Academics and school principals are warning that education cannot fix all of society's ills. They worry that politicians will place too much emphasis on teaching practices in this year's election. Education Correspondent John Gerritsen assesses whether too much is being expected of the classroom.
Radio New Zealand Education Correspondent John Gerritsen. Photo: RNZ
Earlier this year, the three main parties attempted to put child learning firmly on the political agenda in this year's general election. The National, Labour and Green parties all made major announcements that put education - either in schools or during children's early years - very much front and centre. It seemed an obvious issue, cutting through to the concerns which resonate with mum and dad voters across the country.
Howard Lee, an education historian at Massey University, believes that level of attention is unusual for education, which usually finds itself playing second fiddle at election time to other issues such as the economy. But he and other education specialists say such attention is warranted because education attracts a lot of government funding and has an important role to play. However, they also warn the attention of politicians can be a double-edged sword - raising expectations and creating demands that might not be easy to measure, let alone meet.
A chief researcher at the Council for Educational Research, Cathy Wylie, says already more is being expected of teachers than ever before. But she says education needs to keep changing in order to keep up with changes in society and technology.
"We don't have a broken system in the sense that our schools are terrible places, it's not like that. I think in the 21st Century you don't just react to something because you think it's broken, you react to something because you start to think about what's being asked of it," she says.
There seems to be little agreement about how much impact schools actually have on society, particularly in terms of broader social problems such as poverty and poor health. Some, such as Principals Federation president, Philip Harding, say schools reflect society, rather than change it. Educators and academics also warn that there is only so much that can be expected of schools because the biggest influences on children's performance lie outside of school, such as family income and parents' qualifications.
Massey University education professor John O'Neill says it has been calculated that those out-of-school factors account for between 70 and 80 percent of a child's performance.
"We have a large body of research evidence that says by far the most significant contribution to children's educational achievement is stuff that takes place outside the classroom. It's only when you discount that, that the quality of teaching and to a much smaller extent the quality of school leadership comes into play," he says.
But others say education can and should be expected to deliver wider societal benefits. The Dean of Education at the University of Auckland, Graeme Aitken, says the curriculum is deliberately tailored to improve society because it includes a range of competencies such as working well with others.
"It's vision is for confident, connected actively-involved lifelong learners who contribute to the well-being of New Zealand. So in one sense we're claiming that we can make a significant citizenship contribution," he says.
And Cathy Wylie says some school programmes have prompted children to demand change within their families.
"When you had schools having a health promotion approach, and you had kids going home and tackling their parents' smoking, you had kids asking about the food that they were eating, you started to tackle some of those things right then and there."
The problem is that such changes are often difficult, if not impossible, to measure. Schools have been trying for many years to address societal issues through initiatives such as health clinics on school grounds, and free breakfasts for hungry children. They do not so much try to solve the background problem, as mitigate its effects so that children can get as much as possible out of their time at school.
Waiopehu College principal Barry Petherick says it is hard to know what impact his school's health clinic has on the school's wider community, but it is clear it has helped the students themselves. He says qualification rates and progression to further study or employment have all improved.
Susanne Simmons-Kopa, tumuaki of Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Whakawatea in Hamilton, says kaupapa Maori institutions can have a huge impact on their communities. She says many Maori parents have not had good education experiences, but involvement with a kura or kohanga reo can change that.
"What's been so, I think, gratifying here, is seeing how many parents as a result of even the kohanga when we started that back in the day, went on to do other things that weren't doing that before. So some become midwives, lawyers, that kind of thing and that's been stunning," she says.
Whatever their views on education's potential to change society, academics and educators alike say more support and resources for schools and early childhood education will be very welcome. But they warn that politicians and voters need to be very careful what outcomes they demand from an already-stretched education system.
Listen to John Gerritson's full Insight programme, "Education Solving All Ills?"