An analysis of New Zealand’s changing

history, policies and approaches to early

childhood education.
childhood education

McLachlan, C. (2011)
 An analysis of New Zealand’s changing history, policies and
approaches to early childhood education
Claire McLachlan
Massey University College of Education

New Zealand has an internationally unique approach to early childhood

education, which includes a bicultural early childhood curriculum, a robust
infrastructure of organisation and management overseen by the New Zealand Ministry
of Education, and a growing reputation for innovation in early childhood teaching and
learning. This paper examines how the current model of early childhood education
emerged, the policy decisions that enabled current systems to be developed, the
importance of the early childhood curriculum, teacher education and professional
development, and recent developments during a time of recession in New Zealand.
Some recommendations for early childhood education, based on the New Zealand
experience, are proposed.

Introduction based on Christian motivations of caring for children of

the poor whose mothers were working (Cook, 1985).
As in many countries, early childhood education as a For the first part of the twentieth century, kindergartens
formal construct is relatively recent in New Zealand, developed across the country, as they did in many
although there has been formal and informal provision Western nations, based on the philosophies of German
for children younger than school age for around 120 philosopher Friedrich Froebel and notions of children
years. This paper will briefly explain how the New learning through play in a natural environment and through
Zealand conception of ‘early childhood education’ involvement with educational materials he called ’gifts’.
developed and how it has been adopted by government Child care developed in a more ad hoc way with some
and formalised via regulatory and financial systems. established centres and a great deal of ‘backyard’ care
The paper will conclude with some speculation on the or ‘baby farming’, where mothers took in other people’s
directions the National Government which came to children during the day (Cook, 1985; May, 1997).
power in 2008 is taking, along with recommendations
based on the lessons learned in New Zealand. The first Labour government in New Zealand in 1935
brought about sweeping changes in education in all
sectors, making secondary school compulsory for
A brief history of early childhood education all children and promoting progressive notions of
in New Zealand education. These were based on Dewey’s theories,
of young children learning through active participation
Early childhood education had its birth in New Zealand
with real experiences such as blocks, carpentry and
in 1889 in Dunedin, in the South Island, when the first
water play. With the support of the then minister of
kindergarten was established to cater for the children
education, Peter Fraser, and the visionary director
of the poor who were left to play on the street while
general of education, Clarence Beeby, English
their parents worked (Hughes, 1989). The initiative was
educationalist Susan Isaacs was invited to New Zealand
based on Christian and philanthropic motivations by
in 1937 to talk about the psychoanalytic notions of
middle-class members of the Dunedin community. The
child development trialled in British nursery schools,
first childcare centre was established by the Catholic
such as the Malting House nursery. Such trials were
Church in the capital city, Wellington, in 1908, again

