, which currently vie for centrist positions. The policies have met with varied success and continue to provide ground for debate. The current Labour government has maintained high employment levels, but its period of office has seen a continuing distancing of the rich from the poor, and of the cities from the country.

Immigration to New Zealand has also undergone some significant changes in the last half-century. Although the early immigrants were mainly from the British Isles, there are long-standing families with German, Yugoslav, Dutch, Italian and other backgrounds. The Chinese first entered New Zealand with the gold-rushes of the 1860's, but these long-standing migrants have been swamped in numbers by recent Chinese immigrants, from both China and the neighbouring South East Asian countries. The numbers of Indian immigrants are not far behind those of the Chinese; they received a substantial boost after the coup in Fiji in 1992?? which saw many Fijian Indian families resettle in New Zealand. Several waves of immigrants from Europe arrived before, during and after the second world war. More recently, the collapse of the Communist regimes have seen the arrival of substantial numbers of Russian and East European immigrants. In total numbers, none of these groups are large by international standards. They affect New Zealand population figures by tens of thousands rather than by hundreds of thousands, but these are still non-negligible percentages of a total population of little over 4 million.

At the present time, state primary, intermediate and secondary schools provide a free, compulsory and secular education for all young New Zealanders. Full primary schools cover the ages 6 to 12 approximately. Intermediate schools cover the last two years of primary schooling, ages 11 to 12. Secondary schools cover the ages 12 to 18 approximately. Schooling is compulsory from ages 6 to 16, and free from ages 5 to 19. All state schools are co-educational at primary and intermediate levels. Most state secondary schools are also co-educational.

From a New Zealand total population of somewhat over 4 million, the annual age cohort (number of eligible children for any particular year of schooling) in recent years has remained approximately constant at around 80,000. From figures quoted in the 2003 New Zealand Statistical Yearbook, the total numbers in preschool, primary, and secondary education are respectively (and approximately) 175,000, 485,000, and 265,000.

Maori (loosely defined, since intermarriage has been common over many generations) constitute around 15\% of the total population, but an increasing proportion (currently about 20\%) of primary school students. Other non-European groups are much smaller, and include Pacific Islanders (from Samoa, Tonga, Cook Islands, Fiji and elsewhere), Chinese, Indians, Malays and many others. There are also many non-British European groups, notably from Holland, Italy, Russia, Yugoslavia and Greece. The pattern of school enrolment differs appreciably among the different groups. Maori and Pacific Islanders tend to leave the education system earlier than the average; Chinese and Indians tend to persist the longest.

Although pre-school education is not compulsory, many New Zealand children below the age of five attend state-run kindergartens, or independently organised play centres or childcare centres. The play centre movement involves parents and has had an important role in the last forty years.

At both primary and secondary levels, the majority of schools are state schools and are secular, but there are religious and private teaching institutions at all levels.

After the 1877 Education Act established a secular system of education, the Roman Catholic Church built up a separate, parallel system of primary and secondary schools to maintain Catholic identity. Smaller numbers of Anglican, Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, Mormon and other religious schools were also established. Most of these schools have now been integrated with the state system. The state (through the Ministry of Education) pays most of the running costs of both state and integrated schools, although many state and most integrated schools expect parents to pay some school expenses that the state does not meet. The integrated schools are required to have open entry, but in other respects are allowed to retain their religious or other special character.

There are also a smaller number of private fee-paying schools (mostly church schools) which have chosen not to integrate with the state system and remain independent. Some of the older private schools have a socially elite character harking back to the role of British public schools, whereas others, often associated with evangelical churches, have been established more recently. Such private schools receive some state funding, but are governed by independent boards.

