SCHOOLS PLUS: MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DISCUSSION DOCUMENT
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Schools Plus discussion document. The submission of the National Advisory Council on the Employment of Women (NACEW) is outlined below.
Introduction:
NACEW is an independent advisory body to the Minister of Labour on matters related to women and employment, and is charged with the following responsibilities:
- to advise the Minister of Labour on matters referred by him/her concerning the employment of women;
- to express views and make recommendations as appropriate to the Minister of Labour on matters relating to the employment of women;
- to make representations or submissions as appropriate to public bodies such as Commissions of Enquiry, subject to the approval of the Minister;
- to promote the dissemination of information on the employment of women in New Zealand and overseas.
It should be noted that the views expressed in this submission are those of the non-governmental appointees to NACEW. This submission should not be taken as representing the views of the Minister of Labour, or any government department.
NACEW’s submission focuses on Questions 3, 4, 16, and 18.
Overview
NACEW supports Schools Plus and endorses the government’s aim to strengthen the relationship between the education sector and labour market. New Zealand needs its current and future workforce to be highly-skilled to cater for the changing work environment and be internationally competitive. Ensuring young New Zealanders, especially women, are qualified, skilled and able to adapt to that environment is essential.
The Council also believes that a strengths based approach to Schools Plus is more valuable than the deficit model approach currently taken in the document, centred around crisis intervention, and focussing on students that are failing within the system.
There is evidence to suggest that there are certain groups in society who have not achieved their full potential in the education system. Initiatives developed for and targeted at these students to help them succeed should be acknowledged. Often the initiatives support different and new ways of learning which can be used as exemplars of best practice, and as a basis for further analysis into how different approaches can help students achieve their capability. The Council recommends the Schools Plus programme draw on the BES (Iterative Best Evidence Synthesis) reports which draw together robust research findings from New Zealand and overseas on a range of topics, always considering what will boost the accomplishments of students in our ‘long tail’ identified in international comparison studies. Funding for the evaluation of initiatives also needs to be considered to understand their value and impact.
It is important for the school system to be responsive to all students from their initial entry into the education system until their transition into the workforce. Transitional periods must be responsive to students’ needs and ensure their continued engagement in learning. Students need to be able to recognise the value of learning for their future employment and career development. More focus around life long learning is essential for students to recognise learning as a disposition to be developed and that skills can be added to at anytime throughout their life. A focus on career paths at an early age helps students to gain an understanding of what different jobs involve.
The Council is concerned at the low numbers of Māori and Pacific students achieving NCEA University Entrance (UE) and believes Schools Plus should aim to have Māori and Pacific students achieving UE at higher or the same levels as the (current) median level for all students over the next five years. University needs to be given as an option for all students who have the potential to succeed. Furthermore, students need to be made aware of how subject choice impacts on their future opportunities, and ability to gain entry to tertiary education or training. For example, students opting for soft subjects at lower NCEA levels may unknowingly hinder their chances of gaining university entrance in year 13.
In addition, some subjects are unavailable to students due to teacher shortages. If students are to have real life choices, they need access to the subjects they want to learn. This is particularly significant in the rural sector. Sustainable resourcing needs to be incorporated into Schools Plus policy. Gender and ethnicity issues should be addressed by ensuring a multi-faceted approach is taken to making Schools Plus successful ‘on the ground’.
The policy also needs to reflect those that are under-achieving (not just those that are failing) to increase their learning capabilities as well and maximise their individual achievements; and Schools Plus needs to ensure there are incentives for employers to participate in this policy if they want their support. Schools Plus should be evaluated to ensure that students are achieving the goals stipulated in their learning plans, and to track the programme itself. An evaluative component should be an integral, ongoing part of the policy’s implementation within schools.
Encouraging female students into a wider range of subjects is essential to help reduce occupational segregation in the workforce, and Schools Plus is an opportunity to reinforce positive messages. In the Council’s recent paper, Critical Issues for Women’s Employment Now and in the Future, it was noted that the United Kingdom has tackled the concentration of women in lower paying occupational sectors by focussing on education and influencing the aspirations and assumptions made in childhood and early adulthood. The report noted the Workplace Productivity Challenge which has identified a need to strengthen links between education and training providers and employers' skill needs. [1] We recommend the findings of this paper be considered by the Schools Plus team. Schools Plus needs to explicitly link labour market demands and subject choice at school.
Increasing the number of young women taking up apprenticeships is also important to reducing occupational segregation. Less than 10 percent of the recruits to the government's flagship Modern Apprenticeship programme have been women, yet the majority of trades are experiencing skill shortages. [2] Schools Plus needs to promote the range of opportunities open to young people, particularly women, to allow them to achieve their potential. Encouraging positive attitudes at an early age to women entering male dominated occupations is fundamental to reducing occupational segregation.
