Chapter 3 - Ministry delivery on education outcomes and priorities

“Te heri ng-atahi i te kete.”

The previous chapters of this Statement of Intent have outlined education’s critical contribution to government themes, the priorities of the Minister of Education and areas of focus of the Minister for Tertiary Education. This chapter outlines how the Ministry of Education will deliver on those priorities and themes.

It is the role of the ministry to ensure that:

• government strategies are clear and understood
• priorities are being implemented for maximum impact
• desired education outcomes are being achieved
• the education system works for all
• the sector and the public have a strong understanding of the education system.

To do this the ministry needs to be clear about:

• the outcomes it is working towards
• the targets it intends to achieve
• the key areas of work and initiatives on which it is focused
• the responsibilities and accountabilities of all parts of the system that need to work together
• the performance measures it will use to assess progress.

Outcomes

In Chapter 1 we set out the ministry’s overall outcome as: to build a world-leading education system that equips all New Zealanders with the knowledge, skills and values to be successful citizens in the 21st century.

For this to happen we will need to lead change in our education system, to transform not only what students learn but also the ways in which they learn.

To deliver ministerial priorities for education and build an education system for the 21st century we are focused on three paths:

• specific and immediate areas of focus to achieve significant improvements in student presence, engagement and achievement in early childhood education and schooling and a major reforms programme in tertiary education to drive improvements in quality and relevance of education, training and research
• developing the key features of personalising learning that will support the system to deliver educational innovation and change
• leading and supporting change to ensure that the education system values, respects, and is successful for all children and young people, in particular Māori, Pasifika and students with special education needs.

Specific and immediate areas of focus

On average, the New Zealand education system performs very well and by international standards New Zealand scores highly in measures of achievement.

However, there are significant performance issues:

• across the system the spread of achievement between our highest and lowest achievers remains wide by international standards
• the system is under-performing for many Māori
• achievement rates for Pasifika students are, on average, low
• issues relating to behaviour, attendance and transience continue to limit achievement
• too many students are leaving school without the level of qualification needed for success
• too few students make the transition from schooling into higher levels of education and training
• there is low quality and relevance in some areas of tertiary provision.

The ministry is focused on a number of key areas where improvements in student presence, engagement and achievement are needed. They are:

• in early childhood education, on ensuring that all children and families have access to services of the highest quality
• in primary schooling, on early foundations with an emphasis on literacy and numeracy, in particular for Māori, Pasifika and students with special education needs
• in secondary schooling, on increasing the presence and engagement of students and on all students leaving with meaningful qualifications
• in tertiary education, on improving the transition of students to further relevant learning and higher levels of achievement.

For each of these areas the following tables set out directional targets and key areas of work where evidence and evaluations tell us that concentrating effort and resources will bring about more significant change (see Appendix 1 for a summary of key documents).

Early Childhood Education (ECE)

Primary Schooling

Secondary Schooling

Tertiary

Integrating personalising learning

“Personalising learning is a way of describing the shifts that are happening in our education system as we respond to the new meaning of knowledge in the 21st century. It reflects our focus on high standards, high achievement and a commitment to lifelong learning.”

– Hon Steve Maharey in “Let’s Talk About: Personalising Learning” brochure February 2007

The ministry is developing a work programme to integrate the key features of personalising learning into the work of the ministry, other education agencies and the sector itself.

This work programme will focus on the enablers of personalising learning such as:

• learning environments and school settings
• learning-focused relationships between students, teachers, families, whānau and communities
• effective teaching and learning
• the curriculum
• assessment and achievement information, tools and processes
• knowledge networking
• strong professional leadership.

It will also support engagement with a wide range of education decision-makers considering personalising learning, and will identify and remove barriers that inhibit personalising learning.

Shifting expectations

A 21st century education system needs to recognise that all students are individuals, that they come from different cultures and different communities and that they have different needs and interests. It should also support students to engage in lifelong learning and follow different pathways and interests.

In an effective education system, educators believe they can make a difference for every student, and they have access to the necessary information, tools and resources to enable them to do so. Students, families, whānau and communities should all have confidence in the system and be able to participate successfully in education and engage effectively with educators and education providers.

However, research has shown that too often students are judged or pre-judged by their backgrounds and individual characteristics rather than their potential. These low expectations, based on assumptions of deficits in students’ characteristics, experience and/or background, result in poor outcomes.

Conversely, research also shows that where educators assume that all students can and will achieve, and their teaching relates effectively to the backgrounds and aspirations of students, outcomes significantly improve.

Raising the achievement of Māori students

Ensuring Māori achieve greater success in all parts of the education system is a critical priority for the ministry. Through the Māori Education Strategy, iwi and Māori education partnerships, regional and national Hui Taumata and the work of Pouwhakataki, the ministry is focused on:

• raising the quality of mainstream education for Māori
• improving quality and growth of kaupapa mātauranga Māori
• greater whānau and community involvement in education
• increasing Māori authority and involvement in education
• delivering quality Māori language education provision in support of the government’s Māori Language Strategy.

However, the system is still underperforming for too many Māori students, who are not achieving their potential. With the increasing numbers of young Māori in the education system there is an urgent need to accelerate Māori success. This will require a stronger and more deliberate change programme to bring about a shift in attitudes and expectations.

An important step will be developing and implementing the next Māori education strategy, to reflect a stronger policy focus on outcomes, evidence and Māori potential. It will emphasise the importance of attitudinal change – particularly in terms of seeing cultural outcomes and whānau as integral to successful educational outcomes.

Raising the achievement of Pasifika students

The ministry is committed to building a strong focus on Pasifika education and achievement through the Pasifika Education Plan 2006-2010, which provides both strategic direction and clear targets to raise Pasifika education outcomes.

The Plan has been informed by dialogue and engagement with many Pasifika communities and groups. It reinforces the messages that success in education needs to value and build from the strengths of Pasifika communities, languages and cultures. It looks to build a strong Pasifika perspective into all major work across the ministry, including the contribution the ministry makes to the work of other agencies.

Raising presence, participation, learning and achievement of students with special education needs

In special education, through the Better Outcomes for Children Plan 2006-2011, work is under way on three particular fronts:

• quality services: putting in place specific service standards, with agreed service pathways for clients of special education services
• skilled staff: providing training that enables special education staff to be skilled and to keep learning, including supervision, reflective practice and research
• a focus on learner outcomes: ensuring that we stay focused on presence, participation, learning and achievement for children with special education needs.

The ministry is committed to implementing the New Zealand Disability Strategy to ensure that people with impairments can say they live in “a society that highly values our lives and continually enhances our full participation”. The incorporation of the New Zealand Disability Strategy throughout the education system is necessary to achieve this vision.

Significant changes across the system will need to occur if we are to make progress. The ministry will need to take the lead across the sector to ensure that:

• no child is denied access to their local school because of their impairment
• teachers and other educators understand the learning needs of disabled* people
• disabled students, their families, teachers and other educators have equitable access to the resources available to meet their needs.

We also need to work to improve schools’ responsiveness to, and accountability for, the needs of disabled students, as well as improving post-compulsory education options for disabled people.

* The New Zealand Disability Strategy sector reference group recommends the use of the term ‘disabled people’ rather than ‘people experiencing disability’ in the Disability Strategy.

Our wider context and roles

In addition to the areas of critical focus set out above, the ministry will continue to deliver a range of high quality services to the government, the sector and stakeholders. These recognise the range of different roles and responsibilities the ministry has in the early childhood, schooling and tertiary education sectors, as outlined in the following table.

Early childhood education and schooling

Tertiary