Introduction
Education is increasingly
international in character, driven by trends which include
the ICT revolution, employment markets transcending national
borders, and a geographically mobile population of students,
teaching staff and researchers.
In this fast-changing
environment, policy makers, teachers, students and employers
in all countries need access to relevant and up-to-date
information about each other's education and qualification
systems.
This publication provides a
brief overview of the governance and structure of education
provision in New Zealand and includes information on quality
assurance and the international comparability of New Zealand
secondary school and tertiary education qualifications.
Central Agencies
and Providers: A Devolved System
New Zealand education has moved
from a quite centralised structure to one in which
individual schools and tertiary institutions have
considerable responsibility for their own governance and
management, working within the framework of guidelines,
requirements and funding arrangements set by central
government and administered through its agencies.
The Ministry of Education (www.minedu.govt.nz),
established under the Education Act 1989, carries out the
following functions:
provides education policy
advice to the Minister of Education and the Government;
purchases services on behalf
of the Crown;
allocates funding and
resources to schools and early childhood education
providers;
oversees the implementation of
approved education policies;
manages special education
services;
collects and processes
education statistics and information;
and
monitors the effectiveness of
the education system as a whole.
Separate education agencies have
national responsibilities for qualifications and quality
assurance (refer to page 10).
Administrative authority for
most education service provision is devolved away from
central government to the educational institutions which are
governed (in the public sector) by individual Boards or
Councils, members of which are elected or appointed.
The Tertiary Education
Commission's (TEC) (www.tec.govt.nz)
key role is to oversee implementation of the Tertiary
Education Strategy and associated set of priorities.
TEC takes an active role in
facilitating collaboration and cooperation in the tertiary
education system, and a greater system connectedness to
wider New Zealand businesses, communities, iwi (tribes) and
enterprises.
It is also responsible for
funding all post-compulsory education and training offered
by universities, polytechnics, colleges of education,
wananga (public tertiary institutions that provide
programmes with an emphasis on Maori tradition and customs),
private training establishments, foundation education
agencies, industry training organisations and adult and
community education providers.
Education in New
Zealand
The New Zealand education system
is based on several guiding principles including: culturally
appropriate early childhood services; primary and secondary
education that is free for New Zealand citizens and
permanent residents; equitable and affordable access to
tertiary education; and quality assured and portable
education qualifications.
The provision of flexible
pathways for study is also an important feature - for
example students are not streamed or channeled through
particular types of school from which future study options
are determined.
Although there is diversity in
the forms of institutions through which education is
provided, national policies and quality assurance provide
continuity and consistency across the system.
Early Childhood
Education
In New Zealand the term `early
childhood education' refers to education and care for young
children and infants from birth to six years of age. A wide
range of early childhood services is available. English is
the medium language of most services, however some provide
an environment in which children learn in Maori, Pacific
Island or other languages.
Government and local communities
have increasingly recognised the value of early childhood
education and there has been considerable change in this
sector. The diversity of early childhood education services
has increased, as has the participation of parents in
children's early education. 60% of New Zealand children aged
from birth to 5 years participate in early childhood
education, including 90% of 3-year-olds and 98% of
4-year-olds.
These figures represent overall
figures; participation rates for different ethnicities vary.
In New Zealand early childhood
education services are not state-owned, provided or managed.
The early childhood education sector and the Ministry of
Education have developed a 10 year strategic plan for New
Zealand early childhood education: Pathways to the Future:
Nga Huarahi Arataki. The role of government is focused on
the development of curriculum, regulating for minimum
standards, and support for the provision of quality early
childhood education through funding and a range of
initiatives set out in the strategic plan.
Primary and
Secondary School Education
Schooling is available to
children from age 5 and is compulsory from ages 6 to 16. In
2004, average teacher:student classroom ratios ranged from
1:19 to 1:24 across the various year levels and school
types. The New Zealand school year usually runs from the end
of January to mid-December, and is divided into four terms.
Both single-sex and coeducational schooling options are
available and state (public) schools are secular.
Primary education starts at Year
1 and continues until Year 8, with Years 7 and 8 mostly
offered at either a primary or a separate intermediate
school.
Secondary education covers Years
9 to 13, (during which students are generally aged 13 to
17). Most secondary students in New Zealand attend
Government-funded schools, which are known variously as
secondary schools, high schools, colleges or area schools.
Most schools are English
language medium, but some schools teach in the Maori medium.
Kura Kaupapa Maori are schools in which the principal
language of instruction is Maori and education is based on
Maori culture and values. Most Kura Kaupapa Maori cater for
students from Years 1 to 8, and a few (Wharekura) cater for
students up to Year
13.
The National Certificate of
Educational Achievement (NCEA) was progressively implemented
between 2002 and 2004, as the national senior secondary
school qualification. Students are able to achieve the NCEA
at three levels via a wide range of courses and subjects,
both within and beyond the traditional school. For most
students, the three levels of the NCEA correspond to the
final three years of secondary schooling (Years 11-13). To
gain an NCEA the student must achieve 80 credits on the
National Qualifications Framework, 60 at the level of the
certificate and 20 others.
In addition, a New Zealand
Scholarship qualification has been developed and was offered
for the first time in 2004. This qualification challenges
and recognises high performing students, for the most part,
from Year 13.
International
Comparability of School Qualifications
NCEA Level 1 is comparable
overall to the following qualifications:
the British General
Certificate of Secondary Education;
Canadian or United States
Grade 10; and
Year 10 awards in a number of
Australian states - School Certificate, Junior Certificate
and Achievement Certificate.
NCEA Level 3, and the New
Zealand Scholarship qualification, is comparable overall to
the following qualifications:
the British A level; and
Year 12 awards in a number of
Australian States, for example the New South Wales Higher
School Certificate.
Entrance to degree study at
tertiary education institutions is achieved by gaining a
minimum of 42 credits at level 3 or higher of the National
Qualifications Framework, and fulfilling specific subject
and level requirements, and literacy and numeracy
requirements. International qualifications considered
equivalent are also accepted and domestic students over 20
years of age can apply for entry without formal
qualifications. International students are also required to
fulfil English language requirements for enrolment at
tertiary institutions.
Information about the NCEA and
New Zealand Scholarship can be found on www.ncea.govt.nz.
Tertiary
Education
The term `tertiary education' in
New Zealand is used to describe all aspects of post-school
education and training. There are currently 36 public
tertiary education institutions, including eight
universities, twenty-one institutes of technology and
polytechnics, four colleges of education, three wananga
(Maori tertiary education institutions). There are also 46
industry training organisations, and approximately 895
private training establishments, which include private
English language schools, registered by the New Zealand
Qualifications Authority.
The academic year for most
tertiary institutions starts in February and finishes in
November and is often divided into two semesters. Some
institutions now offer a `summer trimester' which runs from
December or January through to February.
Tertiary education providers
meet the needs of learners of all ages, ethnicities,
abilities and educational backgrounds. They offer courses at
widely different levels, from transition programmes to
postgraduate study and research. There are no fixed
divisions between the types of courses offered by each
classification of provider. The key focus is on their
ability to offer programmes to the required quality
standards, rather than on their organisational type.
Technical and Vocational
Education is mainly offered at institutes of
technology, polytechnics, private training establishments
and in the workplace. However, some programmes are also
available in secondary schools, wananga, government training
establishments, one college of education and several
universities.
Higher, or Degree-level
Education is mainly offered at universities, but
some degree programmes are also available at institutes of
technology, polytechnics, wananga and colleges of education,
and at some private training establishments.
Teacher Education
is not only offered at specialist colleges of education, but
also at some universities, institutes of technology,
polytechnics, wananga and private training establishments.
Industry Training
Organisations are bodies that represent particular
industry sectors. Industry Training Organisations develop
and maintain national unit (skill) standards and
qualifications for their sector. They also facilitate on-job
training and contract training providers to offer off-job
training and courses.
International
Comparability of Tertiary Qualifications
Bachelor's degrees from New
Zealand tertiary education providers are comparable overall
to:
British Bachelor's (Ordinary)
degrees
Australian Bachelor's degrees
New Zealand Bachelor's degrees
are recognised for enrolment in postgraduate programmes at
universities throughout the world, subject to the normal
grade and subject-specialisation requirements.
A Ministerial Declaration of
Confidence signed in 1998 gives mutual recognition of
vocational education and training qualifications between
Australia and New Zealand.
English language
Provision
The options for English language
study in New Zealand range from short courses that may
combine classroom study with recreational activities, to
longer diploma courses, preparation programmes for the IELTS
and TOEFL examinations, and academic study preparation
courses.
English language tuition is
provided in a variety of settings. At the tertiary level
this includes private training establishments and English
language schools or departments attached to universities and
polytechnics. In schools, English language tuition is
available in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)
classes, and in some cases, in dedicated English language
departments attached to schools.
Further information about
English language study in New Zealand can be found on the
following website: www.mynzed.co.nz
Qualifications
Within New Zealand education
formal qualifications are offered from Year II in the school
system (see pages 5-6) and from certificate up to doctorate
level in the tertiary system (see pages 7-8).
