New Zealand, my home country is currently embroiled in a debate only too familiar to those who have experienced the reform of schools in New Orleans post hurricane and the introduction of privately controlled, state funded 'charter' schools in other areas. NZ's proposed legislation is here. My own submission about this bill is below. If you would like to make a submission applications close today (24 February) and can be made online here.
The teachers' unions have made several submissions, one has been released by the national magazine, The Listener. An extraordinary press editorial by the NZ Herald, an Auckland based newspaper, attempted last week to suggest the changes to New Zealand's education system were minor, they are not. I share this submission below in the hope it helps children and their families in New Zealand.
22 January 2013
The Committee Secretariat
Education and Science
Parliament Buildings
Wellington, New Zealand
Education and Science
Parliament Buildings
Wellington, New Zealand
Submission on the Education Amendment Bill 2012
Ka Mihi
I am a resident of Christchurch, a political scientist and senior
lecturer in the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of
Canterbury and author
My specialist area is over 20 years research and practice in political
science and geography. My expert focus is in the area of governments'
responsibilities to communities in a changing world-with a particular emphasis
on youth and children in periods of environmental, social and economic change.
My expertise includes an understanding of the issues facing young
people internationally, I have served as a lead author for the United Nations
Environment Programme study of young lives in 18 countries, and I am working
with that agency and research partners in the Sustainable Lifestyles Group at
Surrey University to develop a new world survey of issues confronting children
in 21 cities globally. I am also co-researcher for a Norwegian Norklima funded study
of Young Norwegians with colleagues at the University of Oslo.
I also write from personal experience as a parent and as a past School
Board chair for the largest bilingual primary school programme in the South
Island of New Zealand.
Overiew
I recently returned from a three year fellowship in the UK where I researched
issues facing European youth and wrote up a four year study of 160 children’s
experiences growing up predominantly in Canterbury, NZ. The children were aged
8-12 years, drawn from diverse ethnic backgrounds they attended 9 primary
schools across a range of social economic deciles, bilingual and faith based
education. The results of the study have been published as a new book Children.
Citizenship and Environment: Nurturing a Democratic Imagination in a Changing
World (Earthscan Routledge London). This book was also selected to
represent New Zealand in 2012 at Frankfurt Bookfair's international charity
event Litcam which focused on children and active citizenship.
Drawing on the Children Citizenship and Environment study I note the following:
·
The risk
to democratic role modelling for children currently provided under NZ's state
education legislation by the proposed section S 158 b
·
The
potential for exacerbating social inequality and cultural tension
in a small and rapidly diversifying state
·
The
potential for detrimental humanitarian impacts in Christchurch, destabilising
children’s recovery post earthquakes
·
The
potential for corruption under 158X
1) The poorly understood risk to our democracy
of s 158: The results of the Children, Citizenship and Environment study
are surprisingly relevant to this committee’s work. Firstly many of the New
Zealand children we interviewed from all decile ranks of primary schools, spontaneously volunteered examples of active citizenship. Even if their own parents
did not take part, children were aware of other adults serving on School or Kura
Boards, acting as parent helpers or sport coaches, supporting Kapa haka etc .
It matters that children have opportunities themselves to practice democratic
decision making and active citizenship, but it also matters very much that they
observe and participate in a culture of real democratic decision making with
adults and older peers.
We cannot
underestimate the way in which children, as citizens in our community, learn democracy
by both doing and experiencing democratic
decision making in, non profit Kura Kaupapa and Tomorrow’s Schools.
The democratic
nature of the governance of their
existing charter schools (Tomorrow
schools) is a precious legacy or taonga for our nation at a time when many
countries are struggling to reinvigorate democratic values.
At the very least
there should be a much wider and robust public debate about S158 B, C and D which in effect enable
private companies and investors to use public assets for private profit in
education, which represents a significant shift in values and vision. NZ
state schools have been built by tax from New Zealand citizens, by the labour
of parents in working bees, by the aroha of kuia, grandparents and parents, who
have volunteered for, knitted for, read to, sung with and nurtured our tamariki,
our children alongside their teachers.
The legacy of this embedded community education is rich and powerful and it is not
one we should brush aside so quickly to replace by handing community taonga to
private interests.
