Education should be a Key Issue this election
After Labour had been in power for 9 years in 2008 I wrote a piece titled Education a Disaster Under Labour that got
some play and can still be read here: http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/ED0810/S00124.htm
With education it is important to keep in mind that every year a cohort graduates and if, as a nation of parents,
politicians and teachers, we have not done our very best by them then we have failed in our privileged duty. We are a
wealthy and small country with a self-proclaimed (and often genuinely earned) reputation for innovation and excellence.
We have also had nine years of the “rock-star” economy.
Graham Henry was always one who discussed being judged on results. While people do not forget the 2007 World Cup result
they certainly do remember the redeeming triumph of 2011 (even if the final was a game not many would watch twice). What
of the New Zealand progressions and results in education over the last nine years?
1. There are a higher proportion of children in pre-school education. I am not convinced for many that this is a good
thing. It has huge potential to detract from the concept of the parents as first teacher and move the responsibility for
education from the family to an institution at a very early age. In NZ the primary care giver can get up to 26 weeks
paid parental leave. That is a start. Given the changes for caregivers of the elderly and infirm maybe consideration
could also be given to paying the 20 hours per week ECE subsidy for parents who choose to stay in the home and engage
their child(ren) there. Saying that 95% of children ought to be in pre-school education has the potential side-effect of
making education seem a technical undertaking right from the beginning and not one that needs the full and engaged
interaction of parents and wider family. Gaps such as the one described in the following quote will only be addressed by
enhancing what happens in the home and through parents and not through marginalising that aspect of development:
Much of this disadvantage has been attributed to what researchers call the “word gap.” Higher-income parents spend
nearly a half hour more per day engaged in direct, face-to-face, Goodnight Moon time with their children than low-income parents do, and by the time these children are 5 years old, the poor ones will have
heard 30 million fewer words than their wealthy peers. Nearly all of my more affluent students read in their leisure
time, but approximately two out of every 10 of my poor students tell me, “I don’t read” when I offer to help them pick
out an independent reading book.
While the school sector likes to consider it is the most important determinant in the educational outcomes for a child
(and the government can claim credit through that) the home environment is far more important and until policy works to
enhance that relationship all change will be limited.
2. National Standards (NS) were introduced by the National government and I am still to be convinced that they serve any
fit purpose. Surveys can be done that show a majority of parents like them but then the majority of children come in “at
or above” standard for Reading, Writing and Maths – so why complain? The impact on schools and families where the
results are at the other end of the spectrum are not likely to be so flash. They also have the effect of putting
pressure on to narrow the curriculum.
There were “Better Public Service” targets set for NS of 85% of students at or above standard by 2017. The incremental
improvements were far from achieving those targets so the goals stopped being discussed and the gaps for Maori and
Pasifika children remained significant. Reading goals have been dropped altogether and suddenly the “ambitious” targets
are 80% at or above for Year 8 Writing and Maths by 2021. (http://www.educationreview.co.nz/news/2017/ambitious-new-targets-for-writing-and-maths/#.WWQKbISGPIU). The two teacher unions quite rightly question this goal post shifting and point out the 85% goals were nonsensical in
the first place – as are the standards themselves under any close scrutiny. You should ascertain what a child comes to
school knowing and what they are able to do. You do have to be able to show significant progress but arbitrary and
narrow standards and goals in modern education is not good practice. Love of learning is not inherent in National
Standards. No seven year old is going to be motivated by such goals and nor should they be.
3. One of the great rhetorical questions of the gospels is whether any parent would offer a stone when a child asks for
bread. The “Better Public Service” targets set in the last period were for NCEA Level 2 (with no coherent explanation
why that was the level chosen) and that by 2017 85% of students passing was the aim. If you take the more accurate
“roll-based” measure the target was missed by approximately 10%. If you use the easily massaged participation-based”
statistic it looks okay. The question is; at what cost? There are accusations of soft credits and students being
“encouraged” into easier and vocational credits. There are also discussions around “appropriate pathways” (skin colour
based?) and many students left with scant options in Year 13. The 85% goal has been dropped. No goal was ever set for UE
and, for Maori and Pasifika, it remains an absolute disaster and a national shame. The Asian student pass-rate for UE is
66%, European 57%, Maori 31% and Pasifika 30%. Our young people need great educational “bread”. Instead that have been
given stones – they may be bigger than before (credential inflation) and painted to look like bread but it is not what
is needed. There are schools that get less than 10% of their Year 13s through UE and very few people raise an eyebrow.
Imagine the chair chucking if that occurred at AGS or EGGS.
If you add in that New Zealand is now the lowest English speaking country in TIMMS (Trends in International Science and
Maths Study) and has a long term downward trend in PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) that has slowed
a little but not to the extent that the then Minister Parata proposed when she suggested the results should be
“celebrated”.
So why no fuss? Why is this not a massive issue? I would suggest three reasons:
- Early in the second term of this government a well-placed MP explained to me that the National government had one
clear political aim with the Education and Health portfolios; to keep them off the front pages of media outlets. The
Ministry of Education similarly seem to view their role as unquestioning support of the politicians/policy as opposed to
bringing about great outcomes for the young. The things that are publicised are huge amounts being spent on new
buildings and “Modern Learning Environments” (MLE’s). Great photo ops but do they genuinely help the students?