36 Australasian Journal of Early Childhood

based on Freudian theories of the ‘natural child’ and the centres to the Department of Education (now Ministry
importance of children’s ‘free play’ in building healthy of Education) from the Department of Social Welfare,
psychological development. With encouragement where it had previously resided, to join the kindergarten
from government, the first nursery play centres were associations, which had traditionally resided in the
established in New Zealand, run initially by middle-class Department of Education, under the governance of the
parent cooperatives throughout New Zealand, but also State Sector Act and with full funding of kindergartens
being adopted by working-class families (Stover, 2011). by the state. This decision was prompted by a number
of serious complaints about the quality of child care
Under the leadership of Beeby, ideas for post-war
and prompted a reconceptualisation of how all early
education were circulated in a publication in 1944
childhood services should be funded and regulated
entitled Education for today and tomorrow (Mason,
(May, 1997). This reorganisation meant that both child
1944, in Stover, 2011). This document posed challenging
care and education were funded from Vote Education
questions about ‘preschool education’, including the
funds, and all issues to do with children from birth
need for all-day nursery schools, collaboration between
became the responsibility of the newly formed Ministry
services, and teacher education. The appointment of a first-
of Education, while the funding of family financial support
ever supervisor of pre-school services in 1946 signalled
and social welfare became the responsibility of the
a change in kindergarten practices, whereby teachers
Ministry of Social Development. This was a significant
were encouraged to let children ‘be free’ by giving them
and important development, providing the financial and
choices, to minimise routines, and to encourage ‘free play’
regulatory framework that enabled the establishment of
(May, 1997). Understandings of free play were published
an early childhood sector in New Zealand.
in a number of influential playcentre publications, which
were used by the kindergarten training colleges for Te One (2003) argued that the education system had
helping student teachers to understand how to promote been seriously challenged in the years leading up to
‘free play’ (Stover, 2011). In her analysis of the history of the fourth Labour government: ‘The education system
the role of play in New Zealand, Stover (2011) argues that was considered over-centralised and unresponsive to
‘free play’ was in its heyday across the diverse services community needs, and to have failed to deliver social
for young children from the 1950s to 1980s, although and educational equity; indeed the educational failure
not always well-understood or accepted by families and of Ma-ori had become a “statistical artefact” (p. 19). Te
the wider education community; and other services with One further argued that the Government undertook
distinctly different philosophies emerged during this a bold social experiment, based on a philosophy of
time. In addition to the already-established kindergartens, individualism and the supremacy of the market, which
childcare centres and playcentres, playgroups, Montessori involved market-driven provision of services, including
preschools, Steiner kindergartens, Ma-ori language total education. The rationale was that having children was
immersion centres (Kohanga Reo), and more recently a personal choice and educating them was a private
various Pacific Island language nests emerged, creating a responsibility. Hence education belonged in the private
diverse and complex early childhood sector. As Loveridge domain. Te One challenged the assumptions that
and McLachlan have argued: families were ready, willing and able to exercise choice
and that communities were in a position to provide
Early childhood education in New Zealand is the
them with choice.
result of historical, cultural and political factors,
as well as a response to dominant and emerging As part of this rationale, however, in 1988 the
theories of how children learn. It has variously Government established a working group to ‘provide
promoted social regulation, philanthropic concern a short restatement of the purpose, place, form and
for children, support for mothers, equality for function of early childhood education’ (Department
women, cultural assimilation and survival, and of Education, 1988a, p. iv). The resulting Education
economic outcomes. Services have emerged in to be more and Before five: Early childhood care and
response to these discourses and the sector has education in New Zealand documents (Department
become diverse and complex (2009, p. 22). of Education, 1988a; 1988b) were the early childhood
equivalent of the compulsory sectors’ Tomorrow’s
schools document (Department of Education, 1988c)
Policy reform in the 1980s released at the same time. One key element of
New Zealand faced its next major overhaul of education Before five was the introduction of a contract with the
in the mid-’80s, following the election of the fourth Government called a ‘charter’, which was designed as
Labour government, under the leadership of Prime a statement of objectives and practices, drawn up in
Minister David Lange. Labour took power in the face of consultation with parents, in keeping with the national
a fiscal and financial crisis, which precipitated a number guidelines for early childhood. In return, chartered early
of major reforms, including many in education. One childhood services would receive funding for the centre
was the decision to move the governance of childcare as a bulk grant.

