For Jean Herbison, learning in her early 20th century childhood world was relatively uncomplicated and predictable. Life was shaped by unambiguous family, faith and settler colonial prescriptions about how children "should" behave and what they should become. Approaching the centenary of her birth, children today must navigate a very…

This article offers a historical analysis of the past sixty years of adult learning in Aotearoa New Zealand and critically appraises events which have shaped today's context. Drawing on a substantial body of research by key adult educators, researchers and scholars, the review assesses historical, socio-cultural, and political factors that…

The scope and breadth of the field of comparative and international education is vast. In fact, there are few, if any, limitations on theme, method, or data in the field of comparative and international education. Every context or combination of contexts are available for comparative education scholars to scrutinise. The scope of this field brings…

This article chronicles the experiences of four New Zealand kindergarten teachers who, between 1932 and 1937, were individually awarded Carnegie Corporation of New York Travel Fellowships to undertake an academic year of advanced study at the progressive Teachers College at Columbia University in New York and to visit educational provisions in…

An increasing number of Chinese students pursue their higher education degree in an overseas university. This research paper sets out to raise a discussion about some of the major challenges that such Chinese postgraduates might experience when studying at universities in English speaking countries drawing from ethnographic and sociological…

Over the last 40 years, teacher education in England has been the focus of a stream of "reforms" with the ultimate aim of placing provision into schools, the justification for such a radical policy being that higher education is alleged to be failing to provide good quality teachers thereby compromising the social and economic…

Since the enactment of the Private Schools Conditional Integration Act in New Zealand in 1975, leadership in Catholic schools has become increasingly complex. Under the legislation Catholic schools are required to develop and maintain their "Special Character." The Director of Religious Studies (DRS) has become the position with a key…

In this article, progressive education in New Zealand is examined across three eras. The "revered past" (1870s-1960s) focuses the influence of progressive ideas on the early childhood movement from the establishment of the first kindergarten in 1889 and on the schooling sector from the 1930s to the 1960s. The "contested…

This article provides an analysis of the rise of 'scientific management' and 'social efficiency' theories in the early 1900s, traces their impact on the structure and administration of education systems, and critically analyses their contribution to the emergence of a new orthodoxy--outcomes-based education (OBE) approaches to school curriculum…

Background: A newly elected centre-right coalition government in New Zealand was forced to deal with the cumulative fiscal consequences of two unforeseen challenges: a global financial crisis in September 2008 and two major seismic events in the country's second largest city in 2009 and 2010. This paper examines the way in which policies for…

Contributors to this special issue have been asked to provide self-portraits of their intellectual lives and to consider the development of the Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia (PESA) as an organisation. The author approaches this task by keeping the autobiographical details to a minimum and focusing more on the prospects for…

The Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia (PESA) and the field of philosophy of education seemed like a natural junction in this author's life. They provided a means by which he could begin to think about the relations between education and his own experiences as a student and teacher, and philosophy. Peters has been editor of…

The purpose of this paper is to use an historical approach to examine the changing nature, size and diversification of education and training in New Zealand. In particular, attention will be concentrated on the impact of the introduction of competition into the New Zealand tertiary education industry since 1989. It will examine the relationship…

Describes the types and characteristics of New Zealand early childhood education services. Specific areas addressed include: (1) Te Whaariki, the New Zealand early childhood curriculum; (2) great outdoors as a feature of early education; (3) education and care centers; (4) kindergartens and playcenters; and (5) Te Kohanga Reo, Maori language and…

Presented are current statistics and a history of the New Zealand education system from the 1877 Education Act to the Picot Taskforce. Included are reform recommendations made by the Taskforce, particularly specific principal role expectations in the areas of facilitating governance, corporate planning, educational leadership, and management…