The Auckland College of Education, earlier known as the Auckland Training College and the Auckland Teachers' Training College, was a teachers' college in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about It ...

, New Zealand's largest city. It was established in 1881 and was based in the Auckland suburb of

Epsom Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...

. In 2004, the College of Education amalgamated with the University of Auckland, merging with the university's School of Education to form the Faculty of Education, now the Faculty of Education and Social Work.

History

The Auckland Training College was first established in January 1881 but closed down several years later as a result of government cost-cutting. The teachers' college was re-established between 1905 and 1906. The college's

campus was established in 1926 – original building 1925 by John Farrell, demolished 1976.

Duncan Rae Duncan McFadyen Rae (2 June 1888 – 3 February 1964) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. Biography Rae was born in Mataura in 1888. He received his education at Knox College and at Otago University, where he gained an ...

, who had been vice-principal from 1924 to 1929, was principal from 1929 to 1947. In 1936, the college was renamed the Auckland Teachers' Training College and was later renamed the Auckland Teachers' College in 1948. During its early years, the college operated as a glorified secondary school for training teachers with a strong practitioner focus. In 1964, secondary school teaching was transferred to a second teachers' training college called the Auckland Post-Primary Teachers' College, which was renamed the Secondary Teachers' College in 1966. During the 1970s, a more comprehensive three-year education program for training primary school teachers was introduced. The college also began to provide early childhood and secondary education courses. In 1971, the Secondary Teachers' College introduced a pilot

Māori culture Māori culture () is the customs, cultural practices, and beliefs of the indigenous Māori people of New Zealand. It originated from, and is still part of, Eastern Polynesian culture. Māori culture forms a distinctive part of New Zealand c ...

and language programme, which was followed by a full-time Māori language course in 1974. By 1980, the Secondary Teachers' College had its own Māori studies department. The Teachers' College absorbed the Ardmore Teachers' College (1974), Loretta Hall, Kindergarten Teachers' College (1975) and North Shore Teachers' College (1982). In 1986, the various early childhood, primary, and secondary education colleges merged into the Auckland College of Education. The merged college also offered courses in social work, counselling, and human services. In 1990, the Auckland College of Education introduced a three-year early childhood programme and equivalency courses that allowed those already working in the sector to upgrade to the new Diploma of Teaching. In July 1992, the College established a campus in Whangārei called the Tai Tokerau Campus or ''Te Kura Akoranga o Te Tai Tokerau'' to deal with a growing teacher shortage. In 1994, the College purchased the Alexander Street site, which could accommodate 100 students. Over the next decade, the Whangārei campus would train more than 320 early-childhood and primary teachers. In 2002, the Whangārei campus began offering secondary teacher education. During the 1990s, the College established more branches, at Rotorua and Kaikohe, for the delivery of Māori programmes, and at

Tokoroa Tokoroa ( mi, Te Kaokaoroa o Pātetere) is the fifth-largest town in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand and largest settlement in the South Waikato District. Located 30 km southwest of Rotorua, close to the foot of the ...

for delivering

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of Oce ...

early-childhood programmes. During the 1990s, the College also established diploma programmes to deal with the growing Pacific Islander population in Auckland, culminating in the creation of Faculty Pasifika in 2001. In 2002, the Auckland College of Education and the University of Auckland entered into talks regarding collaboration, culminating in a joint merge proposal to the New Zealand Government in 2003. On 29 July 2004, the education minister,

Trevor Mallard Trevor Colin Mallard (born 17 June 1954) is a New Zealand politician and member of the Labour Party. First elected to Parliament in 1984, he was Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives from 2017 until 2022. Mallard was a Cabinet ...

, and the associate education minister,

Steve Maharey Steven Maharey (born 3 February 1953) is a New Zealand academic and former politician of the Labour Party. Elected to Parliament for the first time in 1990 , he was Minister of Social Development and Employment from 1999 to 2005 and Ministe ...

, announced that the College of Education would merge with the University of Auckland on 1 September 2004. The two colleges merged to become the University of Auckland's Faculty of Education, which became the Faculty of Education and Social Work in 2015.

History

Notes and references

Further reading