Vo l u m e 3 6 N u m b e r 3 S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 1 37
Before five also gave equivalent status to primary and ■■ Foundations for discovery (Ministry of Education,
secondary education, and, although controversial, it 2005)
was accepted by both community- and privately owned ■■ Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations
early childhood services (Te One, 2003), enabling a (New Zealand Government, 2008)
legitimate teaching career pathway for teachers.
■■
Licensing criteria for early childhood education
Education to be more cites the outcomes of early childhood (Ministry of Education, 2008a).
education as increased educational achievement and
The curriculum itself was developed by two
reduced need for special education, increased likelihood
academics, Helen May and Margaret Carr, now
of employment, reduced delinquency and teenage
respectively professors of education at Otago and
pregnancy, and an economic outcome of paying for
Waikato universities, in consultation with members
itself by saving the taxpayer $400–$700 for every $100
of the Te Kohanga Reo Trust (representing indigenous
spent on early childhood. The rationale underpinning
Ma-ori people) and representatives of the various early
these documents was twofold: education was defined in
childhood groups. It was distributed in draft form for
economic terms as having long-term benefits for children
trial in 1993 and significantly revised and distributed in
and families; and for ensuring the Government’s long-
a final version in 1996. It has been in use ever since,
term economic goals were realised. Education was thus a
but never evaluated, unlike the National Curriculum
‘lever’ for achieving state goals. The Government had two
which was distributed in 1993 and evaluated twice by a
goals: to equip New Zealanders with twenty-first century
representative of the Australian and British Councils for
skills; and to reduce systematic underachievement in
Educational Research, with a significantly revised version
education; sometimes known by the catchphrase ‘raise
released in 2007. Of significance is that the new national
achievement and reduce disparity’ (Adams & Bethell,
curriculum document has been aligned to Te Wha-riki to
2005, p. 144). The second agenda, achieved through
some extent. Te Wha-riki, the early childhood curriculum,
the introduction of a ‘charter’ in each sector, concerned
includes the following aspirational statement:
increasing accountability and government control.
This curriculum is founded on the following
The end result of these reforms in the late ’80s was the
aspirations for children: to grow up as competent
establishment of an identifiable sector, known as ‘early
and confident learners and communicators, healthy
childhood education’, which was unified at a policy
in mind, body, and spirit, secure in their sense of
level, rather than in any commonality of philosophy or
belonging and in the knowledge that they make
practice. That unification was to come about through
a valued contribution to society (Ministry of
the 1990s and beyond through the development of an
Education, 1996, p. 9).
early childhood curriculum, which, it has been argued,
resulted from a series of residential courses run at The curriculum is designed for children from birth to
Lopdell House in Auckland on the implementation of school entry, which typically is at the age of five (most
policy initiatives in this newly identified sector of early children start school on their fifth birthday), but children
childhood education (Te One, 2003). do not legally have to attend school until they are six
years old. Early childhood education is not compulsory
in New Zealand, but it is highly recommended, and over
Curriculum development in the 1990s 90 per cent of four-year-olds have some form of early
The intervention by the state in early childhood childhood education.
education in the late 1980s led to a succession of new The term curriculum is defined as the ‘sum total of the
statutory requirements, and a plethora of policy and experiences, activities, and events, whether direct or
guiding documents, including: indirect, which occur within an environment designed
■■ a national curriculum for early childhood education, to foster children’s learning and development’ (Ministry
Te Wha-riki (Ministry of Education, 1996) of Education, 1996, p. 10). The curriculum is bicultural
and includes a section written in Ma-ori for the use
■■ Quality in action (Ministry of Education, 1998) of Kohanga Reo centres (Ma-ori language immersion
■■ the Education (Early Childhood Centre) Regulations centres). The curriculum integrates care and education.
(1998) The term wha-riki means woven mat in Ma-ori and
■■ The quality journey (Ministry of Education, 1999) implies that curriculum will be woven from its principles,
strands and goals along with the different structures
■■ a Strategic Plan for early childhood, Pathways to
and philosophies of the early childhood services. The
the future (Ministry of Education, 2002)
curriculum has four broad principles: empowerment,
■■ Kei tua o te pae: Early childhood exemplars holistic development, family and community, and
(Ministry of Education, 2004) relationships. In addition it has five interwoven strands:
■■ Self-review guidelines for early childhood education wellbeing, belonging, contribution, communication, and
(Ministry of Education, 2007a) exploration.

