History Of Education In New Zealand

The development of state education in New Zealand has been shaped by social and political interactions between Māori as tangata whenua of the land, missionaries, settlers, voluntary organisations and those charged with consolidating central state control. While the initiatives and systems were driven by colonial ambitions to protect and civilise the indigenous people through assimilation, and install a model of education based on European concepts of the purposes and delivery of learning, there have been times when Māori actively engaged with the process to retain their traditional knowledge and language. Examples of this were Māori participation in the early missions schools, contestation and resistance against many processes of Native schools and the establishment of Kura Kaupapa Māori. Following the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, New Zealand became a British Crown Colony, and by 1852 the state of New Zealand had assumed a full legislative role in education. A series of acts of parliament have attempted to resolve differences between competing interests as the country faced social, cultural and economic challenges. This has continued, arguably, as a desire for democratic and progressive education and the creation and ongoing reform of an education system that aims to reduce inequalities and enable social mobility. As a response to criticism of the education system and the role of the state in managing and delivering equitable learning, there were radical reforms in the late 1980s. These changes resulted in the establishment of self-managing schools and a decentralization of the system, with the Department of Education being replaced by the Ministry of Education whose role has been to implement government reforms. Some of these, in governance models for schools, assessment and reporting, class sizes, payroll, school closures and building maintenance, have been controversial.

Origins of primary schools

Traditional Māori education system

Before the arrival of Europeans in New Zealand, Māori had a system of knowledge sharing and application that was learned from elders. This ensured that there were enough people with the skills to fish, hunt, maintain communities and develop crafts such as weaving and basketry. Specific skills such as those for wood carving were taught by experts and tribal law was passed on in whare wananga or houses of learning. In Māori society at the time, understanding, respecting and appropriately applying the restrictions around tapu was seen as an essential aspect of education. Waiata, whakataukī (proverbs), pūrākau (stories) and whakapapa (genealogy) transmitted "history, values and models of behaviour." This educational system
has been described as "sophisticated and functional...ith a..strong knowledge base, and a dynamic ability to respond to changing needs and new challenges."

Mission schools

It has been said that when Māori first made contact with a Western European education system, the relationship was characterised by tension as different world views, and at times contradictory, ways of teaching and learning needed to be negotiated. The first school along European lines for Māori in New Zealand was established in 1816 by the missionary Thomas Kendall of the Anglican Church Missionary Society, at Rangihoua, in the Bay of Islands. The school had 22 students when it opened and the roll peaked at 70 within a year. The curriculum was described as "mainly rote learning of the alphabet and syllables, missionary-constructed Māori grammar, and catechisms". Due to issues with attendance and food supplies, the original school closed in 1818 but resumed a year later at Kerikeri. While the missionaries saw literacy as the way to teach the scriptures, Māori were said to have become "increasingly interested in learning to read and write... nd.. understanding the new European world with its tall sailing ships, firearms and iron tools."

Early state legislation

Constitution Act 1852

This divided New Zealand into provinces and provincial councils were given responsibility for education, with some financing denominational schools rather than establishing public schools. The six provinces, Auckland, New Plymouth, Wellington, Nelson, Canterbury and Otago determined funding for curriculum and enrolment matters. It has been said that provincial councils managed education differently because each had challenges in "developing a regional infrastructure to support settlement."

Education Ordinance 1847

In 1847, the governor of New Zealand, George Grey, took steps to support the existing network of mission schools through the Educational Ordinance 1847. This outlined the principles for education in New Zealand, including provision for government inspection and a requirement that "English language would become an integral part of the New Zealand education system for all, including Māori whose first language was Māori." It has been said that the intention of this was to assimilate Maori based on the "prevailing belief at the time was of the superiority of British civilisation with education seen as a way of "pacifying Maori... nd in..providing a potential labouring class to help build the young colony." Another researcher described The Education Ordinance Act sa "way of disguising a policy, with aims of social control, assimilation and a means to further establish British rule in New Zealand... nd..the first of several policies which would serve to see the Mäori language being pushed out of schools in favour of English."

Native Schools Act 1858

This Act enabled income for the mission schools, while stipulating that Māori students must attend as boarders. Numbers of Maori attending these schools were not high by 1850, and because the government struggled to find the funds, most of the mission schools were closed in the 1860s. In the 1850s about 25% of Pākehā could not read or write, and another 14% could only read. Some schools were set up by religious groups, and others by provincial governments. Nelson and Otago had more efficient and better funded education systems than northern provinces such as Auckland. However the Auckland Board of Education was set up 1857 under the Education Act of that year, and had 45 schools by 1863.

