In 1989, New Zealand embarked on a series of comprehensive, far-reaching educational reforms. These reforms replaced the Department of Education with a Ministry of Education largely restricted to the roles of policymaking and resource allocation and established a series of new educational agencies. Under "Tomorrow's Schools" (the school component of the reforms), decision making for most educational activities was devolved to individual schools, although the Ministry has a role in setting member-level requirements. For new teachers, Tomorrow's Schools meant that initial teaching appointments were no longer guaranteed through a member-level system; that inspectors no longer certified teachers’ competence to teach; and that schools became responsible for recommending the registration of teachers and for providing an Advice and Guidance Program (AGP). An outcome of the education reforms was to shift responsibility for teacher induction from bureaucrats, who are less familiar with individual needs and local contexts, to local professionals--school administrators and tutor teachers. As a result, a wide range of teacher induction activities are now provided by the schools, within the context of a member-level framework for teacher registration and new teacher support.
Until a little more than one thousand years ago, New Zealand was an unpopulated land mass of active volcanos, snow-capped mountains, and mighty rivers. At that time the Maori migrated to this most southern group of Polynesian Islands. Less than two hundred years ago, Europeans (Pakeha) began migrating to New Zealand, primarily from Great Britain. New Zealand is a small country of 3½ million people located in the South Pacific about 1,200 miles to the east of Australia and 1,100 miles southwest of Tonga. The island country includes the North Island which, with two-thirds of the population, is the administrative and business center of the country, and the more sparsely populated South Island, which is world famous for its sheep raising.
Today, about 70 percent of the population is Pakeha, 14 percent Maori, and 14 percent Pacific Islanders (e.g., Samoan, Tongan, Cook Islanders, Niueans, Fijian, and Tokelauan). Recently, New Zealand has seen an increase of immigrants from Asia (especially Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia).
New Zealand is a bicultural country with a multicultural population. The Treaty of Waitangi, signed in 1840, gave equal status to Pakeha and Maori cultures, and English and Maori languages. After a long period of British dominance, a renaissance of interest in and practice of Maori culture and language is occurring.
The Maori and Pacific Islands populations are younger than the Pakeha. The student population is 22 percent Maori in primary school and 17 percent in secondary school; the student population is 7 percent Pacific Islanders in primary school and 7 percent in secondary school.
Throughout most of the past 20 years, the student population remained stable. However, in the last several years, student enrollments have grown significantly. Student enrollments are projected to continue growing rapidly for the next several years. At the same time, the number of new teachers has quickly moved from an oversupply to an undersupply.
WHAT WAS/IS THE FIRST-YEAR TEACHING EXPERIENCE LIKE?"I was nervous whether I wanted to be a teacher. I worked my butt off and now love teaching."" In my first year, I worried that I wasn’t meeting the needs of each child. I had high expectations of myself to meet the goals I’d set for each child. My tutor teacher gave me a lot of support and reassurance when I felt frustrated at not reaching those goals. I also got a lot of support from the rest of the staff--which has continued beyond my first year here." "I expected a lot of work so that wasn't a surprise because I relieved for six months. Everything takes longer the first time. I've enjoyed it [even though it is a lot of pressure]." "You want everything to be perfect." "A lot of hours at first. You need to have balance. College and student teaching didn't prepare me for this year. But I don't think anything could." "This has been a year of learning how to manage--a class, expectations, myself. Next year I'll be ready to teach." "Some of my friends (who are beginning teachers in other schools) gripe about the lack of support they receive. But [this school] is great--we do our planning in syndicates and everyone is very supportive. Some schools don’t respect their first-year teachers as professionals, but we are made to feel like a trusted professional [here]." |
New Zealand's students attend about 3,823 early-childhood institutions, 2,312 primary schools (of which 319 are Maori-medium), and 336 secondary schools (of which 77 are Maori-medium). In addition, 94 schools (of which 14 are Maori-medium) serve both primary and secondary age students.