38 Australasian Journal of Early Childhood

Currently, all licensed early childhood centres (those muddle and confusion. In contrast, the competence
that have met Ministry of Education licensing criteria) model suggests that learners have some control over
are required to demonstrate that they are enacting the selection, pacing and sequencing of the curriculum.
a curriculum within their service, although use of Competence models have been more common in early
Te Wha-riki is implicit within licensing requirements, childhood education. New Zealand’s early childhood
rather than an explicit requirement. Each centre is curriculum, Te Wha-riki (Ministry of Education, 1996)
reviewed on a three-yearly cycle by the Education is a good example of this sort of curriculum and is
Review Office, the evaluation arm of the national essentially learner-centred in orientation rather than
education system, using a set of Evaluation Indicators teacher-directed. It is associated with sociocultural
designed for early childhood education (ERO, 2004). theories of teaching and learning which are based
The resulting reviews are public documents, which on the child actively constructing knowledge through
parents can access as they are making decisions about activity and play and through interaction with sensitive
use of an early childhood service. The reviews provide teachers and other children (for a more detailed analysis
an overview of the strengths and weaknesses of each of Te Wha-riki, see McLachlan, Fleer and Edwards, 2010).
centre, rather than an analysis of children or their It is also quite explicitly based on Bronfenbrenner’s
achievement. The review cycle is shortened if there (1979) ecological systems theory, and relationships
are any issues or concerns identified at the three-year with families and communities is a key feature of the
review. On-going and unresolved issues result in loss of curriculum. However, the dominance of competence
licence and closure of centres. In addition, the Ministry models of curriculum in early childhood education is
of Education can respond to complaints about services changing with the advent of some countries’ curriculum
and can review whether services are meeting licensing policies, such as the Foundation Stage curriculum in
requirements between ERO reviews. the UK (Aubrey, 2004), which is more tightly aligned to
the national school curriculum and is subject-specific.
When you examine curricula from around the world,
Recent changes in New Zealand government policy
there is great diversity in what is presented; some are
suggest movements towards performance models of
specific, some quite general. According to Scott (2008),
curriculum (see Ministry of Education, 2008c); with an
a curriculum can be organised specifically to include
increased focus on literacy and numeracy achievement.
four dimensions:
There is evidence from international longitudinal
1. 
Aims, goals, objectives or outcome statements—
studies (see Barnett et al., 2008) that children who
what do we want this curriculum to achieve, what
have early childhood experiences that are learner-
would we expect to be the outcomes as a result
or child-centred and based on a competence
of participating in the implementation of that
model have better long-term outcomes in terms of
curriculum?
school achievement, behaviour, social competence,
2. 
Content, domains, or subject matter—what will we employment, avoidance of teenage delinquency and
include or exclude from our curriculum? pregnancy. Much of our current understanding of the
3. M
 ethods or procedures—what teaching methods outcomes of quality early childhood curriculum is based
or approaches will we use to achieve these goals or on the outcomes of longitudinal studies of children in
outcomes? early childhood settings. Most of these studies (e.g.
Abecedarian Project, 1999; McCain & Mustard, 1999;
4. E
 valuation and assessment—how will we know Osborne & Millbank, 1987; Schweinhart & Weikart,
when we have achieved them? 1999) demonstrate clear links between the quality
But what governments or society at large wants of an early childhood program and children’s later
for its youngest citizens will vary depending upon educational achievement. They also demonstrate long-
the community. Bernstein (1996) argues that there term social outcomes, as well as short-term cognitive
are essentially two models of curriculum, either gains (Golbeck, 2001). Barnett et al. (2008) argue that
performance or competence in orientation; and further research is needed on the effectiveness of
performance models of curriculum are the most one model of curriculum design over another because
dominant around the world. The performance model there have been few studies which used random
has its origin in the behavioural objectives movement. assignment to groups, and non-experimental studies
‘It is a model that clearly emphasises marked subject have often confounded curriculum differences with
boundaries, traditional forms of knowledge, explicit other program characteristics or the characteristics
realisation and recognition rules for pedagogic practice of the children attending the program. However, they
and the designation and establishment of strong argue how some studies show that direct instruction
boundaries between different types of students’ (Scott, models produce larger gains on achievement in subject
2008, p. 4). Implicit in this model is the sense that content knowledge over the first couple of years but
explicit criteria would save teachers and students from these gains do not persist over time. There is also