Most Maori are educated within the state system, attending state or private schools alongside students of European or Asian descent. A special initiative of the 1980s was to set up ko-hanga reo (preschool language `nests') to help the Ma-ori language survive. Some young Maori continue their education in kuru-kaupapa Ma-ori, schools in which Maori language is used and education reflects Maori culture and values. These developments contrast sharply with the policy in the previous half-century, when the use of Maori language in state schools was prohibited and the objective was rather the assimilation of the Maori culture into the European culture. All New Zealand children now enjoy equal access to the state system, and the majority of Maori children are in the main-stream system; those Maori who send their children to ko-hanga reo and kura kaupapa, rather than to general state schools, do so by choice.

The school programme is summarized on a subject basis through National Curriculum Statements coordinated within a general National Curriculum Framework. The National Curriculum Statements specify learning outcomes against which students' achievements can be assessed. The Curriculum Framework recognizes seven `Essential Learning Areas' (Health and Physical Education, the Arts, Social Sciences, Technology, Science, Mathematics, Language and Languages) and eight essential skills (communication skills, information skills, physical skills, problem-solving skills, numeracy skills, self-management and competitive skills, social and cooperative skills, work and study skills) which are the target of the school programme.

In each school subject there is both external assessment, including examinations and internal assessment where the school awards grades.

The principal school qualification is the National Certificate of Educational Achievement, which is a performance-based, graded qualification taken by all school leavers, and supersedes previous qualifications such as School Certificate and University Entrance. It is awarded at three levels, where Level 3 is approximately equivalent to English A levels.

This framework is of relatively recent origin, and reflects a major effort to broaden the school programme to cope with the wide range of interests and abilities among students often remaining at school until ages 17 or 18. Other industry and vocational qualifications (certificates and diplomas) can also be the subject of school courses. All these qualifications form part of the National Qualifications Framework, administered by the National Qualifications Authority, which is responsible for setting examinations and awarding certificates.

There have been two major reforms of school education and administration in the last sixty years. At the end of the second world war, as part of the left wing, social welfare programme then being promulgated, free state education was extended to age 15, and essentially free access to tertiary education was made available to all students reaching a basic university entrance level. With the passing of time, the state examinations on which these arrangements depended became increasingly cumbersome, and difficult to extend to the much larger cohorts of students attending secondary school for four years or longer. The swing towards the new right, which marked New Zealand politics in the 1980's, led also to major changes in education. The monolithic role of the Ministry of Education was reduced and shared among a cluster of bodies, including a reconstituted Ministry of Education (now responsible for funding and setting basic policy), the National Qualifications Authority referred to above, and the Education Review Office, which is funded to report publicly on the quality of education and the care of students. Another major change is that since 1989, instead of being directly responsible to the Ministry of Education, state schools have been governed by boards of trustees elected by parents.

The first university to be founded in New Zealand was the University of Otago, in Dunedin, which was established in 1868. Dunedin itself was founded by settlers from Scotland some quarter of a century earlier. The early founding of this university reflects the Scottish view, linked to their non-conformist background and the high quality of their own universities during the 19th century, that a young person of talent should always be given the opportunity to develop their knowledge and skills, wherever and in whatever circumstances they were borne.

Coincidentally, the University happened to be founded at more or less the same time that gold was found in Otago and elsewhere, and it rapidly came to serve both New Zealand and Australia as a centre of geological and mining expertise for the gold rushes. From that time onwards, Dunedin took on, and still retains, the character of a University City - perhaps the only New Zealand city that could claim that distinction. Moreover, in the longer run, the character and programmes of the New Zealand universities have possibly drawn more from the Scottish universities than their English counterparts, though elements of both systems can be recognized in the New Zealand university programmes.

At the present time there are six major universities in New Zealand with student populations of the order of 15,000 or more: from North to South they are the universities of Auckland (with main campus in Auckland city)and Waikato (Hamilton), Massey University (Palmerston North and Auckland), Victoria University of Wellington, and the Universities of Canterbury (Christchurch) and Otago (Dunedin). Lincoln University, outside Christchurch, is a smaller university specializing in agricultural programmes. All offer both undergraduate and graduate degrees, and undertake significant research.