- The majority of students are doing okay within the NZ system. International comparisons do not seem relevant to many
and why take into consideration the failing groups when thinking about your vote? In fact one MP said to me when invited
to speak to one of our schools: “Why would I? Kids don’t vote.” You could extend that to saying that parents of kids
doing well are unlikely to consider the children of other families/groups when they cast their vote.
- There are little or no clear, innovative and family focussed policies that are being announced and promoted by any
political party. Until political parties come up with genuinely “wow this will actually help” policies education will
not be central in this election. I try and follow education policies closely. There appears to be nothing in the
offering of substance. There are trite sayings like “every school should be a good school and we will fund them to be
so” but very little on the how. Education policies should be our ideals and they should be courageous and detailed. They
should explain fully how the adults of New Zealand are going to help a young person to get the best out of life, the
arts, academics, philosophy/faith/well-being and, as a part of it, a career. It is not about simply educating for our
economy or the workforce. That sort of reduction of the purpose of education does nothing to serve the whole child and
certainly impacts on the mental well-being that is such a huge issue for our young today.
What are the current innovations?
Communities of Learning has some promise (and a $359million budget) but it is a wait and see on measureable effects and
whether schools merely use them as a funding stream for some staff or truly co-ordinate programmes for the well-being
and outcomes of their students. To be a true education changer the Communities of Learning should also include
representation from the families the schools work with.
The compulsory digital curriculum also holds aspects of promise. However it cannot merely be an IT industry backed push
to upskill the work force and decrease their labour costs. It also has to be carefully integrated into a broad
curriculum. Humans are not breathing robots. The push towards more technical learning (e.g. STEM) without the Arts is a
glance back towards the 1950s and 60s with academic, business and technical streams and outcomes being largely
predetermined by placement. What we understand about learning potential is now too powerful to reduce students to being
merely economic fodder.
New Zealand businesses may want an emerging labour force that suits their needs:
“Some of New Zealand's top entrepreneurs are warning New Zealand's education system needs to change if the country is
going to keep up with a rapidly changing workforce. (http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3=11885281)
However preparation for a career is by no means the only objective of schooling. Teaching coding might have some
benefits but care needs to be taken. On one hand we are told that the careers that our five year olds will do have
probably not even been invented yet – then we are told that they must learn to code. It was also interesting that the
policy was announced with $15million worth of funding for equipment for schools. This works out at about $5,800 per
school. The Microsoft “augmented reality” glasses the Prime Minister and Minister Kaye were wearing at the announcement
cost $4,500 each so every school in NZ could get 1.3 of those each.
There has been huge amounts spent on new schools and new school buildings. The average State School start up is well
into the tens of millions (and in some cases above one hundred million). An extra classroom for an established school is
now being priced at approximately $750,000. Making announcements, building flash spaces and photo opportunities when
cutting the ribbons all looks like good education. However, while it looks good is it the best way to use funds? Could
the establishing board be given more choice in the types of building and spaces and the use of funds? Could some of
those funds be used to help families more to support education from the home? Could more of the building fund be spent
on support staff instead? None of those options are as “sexy” as a new building being opened by politicians but they may
be better at helping young people.
There are currently ten Charter Schools (vested interest warning!). While they may be doing well for 1200 students in
some ways it may be time for a party (or two) to write a more comprehensive policy around innovative schools in
association with niche private providers but in a way that sits more comfortably and cooperatively with State sector.
The school years are a one-time event for each cohort. Incremental improvements over a long period of time are not good
enough in this sector because it means year after year of a significant percentage of leavers being harmed for life as
well as wider societal consequences.
What is needed for a great education system?
- Outstanding leadership from the Minister and the Ministry of Education with the sole purpose of benefitting children
(not political points-scoring and the perpetuation of power).
- High quality leadership within our schools.
- A well-qualified teaching sector that has a high entry bar and is paid according to both. There should also be
significant training and pay enhancements for teacher aides and support staff.
- A massive emphasis on learning in the home and mechanisms for family engagement throughout the compulsory years.
- In Years 1-10 schools should be able to show progressions and improvements with the children they have and not have
outcome based league tables published which gives them a pass/fail type metric.
- Well organised schools with minimum down time and best use of resources including options for Principals/Boards to
make some choices in use of funds (e.g. less building expense – more on lowering barriers for families and paying
staff).
- Genuine communal effort, regardless of who is in power, for the good of our young and a “who cares” attitude in terms
of who takes the credit.
As a final thought. There is a lot of discussion and work going into re-modelling and renaming what is currently the
decile system. My call would be that the decile system (which only accounts for a portion of funding) has not actually
gone far enough. It should be embraced but the decile 1-3 schools should be funded massively for change in such a way
that makes it highly-worthwhile to teach in decile 1-3 situations, reduces the class size to 1:15, trusts Principals
with more resourcing choices and reduces barriers to families (e.g. provides uniform and stationery).
Kids don’t vote – but each vote should consider the best for them.
Alwyn Poole
Villa Education Trust
Mt Hobson Middle School - Academic Manager
South Auckland Middle School - Academic Adviser
Middle School West Auckland - Academic Adviser