Vo l u m e 3 6 N u m b e r 3 S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 1 39
some evidence that curriculum effects differ according Issues of quality and accountability in the
to child characteristics, specifically gender and ability millennium
at program entry, but this is not found in all studies.
Finally, curricula produce differences in social and In 2002, the Ministry of Education completed a
emotional outcomes, which may be more persistent consultation process with the sector, which led to
than the cognitive outcomes. In particular, direct the publication of a strategic plan for early childhood
instruction models have been found to produce worse for 2002–2012, entitled Pathways to the future. The
social and emotional outcomes for children than do Strategic Plan (Ministry of Education, 2002) included
learner-centred models of curriculum, with implications the following goals:
for behavioural difficulties. Although there is little ■■ Increase participation in quality early childhood
formal evaluation of the outcomes of New Zealand’s services.
early childhood education, there is some evidence from
■■ Improve quality of early childhood services.
New Zealand longitudinal studies that children who
have attended early childhood centres are more likely ■■ Promote collaborative relationships.
to make successful transitions to school and to achieve The initiatives put in place to help to achieve these
academically, as well as developing social competence goals included scholarships for early childhood staff
(Tagoilelagi-Leota, McNaughton, MacDonald & Ferry, to pursue an early childhood teaching qualification,
2005; Wylie, Hodgen, Hipkins & Vaughan, 2009). Ma-ori and Pasifika teacher education qualifications,
It has been argued that many educators initially lacked increased funding to centres for higher numbers of
the professional and theoretical knowledge to effectively qualified staff, funding to support teachers to gain
implement New Zealand’s early childhood curriculum teacher registration, and a plethora of documents
(Cullen, 1996; Nuttall, 2003). To this end, the Ministry of and professional development, as discussed above. It
Education funded extensive professional development should be noted that a primary teaching qualification
for early childhood teachers on Te Wha-riki and more is not a recognised qualification for early childhood
recently Kei tua o te pae (Ministry of Education, 2004), teaching in New Zealand, so many primary-trained staff
with the assessment exemplars designed to guide had to retrain under this strategic plan.
teachers on how to assess using Te Wha-riki. Typically, The strategic plan included a regulatory change so that
this professional development was offered by a facilitator by 2005 all ‘persons responsible’ in a licensed early
who worked with individual centres, rather than as childhood centre needed to hold a benchmark three-year
workshops on specific topics, although these were teaching qualification, i.e. Diploma of Teaching (ECE),
offered by some professional development providers Bachelor of Education or Teaching (ECE) or equivalent,
too. As well, the Ministry assisted in the development and by 2012 all staff in licensed early childhood
of specific teacher education programs to support centres needed a teaching qualification; the reason
Ma-ori and Pasifika children and funded a large number given being a strong correlation between quality and
of scholarships for students to study teacher education. teacher qualifications. Many services were seriously
In addition, the Ministry funded 16 Centre of Innovation affected by these changes. As at 1 July 2009, 64.0 per
projects, which examined aspects of implementing the cent (11,780) of teaching staff at teacher-led services
curriculum, as well as the Foundations for Discovery were qualified. This was an increase of 14.3 per cent
project aimed at investigating the use of ICT in early (1,475) from July 2008; of the remainder of staff, 53.2
childhood centres. Some funding was also directed per cent (3,523) who were not qualified were in study
at evaluation of early childhood centres, using The for a qualification that leads to teacher registration with
quality journey document, which promoted the use the New Zealand Teachers Council. Finding qualified
of self-review methods of evaluation. Difficulties staff has been a serious issue for many areas, leading
in implementing self-review in most centres led to the Ministry to offer financial incentives to teachers for
revisiting The quality journey document, resulting transferring to hard-to-staff areas. According to recent
in a revised set of guidelines for centres for using Ministry of Education statistics, as at 1 July 2009:
self-review. Despite the inherent difficulties in ■■ The number of early childhood education services
implementing (McLachlan-Smith, 2001; Nuttall, 2003; had increased by 14.6 per cent (454) since 2005,
McLachlan, Carvalho, Kumar & de Lautour, 2006) to 4,890 services. This included 525 more licensed
and evaluating (Cullen, 2003) Te Wha-riki, the early services and 71 fewer licence-exempt groups.
childhood sector has currently managed to hold onto ■■ There were 4,123 licensed services.
its right to have a different curriculum from that of
■■ There were 767 licence-exempt ECE groups, one
the National Curriculum (Ministry of Education, 1993)
less than at 1 July 2008.
despite increasing pressure for a closer articulation
(evidenced by the revised national curriculum, Ministry ■■ There had been a steady decline in the number of
of Education, 2007b). ko-hanga reo services since 1 July 2005.