The Council is concerned that the education system contributes to, and does insufficient to counter, constraints in young women’s views and expectations. Aspirational values and messages are invaluable in influencing young women’s outcomes and Schools Plus is an opportunity to expand on this approach.
Question 3: How can the school system be made more responsive to Māori students and increase participation and achievement?
Māori students continue to have lower levels of achievement than other ethnic groups in New Zealand. Having high expectations of Māori students from a young age would raise their own and others expectations of what they can achieve.
Engaging with kura, marae and other providers connected to runanga could increase participation and achievement levels for Māori students. Providing opportunities in a variety of ways such as recognising different learning styles, and encouraging a variety of teaching methods will add value to the teacher/student relationship and enhance students’ enthusiasm to learn. Linking educational attainment with employment also adds value to what students are learning. Furthermore, by raising the profile of vocational pathways students would be linking their day-to-day learning with real employment opportunities.
The Carers’ Strategy identified young Māori and Pacific carers who have multiple caring responsibilities as a niche group who are often excluded from education because of their role in family caring. Identifying those students who have these roles, often female, would be a first step to understanding how Schools Plus can cater for students with additional family responsibilities.
The Council has had a strong interest in Māori and Pacific women’s employment. Young Māori and Pacific women in particular are seen as an important driver in achieving increased participation and diversity in the workforce. The Council supports the provision of good information and role models for Māori and Pacific women to help them make informed education, employment and career choices.
Currently the Council is undertaking a stocktake to gather information on young Māori and Pacific women’s transitions from secondary to tertiary education or employment. The report will also look at current initiatives in place to assist young Māori and Pacific women make successful transitions from secondary education to tertiary education or employment, and where possible will determine their effectiveness. The Council is happy to forward this report to you once completed.
Schools Plus needs to determine how it can best support Māori students to achieve skills and qualifications which are meaningful to them, and will help them to participate and engage in further education and employment.
Question 4: How can the sector increase engagement and achievement for Pasifika students?
Schools need to liaise closely with Pacific leaders and recognise the range of languages in Pacific communities in order to cater for all Pacific students. Encouraging greater responsibility within the whole community and using community leaders to help recognise and cater for Pacific students will raise expectations in schools and the community. Schools Plus also needs to identify and recognise initiatives within the community and connect with alternative providers to increase Pacific students’ engagement. Schools should provide flexibility so this can occur.
The Pacific community has a much stronger link with the church than other ethnic groups. The church could be an important conduit to encouraging educational attainment in Pacific students.
Question 16: Which students are likely to need additional support to remain in education, skills or structured learning? What support should they get, and from whom?
Students with disabilities, rural students, Māori and Pacific students, and young carers all need additional support to ensure they remain in education or structured learning. As the labour market tightens and is expected to continue to do so, organisations are realising the potential of some groups of individuals who traditionally have been excluded from the workforce.
Schools need to ensure all students have an equal opportunity to participate in education and support those that require additional attention.
The Council noted that students with an intellectual disability involved in the Special Olympics often move into work in this area. This is an excellent example of students’ extra-curricula activities turning into real vocational outcomes.
Question 18: The government wants Schools Plus to meet the needs of all students of all abilities. How much flexibility should Schools Plus provide? Who should decide?
Schools Plus should be flexible enough to adapt to a wide range of student abilities and interests. It also needs to allow for changes in students’ decisions around subject choice, and career direction. A large amount of pressure is placed on students to make decisions about careers, and allowing for flexibility in their decision-making will help them to make the right decisions.
Students, schools, tertiary education providers, families, communities and employers all need to have input into decision-making around Schools Plus and work together to ensure it benefits students to achieve their potential.
The Council supports current programmes and initiatives which allow students to pursue individual learning such as STAR and Gateway. Given their success, these programmes, and others such as CaPaBL merit roll out to all students.
Communities need to be consulted around all aspects of decision-making; schools need to engage with students, the wider community, and business within the broad framework of Schools Plus to ensure decisions made are relevant, realistic, and will work ‘on the ground’ for all students.
Pauline A Winter
Chair of NACEW
[1] Critical Issues for Women’s Employment Now and in the Future, http://www.nacew.govt.nz/publications/general/critical-issues/critical-issues_02.html
[2] Critical Issues for Women’s Employment Now and in the Future, http://www.nacew.govt.nz/publications/general/critical-issues/critical-issues_02.html