Native Schools Act 1867

Under this Act a system of secular village primary schools controlled by the Department of Native Affairs was established. Māori communities could request a school for their children and contribute land and pay toward building costs and teachers' salaries. In spite of this cost, many Maori communities saw the value of learning English and there were 57 Native schools in the country by 1979. In establishing secular, state-controlled schools, The Act took responsibility for Māori schooling away from the missionaries. To some, the law makers were seen as having good intentions to "civilise" Māori and teach them "Pākehā ways and knowledge", and the process could be seen as supporting Maori in "developing and rebuilding their language, beliefs and values and creating the initiatives to do that." Paul Moon said the Act was an "assimilationist measure" by the government, in response to pressure from missionaries to replace te reo Māori in schools with English. Another researcher noted that "readings of the Māori Schools Bill in 1867 had received much debate in parliament but received acceptance as it appeared that some politicians had genuine concern for Māori interests, but the bill was accepted for purely economic reasons and as a further means of social control." Historian Alan Ward said that while the Act continued the "ideas of racial and cultural superiority", there was an element of altruism in it being an attempt by the government to "develop a system of integrated, rather than segregated schooling based on race."

Native Schools Code 1880

In 1979, Native schools came under control of the newly-created Department of Education, rather than the Native Department, and effectively operated within a system separate from public schools. The Department of Education was briefed with focussing on curriculum issues and teaching quality, with the goal of assimilating Māori into a state education system that to some extent reflected a 1879 report to the Minister of Education which explicitly stated that Te Reo Māori "ought to be very little, if at all, used" in any schools. This along with concerns about the quality of teaching, lead to the establishment of the Native Schools Code in 1880 by James Pope, the organising inspector of schools. Pope's vision for the future of Māori education in the country was for the establishment of state schools, requiring Maori communities to contribute land and money toward their maintenance. A curriculum was established that consisted of reading, writing, arithmetic, geography, but with a strong focus on the importance of English and publications that were disseminated nd"designed to set expectations in the Native Schools and their surrounding Māori communities as to what the cultural, literary and social ideals were to which Māori should aspire." Teachers were expected to be "role models for the entire Māori community, therefore linking with the assimilation policy".

Education Act 1877

In 1876 the provinces were abolished, resulting in a move toward a "centralist education system", and the passing of the Education Act 1877 which established New Zealand's first secular, compulsory and free national system of primary education. Under the Act it became compulsory for Pākehā children from ages 7 to 13 to attend primary school and while the Act did not apply to Māori children, they had the option of attending these schools. The Act also sought to establish standards of quality of education as schools varied greatly in their resources and approaches. Before this time children attended schools governed by provincial governments or church or private schools. As with all legislation, the Act's effectiveness depended on its practicability and the resources to enforce it. Many children continued to face difficulties with attending school, especially those from rural areas where their manual labour was important to families. There was a standardised curriculum hat.."consisted of reading, writing, arithmetic, history and geography, plus sewing and needlework for girls and military drill for boys." The School Attendance Act 1894 confirmed "every child between the age of seven years and the age of thirteen years is hereby required to attend some public school at least six times a week, morning attendances and afternoon attendances being separately counted."

The 1877 Act made some difference to Maori and women, enabling a small proportion to proceed to higher education. For example, over 500 Maori girls went to Hukarere Native Girls' School in the Hawkes bay between 1877 and 1900. Apirana Ngata went to Te Aute College at the age of 10 in 1884, won a scholarship, and became the first Maori to graduate in a New Zealand university and became a leading politician.

The Act effectively distinguished primary from secondary education: learning in the early years was a universal right, and access to secondary schools was strictly limited.

Early secondary schools

Secondary schooling was not covered by the 1877 Act, but at that time there were schools at this level established by the New Zealand Company, Provincial Councils, private funders and a small number of Māori denomination boarding schools which had originally been mission schools under the Education Ordinance of 1847. Some elementary schools that had added higher classes were also recognised as District High Schools under the 1977 Education Act.

Around 1900, this level of education was generally for the wealthy elite who intended to go to university or enter professional careers, and it was not free. In 1901, less than 3 percent of those aged between 12 and 18 attended public secondary schools. An additional 5 percent attended district high schools (as they were known) or a Standard 7 class. Educational opportunities improved from around 1902 when secondary schools were given grants to admit more pupils.