40 Australasian Journal of Early Childhood

 ■■ There were 180,910 enrolments in licensed early provider to whom this regulation applies to—(a)
childhood education services, an increase of 10.0 plan, implement, and evaluate a curriculum that
per cent (16,389) since 2005. is designed to enhance children’s learning and
In 2007, the then Labour Government introduced 20 development through the provision of learning
hours of ‘free ECE’ for three- and four-year-olds as part experiences, and that is consistent with any
of delivering the first goal of participation. The Ministry’s curriculum framework prescribed by the Minister
argument about why this was necessary was: that applies to the service.

… 20 hours a week Free ECE has been made

available to encourage intensive participation in A change of government and a change of
quality ECE. Children don’t benefit from quality direction—2009 and beyond
ECE if their participation is not intensive enough to
create positive education outcomes. New Zealand The change of government in 2008 led to a changed set of
has high ECE participation rates but children attend government priorities and to a degree of fear and trepidation
for relatively few hours per week, at around 14–17 about the future on the part of the sector. The new National
hours per week for 3 and 4 year olds. That means a Government took power in the face of worldwide economic
lot of children are attending for 9 hours or fewer per recession and an unexpected enormous deficit left by the
week (Ministry of Education, 2007c). previous government. The briefing to the incoming Minister
of Education (2008b) discusses the following policy choices
The offer therefore aimed to ensure that parents help and challenges for education:
the Government to achieve its strategic and economic
vision. What is implicit, however, is that parents ■■ improving access to early childhood education
and parent-led services are not seen as providing ■■ enhancing the performance of the school system
adequate experiences for young children. More ■■ delivering high-quality Ma-ori language education
recently, the newly elected (conservative) National
■■ balancing quality and participation in tertiary
Government extended the provision of the 20 free
education
hours to parent-led and community-led services such
as playcentre and Ko-hanga Reo, a move applauded ■■ improving engagement, participation and learning
by parents struggling under the effects of recession. for children with special education needs
The move clearly supported parent-led services and ■■ making better use of available resources.
language immersion programs and further underlined Building on this, the Government released the following
the perceived importance of early childhood to the priorities in its Vote Education budget for 2009:
current government, but in the same week funding
for teachers’ professional development and Centre ■■
extension of 20 free hours to Playcentre and
of Innovation and Foundations for Discovery research Kohanga Reo
projects was slashed. ■■ reduce truancy
As part of the plan to increase quality, a change to the ■■ support for schools with disruptive children
licensing requirements (Ministry of Education, 2006) ■■ funding for top performing teachers
was introduced. This consultation document argued ■■ professional development to raise Ma-ori
that early childhood has a ‘changing landscape’ and the achievement
proposed regulations provided an ‘integrated regulatory
framework’ for all ECE services (Ministry of Education, ■■ funding to increase literacy and numeracy
2006, p. 4). It had been proposed that the new licensing standards
criteria include a gazetted curriculum, which at the time ■■ voluntary bonding for low socioeconomic, hard-to-
would have been Te Wha-riki, but this was not undertaken staff and isolated schools ($3500 per year).
in the final version of the licensing criteria released in In this budget the Government also cancelled all
2008. In this document, the following statement about funding to the early childhood Centres of Innovation
curriculum is made, in which it implies that Te Wha-riki research projects and Foundations for Discovery
will be used, but falls short of demanding it. It can be ICT projects, as well as signalling that professional
speculated that the diversity of early childhood services development contracts for Te Wha-riki and Kei tua o te
made this lack of standardisation necessary, as many of pae: assessment exemplars would run out at the end
the language immersion programs, in particular, use a of 2009 and would not be renewed. The Government
variety of other curriculum documents in addition to Te signalled that future professional development would
Wha-riki. The curriculum statement from the new licensing be aligned with government priorities and would
criteria is as follows (Ministry of Education, 2008a): commence in July 2010. These government priorities
(1) The curriculum standard: general is the were revealed in the request for proposal in late 2009
standard that requires every licensed service as primarily aligned to lifting literacy and numeracy