PROFILES OF NEW TEACHERS(Excerpts from Windows on Teacher Education--Student Progress Through Colleges of Education and the First Year in the Classroom)Tui feels she has developed so much as a teacher--she has learnt more in 10 months in the classroom than she learnt in three years at college--that it is difficult to single out the ways she has developed most. She has certainly learnt much about catering for all the needs of all children, particularly the aspects of their life outside school which impinge on the classroom. The .2 allocation which Tui gets is helpful. She uses it in a range of ways, including visiting other classes, taking the Polynesian club, checkpointing kids for mathematics which takes so much time in class, taking someone else's class at a different level of the school, and coaching miniball. |
The Ministry of Education, which replaced the Department of Education in 1989, provides policy advice, broadly oversees the implementation of approved policies, and ensures the optimum use of resources allocated to education. In implementing teacher induction, the Ministry continues to fund school-based and regionally based teacher support programs. Government policies affect the supply and demand for new teachers via a national salary schedule and funding of teacher training colleges and universities. The government also is responsible for establishing the national curriculum objectives.
When the new Ministry came into being, several other independent entities were also established with different educational roles in New Zealand. The New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) is responsible for developing and implementing a framework for member-level qualification in secondary schools and in post-school education and training, and to oversee the setting of standards for qualifications. The qualifications framework being established by the NZQA will, over time, have an impact on the content of teacher training courses, graduation and diploma requirements, and requirements for and accreditation of institutions that train teachers. (Until the reforms, only five teachers training colleges, one university, and a polytechnic were authorized to provide teacher training.)
The NZQA is the key player in developing assessment requirements for qualification. There are more than 200 advisory groups (including industry training organizations) working with the NZQA to develop the unit standards (what students need to know, do, and understand at a certain level), to package these standards into qualifications--national certificates, national diplomas, or degrees--and to develop moderation plans to ensure consistent assessment. Only accredited organizations can award credit for unit standards. New teachers have to demonstrate knowledge of the new school curriculum developed through the Ministry of Education in order to become fully registered.
The Teacher Registration Board (TRB) is responsible for maintaining a register of qualified teachers and establishes the policies schools are to follow in recommending teachers for registration. The TRB also may deregister teachers. The TRB establishes minimum standards for registration and, based on school recommendations, registers new teachers, teachers with foreign teaching credentials, and teachers returning to the profession.
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The TRB, as of 1995, had the following responsibilities:
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The Education Review Office is responsible for auditing schools against member-level legislation, school charters, and other, policy requirements. Before "Tomorrow's Schools" was implemented, an inspectorate was charged with assessing new teachers and certifying their competence. Today, new teachers are no longer certified, but registered. This is not merely a word change, for both processes and status also change. Registration is important for hiring, but lacks the status that certification bestowed.
The reforms also created locally elected school Boards of Trustees (BoT) to govern each state primary and secondary school. Each school operates under a school-developed, and Ministry-approved, charter. Each BoT has a high degree of autonomy. They are responsible for hiring and employing all school staff. Except for teacher salaries, they have full budgetary responsibility for school operations, including administrative staff salaries. Under recent resourcing changes, some schools now have responsibility for teachers’ salary payments. Certain salaries remain set at the member level, although competition appears to be emerging for highly qualified professionals.
Before "Tomorrow's Schools," students graduating with teaching credentials were not overly concerned about gaining an initial job placement. All students receiving a teaching diploma were guaranteed an initial placement by the government. The teachers colleges (now referred to as colleges of education) coordinated job placement. With "Tomorrow's Schools," market forces replaced government guarantees. With the exception of a short transition period, in which all graduates continued to find employment, the market for graduating teachers has been very poor. Between 1990 and 1995, as discussed more fully later, only a small percentage of new graduates secured permanent full-time positions. In some cases, a BoT had as many as 100 candidates for a single position. Then, suddenly, an undersupply of New Zealand teachers has emerged due to an improving economy, fewer students enrolling in teacher training programs, fewer college of education graduates choosing to go into teaching, and policy initiatives to reduce class sizes. This undersupply is exacerbated by students remaining longer in the schooling system.