Changes by the Secretary of Education, George Hogben, raised the leaving age to 14, and the Secondary Schools Act 1903 required secondary schools to offer free education to all those who "obtained a certificate of competency in the subjects of Standard V." The Education Act 1914 created a national system for grading and appointing teachers... nd confirmedsecondary schools '' ere required' to offer free education to those who passed a proficiency examination, with grants paid to schools for these pupils." The Certificate of Proficiency became the major determinant of job and career opportunities. By 1921 nearly 13 percent of 12- to 18-year-olds attended a secondary institution (usually for at least two years) and five years later in 1926, and still in 1939, 25 percent did so.

Most schools continued to attempt to offer a curriculum with strong traditional and authoritarian elements. Schools attempted to balance a 'civilising' cultural and moral education with 'utilitarian', vocational training needs. This frustrated those who urged a greater focus on workforce preparation. The battle between vocational and cultural educational imperatives continues today.

Introduction of technical high schools

An attempt to address workforce training needs was made early in the 20th century by introducing technical high schools. They offered practical, vocationally-orientated training. However, they were not a success. Traditional secondary schools were seen by parents as providing a pathway into high-status professions, and a better life. Technical schools were regarded as being for the less-able. The Manual and Technical Institutions Acts of 1900 and 1902 did, however, result in the establishment of technical high schools and "the provision of funding to all schools that introduced subjects such as cooking, woodwork and agriculture."

There was a trend for greater emphasis on vocational training during the 1920s and 1930s, which was part of a modern Western trend in the first half of the century away from spiritual, moral and cultural education to a focus on the education of the workforce.

Prior to the 1940s, students were receiving varying curriculums within different types of secondary schools. in 1926 for instance, a quarter of secondary students went to technical schools, 2 percent to Maori schools (which emphasised manual skills), 12 percent went to district or agricultural high schools, 10 percent to private schools (including Catholic schools), and just over 50 percent went to state secondary schools.

The Thomas Report, 1944

The Atmore Report, 1930 was an important landmark document, and many of the measures recommended in this were finally supported by the Labour Prime Minister Peter Fraser who pushed through major reforms in the late 1930s and 1940s.

From 1944, as part of the post-Depression era Labour Governments' 'Cradle to Grave' social reforms, secondary education was free and made compulsory up to the age of 15.

The Thomas Report of 1944 was the document which established a common, core and free secondary curriculum for all. This remained in place for fifty years. It introduced School Certificate - examinations sat at the end of Fifth Form, and abolished Matriculation, replacing it with University Entrance - a set of examinations sat at end of Sixth Form. The syllabus material was drawn from both practical and academic strands, with the added aim of catering for students of widely differing abilities, interests, and backgrounds. Despite the core curriculum, including literacy, numeracy, science, social studies, physical education and arts and crafts, the practices of gender differentiation and streaming, it has been argued, ran counter to the rhetoric of equality. Teachers believed that students learned better when streamed into different ability classes as measured by (what is now recognised as) a limited assessment of intelligence IQ. Streams were divided into academic, commercial, and domestic or trades, and students received different versions of the core curriculum.

A number of factors in the post-World War Two era challenged the goals of egalitarian educational opportunities and many students' experiences were still divided by class, race, gender, religion and geography. For example, in 1953, 40 percent of Maori continued to attend Maori primary schools and in 1969 a study of the private Auckland Grammar school demonstrated that only 1 percent came from working and lower-middle-class backgrounds.

Mid 20th century

In 1964, the compulsory school starting age was lowered from 7 years to 6 years.

Integration, 1975 to 1984

Māori education 1960 to 1990

During the 1960s there was a growing awareness that the education system in New Zealand was not meeting the needs of Māori children. The report by Jack Hunn in 1961, known as the Hunn Report, presented data that showed under achievement of Māori in education. The Report recommended a change from assimilation to integration, but little changed because at the time there was a deficit explanation for this that said the problems were largely the result of Māori having "culturally deprived backgrounds". It was recommended that state intervention to address achievement issues should focus on enriching English programmes to overcome this deficit. The Hunn Report also suggested that due to urbanisation of Māori, the separate schools established under the Native Schools Act 1867 were no longer necessary and should be absorbed into the state school system. This concept was supported by the Currie Report in 1962, and by 1969 all Native schools had been "absorbed or closed" Politician Matiu Rata said he was surprised how smoothly the transition had happened without major criticism, but Hirini Mead who had taught in Native Schools said that the "wholesale transfer" to education board control "came as a shock and betrayal." Linda Tuhiwai Smith

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases