Discusses what Western nations could learn from Japan's educational system. Negative features include (1) rote learning; (2) standardization of materials taught; (3) government control of textbooks; and (4) an examination system that does not promote individualism. Positive features include the high value placed on education and the work ethic.…

Discusses implications of major reforms in secondary school zoning in New Zealand, highlighting freedom and equity considerations. Zoning's primary aim has changed from balancing out different schools' declared needs to emphasizing parents' rights. The new zoning provisions involve both a strong role for freedom and a weak role for equity. (72…

A case study of the evolution of New Zealand school charters highlights the intrastate struggles of the reform process and their effects on state/civil society relationships in education. (39 references) (MLF)

This paper argues that New Zealand's policy to close special classes for students with mild intellectual disability represents a premature and unsound reduction in available educational options and that available resources are grossly insufficient to provide quality special educational services for all "children with educational and social…

Discusses the themes of "Good Will Hunting" and "Titanic" and their messages to educators. The need for gifted children to have an array of people in their lives to nurture their abilities and the need for the development of a New Zealand national policy for gifted children is emphasized. (CR)

Examines some historical "maps" of the child institutions in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Finds a dynamic process of accommodation and resistance by early childhood constituencies to shifting political and pedagogical agendas. These maps were multi-layered and set against a backdrop of colonial values, which are described. (Author)

Describes the "marketization" of New Zealand higher education since 1984 and its core conceptualization of lifelong learning as vocationalism. Discusses the consequences for universities of the market emphasis. Illustrates how such policies have widened the gap between advantaged and disadvantaged groups. (Contains 40 references.) (SK)

Explores the "middle-class pressure thesis"--the extent that recent education policy in England under New Labour may be shaped by responses to an increasingly large and anxious middle class. New Zealand, with similar market reforms, developed a less class-conscious, more egalitarian approach. (Contains 93 references.) (MLH)

This project came about after discussions with the general manager of the Wellington Region Free Kindergarten Association and Jeanette Clarkin-Phillips (University of Waikato) about setting up a research partnership to support the teachers at Taitoko Kindergarten in Levin. The teachers were establishing an integrated community centre (the whanau…

This paper addresses the question: how can e-learning be embedded in traditional universities so that it contributes to the transformation of the university? The paper examines e-learning strategies in higher education, locating the institutional context within the broader framework of national and international policy drivers which link…

School systems aspire to provide equal opportunity for all, irrespective of socio-economic status (SES). Much of the criticism of recent school reforms that introduce accountability, autonomy, and choice emphasizes their potentially negative consequences for equity. This report provides new evidence on how national features of accountability,…

The contribution of higher education institutions to regional development is a theme that has attracted growing attention in recent years. Knowledge institutions are increasingly expected not only to conduct education and research, but also to play an active role in the economic, social and cultural development of their regions. The extent to…

As this booklet describes, New Zealand's Education Amendment Act of 1990 made the country's Qualifications Authority (QA) responsible for developing and implementing a process for recognition of prior learning (RPL) that would enable individuals to receive formal recognition for skills and knowledge they already possess. As of 1993, the QA had…

The role of English and the status of English language instruction is reported for Burma, Cyprus, Czechoslovakia, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Lesotho, New Zealand, Pakistan, Qatar, and Malaysia. The profile for each country contains a summary of English instruction within and outside of the educational system, teacher supply and qualifications,…

Evaluates the measures which have been taken since 1962 to implement the recommendations on Maori education at the pre-school, primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of the New Zealand Commission on Education, set up in February, 1960. (Author/JM)