2) The potential implications for exacerbating
social inequality and cultural tension
Anyone who has
ever served on a school board will know reform is needed. They will understand how frustrating aspects
of the board process are, there are often few volunteers, and at times it does
seem education has been captured by a middle class. Low income communities
often struggle to find enough volunteers and professional parents dominate
boards. Reform is needed and provisions
in the bill which enable more state appointments (but fewer than half) are
welcome. But, and this is a very important but, until now our state schools are
OURS in that they are owned and operated and funded by the community and their
goal is to develop young citizens of New Zealand.
Given so much rapid
demographic change amongst the under 14 year cohort of New Zealand, it is quite
remarkable that we have had enviably little ethnic tension. New Zealand has experienced racial tension and faced serious social issues but as
countries around the world struggle to integrate new migrants, or battle with
resentments that are very bitter, we are extremely lucky in New Zealand that
this community has not seen that scale of tension. We are not perfect and there
are very deep divisions in our small state. The Children Citizenship and Environment study for example, revealed how
children attending two state schools only a few blocks apart in one city can
lead very different lives, but our state schools have been very important in
supporting the integration of new citizens. This new bill makes no provision for ensuring that each new entrant and
pupil becomes part of the fabric of our New Zealand community, or their iwi through the shared experience of
values in a curriculum .
More over, given that
New Zealand, along with Sweden has lead the OECD as the nation with the most
rapid increase in social inequality on average in 20 years another way of
thinking about this situation is that WITHOUT our differential funding scale
and state education, inequality impacts would most likely be even greater.
Recent research
by Gulianna Tucker and Henry Bersani, Honours graduates at the University of
Canterbury in 2012 have both noted the careful way in which Sweden for example
has planned the introduction of new models of schools so as not to damage the
fabric of the national education system, this caution is important and is
missing in this New Zealand bill.
3) The
potential for detrimental humanitarian impacts in Christchurch: It has been
deeply concerning at a humanitarian and democratic level to witness the speed
with which school reform has been conducted in Christchurch after the earthquakes –we all agree
reform is needed and we all now agree, that plan for reform was badly
communicated. But the problem is much more serious than this –where communities
are struggling to recover- rushed changes that have not been developed by the
communities themselves can seriously destabilise community recovery. In
disaster research we are very anxious that natural hazards do not spiral into
socially destructive collapse, our schools supported our children at a time of
great need, and for many communities this support will be needed for much
longer. Closing schools now and introducing the uncertainty of new partnership
models could be very damaging.
In my observation of the introduction of
academies (in the UK) new options poorly planned can rapidly destabilise an existing community’s educational
infrastructure. Every parent wants the best for their child so the introduction
of something new creates buzz, and as many rush to the new school, others are
left behind in ‘sink’ schools. The effect is deeply damaging to the community
as a whole. A fairer and more careful approach is to reform education for ALL
children, with community support.
4)
The
potential for corruption under 158X
My most serious
reservation however I leave to last- I find it deeply troubling that the
proposal for new charter/partnership schools is accompanied by provision in
S158X that the Ombudsmen Act 1975 and the Official Information Act 1987 are not
to apply to these schools. Given the serious questions that have been raised in
a thoughtful report by Conservative UK MP Jesse Norman on Crony Capitalism, and the
issues of tax evasion and corruption that have plagued some new charter and
partnership schools elsewhere, not to mention simple fraud issues we have
experienced in New Zealand in some local boards, this is a naive and reckless
governance model and our children deserve better, they deserve access to the
Ombudsman and OIA, it is the right of every New Zealander.
In closing I
turn to reflect on the New Zealand national anthem. Anthems are often
nationalistic and jingoistic, in this context however I find the New Zealand anthem
endearingly modest, “From dissension, envy, hate, and corruption guard our
state”. These simple words will mean a great deal to the future of our youngest
citizens.
Please act with caution, and care and resist the
introduction of partnership schools without a great deal more careful planning
and debate-at the very least to introduce such far reaching change requires a
much greater public mandate, at the least through referenda or election manifesto
.
I ask this committee to strongly recommend reconsidering the
introduction of this bill, for the sake of our children and their right to grow
up in a fair, egalitarian, democratic and just society, one which reflects our common
values as well as celebrating our differences.
