Education in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific

✍ Scribed by Michael Crossley; Greg Hancock; Terra Sprague (editors)

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Year: 2015
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 385
• Series: Education Around the World
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

This book provides an up-to-date and well-grounded analysis of education in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific, including Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. Leading writers from throughout this region identify contemporary educational challenges, issues, and priorities while drawing upon their own ongoing empirical research. Key themes include the impact of international trends and developments; educational reform and the quality of education; indigenous learning; inclusivity; aid and development co-operation; and the changing role and place of tertiary education. Detailed studies of specific educational systems and developments are considered in the light of broader analyses that run throughout the volume.

✦ Table of Contents

Cover
Half Title
Series
Title
Copyright
Dedication
Contents
Series Editor’s Preface
Foreword
Notes on Contributors
Introduction Education in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific: Challenges, Issues and Priorities
The regional context
Overview of chapters
Connections and cross-cutting themes
Conclusions
1 Australia: An Overview
Population
Government
Economy and labour market
Structure of education and training
Pre-school programmes
Primary education
Curriculum
Secondary education
Adult and community education
2 Federalism in Australian Education
The foundations of federalism
Adjudicating conflicts
Use of external affairs powers
Fiscal levers and the special case of education
Cooperative federalism?
COAG – an umbrella coordinating body
Case study: federalism and school funding
Conclusion
3 Australia: Finance, Quality and Participation in Postsecondary Education
Introduction
Institutions, students and courses
Funding
Quality
Discussion and conclusion
Acknowledgements
4 Australia: Aboriginal Education
Introduction: learning in traditional Aboriginal society
Colonialism: the clash of civilizations
Current context
Two-Way learning: a case study
English deconstructed: the Australian situation
The management of Two-Way bidialectal education
Conclusion
Acknowledgement
5 New Zealand: The Politics of National Standards in Primary Schools
Introduction
The educational context for implementing ‘National Standards’
The National Government’s case for ‘National Standards’
Tolley’s rationale for introducing National Standards
The teacher unions’ response
Defending National Standards as ‘the best [educational] disinfectant’
The media attacks and the principals’ reply
National and international critiques of National Standards
From policy to practice: the consultation to implementation timeline
NZCER: an independent research voice
Hattie’s National Standards critique
Post-consultation resistance
The prime minister hits the ‘panic button’
Statutory intervention and the public’s right to access information
The general election and National Standards
Media publishes ‘very ropey’ National Standards data online
Confronting the ‘long tail’ of student underachievement
‘Mapping’ National Standards to NCEA Level 2
National Standards – A hidden agenda?
National Standards in retrospect
Testing times? The future of National Standards in New Zealand
‘High stakes’ assessment in historical context
6 New Zealand: Inclusive Education and Children with Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties
Introduction
Policy and practice of inclusive education for children with SEN in New Zealand
Studies of graduates of a residential school for children with SEBD
Closure of SEBD residential schools
Conclusion
7 New Zealand: Maori Education in Aotearoa
Introduction
Key contexts
Challenges
Priorities
Conclusion
8 Aid to Pacific Education: From Projects to SWAps
Introduction
‘Partnership’ in educational aid: the aid effectiveness agenda
The SWAp
SWAps in the Pacific
Analysing SWAp progress in each case study
Concluding comments
9 Pacific Island Countries: An Overview
Early Childhood Education
Primary/elementary education
Secondary education
Higher education
Stock-take of educational development: PEDF progress review, 2012
Access and equity
Quality issues
Efficiency and effectiveness
Regional initiatives
The Pacific Education Paradox: an analysis of issues and challenges
A framework for shifting educational focus
Conclusion
10 Papua New Guinea: Inclusive Education
Introduction
Short history of education in Papua New Guinea
The education system in present-day Papua New Guinea
The inclusiveness of the Papua New Guinean education system
Inclusive education: the supply and demand perspectives
Conclusion
11 Fiji: Evolution of Education from Colonial to Modern Times
Introducing Fiji and its education system
The origins and development of the Fijian education system
The changing nature of education and schooling: Fiji’s ethnic divide and social inequality
Town and country: Fiji’s urban and rural divide
Education policy in post-colonial Fiji
Future challenges: the case of technical, vocational education and training
Conclusion
12 Melanesia: An Overview
Introduction
The Melanesian landscape
Challenges for education in Melanesia
Social, economic and educational reforms
What is the way forward for education in Melanesia?
13 Polynesia: In Search of Quality Education
Introduction
Cook Islands
Tonga
Tuvalu
Conclusion
14 Micronesia: An Overview of the Federated States of Micronesia
Introduction
Educational challenges in FSM and Micronesia
Priorities for education in FSM and Micronesia
Prospects for the future
Conclusions
15 Pacific Island Countries: Improving Educational Reach with Information and Communications Technology
Introduction
ICT in PICs
The USP and ICT developments
Looking to the future: regional achievements and challenges
Index