Zealand's Policy Research Articles

“Same, same but different”: The dangers of binary definitions of dis/ability in the neoliberal marketplace of early childhood education and care

Introduction In this paper I aim to highlight issues, consider dangers and recognise challenges for adults who are involved in ECEC and the inclusion of children with disabilities. Drawing on my own and others' recent research, I examine the current ECEC environment in Aotearoa/New Zealand and explore the relationship between several key interconnected influences on inclusion. My position is one of commitment to the human rights of all children. I contend that all children, regardless of ability, have the right to be with and learn alongside their peers. Central to my stance is the view that differences in ability are part of the uniqueness of the human condition. Therefore, I consider it to be critically important to challenge beliefs and practices that contravene the rights of disabled people to be included in, and belong to, a community. What worries me most is an apparent renaissance of deficit views of disability since the introduction of privatisation in the ECEC sector. Deficit views of disability draw on simplistic binary comparisons between disability and ability. My concern is that, in recent years we have inadvertently been moving away from previous--and in my view, better informed--attempts to respect and include all children in our ECEC centres. As a heuristic to draw the reader's attention to the abled versus disabled binary, in this paper I have at pertinent points inserted a forward stroke or virgule into the word disability (i.e., dis/ability). This separation of dis and ability aims to show how our, perhaps unintentional, labelling and understanding of ability plays a role in the way we treat both abled and disabled children. As Anderson and Merrell (2001) state, the notions of disability and ability imply and construct each other. The virgule insertion here acts as an alert, drawing our attention to the fact that when disability and ability are viewed as binary partners a person with disability may cease to be viewed as a competent individual and instead the differences between abled and disabled are foregrounded. Several writers have explored disability as socially constructed (Barton, 1996; Fulcher, 1999; Oliver, 1996). This view is adopted in much of Aotearoa/New Zealand's disability legislation and policy as this quote from the New Zealand Disability Strategy (Ministry of Health, 2001) demonstrates: Disability is not something individuals have. What individuals have are impairments. They may be physical, sensory, neurological, psychiatric, intellectual or other impairments. Disability is the process which happens when one group of people creates barriers by designing a world only for their way of living, taking no account of the impairments other people have. (p. 7) This paper offers a particular perspective about the role the current market-orientated ECEC environment may be playing in the construction of young children with disability. This perspective is based in part on what I have observed over the last three decades of my own involvement in the ECEC sector. I also draw on early evidence from a research project I am currently undertaking that attempts to address these concerns by examining the current complexities and tensions surrounding inclusion from the perspectives of teachers, owners and families/whanau in the marketplace environment of the long-day ECEC sector. Long-day ECEC services are those open for the hours of an adult's typical working day, usually 7.30 am to 6.00 pm. I have worked as a kindergarten teacher, been the owner of a long-day ECEC centre and in recent years a researcher/ lecturer in ECEC. I have practised under multiple educational and ECEC sector reforms designed to support children with disabilities. These range from the introduction of special needs units, partial integration of groups from special education facilities, part-time supported inclusion of individual children and, most recently, initiatives to support full inclusion of all children. …

Evaluation of policies to support drug development in New Zealand

Changes in the traditional model of drug development are creating a potential opportunity for New Zealand's drug development industry. This research evaluates whether New Zealand could utilise some of the policies employed by countries with successful drug development industries. A framework to support a drug development industry was developed by taking into account policies that affect the industry. The framework was then used to analyse the types of policies provided by different countries and to postulate six different models that support a pharmaceutical industry. Countries with a successful drug development industry have identified their strengths, analysed the opportunities in the industry, and have employed consistent and specific policies in support of their industry. New Zealand's policy in support of its drug development industry is most similar to that of the medical research-based model of the UK, Australia and Canada. New Zealand needs to develop a consistent policy for support of its drug development industry based on identifying and focussing on the competencies where it is internationally competitive. A strong partnership with Australia could capitalise on the strengths of both countries and linkages with other Asia-Pacific countries could further promote the region's capabilities in drug development research.

