Abstract
The impact of national education policies on programme design practice in post‐compulsory education tends to be marginalised in scholarly literature. This paper reviews and analyses the literature to explore how neo‐liberalist discourses introduced in tertiary education and qualifications policies in New Zealand since 1989 continue to influence programme design in polytechnics. Tensions are identified in five areas: autonomy and accountability; the programme design process; student‐centred learning; concepts of knowledge; and, cultural diversity. For each area current trends are described, based on the author's analysis of very recent policies. It will be concluded that the opportunities for educators and educational institutions to exercise autonomy in programme design continue to be limited by national policy pressures to meet economic and skills needs. Courage and willingness are required if educators are ever to turn the tide and re‐focus education on the development of society beyond the needs of the economy.
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