| "In 1991, when our 317 graduating students opened the October 1 Gazette to look for their first job, there were 13 beginning teacher positions in our region to choose from. In 1989, there had been 158. The next advertisement brought the total up to 45...Principals reported that an average of 43 women graduates from our college applied for each job, and 5 men." [This trend continued through 1994.] (Marie Cameron and Lexie Grundnoff, From College to....? Asking New Zealand Principals, Two Years on, About the New System of Hiring Beginning Teachers, SET Research Information for Teachers, item 15, number two, 1992 p. 2). |
Rapidly growing student enrollments and a turnaround in the economy has produced the first significant demand for new teachers in 20 years at the same time as the smallest available applicant pool, a trend which will last for several years. Colleges of education are receiving fewer qualified applicants. In one case, the size of the first-year class has been reduced; in another, less qualified applicants are being accepted. Most of the new teachers interviewed indicated that they did not expect to be teaching in five years. The suddenness of the shortage appears to have caught policymakers and educators off guard. "Last year," one principal said, "I had 100 applications for 1 position; this year I had 3. And this is considered a good school to get a job at. I can't imagine what the other ‘less attractive’ and ‘difficult’ schools are going to do." In response to the shortfall now projected over the next several years (particularly in secondary school teachers), the Minister has proposed programs to provide one year's training to holders of non-education degrees to qualify them as teachers. Teachers also are being recruited from Australia, which is experiencing a temporary oversupply, and Great Britain. However, by 1997, demand will increase in Australia, and with significantly higher teacher salaries, many of these teachers are expected to return to Australia.
Although most shared this sentiment, a few divergent opinions were heard. "I think that teachers' status is on the rebound. With devolvement and increased accountability, the community is taking us seriously again. I think recent [steps taken by teachers to gain better pay and conditions] also has helped." "I'm a Pacific Islander, and in my community teachers are highly respected. Although I don't think Pakeha and Maori feel the same way."
New Zealand teachers (and other school staff) also have a long tradition of mobility among schools. At one time, in order to move up the career ladder and become a senior teacher and assistant principal, a teacher was required to do a "country service" in a rural school. Although teaching in a country school is no longer a requirement, teachers often move to other schools after a few years. In conducting this case study, it was rare to interview a senior teacher, assistant or deputy principal, or principal with more than three years' service at the school.
Classroom Management. During preservice training, students of primary-level teaching spend about 23 weeks in schools. Their experiences range from observation to being responsible, for a period of up to six weeks, for a class. New teachers in this study, however, generally found their practicum an artificial experience that did not provide realistic training in gaining and maintaining control in the classroom. They operated within the context in which classroom management was established by the monitoring teacher who would regain control of the class when the student teacher completed his or her practicum. When new teachers assume responsibility for their classrooms, control has not already been established by someone else. It is their responsibility to develop rapport with the students and establish an environment in which learning takes place. While many schools try to provide new teachers with classes where they expect fewer discipline and learning problems and where parental support is more likely, establishing control and feeling secure in their ability to manage a classroom is a significant challenge during the first term. New teachers also have to take responsibility for all aspects of planning for their classes and for meeting with parents, which they feel inadequately prepared for.
Resource Development. New teachers, by tradition and training, are expected to develop and use their own instructional materials, called "resources." Many hours are needed to prepare these resources. For example, during their practica, student teachers developed resources in one curriculum area that they could use over a brief period. However, during student teaching they developed resources usually for only one curriculum area for a particular age group. While they may be able to use these materials or the ideas from which they evolved, new teachers enter a trial-and-error period until they learn what works for them and their students.
In contrast to more experienced teachers in previous years (prior to 1989 reforms) who could often use resources for many years, both new and experienced teachers will find themselves developing new and revising existing resources for years to come as the new curriculum is introduced.
A WEEK IN THE LIFE OF A FIRST-YEAR SECONDARY TEACHERI was thrilled to get a job--so many of my friends were in relieving positions or were looking. I’ve always worked hard, but the insecure job market caused me to intensify my efforts. The deputy principal is always on me to cut back on the amount of time I put in.During my first year, school was my life. From the time I got up until I went to sleep, I either did school-related work or worried about taking time off from doing work. I would arrive at school between 7 and 7:30 AM. Until classes started, I met with my department head or prepared materials for the day's classes. I had 22 contact and 3 non-contact hours a week. My schedule required that I prepare for six different classes in Maori and history. I also had to work on my Maori as, unfortunately, my Maori is not as good as I would like. During the school day I taught, attended meetings, met with students, and during my lunch break ‘collapsed.’ I stayed at school until about 5 PM, marking papers or attending meetings. On week nights and Saturday I often worked until 11:00 PM preparing lesson plans and resources. On Sundays I felt guilty for not working on my lesson plans. I always had a long "to do" list staring me in the face. I couldn’t keep up that pace. I lost a boy friend and other friends stopped calling me to go out. I don't blame them. My parents also worried about how tired I was. As part of my advice and guidance program I spent a lot of time with my tutor learning to set bounds and take shortcuts. I'm getting better. I can do lesson plans in half the time it used to take me. I've also cut back, sort of. I work Monday through Wednesday, sometimes Thursday as well. I now take Friday and Saturday nights off as well as Sunday, and am beginning to even take an occasional weekend off. While not there yet, balance is returning to my life. |
The NZ Curriculum and the National Qualification Framework. As noted above, New Zealand is implementing a new curriculum structure for qualification. The Ministry is developing member-level curriculum statements which list key achievement objectives in a progressive series of eight levels across seven essential learning areas and reconceptualizing its curriculum and qualification structures. NZQA is developing unit standards for conventional school subjects from the achievement objectives, and students having gained sufficient credits during senior secondary school will gain a qualification, (a National Certificate). The new curriculum is being phased in over several years. In some cases, as part of their college of education training, new teachers are becoming more knowledgeable about the new curriculum. This can result in their being looked to by more experienced teachers for their "expertise."