Knowledge, Power and Politics

This article analyses the sources of knowledge New Zealand sport and recreation policy-makers rely on when forming public policy. Specifically, utilizing a Foucauldian lens of governmentality, we consider how New Zealand sport and recreation policy is influenced by various sources of knowledge. Through analysis of official policy documents, media releases and interviews with senior New Zealand policy managers, we argue that despite claims of positivistic, `evidence-based' policy, writers draw on a wide range of knowledge sources. Thus, despite being governed by positivism, policy-makers themselves utilize other, multifarious sources of knowledge in order to construct national sport policy. We offer considerations for the future setting of such public policy, and in particular suggest the existing rationale for the formulation of public policy could be altered to acknowledge these wide ranging knowledges.

Writing social determinants into and out of cancer control: An assessment of policy practice

A large literature concurs that social determinants of health (SDH) are demonstrable, important, and insufficiently attended to in policy and practice. A resulting priority for research should be to determine how the social determinants of health can best be addressed. In this paper we support the more effective transfer of social determinants research into policy by: (1) describing a qualitative analysis of thirty-two cancer control policy documents from six English-speaking OECD countries and two transnational organizations, demonstrating great variability in the treatment of social determinants in these policies; (2) critiquing these various policy practices in relation to their likely impact on social determinants of health; and (3) advancing a tool that policy writers can use to assess the way in which social determinants of health have been addressed in their work. In the sample of policy documents, the distinction between structural and intermediate determinants, population-based and targeted interventions, and their respective relationships to equity were not always clear. The authors identified four approaches to social determinants (acknowledging SDH, auditing SDH, stating aims regarding SDH and setting out actions on SDH), and five ways of writing about the relationship between social determinants and cancer risk. These five discourses implied, respectively: that group membership was intrinsically risky; that not enough was known about SDH; that risk arose from choices made by individuals; that groups were constrained by circumstance; or that structural change was necessary. Socio-cultural factors were generally presented negatively, though New Zealand policies modeled a possible alternative. Based on their empirical work, the authors propose a matrix and a set of questions to guide the development and assessment of health policy.

Algal capture of carbon dioxide; biomass generation as a tool for greenhouse gas mitigation with reference to New Zealand energy strategy and policy

The use of algae to capture carbon dioxide as a method for greenhouse gas mitigation is discussed. A small fraction of the sunlight energy that bathes Earth is captured by photosynthesis and drives most living systems. Life on Earth is carbon-based and the energy is used to fix atmospheric carbon dioxide into biological material (biomass), indeed fossil fuels that we consume today are a legacy of mostly algal photosynthesis. Algae can be thought of as marine and freshwater plants that have higher photosynthetic efficiencies than terrestrial plants and are more efficient capturing carbon (Box 1). They have other favourable characteristics for this purpose. In the context of New Zealand energy strategy and policy I discuss progress in growing algae and seaweeds with emphasis on their application for exhaust flue carbon recycling for possible generation of useful biomass. I also introduce schemes utilising wild oceanic algae for carbon dioxide sequestration and the merits and possible adverse effects of using this approach. This paper is designed as an approachable review of the science and technology for policy makers and a summary of the New Zealand policy environment for those wishing to deploy biological carbon sequestration.

Behind the Beehive buzz: Sources of occupational stress for New Zealand policy officials

Described as quintessential knowledge workers and also practitioners of a public service ethic, policy officials generate vital inputs into good government. This article reports on sources of stress identified by 24 policy managers and senior advisers in the New Zealand State Service. Stressors were similar, but also different, to those commonly found in the stress literature. The differences were particularly noticeable in workload demands, which were not only quantitative (too much and urgent work) but also qualitative (technically difficult work), and these combined uniquely with role proliferation and complexity (multi‐tasking), and a policy professional culture in which there was pressure to over‐perform. These features provided both negative and positive stress experiences—the strain and the buzz of performance and occupational well‐being.