Corresponding to the needs and resources of a small country, not all universities offer the same range of faculties or courses. Each university developed maintains its own special fields of excellence. Otago has the longest established medical school, and still remains the major New Zealand centre for medical and related studies, although it now shares this role with Canterbury and Auckland. Only Canterbury and Auckland have full engineering schools. Auckland also has very strong departments of mathematics and statistics. Victoria has the largest law school, and major programmes in finance, economics, accounting and business. It is also a good centre for music studies, and for the earth sciences. Massey

University is a centre for agricultural science, and has the major responsibility for providing extra-mural (correspondence) courses for New Zealand. Waikato University, which is the newest of the six universities, offers general degrees, has its own Law school, and has established a reputation for Maori and related social studies.

In addition to the universities, there are around 30 further tertiary institutes in New Zealand, including the Auckland University of Technology {CHECK), and a range of technical institutes, colleges of education, polytechnics, language institutes and others.

The polytechnics in New Zealand were originally trade schools, offering in many cases a high level of technical training. In contrast to the tertiary scene in Europe, however, where high level polytechnics rival the classical universities in prestige and high quality courses, the polytechnics in New Zealand retained a modest if important role in the overall tertiary scheme. In recent years, emulating developments in the UK and Australia, they have sought to achieve a higher status, but only with limited success. This is at least in part due to the fact that the established universities have protected their own role by expanding into fields such as nursing and the service industries, which previously were catered for by the polytechnics or more specialized training institutes.

The largest non-university tertiary institution, in fact one of the largest of all the tertiary institutions in New Zealand, with enrolments of the order of 30,000 students, has a special character and is of very recent origin. This is the Wananga Te Araroa, which specializes in lower level tertiary diploma and certificate courses, and instead of having one main campus has many campuses in smaller towns and cities around New Zealand. It was set up principally to cater for the needs of the Maori people, but its programmes have been popular with students of all races and nationalities. Evidently, it fills an important but previously insufficiently recognized gap in the overall tertiary scene.

Almost all the country's tertiary institutions receive state funds, but also charge tuition fees to recoup some of the on-going expenses. Tuition fees for students of New Zealand origin are substantially lower than those for international students, with the exception of fees for Ph. D. study, which are now equal for students of all nationalities. A student loan scheme helps, in part at least, to maintain the system of open entry to the tertiary institutes which was a feature of New Zealand tertiary education in earlier decades, when students were able to support themselves through a combination of low fees, government bursaries, and money earned during the summer vacation.

The most common university undergraduate programmes are three-year bachelor degrees in arts, science and commerce. Professional degrees in medicine and engineering typically take one or two years longer, and have competitive entry requirements. Details of the degree structures vary somewhat from university to university, and need to be studied with some care. At Victoria, a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree is made up by combining a total of some 360 points from 100-level (first-year) 200-level and 300-level courses, most subjects being offered through four-month (one semester) courses worth 24 points each, or rather more where practical work is required as in a science degree. All students are required to take at least three such courses in their major subject at 300-level, the remainder being spread over courses from a wide range of options.

At the fourth-year level, a residue from the English (or Scottish) Honours degree structure persists in the form of a one-year Honours degree programme. In New Zealand this most commonly comprises a further one year’s study made up of five or six 1-semester courses at more advanced level in (or supporting) the selected major subject. In science degrees in particular, it may include an honours project, usually in place of one paper. Such an honours programme reaches a level which is approximately equivalent in standard to a three-year honours degree at an English or Scottish university, although the New Zealand programmes tend to cover a broader general background than their shorter and more specialized UK counterparts.

A range of Masters degrees then follows. Masters degrees hold a rather special role in the New Zealand universities, since it was by this route that research degrees first became established in New Zealand. In the past they typically consisted of a thesis which often contained not only a review of current research on a special topic, but also some original work. They formed the culmination of the New Zealand university programme, and led directly to careers in teaching, government science institutions, and other professional slots. Currently, Masters degrees may be taken by thesis, by course work, or by some combination of the two, and with the advent of vigorous local PhD programmes have lost some of their special significance. Details vary from department to department as well as from university to university. Nevertheless they retain an important and somewhat individual role within the New Zealand tertiary programme, both in their own right and as a stepping stone to doctoral studies.

