Maxim Institute - real issues - No. 68
Contents: * Fines Defaulters - A move by the Department for Courts to 'name and shame' fines defaulters appears to be
working. Is there still a role for attaching stigma to unacceptable behaviour? * Educational achievement A stock-take of
the New Zealand curriculum raises a number of important issues and it seems we aren't doing as well internationally as
the report claims. * Te Mangai Paho Despite the politicking we can still expect basic accountability from the Maori
Broadcasting Agency, Te Mangai Paho.
Fines Defaulters
Recent moves by the Department for Courts to publicly identify fines defaulters appear to be working. Over the last two
weeks, defaulters' names have been published in major newspapers. Southern Area Collections Manager Eileen McGregor said
on Tuesday that 185 from a list of 500 people have responded, some paying their full fine and others making arrangements
to do so. Mrs McGregor commented that even people not named were encouraged to take action now to avoid their names
being published. "Many of these people were not named in the newspaper but the possibility of such action has encouraged
them to deal with their fines now rather than later," she said.
The deeper issue is that stigma still has a positive role in identifying and reinforcing 'good' and 'bad' behaviour. The
Department of Courts action goes against the prevailing climate of non-judgmentalism and political correctness, and is
all the more refreshing because of that. The 'name-shame' campaign provokes individual conscience while maintaining
wider community confidence that those caught in wrongdoing will make good and pay their debt - quite literally in this
instance.
Educational achievement
Lester Flockton, co-director of the Educational Assessment Research Unit (EARU) based at Otago University, says the NZ
school curriculum is creating an angry underclass of uneducated minority groups. In its recent curriculum stocktake
report (Stocktake) commissioned by the Ministry of Education, EARU frequently refers to the underachievement of Maori
and Pacific Island children. It blames mainstream schools for having 'culturally inappropriate contexts' that prevent
some children from achieving.
The Stocktake illustrates the confusion gripping the curriculum. It confuses quality with 'the specific goals of a
group'. It suggests that excellence is relative to cultural context and that no objective measure for quality or
excellence is possible because no agreed, universal standard can be applied. The 1993 Curriculum Framework and syllabus
statements in the seven essential learning areas are said to be 'coherent and comprehensive'. But this is dubious.
The New Zealand curriculum is an ideological battleground. Neo-Marxism is prominent, with its push to equalise
educational and social outcomes, as is the cry of economic reductionism, which wants 'useful' outcomes in subjects like
Science, Mathematics and Technology. This jockeying for ideological prominence has loaded the curriculum to the
detriment of clear achievement standards.
The Stocktake also claims 'New Zealand secondary students consistently score relatively highly in tests for different
forms of literacy compared with their international counterparts'. This too is contestable. A UNICEF Innocenti Report
Card states that '50% of New Zealanders performed at the two lowest literacy levels across three measures in IALS [the
International Adult Literacy Survey] in 1996, with up to 72% of Maori and Pacific Islanders performing at the two lowest
levels in the same survey...New Zealand ranked 14th among 15 countries in the IALS survey'.
To access a summary of New Zealand statistics in the Innocenti Report Card click on www.maxim.org.nz/ri/innocenti.html
To view the entire UNICEF document, click on to http://www.unicef-icdc.org/publications/pdf/repcard4e.pdf , and for further information on the New Zealand Curriculum project go to www.tki.org.nz/e/nzcurriculum
Te Mangai Paho
The Minister of Maori Affairs, Parekura Horomia, has been feeling the heat in the last week over the Maori Broadcasting
Funding Agency, Te Mangai Paho (TMP). Mr Horomia has become entrapped in allegations of corruption and mismanagement at
TMP. An acting head, Wira Gardiner, has been appointed to inquire into the allegations.
Many ordinary New Zealanders are thoroughly confused about groups like TMP, and they view the on-going problems with
frustration and even cynicism. Underneath this lies a desire for accountability, both within state-funded organisations
and from cabinet ministers. Mr Horomia's obfuscation hasn't helped either. Notwithstanding the outcome of Mr Gardiner's
inquiry, just who, if anyone, will be accountable if any impropriety is found?
Heading an organisation effectively requires more than simply belonging to a specified racial group; another Maori
leader speaking with Maxim earlier this week highlighted the importance of prior management training and recognised
credentials for top officials. In a beleaguered and volatile area like TMP, it is hoped the inquiry will conclude
likewise.
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK - Milton Friedman
Governments never learn. Only people learn.