Engaging curriculum for the middle years

Abstract This article explores recent addition of Years 7-10 as a distinct learning pathway within The New Zealand Curriculum (Ministry of Education, 2007a) in relation to middle years' historical struggle for recognition. It suggests that this addition presents educationalists with an opportunity to address anew declining engagement of young adolescents by re-envisioning an engaging curriculum for middle years. A brief theoretical framework is offered for understanding importance of fit between learner and schooling. Based on this framework, three essential characteristics of such a curriculum are proposed: relevance, negotiation, and integration. Introduction New Zealand's strong emphasis on quality education has earned country a global reputation for innovation and effectiveness in schooling. This reputation is largely well deserved. New Zealand schools rank consistently high when compared to other countries. Out of 30 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, for example, New Zealand students typically perform within top four in mathematics, science, and reading (Ministry of Education, 2008). At same time, like many other countries, New Zealand struggles to promote these strong academic outcomes for all of its students. Educationalists grapple with country's tail (Education and Science Committee, 2008, p. 5), or disproportionately wide spread of achievement within a school between top and bottom students, combined with a comparatively large number of low achievers. The academic achievement of New Zealand's Maori population, in particular, continues to lag behind that of New Zealand European students: 20 percent of Maori students leave school before their 16th birthday, more than three times rate for non-Maori learners (Education and Science Committee, 2008, p. 20). Both schooling success and a continued effort for further improvement are reflected in careful attention to educational policy. Many of youngest learners benefit from 20 Hours Free Early Childhood Education policy; at other end of spectrum, senior secondary students are target of new policy initiative, Schools Plus, aimed at raising compulsory schooling age from 16 to 18. While these two policies are representative of New Zealand policy makers' long history of attention to education, one schooling group has remained largely invisible in policy context: those in middle. The middle of schooling in New Zealand have been referred to as the forgotten years (Education Review Office, 2003) and as a black box (Dinham & Rowe, 2007). New Zealand's own Educational Review Office (2001) has noted that government policies most often focus on early and senior secondary school, and argued that middle are an equally important stage. Recently, however, middle in New Zealand gained a foothold when revised New Zealand curriculum for first time characterised Years 7-10 as one of five learning pathways. With this recognition comes an opportunity to reconsider what constitutes appropriate and engaging curriculum for young adolescents. Doing so is a vital step in ensuring that attention to middle schooling translates into educational benefits for young adolescents. We begin this article by examining Years 7-10 student-outcome data, which calls for renewed attention to curriculum for this age group. We next provide a theoretical framework for considering middle-years learner in relation to schooling. Based on this framework, we propose three essential characteristics of an engaging middle-years curriculum: relevance, negotiation, and integration. Student outcomes in middle Student achievement The middle are no exception to other of schooling with regard to New Zealand's tail. …

International policy issues regarding solar water heating, with a focus on New Zealand

Like many countries New Zealand is moving towards renewable energy targets and has recently (November 2006) announced a revised solar hot water heating subsidy program that is being implemented through the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA). This paper describes the new program and reviews international policies regarding solar water heating to see which aspects have been effective in gaining an increased penetration of solar systems for water heating. In addition, the factors leading to successful policy implementation and the possible downsides of the 2006 New Zealand policy are discussed with regard to international experience.

Attitudes toward Immigrants, Immigration, and Multiculturalism in New Zealand: A Social Psychological Analysis

The research examines attitudes toward immigrants and immigration policy based on a random sample of 2,020 New Zealand households. The analyses revealed that New Zealanders have positive attitudes toward immigrants and endorse multiculturalism to a greater extent than Australians and EU citizens. In addition, structural equation modeling produced an excellent fit of the data to a social psychological model commencing with multicultural ideology and intercultural contact as exogenous variables, leading, in turn, to diminished perceptions of threat, more positive attitudes toward immigrants, and, finally, support for New Zealand's policies on the number and sources of migrants.

New Zealand’s Experience With Royal Commissions and Commissions of Inquiry

This article looks at New Zealand’s experience with commissions of inquiry in its various forms. The article draws attention to changes to the use made by New Zealand governments of this particular investigative instrument, documenting changes in the frequency and composition of commissions of inquiry from 1909 onwards. The effect of broader changes to the New Zealand policy environment on the use of formal commissions of inquiry is noted, and the article also highlights the availability of options other than commissions of inquiry for governments wishing to see a particular topic made the subject of a special investigation.

