This article reports findings from a study that used a process of document analysis to examine early childhood care and education responses to increasing superdiversity in the 'bicultural' legislative context of Aotearoa New Zealand. The New Zealand Education Review Office has described both Indigenous Maori children and 'children of migrants and…

This article examines the strengthening policy impetus in Aotearoa New Zealand towards bringing children, families and teachers into conformity with a view of children as commodities and the role of early childhood care and education as preparation for school, the workforce and market-oriented social futures. Through critically examining…

Housework, those duties done at home or in one's community to keep and clean and tidy, is used in this paper as a metaphor for Maori involvement in gambling public health action in New Zealand. For over a decade Maori have been developing their own voice, public health actions, gambling services, research and workforce development initiatives to…

New Zealand is considered a bi-cultural country with both the majority European and the minority/indigenous Maori cultures are supposedly given equal weight within the psyche and policies of the country. In reality, however, individuals of Maori descent tend to be over-represented in negative socio-economic and educational dimensions. A higher…

This paper first provides a critic of the implementation of compulsory national assessment protocols internationally, and then nationally through a review of the implementation process used for the introduction of National Standards in New Zealand, and National Testing in Norwegian mainstream schools. It then reviews the impact of these two…

Education is never a passive, autonomous, or static activity. It manipulates, as much as it is manipulated, and reflects specific contexts. Education histories document continuities and changes over time, and are able to throw light on and inform contemporary practice. Prompted by perspectives on curriculum as a social and cultural construction,…

This is a powerful critique of two decades of educational reform in New Zealand, from an educator who was deeply involved. It is also a provocative call for action. Bali Haque has been both a secondary school principal required to implement reform and a senior public servant in the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) tasked with pushing…

Focusing on the role of the federal government in maintaining quality in early childhood education, these proceedings present introductory remarks followed by 10 seminar papers: (1) "The Role of Government in Early Childhood: Support and Advice for Serving Parents and Communities," (Pamela Kennedy); (2) "What Is the Government's…

The Early Childhood Development Unit, a government agency located in Aotearoa, New Zealand, promotes and encourages the development and provision of quality, accessible, and culturally appropriate early childhood services. The Unit operates in six activity or output areas. First, to increase access to early childhood education, in 1991-92 the unit…

This review chapter summarizes developments in early childhood care and education in New Zealand in 1991, focusing on government actions affecting the field. Initial discussion covers the revised guidelines for obtaining charters, or accreditation, for child care centers and service providers. It is maintained that these guidelines fail to address…

Discussion of library education in New Zealand focuses on the cultural clash between government control of education and university autonomy, as well as the clash between an indigenous people and a culture introduced from outside. Topics include nationwide higher education reform; distance education; quality assurance, including strategic…