PhD programmes first became available in New Zealand only about 50 years ago. Now, however, they are fully up to international standards and as well as catering for New Zealand students attract significant numbers of international students from Europe, Asia and North America. The reasons for this rapid development are to be found in the rapid growth of the universities since the 1960's, the recruitment of staff already actively involved in research and research training, and the advent of electronic communication, which has radically altered the role that universities in New Zealand can play in current international research. Leading academic staff in most departments are internationally recognized, and participate regularly in international conferences and joint research programmes. A recent drive has been to establish `Centres of Excellence' across the New Zealand Universities and government research institutes, building on particular strengths or combinations of interests. Indeed, for such reasons, and because of the current reduction in the level of PhD fees for overseas students, New Zealand should be considered seriously as a choice for advanced-level graduate study.

Because most departments are small, it is nevertheless desirable to obtain background information about the strengths of the department, or even of individual staff members, before seeking to enrol for a Ph.D. course. This is particularly so because, in distinction to most American PhD programmes, nearly all New Zealand PhD's are thesis-based, with little or no accompanying course work. One reason for this situation is that entry to the PhD programme typically requires a Master's level background, so that it is assumed that students have already completed advanced course work, and even have some introductory research experience, before starting on the PhD. For overseas students, this may mean completing a Masters degree before gaining acceptance into a PhD programme.

Students undertaking postgraduate degrees are generally required to have both written and spoken English language proficiency, to be resident in New Zealand, and to live close enough to their selected university to participate in regular discussion sessions with their supervisor.

As in most Western countries, problems and debates arise over all levels of the education programme in New Zealand. Many of these reflect deeper social or political problems, and are not to be laid at the door of the education programme or of the teachers. We leave out the inevitable and on-going general debates about the school programme, bad teachers, recent examinations and the like, but select a few issues which seem to us to have a peculiarly New Zealand flavour.

Political debate over the special role of the Maori people has had major repercussions on both school and university procedures in the last few decades. The Treaty of Waitangi (1840) was remarkable for giving full status and land rights to the Maori people of New Zealand. During the 19th century, in particular, these rights were often honoured in the breach, creating a prime cause of the Maori Wars. The Treaty was not forgotten, however, and successive generations of Maori leaders, with increasingly able support from well-trained Maori lawyers and administrators, have fought successfully for recovery of entitlements from which they were cheated, and for damages and recompense. Alongside these legal and political campaigns, there has been a growing recognition of the importance and value of the Maori contribution to New Zealand life. The language is now officially recognized in the courts and as a language of instruction in the schools. Their contributions to sport, the armed services, music, literature etc are increasingly recognized and accepted by the New Zealand European population.

The universities represent one area where the role of the Maori, above all, but also of other minority groups, are still a subject of active debate and evolution. The New Zealand version of `political correctness' includes as one major element the need to start public addresses, and include in all relevant public documents, some minimal genuflection in the direction of Maori language and protocol. This does not sit easily in the Universities, which, in their present form at least, are a peculiarly Western European invention. At the political level, there is concern at the small proportion of both Maori and Pacific Island students proceeding to higher educational qualifications. In this they form a marked contrast to recent immigrants from India and China, who consistently outlast and outperform the New Zealand students in academic studies. How best to deal with this situation, both within the schools and the tertiary institutions, and in the community at large, is an on-going debate.

Fifty years ago, many of the universities’ good graduates became teachers at secondary schools. Nowadays very few pursue this route. They go instead into finance and business, or. on the technical side, into computing and I.T. At the same time conditions for teachers have steadily worsened. Salaries have hardly kept pace with inflation; school classes have become larger and more difficult to control; teachers are obliged to observe extensive administrative protocols in respect to their accountability and to safeguard students’ rights. Most important of all, teachers have lost the sense of honour and respect they once commanded from parents and members of the public. Even university teachers, and among them even the professors, have lost the authority and respect they once commanded.