Contesting "the Right of Decision": New Zealand, the Commonwealth, and the New Look

The British have done a bad thing stirring up all this trouble about ANZUS. The Australians have maintained that the British did it quite deliberately to bust up our affair—but the Australians always think the worst of the U.K., and we the best. I suppose it's the first time that the U.K. has been in the position (if only theoretically) of being liable to be drawn into a war without previous consultation—we, of course, have been in that position all through our history.1 The future would present some difficulties for New Zealand. It must always be New Zealand's policy to avoid any clash between America and Britain, but it could not be denied that the pull towards America was constantly getting stronger. New Zealand at heart had always been content with a “colonial” position and had readily accepted the leadership of Britain. If New Zealand were to enter the American orbit, she was likely, with equal servitude, to follow America's leadership . . . this would be a great pity, since the only hope of deflecting the United States from some of her extreme policies lay in the influence which America's known allies could exert.2

New Directions in New Zealand's Urban Planning and Research?

This article explores the new directions that have emerged in New Zealand's urban planning and policy since 1999. In particular it looks at some consequences of the move from sustainable management to sustainable development for urban areas. It also identifies and explores constraints that may limit the production of sound research on which to base those new urban planning and policy directions.

Third way

This article explores some features of an international ‘third way’ movement which, in theory and in practice, impacts on centuries-old traditions of communal life and the belief in autonomous agency – traditions which motivate individual participation in society and underpin liberal conceptions of education.The article uncovers some of the hopes and aspirations of third way discourse by examining the work of one of its leading proponents, Anthony Giddens, and reviewing related social policy implementation in the United States, Britain and especially New Zealand. The following are argued as problematic for education: the nature of ‘community’ that underpins commitment to third way values; the way in which individual subjectivity is shaped in response to that community; and the diminishing of the social space in which such changes might be meaningfully critiqued. With a particular focus on New Zealand's policy environment, the article argues that third way is an intensification of neoliberalism under the rhetoric of social democracy, and concludes with a vision of a different kind of third way – not a singular path to a predefined destination, but a journey that embraces difference and antagonism as an essential feature of social life.

Legislative and Policy Regime Governing the Generation of Wind Energy in New Zealand

This article examines closely the legislative and policy regime governing the generation of wind energy in New Zealand. New Zealand's wind energy industry has the highest growth rate worldwide. The country's wind energy development potential is considered to be significant. However, the development of wind farms in New Zealand is not without controversy. New Zealand is a country with magnificent landscapes, a unique flora and fauna, and a precious cultural heritage that might be endangered by uncontrolled wind energy development. Thus, it is the objective of this article to analyse whether and how the benefits and adverse effects of wind power generation can be balanced. The article will focus on the question of whether and how New Zealand law and policy can promote an ecologically compatible utilisation of wind energy, effectively encouraging wind farms and, at the same time, addressing their adverse environmental effects.

