By ajari from Japan [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Charter schools are being promoted as a form of affirmative action. According to the Ministry of Education charter schools, called partnership schools in New Zealand, bring together the business sector and the community with the education sector with the intention of providing a “new opportunity for students to achieve educational success” (MoE, 2013). These schools are state funded and privately managed. The Ministry of Education describes the purpose of partnership schools as follows:
Currently four out of five New Zealand students achieve educational success, but one in five do not. These schools will have greater freedom and flexibility to innovate and engage with their students in return for stronger accountability for improving educational outcomes. These schools will focus on the Government’s priority groups: Māori, Pasifika, learners from low socio-economic backgrounds and learners with special education needs - helping all New Zealand students reach their potential (MoE, 2013).
Concerns about partnership schools are many and varied, including concerns about experiments in education on the poor through to the impact that the business model and its drive for profits will have on the quality of education the students ultimately receive (Snook, 2012). Little has been done to address the concerns of critics. However some Māori leaders are finding themselves conflicted in the face of this initiative. Member of Parliament, Hone Harawira (18 September, 2013) posted on the Mana party blog:
I’ve got mixed emotions about government announcing the funding of the first five charter schools...here’s the government throwing money at charter schools which don’t have to use the national curriculum, or be held up to national standards, or have to put qualified teachers in front of the kids, or be accountable for their decisions under the Official Information Act. On the other hand, I know the people involved in the two Tai Tokerau projects and they are genuinely good people, dedicated to doing the best for Māori kids...the reality is that 90% of Māori kids are in the mainstream, but instead of a helping those schools to develop a stronger, more robust learning and support network for Māori kids, government has instead scrapped the proven Te Kotahitanga programme.
The concern expressed by Harawira here, is a concern I think I agree with. Although partnership schools step outside of education as it is defined in the curriculum and as such could offer advantages that targeted educational opportunities can give specific groups in society, partnership schools move the focus away from the place where the majority of Māori and Pasifika students attend school. Charter schools, by whatever name, divert our attention from the real socio-economic issues that detrimentally effect learning so these can continue to go on unchallenged.
(Based on some research I did for a debate I participated in as part of an education paper at Auckland Uni 2013.)
References
Harawira, H. (18 September 2013). New charter schools for Māori in the North. Retrieved from: http://mana.net.nz/2013/09/harawira-new-charter-schools-for-Māori-in-the-north-2/
Ministry of Education (2013). Partnership Schools: Kura Hourua. Retrieved from http://www.minedu.govt.nz/theMinistry/EducationInitiatives/PartnershipSchools.aspx
Snook, I. (2012). Charter schools for New Zealand: an investigation designed to further the debate in New Zealand on education policy in general and on charter schooling in particular. New Zealand: Massey University. Retrieved from: http://img.scoop.co.nz/media/pdfs/1204/EPRG_Charter_Schools_for_New_Zealand_report.pdf
Currently four out of five New Zealand students achieve educational success, but one in five do not. These schools will have greater freedom and flexibility to innovate and engage with their students in return for stronger accountability for improving educational outcomes. These schools will focus on the Government’s priority groups: Māori, Pasifika, learners from low socio-economic backgrounds and learners with special education needs - helping all New Zealand students reach their potential (MoE, 2013).
Concerns about partnership schools are many and varied, including concerns about experiments in education on the poor through to the impact that the business model and its drive for profits will have on the quality of education the students ultimately receive (Snook, 2012). Little has been done to address the concerns of critics. However some Māori leaders are finding themselves conflicted in the face of this initiative. Member of Parliament, Hone Harawira (18 September, 2013) posted on the Mana party blog:
I’ve got mixed emotions about government announcing the funding of the first five charter schools...here’s the government throwing money at charter schools which don’t have to use the national curriculum, or be held up to national standards, or have to put qualified teachers in front of the kids, or be accountable for their decisions under the Official Information Act. On the other hand, I know the people involved in the two Tai Tokerau projects and they are genuinely good people, dedicated to doing the best for Māori kids...the reality is that 90% of Māori kids are in the mainstream, but instead of a helping those schools to develop a stronger, more robust learning and support network for Māori kids, government has instead scrapped the proven Te Kotahitanga programme.
The concern expressed by Harawira here, is a concern I think I agree with. Although partnership schools step outside of education as it is defined in the curriculum and as such could offer advantages that targeted educational opportunities can give specific groups in society, partnership schools move the focus away from the place where the majority of Māori and Pasifika students attend school. Charter schools, by whatever name, divert our attention from the real socio-economic issues that detrimentally effect learning so these can continue to go on unchallenged.
(Based on some research I did for a debate I participated in as part of an education paper at Auckland Uni 2013.)
References
Harawira, H. (18 September 2013). New charter schools for Māori in the North. Retrieved from: http://mana.net.nz/2013/09/harawira-new-charter-schools-for-Māori-in-the-north-2/
Ministry of Education (2013). Partnership Schools: Kura Hourua. Retrieved from http://www.minedu.govt.nz/theMinistry/EducationInitiatives/PartnershipSchools.aspx
Snook, I. (2012). Charter schools for New Zealand: an investigation designed to further the debate in New Zealand on education policy in general and on charter schooling in particular. New Zealand: Massey University. Retrieved from: http://img.scoop.co.nz/media/pdfs/1204/EPRG_Charter_Schools_for_New_Zealand_report.pdf
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