The lack of ambition in new education policy
Last week the Minister of Education, Erica Stanford, told us that, “this Government has set an ambitious target of getting 80% of year 8 students to curriculum level by 2030, and teaching structured literacy is a critical part of how we plan to get there”.
As a teacher of 30 years, a founder of schools, a researcher into learning and outcomes, and a parent of three, I would read that statement another way.
“Despite ECE; despite 9600 hours of taxpayer-funded school hours per child; despite going back to the previously used phonics; despite feeding many children; despite the learnings of neuroscience; our Minister of Education believes that 1 child in 5 (20%) in New Zealand will be significantly illiterate at year 8 in 2030.”
Neuroscience would point to a capability number for learning this skill set to be into the 90% range. It should also be noted that the minister seems only to be looking at basic reading abilities. Will there be measures for children to excel?
Who does the minister consider will inevitably fail? Who are the 1 in 5? Are they poor, Māori and Pasifika?
The solution for this is for the minister to reach out to the Māori Party, Waipareira Trust, and the highest quality educators (eg, Yvette and Nathan Durie) and ask for genuine help to reach those who most need it.
Another issue is that we have a seriously bad habit of throwing everything into the “next greatest thing”. Think the numeracy and literacy projects, or modern learning environments. Each time a group of people have an epiphany they reduce the complexity to single issues, claim that science is supporting them, and quickly demand compulsion to their views and practices. But, again, if “structured literacy” is the panacea advocates say it is, why will it leave 1 in 5 12-year -olds struggling with reading?
This is not an excuse for any teacher not to be upskilled – it is just that it will not be the best method for many children. I had read to my children since they were 2 and they were proficient with any book teachers could throw at them. If some poor idealogue had stood in front of them and chanted “nap, zap, cap” my kids would have regarded them as being completely potty and may have lost their love of reading.
A great education is critical for every child. It is also critical for our economy. Economist Cameron Bagrie has said that we can see the county in 20 years by looking at current schooling.
Treasury had stated: “The OECD (2024) suggests that the decline of almost 29 points in New Zealand’s average Pisa score between 2006 and 2018 will eventually reduce aggregate productivity levels by close to 4 percentage points.” Pisa includes performance in science. Is the “back to basics” drive more political and dependent on who is in the minister’s ear? Where is the push for science and technology to be “brilliantly” taught? Will there be time for schools to generate a love and passion in the arts and entertainment areas?
Will this push be reliant on the poorly led Ministry of Education? The most important group the minister, and the sector, leaves out is parents. The $67 million that the minister has set aside for the “next great thing” would be better spent enhancing the means and ability of every parent to have their children being read to often, spoken to thoughtfully, learning about numbers, exercising, eating well and avoiding too much screen-time. Parenting is the key to a great education and some need more support than others. Where is the plan to upskill parents?
We need to encourage and allow brilliant people in our private sector to contribute. Dame Wendy Pye of Sunshine Books is revered around the world and her resources used extensively in thriving systems such as Singapore. Here she is shunned by the ministry. Our government tender system prevents her from even pitching, and schools are pretty much forced to buy much lower quality resources from the ministry. She is just one example of the innovators who our bland bureaucrats avoid.
The minister is passionate. It is duck hunting season though, and a single shot rifle is ineffective. Parenting needs to be put first. Teachers need a range of strategies and tools.
We cannot afford kids to be bored and for there to be no time for science, technology and the arts.
Most of all, she needs to be truly aspirational and seek every avenue to get well over 90% of our young people absolutely thriving. In that way she can make a difference for the next 30 years.