Key competencies in the New Zealand curriculum: development through consultation

Abstract The Curriculum/Marautanga Project was launched in 2003 to build on the recommendations of the Curriculum Stocktake Report (Ministry of Education, 2002) in reframing the national curriculum. A key change to the curriculum is the proposed replacement of the essential with key competency groups. The process of co-construction, through various forms of contribution, has led to the development of a framework of five key competency groups. This article (1) reflects upon those contributions and traces movements in thinking around the concept, construction, and inclusion of key competencies in the New Zealand Curriculum Project. Key themes of exploration include the of key competencies, the definitions it encompasses, and the theories of learning, teaching, and curriculum it implies. Questions about the place of key competencies within the New Zealand curriculum in relation to the essential learning, areas and defining and naming a key competency framework relevant to New Zealand are also explored. Introduction In 2003 Cabinet agreed to the Ministry of Education undertaking redevelopment of the curriculum to focus on high-quality teaching and empowering schools to meet the needs of all students. While the Curriculum Stocktake Report (Ministry of Education, 2002) concluded that the New Zealand Curriculum Framework and Te Anga Marautanga o Aotearoa are coherent, sound statements, it recommended modifications to ensure a clearer focus on high expectations for all students and more flexibility for teachers and schools to help students achieve these expectations. Believing that revised curriculum policy is not sufficient in itself, the Ministry decided to take a co-constructive approach to the Curriculum Project. The Ministry sought engagement with the sector in the redevelopment of the curriculum by consulting with teachers, principals, advisers, lecturers, and students, both face to face and through an online discussion forum. The Ministry also sought a range of position papers and discussion documents based on current theory and international research. This article is based on the feedback provided by those processes. The Maori medium strand of the Curriculum Project is entitled Te Alga Marautanga o Aotearoa. This project follows the same goals and premise as the Curriculum Project. Perspectives relevant to Maori medium curriculum, including issues surrounding essential skills, values, and attitudes, have been sought through concept papers still due for submission. These perspectives have not been included in this article. A definition of competencies In 2004 the Ministry commissioned a background paper to consider the implications of the OECD Defining and Selecting Key Competencies (DeSeCo) project for the New Zealand curriculum. The paper (Brewerton, 2014a) takes the DeSeCo definition of competencies as representative of the international scene and shows an acceptance of the work of the OECD as it is based on extensive and robust cross-disciplinary research and international debate. As the OECD framework may be used as the basis for international assessments such as PISA (2) and ALL, (3) alignment with their work would make these international assessments more directly useful for evaluating the effectiveness of New Zealand policy and practice. The OECD framework has also been adopted as a starting point by New Zealand's tertiary education policy developers for their work on key competencies. (4) A brief explanation of the competencies model is given in Figure 1. Figure 1 The competencies model * Competencies are integrated, holistic, and complex: they include the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values needed to meet the demands of a task. * Competencies are not synonymous with skills and are a concept fuller than abilities. * Competencies are performance based and inferred from the action, behaviours, and choices of an individual in a particular context. …

NEW ZEALAND POLICIES ON ENERGY CONSERVATION, WASTE MINIMISATION, KYOTO/CLIMATE CHANGE, AND SUSTAINABILITY – WATER INDUSTRY CHALLENGES AND RESPONSES

NEW ZEALAND POLICIES ON ENERGY CONSERVATION, WASTE MINIMISATION, KYOTO/CLIMATE CHANGE, AND SUSTAINABILITY – WATER INDUSTRY CHALLENGES AND RESPONSES

Remaking New Zealand and Australian Economic Policy: Ideas, Institutions and Policy Communities. Shaun Goldfinch

<i>Remaking New Zealand and Australian Economic Policy: Ideas, Institutions and Policy Communities</i>. Shaun Goldfinch

The Forecasting and Policy System: Preparing Economic Projections

This paper outlines how the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's Forecasting and Policy System (FPS) is used to prepare the quarterly economic projections. In addition to a very brief overview of the system, the paper focuses on four key issues. First, the current methodology for incorporating a time-varying equilibrium path for the economy is presented. Second, the process for building up the central scenario through the application of judgement is outlined. Third, the use of alternative scenarios for testing the implications of key assumptions embodied in the central scenario is discussed. Finally, the technique employed to examine the implications that unforseen shocks have for the projections is discussed.

Revitalising Local Economic Development‐New Zealand Policy and Practice

ABSTRACTIn common with many other advanced capitalist nations, the rolling back of the state in New Zealand has seen a decline in direct state intervention in heal and regional economies. Yet since 2000 the current Labour Coalition Government has sought to promote a renaissance in economic development at local and regional scales. A survey of New Zealand territorial local authorities indicates involvement in heal economic development (LED) is a recent phenomenon involving facilitation of outside agencies which is orientated toward tourist, advisory and promotional activities. The implications of these findings for future research in an environment of ‘revitalised’ policy and practice in the New Zealand context is explored.

Posthumous reproduction: a consideration of the medical, ethical, cultural, psychosocial and legal perspectives in the New Zealand context.

This paper describes the development of New Zealand policy on posthumous reproduction in assisted human reproduction. It outlines five perspectives: medical, ethical, cultural, psychosocial and legal and shows the multidisciplinary approach taken by the National Ethics Committee. It is argued that each of these perspectives has important contributions to make to the multidisciplinary approach. The guidelines determined by the Committee are outlined, along with the processes used in arriving at these.