Part 2: Collaboration is needed to identify and address inequity

Ministry of Education: Promoting equitable educational outcomes.

2.1
To identify and address inequity between students, the Ministry of Education needs detailed and regular information about student achievement and progress. Because New Zealand's education system is complex and highly devolved, getting this information can be a challenge.

2.2
New Zealand's education system includes schools, the Ministry, other public organisations, and various organisations that represent and support teachers, principals, and schools (such as unions and professional bodies). These parties have distinct roles and responsibilities, but they often need to collaborate to identify and meet students' needs.

2.3
In this Part, we discuss:

Schools are responsible for helping students to reach their potential

2.4
Under the Education and Training Act 2020, each school is an independent Crown entity. Under the Act, schools are responsible for helping "each child and young person attain their educational potential".

2.5
Schools work within regulatory and resourcing constraints to decide how to meet their students' learning and well-being needs.

2.6
Schools are required to identify variations in their students' achievement and do what they can to address or compensate for causes of lower achievement. This could include:

  • changing teaching practices or how the school is run;
  • implementing initiatives to support students, including initiatives that the Ministry has developed; and
  • working with other public organisations (such as health, justice, and welfare organisations) to address any issues that limit an individual student's ability to reach their potential.

2.7
Each school is responsible for assessing their students' achievement and progress, and for reporting this to parents.

The Ministry of Education is responsible for providing schools with resources and guidance

2.8
The Ministry has described its role as shaping "an education system that delivers equitable and excellent outcomes".7

2.9
The Ministry supports the Minister of Education to act as a good steward of the public interest in the education system. This includes actively keeping the legislation that it administers up to date and providing advice on the longer-term implications of policies.

2.10
The Ministry also provides strategic leadership, advice, and services to the education system and other public organisations.

2.11
The Ministry works with schools to help them identify and meet the needs of their students. Because schools are independent Crown entities, the Ministry largely fulfils this role through collaboration and influence.

2.12
At a national level, the Ministry:

  • provides the National Curriculum, which sets the direction for student learning;
  • supports schools to provide quality education, including by providing guidance on how schools can gather, analyse, interpret, and use information about student achievement and progress and by designing initiatives that schools can use to support learning; and
  • ensures that there are enough resources for teaching, learning, student assessment, and professional leadership.

2.13
The Ministry supports schools more directly at a regional level. It has regional teams that include education advisors, curriculum leads, and learning specialists. With support from national staff, these regional teams help schools identify and meet their students' well-being and learning needs.

2.14
The Ministry also assists the Minister of Education in preparing and issuing statements about national education and learning priorities. School boards must consider these statements when preparing their strategic plans.

2.15
The current Statement of National Education and Learning Priorities has an objective to create barrier-free access that would put "great education opportunities and outcomes" within the reach of every student. Priorities under this objective include reducing barriers to education for all, including Māori, Pacific, and disabled students and those with learning support needs.8

Other organisations have a role in supporting equitable educational outcomes

2.16
Other organisations have a role in supporting schools and the Ministry to achieve equitable educational outcomes. These include:

  • the Education Review Office, which evaluates and reports on how well schools educate and care for students;
  • the New Zealand Qualifications Authority, which manages the New Zealand Qualifications Framework and manages and provides quality assurance for secondary school assessment through the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA);
  • the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand, which is responsible for registering teachers, setting and maintaining professional standards for teachers, and ensuring that teachers are competent and fit to practice; and
  • the New Zealand Council for Educational Research, which is an independent organisation that carries out and disseminates education research. It receives some revenue from a government grant and the rest from contestable contracts and selling products and services.

The Ministry of Education and schools must collaborate to identify and address inequity

2.17
The Ministry has identified that enabling flexible and responsive local decision-making is a key strength of New Zealand's education system. Schools can draw on their knowledge of local contexts when making decisions.

2.18
However, the Ministry also recognises that a devolved system can lead to high levels of variability in both teaching practice and student outcomes.

2.19
To support more equitable student outcomes, the Ministry needs to provide the right support to schools. As with any public organisation, the Ministry needs quality information to make the policy, strategy, and investment decisions that will provide the right support and deliver value for money.

2.20
The devolved nature of the education system means that the Ministry needs to work with schools to get information about student achievement and progress. This information is needed to support the Ministry to:

  • identify which students are meeting achievement expectations and which are not;
  • identify the factors that support and the factors that may be barriers to student achievement;
  • guide effective decision-making and investment; and
  • ensure that the education system's collective efforts will lift student achievement and address inequity.

7: Ministry of Education, "The role of the Ministry of Education", at education.govt.nz.

8: Ministry of Education (2020), The Statement of National Education and Learning Priorities (NELP) and Tertiary Education Strategy (TES), at education.govt.nz.