Vo l u m e 3 6 N u m b e r 3 S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 1 41
achievement; aiding transition to school and increasing on the basis of economic analysis. As Professors Helen
participation; supporting language and culture; care of May, Margaret Carr and Anne Smith (2010) said in a
infants and toddlers; and achievement of children ‘at recent press release:
risk’. These changes suggested a significant policy shift
For some years New Zealand has been
from raising quality in all centres to a more targeted
internationally regarded as a flagship in creating the
focus on raising achievement in specific children,
necessary infrastructure of early childhood policy
communities and ethnic groups.
around issues of quality, qualifications, access
In addition, in the 2009 budget, the need for all early and curriculum. There was still more to do, and
childhood staff to be qualified by 2012 was rescinded, the undermining of these policies is dispiriting,
as was the requirement for 80 per cent of staff to be and even embarrassing, as there is continuing
qualified by 2010. Eighty per cent is the new target worldwide interest in our policy initiatives.
for 2012. In addition, the requirement for qualified,
registered teachers working with children under two
years was reduced to 50 per cent. A proposed change Conclusion
in adult–child ratios was also rescinded, leaving ratios This paper has examined the predominant themes
at previously gazetted levels. The budget of 2010 in the development of the early childhood sector
delivered further bombshells, with changes including in New Zealand over the past 120 years, with a
reducing funding for centres with fully qualified stronger emphasis on the policy reforms from the
teachers to the 80 per cent level in line with the mid-1980s onwards. There is little doubt that early
reduced licensing requirement from the 2009 budget, childhood education has become an accepted part
recognising primary-qualified teachers and overseas- of raising children in the same period, in which there
trained teachers for the purposes of licensing, and not have been commensurate changes in family structures
proceeding with the removal of the six-hour limit for and women’s employment patterns. Early childhood
funding. The issues concerning funding have meant education has traditionally fared better in New Zealand
that increased costs are being passed on to parents under a more socially oriented Labour Government, as
(Stover, 2010). Primary and overseas-trained teachers the brief history illustrates, and most significant changes
have typically had no training on the care and education have occurred under governments whose policies include
of infants and toddlers, they do not know the curriculum promoting the benefits of supporting children and their
document, and may employ inappropriate pedagogies families. However, although the current Government is
with very young children. There is already evidence of clearly reducing its financial support of early childhood,
inappropriate literacy practices occurring because of it is still operating within an economic analysis of the
these issues (ERO, 2010). benefits of early childhood education to achieving
Recently, the Finance Minister, Bill English, stated outcomes for the state. It is hoped we can be assured
on national radio that the cost of early childhood that funding will not ever be completely removed, but it
education has trebled in the past six years. He said the is unlikely to be increased only on the basis of scientific
Government is moving to balance the support parents evidence of the importance of early experiences in
receive with the need to contain future costs. It could brain development, language and cognition, because it
be argued that current government policy has swung does not fit comfortably with the cost-benefit analysis
almost full circle back to its early origins of provision for framework the current Government is utilising.
the children of the poor. The Government is declaring Finally, what has been achieved through the major changes
on one hand that early childhood education is valuable in the sector in New Zealand over the past 35 years
for achieving educational, social, cultural and economic is a sector that is inclusive in spite of its differences in
outcomes, but on the other saying that parents who can structures and philosophies. The curriculum document and
afford to provide this should do so and that government its assessment techniques, as well as the requirements for
funding is really only available for vulnerable children teacher education in the strategic plan, have had a unifying
and families and for managing social and economic risk. effect and have helped to develop a strong, professional
Clearly the days of funds being available to the whole and cohesive early childhood network in New Zealand.
sector are at an end, and in times of diminished Some conclusions that can be drawn about why the New
resources the Government is targeting resources Zealand early childhood education system has been so
at children and communities who are perceived will successful, may provide insights for other countries:
benefit the most. It is unlikely that these moves will
■■ Coordination of all issues concerning care and
be welcomed by the sector, but they are consistent
education of children under the governance of
with the practices of other governments internationally,
the Ministry of Education provides a cohesive
such as the American Head Start and British Sure Start
framework for supporting children and their
programs, which target funding at children of the poor
families in the early years.

42 Australasian Journal of Early Childhood

 ■■ A robust regulatory and evaluation framework References
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