The New Zealand
Qualifications Authority (NZQA) (www.nzqa.govt.nz)
maintains an overview of qualifications in school and
tertiary education and training. NZQA has developed the
New Zealand Register of Quality Assured Qualifications (the
"Register"), established to provide a means to clearly
identify all quality assured qualifications in New Zealand.
The Register has ten levels and is composed of
qualifications that are registered in accordance with an
agreed set of title definitions. It provides a comprehensive
list of all quality assured qualifications and benchmarking
of New Zealand qualifications internationally. The Register
is available on the Internet at www.nzqa.govt.nz.
Quality
Assurance
Quality
Assurance of Tertiary Education
Quality assurance of tertiary
education in New Zealand focuses on the quality of learning
outcomes recognised through qualifications as a whole, and
also on the systems and processes that support quality
delivery by providers.
Only those tertiary
qualifications and providers that are quality assured by a
quality approval body are eligible for Government financial
assistance. Quality assurance bodies decide whether
providers and qualification developers meet appropriate
standards.
NZQA registers private education
providers and recommends the approval of government training
establishments to the Minister of Education. It accredits
and audits educational institutions and other registered
learning establishments that offer approved courses and
award credit for registered qualifications. It also
accredits industry training organisations to register
workplace assessors. All registered education providers and
approved courses and qualifications outside the universities
are listed on NZQA's website (www.nzqa.govt.nz).
In addition to the functions and
activities of the Ministry of Education (refer p. 3),
quality assurance is provided through the following means.
Quality
Assurance of School Education The Education Review Office (ERO)
(
www.ero.govt.nz)
oversees quality assurance of school education. ERO reports
on the education and care of students in primary and
secondary schools, and early childhood centres. It carries
out reviews of individual schools and early childhood
centres, home-based education reviews, cluster reviews of
schools and early childhood centres, and national
evaluations of education issues. ERO reports on individual
schools and centres are freely available to the public.
The New Zealand
Qualifications Authority (NZQA) (
www.nzqa.govt.nz) sets
and regularly reviews standards as they relate to
qualifications, administers national examinations, and
approves courses that are mainly or wholly for international
students in schools.
The New Zealand Teachers
Council (
www.teacherscouncil.govt.nz) registers teachers,
renews their practicing certificates and approves teacher
education programmes that lead to registration. All state
and private schools and kindergartens employ only teachers
with a current practicing certificate, or a limited
authority to teach.
Registration is optional for
teachers in other early childhood centres and in tertiary
institutions.
Quality
Assurance for the Pastoral Care of International Students
The Ministry of Education
operates a Code of Practice for the Pastoral Care of
International Students. The Code (introduced in October
2002) provides a framework for delivery of pastoral care,
accommodation and provision of information by education
providers and their agents to international students. It
sets out minimum standards of advice and care that are
expected of education providers. All education providers
that enrol international students must be signatories to the
Code.
Providers are required to have
fair and equitable internal procedures for resolving student
grievances. If concerns are not resolved by using these
internal procedures, students can contact the International
Education Appeal Authority. This Authority investigates
complaints, determines if there has been a breach of the
Code, and sets out remedies when a breach has occurred. The
Code can be viewed on the Ministry's website
www.minedu.govt.nz/goto/international.
NZQA has delegated authority for
the approval and accreditation of polytechnics and institute
of technology courses below degree level to the Institutes
of Technology and Polytechnics of New Zealand (www.itpnz.ac.nz)
(formerly the Association of Polytechnics in NZ) and its
Polytechnic Programmes Committee. Similarly, NZQA has
delegated authority for the approval and accreditation of
colleges of education courses below degree level to the
Association of Colleges of Education in New Zealand (ACENZ)
(
www.acenz.ac.nz) and
its Colleges of Education Accreditation Committee (CEAC).
The New Zealand
Vice-Chancellors' Committee (NZVCC) (
www.nzvcc.ac.nz)
provides quality assurance for university qualifications
through the Committee on University Academic Programmes (CUAP).
This Committee oversees inter-university course approval and
moderation procedures, provides advice and comment on
academic developments, encourages the coherent and balanced
development of curricula, and facilitates cross-crediting
between qualifications.
The New Zealand Universities
Academic Audit Unit (NZUAAU) established by NZVCC, carries
out university academic quality audits, drawing on both New
Zealand and international experts.
NZVCC and NZQA use common
criteria for the approval and accreditation of degrees.
Further
Information
For further information about
the New Zealand education system, please refer to the
following websites:
