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"When the supply of desirable schools, programmes, or teachers is limited the most aggressive get the best and by implication deprive others. In bureaucracies, the advantage goes to people who have contacts, understand how the game is played, can talk the language of key administrators, can write letters and threaten appeals, and have the time and determination to persist. These attributes have a strong class bias. "As a result, bureaucratic decision-making can create segregation of students and uneven distribution of benefits." Researchers Paul T. Hill and Kacey Guin, University of Washington, October 2003. In their study 'Baselines for Assessment of Choice Programmes', Hill and Guin argue that school choice programmes should be compared against the real performance of the current public education system, not its idealised aspirations. The purpose of their report is to establish an appropriate baseline against which choice programmes can be assessed. The report is at this web page.
New funding aims to encourage entrepreneurial spirit in tertiary education A $10 million government initiative designed to build more entrepreneurship and commercial skills through tertiary education was announced in November. The Knowledge Sharing and Entrepreneurship fund will support a number of pilot projects to help the tertiary education sector provide greater commercial and entrepreneurial skills to the biotechnology, information and communications technology (ICT) and design industries. Associate Education (Tertiary Education) Minister Steve Maharey said the funding was a response to gaps identified by the industry-led taskforces for each of these three sectors that reported to government earlier this year.
Another step toward Yesterday's Schools Giving the Secretary for Education the power to cut the pay of striking teachers is a dangerous step, according to Education Forum policy advisor Norman LaRocque. "Boards are currently the meat in the sandwich: they can decide whether or not to dock a teacher's pay cheque for striking, but aren't privy to the negotiations between teachers and the Ministry of Education. "There are two possible solutions. The first is to devolve funding to schools and give boards the power to set teacher salaries. This would lead to greater community control and localised flexibility. "The second option is to increase centralisation - and that is what this government has done. The Secretary for Education will now not only be in charge of negotiating with teachers, but will also have the power to cut their pay if those negotiations hit a bump. That's a retrograde step. What powers will the Commissar of Schooling be given next? "Schools need less centralisation, not more. While some boards will be relieved at no longer being stuck in the middle, this is a firm step backward for school self-management and another step toward Yesterday's Schools."
Principal's stand against zoning supported by MP Napier principal Robin Edwards' refusal to comply with Education Ministry instructions to develop an enrolment scheme for Meeanee School has been supported by ACT MP Deborah Coddington. "Mr Edwards was right when he said school zoning takes away parents' rights to choose a school for their children and that it props up under-performing schools by maintaining their roles" Miss Coddington said. "Zoning is an unfair, elitist practice that forces children into dysfunctional schools and blocks parental choice. It creates a disincentive for top schools to maintain their standards and vice-versa. "Education Minister Trevor Mallard must abandon zoning to give every school and every child an equal chance at success. It's time to let parents choose," she said.
For-profit early childhood centres applauded The January issue of US magazine Child Care Information Exchange will publish the 17th annual status report on for-profit child care and the article will include the magazine's annual list of the 40 largest for-profit child care organisations in North America. New Zealand's Early Childhood Council chief exective Sue Thorne said the article showed that some countries were proud of their for-profit centres, unlike New Zealand where people who profited from children's education were often "treated more like criminals" by the government. A copy of last year's status report on for-profit child care can be ordered from this web page.
Good principals essential, says Canadian report Extensive research of primary and secondary education shows definitively that good principals are essential to improving student learning, according to a study released by the Canadian C.D. Howe Institute. Authors Thomas Fleming and Helen Raptis say that, "since the 1970s, a constellation of studies has examined the role of principals” and concluded that they perform a vital function. The paper, 'Reframing Education: How to Create Effective Schools', says research also indicates that strong support from parents is among the critical factors in promoting effective primary and secondary education, adding that the antipathy which sometimes exists between parents’ and teachers’ groups “may simply result from a lack of familiarity". More information is at the C.D. Howe website
Private schools booming for poor in India Tens of thousands of private school are opening across India with parents saying private education, particularly when English is the language of instruction, is their children’s only hope for upward mobility, a November New York Times article reports. The schools, founded by former teachers, landowners, entrepreneurs and others, and often of uneven quality, have capitalised on parental dismay over the even poorer quality of government schools. Such hopes reflect a larger social change in India: a new certainty among many poor parents that if they provide the right education, neither caste nor class will be a barrier to their children's rise.
Big hike in US tertiary education fees US college costs have again increased far faster than inflation, with tuition at state schools posting the biggest increase in 30 years, new figures show. Students at state schools were hardest hit by the price hikes. The cost of a year at a four-year public university - including tuition, fees, room and board - rose 9.8 percent to US$10,636 from US$9,689 last year, according to a report by the College Board, a nonprofit association that runs college programmes and services. Private schools' total costs rose 6.7 percent.
Teachers union to run private school in New York The United Federation of Teachers, a New York City teachers’ union, plans to run one of 50 new charter schools the city plans to open using $50 million in private donations. This would not be the first time a teachers’ union has taken control of a charter school - the Miami United Teachers of Dade created a partnership with Edison Schools and had plans to open 10 charters, the New York Times reported last month.
Report shows how to implement school choice successfully After two years of study, the US National Working Commission on Choice in K-12 Education has released a report showing that school choice programmes can be designed so that they achieve many of the benefits predicted by proponents while avoiding the pitfalls feared by critics. The report is at this Brookings Institution web page.
Private schooling to be encouraged by China's Sichuan province The Sichuan education authority is to adopt policy attracting education funds from other provinces and overseas to boost its private education. The target is to increase the share of the private sector by up to 10 percent in 2005 and 20 percent in 2010, the China Education Daily has reported. There are currently 14,679 private educational institutes in Sichuan, enrolling 1.63 million students.
workINSIGHT issue three available now The Department of Labour has published the third issue of workINSIGHT, a six-monthly report packed with advice on gaining the skills needed to succeed in New Zealand's job market. The latest issue focuses on the options available to people thinking about returning to education or training as mature students. Mature Student Pathways gives you the background facts and statistics about mature students and a whole list of useful phone numbers, email addresses and websites to assist the decision making process. You'll also find features on workplace literacy, the Future of Work, community development, skilled worker immigration processes, teacher shortages, 2004 career expos, job vacancy growth areas and job market trends. workINSIGHT is written for people who advise students, workers and jobseekers about their study and career options. It's a great resource for anyone wanting to keep up-to-date with the latest job market news, research and trends. Successive issues are building up a picture of how the job market works and the options open to people making a range of decisions including leaving school, re-entering education, training their employees or recruiting overseas. You can download copies of workINSIGHT at www.workinsight.govt.nz For hard copies, contact the editor Rob Heyes at Robert.heyes@lmpg.dol.govt.nz. |
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