This is far from being a uniquely New Zealand problem; to varying degrees, it is endemic in Western society. But it is noticeable in New Zealand, and all the more disturbing in that New Zealand has a proud tradition of education for all. In the secondary schools, students are obliged to stay on until age 16, and frequently do so until age 18 or beyond. But for many students, particularly the less able or inclined, there no obvious goal for them to aim for, little prospect of a challenging or rewarding life after they have finished at school. On the contrary, many face the prospect of undemanding, uninteresting jobs, or even unemployment. It is a society problem more than a school problem, but it directly affects both schools and universities.

Another consequence of the enlarged role of the upper secondary schools is the increased difficulty of maintaining academic standards, even among students with natural ability. New Zealand students have not performed badly in English and mathematics in OECD comparisons, but the results are patchy rather than immediately convincing. Some traditional skills, for example in logic and basic reasoning, appear to have declined, perhaps because the teaching programme has altered, or because the presence of a wider range of students in the class room has increased the problems of teaching more difficult material. At university level also, standards of first-year courses have tended to drop, ultimately affecting standards right through the degree programme. Evidence is more anecdotal than systematic however, and where students’ skills may have decreased in some respects, they have undoubtedly increased in others (programming skills, for example).. Levels have also been affected by the large numbers of international students taking New Zealand university courses, so that it becomes difficult to disentangle any specific changes in the performance of local students.

(iv) Closure of non-viable departments

A further consequence of the continuing shortfall in basic government funding, and of universities’ attempts to keep their books balanced, has been the need to look at short-term cost-saving strategies rather than longer-term interests of the university system as a whole. This has affected particularly subjects which, for good reasons or bad, have fallen out of student favour, or become too costly to maintain without higher student numbers. This has affected subjects in both science and art departments. One particular victim has been the programmes in Russian language and studies. Only Auckland and Christchurch still retain even minimal programmes in Russian studies.

(v) Student fees and loans

One aim of the education reforms ushered in during the Beeby era was to make university education available to all who passed a basic qualifying exam, which in those days meant from 10%-15% at most of the age cohort. The majority left school and went into apprentice schemes and a wide range of unskilled and semiskilled jobs. The numbers of such jobs, and their importance in the economy, has steadily declined, with the effect that the great majority of the age cohort stay at school longer, and many more attempt to pass from secondary into some form of tertiary education. Since tertiary education is relatively more demanding and expensive, costs have risen sharply, and the old policies have become untenable. Government funding for the universities has not kept pace with the increasing costs of individual courses, and the increasing numbers of students seeking university education. In an attempt to break out of this situation, fees were increased to help cover the costs of university education, and loan schemes were introduced to help students remain at university who would otherwise be unable to do so.

The result has been a massive blow-out of student debt, with some students leaving university owing $40,000 or more in debts. The ability of the governments, or rather the banks who control the scheme for the government, to recoup these loans is limited; students emigrate, change address, move their residence, and so on. Taxpayers end up paying for bad debts rather than for students’ education.

(vi) International students

International students are among those contributing the most to universities’ income from student fees. Some universities have become more reliant than others on the income thus generated, but all make strenuous efforts to attract international fee-paying students from Asian countries in particular. The long-term consequences of such a strategy are not so clear, however. Individual universities are obliged to match the fees with the quality of tuition provided, putting staff under severe pressure (for which they get little extra pay) or else risking complaints and losing their student-clients. Moreover it is no longer clear what is the primary purpose of the universities: to provide basic courses for fee-paying international students; or to cater for New Zealand’s more varied and specialized needs for highly trained personnel. Even the current sources of international students cannot be considered guaranteed, as opportunities for higher education in the students’ home countries increase both in quantity and quality, and the competition for fee-paying students becomes fiercer.