4 April 2005 Media Statement
Technology education gets a $6million boost
A new $6 million initiative to help support, develop and promote outstanding examples of technology education in
secondary schools has been launched by Associate Education Minister David Benson-Pope.
"We want to take projects and practice that have been identified as exciting and valuable, work with schools at
developing them still further, and then share this knowledge with every school in the country," said Mr Benson-Pope.
“New Zealand needs more students to be better prepared for tertiary study and careers in technology. We need to ensure
we have young people training in areas that will ease New Zealand’s current skill shortages, and help our economy grow."
The largest project and one of the first to start will be Beacon Practice. Thirteen Schools from around New Zealand with
innovative technology programmes have been selected to receive extra funding and professional support as part of the
initiative. Beacon Practice teachers will be supported in their schools by a Professional Support Facilitator, who will
work alongside teachers. This facilitator will coach, model and mentor the teachers, along with outside help from
industry and tertiary experts. The results will then be shared with secondary schools around New Zealand.
"It is about helping to enhance the quality and effectiveness of teaching and learning in secondary schools, with the
aim of inspiring young people with the possibilities of a future career in technology," said Mr Benson-Pope.
"Contributing to the professional development of staff across the education sector is an important focus for the
Government. We will spend over $67million dollars this year helping teachers and principals further advance their skills
and knowledge. That is a 125 per cent increase in funding since 1999. We believe the investment is well worth it."
Beacon Practice is part of the Government’s Growth and Innovation Framework (GIF) - Technology strategy, with a
long-term aim of delivering long-term sustainable growth to improve the living standards of New Zealanders.
Schools taking part in the Beacon Practice project are: Queen Margaret College (Wellington), Wellington College,
Wellington High School, St Patrick's College (town), Gisborne Girls' High, Lytton High School (Gisborne), Katikati
College (BOP), Hillcrest High School (Hamilton), Mount Maunganui College, Havelock North High School, Tararua College,
and St Margaret's College, Christchurch.
Beacon Practice background information:
Why Beacon Practice?
The overall aim of Beacon Practice is to raise the quality and effectiveness of teaching and learning in senior
secondary school technology courses – and so increase student participation. The aim is to build teacher capability in
technology education through a focus on quality teaching, innovative environments and supportive relationships. It also
aims to improve the alignment between secondary and tertiary technology education, and encourage more interaction with
the ‘enterprise’ community.
How Will It Work?
The basic premise behind Beacon Practice is that teachers who currently demonstrate best practice can enhance this even
further with external support. Participating schools are provided with funding to release teachers from the classroom
and provide outside facilitation and support. Beacon Practice teachers will be supported in their schools by a
Professional Support Facilitator, contracted by the Ministry of Education, to work alongside teachers. This facilitator
will coach, model and mentor the teachers to thoroughly embed beacon practice in technology inside the schools. Teachers
will also be assisted in many instances by professional technologists from industry and tertiary institutions.
Cliff Harwood from Massey University College of Education has been contracted by the Ministry to carry out this role of
Professional Support Facilitator over the next two years. Longer-term case studies and additional resource material will
be developed to help all schools improve the quality of teaching and learning in their technology education programmes.
The 2005 project involves 13 schools in, Katikati, Tauranga, Hamilton, Gisborne, Havelock North, Pahiatua, Wellington
and Christchurch across 7 initiatives.
Government committed to ICT in schools:
The Labour Government has made a substantial commitment to Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in the
schools sector. This year alone the government will spend around $72million providing ICT – that's a 104 per cent
increase in spending from five years ago when Labour came to office.
Find Out More:
You can read about what each of the schools is planning via the Techlink website: www.techlink.org.nz
ENDS