Although providing new teachers with a strong sense of professionalism and an ability to contribute quickly to their school, the new curriculum represents an additional responsibility at a time when many teachers claim that they are working 60 to 70 hours a week. Over the next decade, new teachers will be expected to implement an entirely new curriculum.
PROFILES OF NEW TEACHERS(Excerpts from Windows on Teacher Education--Student Progress Through Colleges of Education and the First Year in the Classroom, Renwick and Vise, 1993)Tim does not really think he was ready for the responsibility of his own class at the beginning of the year. For one thing, he did not know how to handle some of the problems with parents that he has had to face, including letting a child go off with her parent in the middle of a custody battle.... He also thinks he did not have enough units of work planned when he left college so that he "ran dry pretty quickly...." Tim feels responsible for his own teacher development. He sets high standards for himself and is critical of his own performance.... He is much more confident than he was at the beginning of the year and has learnt how to "use his brain" and adapt activities from books rather than rely on ready-made resources. Tim appreciates the support he has had from his tutor teacher and from the principal. The beginning-teacher meetings have also been good--it is great to know there are others in the same boat. You learnt a lot from their experiences....Tim has not yet measured up to his expectations.... |
Biculturalism-Multiculturalism. New Zealand is officially a bicultural country with English and Maori language and culture incorporated into the curriculum. New primary school teachers may teach Maori culture and language (to a limited extent), although their own knowledge of Maori is generally limited or non-existent. New teachers also need to ensure that their programs meet the needs of often significant numbers of diverse Pacific Islands and Asian children in their classrooms. These children have a range of learning styles and often require different pedagogical techniques, discipline practices, and levels of parental involvement. Many new teachers find themselves teaching children from ethnic groups and cultures different from their own. Approximately 85 percent of new teachers are Pakeha; 10 percent are Maori; and only 3.5 percent Pacific Islanders.
The teacher induction program operates to support the registration of new teachers. From 1932, when the registration of teachers began, through 1989, the Department of Education was responsible for teacher registration. Beginning in 1989 the TRB, an independent body, has become responsible for teacher registration. Under TRB guidelines, the supervision of AGPs and recommendation for registration of new teachers has "been given totally to the profession." "This is a considerable break with the past, and although it raises questions on maintaining national standards, it is recognition of the move towards a self-regulating teaching profession."
| Teacher registration is a system for ensuring that there is a minimum quality standard applied to all teachers entering the general education system in New Zealand, and that those who fall below the standard will either not become a "registered teacher" or will have their registration cancelled. Maintenance of a register assists boards of trustees in making appointments, and reassures parents and the public that a national minimum standard for the teaching profession is available (Teacher Registration Board handbook, May 1994). |
New teachers apply for provisional registration. They have five years to achieve full registration. This requires new teachers to demonstrate that they are of "good character" and "fit to be teachers," have satisfactorily completed training by an approved institution, and are, or are likely to be, satisfactory teachers.
Schools emphasize a new teacher's potential for being a satisfactory teacher in their AGP criteria. The TRB requires schools to document that a new teacher enables and encourages learning; has competence in the New Zealand curriculum and its assessment; has appropriate teaching techniques and pupil-management skills; plans, prepares, and evaluates programs as part of their work; contributes toward the work of the school or center as a whole; and promotes health and physical and cultural safety. Schools comply by offering an advice and guidance program and preparing required written documentation.
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[Chapter 5 (part 2 of 3)]