Parity for All: Aspiration and expectation in New Zealand

Dr Airini

A seminar co-sponsored by the Department of Education Studies and the Centre for Policy Studies in Higher Education and Training, The University of British Columbia20th September 2012

“ The Tertiary Education Commission expects Tertiary Education Organisations to:

• ensure that Māori and Pacific students participate and achieve at all levels at least on a par with other learners.”

(TEC Plan Guidance for 2013.

http://www.tec.govt.nz/Funding/investment-plans/Plan-guidance-for-2013/)

“During 2013 to 2015, New Zealand’s tertiary education system needs to make a bigger contribution to New Zealand’s economic growth, and it needs to do it within current levels of government investment.

This means focusing on outcomes and raising performance – especially for Māori and Pacific learners, where the biggest gains are to be made.”

Parity through ‘Hard wired’ targets

Presentation summary

• Why have parity targets?• Approach underpinning the targets• Issues and intentions• Monitoring progress on the targets• Discussion: When can parity be a reasonable

expectation?

Parity targets amidst global trends in tertiary education

• Growing importance of the knowledge society/economy

• Trade in education services• Education is increasingly viewed as a major

engine of economic development, and a private good.

• Inequality, access and success

New Zealand

Aoteraoa New Zealand

Pasifika New Zealand

New Zealand: Tertiary Education Strategy

“The Government’s vision is for a world-leading education system that equips all New Zealanders with the knowledge, skills and values to be successful citizens in the 21st century.

A world-leading education system is an important first step towards a productive and growing economy that delivers greater prosperity, security and opportunity for all New Zealanders.”

Tertiary Education Strategy 2010-2015

Tertiary Education Strategy: Māori

Vision: Enable Māori to enjoy education success as Māori• A unique place as tangata whenua and partners to the

Treaty of Waitangi. • Tertiary education has a particular responsibility to

maintain and develop Māori language and culture to support Māori living as Māori in both Te Ao Mäori and in wider society.

• Māori business and development are making a major contribution to New Zealand’s economy and society.

• Acknowledging and advancing Māori language, culture and identity is important in providing a basis for Māori success in all forms of education.

• One in five tertiary students is Māori.

Tertiary Education Strategy 2010-2015

ACHIEVING PRIORITIES BY 2015

• target priority groups

- increasing the number of Māori students enjoying success at higher levels- increasing the number of Pasifika students achieving at higher levels

• improve system performance• support high-quality research that helps to drive innovation.

How the New Zealand tertiary system makes change

Parity: Recent history

2011: Ka Hikitia – Managing for Success: The Māori Education Plan 2008-2012 mid-term review: Implementation of the Māori education strategy was progressing too slowly.

The Pasifika Education Plan 2009-2012: Some improvement but gap between Pasifika and non-Pasifika remains and is expanding in some cases. Cabinet-agreed actions.

2012:TEC Board: Progress made for Māori and Pasifika, but providers tend to set conservative targets in their Investment Plans, and educational outcome disparities have remained the same or widened relative to non-Māori and non-Pasifika.

Parity: Expectation

2012:

“TEC expects tertiary education organisations to ensure that Maori and Pacific learners participate and achieve at all levels at least on a par with other learners”

Māori. Pasifika.

• Underlying reasons why Māori and Pasifika do not participate or achieve in tertiary education at the same rate as Other people has been the focus of research over some time.

• There is little information on whether Māori and Pasifika outcomes are affected by the same factors or in the same way.

• There are key differences between the two populations.• The parity investment approach is about system performance.

Parity: Reasonable benchmarks

• A range of possible benchmarks:o 15-64 yr pop (2006 Census)o 15-39 yr pop (2006 Census)o 15-24 yr pop (2006 Census)o School leavers (2010)o School leavers with no attainment (2010)o School leavers with at least NCEA Level 2 (2010)o School leavers with UE (2010)

• The year for which the targets should be set• Targets for Wananga• Targets for PTEs• Increasing the stretch for universities

Parity: Focus of targets

It became clear from the analysis of participation and achievement that the main focus of the targets should be on parity of achievement, as this is clearly an area where disparity exists and has not improved markedly.

•Māori are currently either on par or over-represented, in terms of participation, in all sub-sectors except universities

•Pasifika participation is currently on par or above-par compared to population benchmarks for all sub-sectors except universities, under-represented particularly at Level 8+ in Universities, and the proportion of ITO trainees at Level 4+ is also under-par.

•A comparison of completion rates for both courses and qualifications shows that Māori and Pasifika are consistently under-achieving across all sectors and broad groupings of level.

Achievement

Example: University sector

Examples of options considered for participation targets for Universities

The % of EFTS that are provided by each university to Māori/Pasifika learners should be at least on par with the:

• Option 1: % of national 15-39 population who are Māori/Pasifika by 2018• Option 2: % of 15-39 population within the University’s region who are

Māori/Pasifika by 2018

Target chosen (option 5)• For the university sector• For Māori and Pasifika• The % of EFTS provided by the university sub-sector should be at least on par

with the % of national 15-39 population who are Māori/Pasifika• At Level 1-7, Level 8+ and for All EFTS• By 2018

Example: University sectorQualification completion

Hard wired targets for parity: University

• Not set at a provider level as with ITPs.

• Set at the sub-sector level.

• The University sub-sector as a whole will achieve the participation targets of at least 16.8% for Māori and 8.2% for Pasifika by 2018.

• Course and qualification completion rates to be at least on par with other learners in that university, at all levels, by 2018.

Monitoring the targets

• Separate monitoring and reporting approach is required.• Tracking tool to monitor progress toward the targets, using the latest available

published provision data has been developed:

o trend data as well as the targetso to provide longer term perspectiveo as new data becomes available through the SDR each year the tracking tool

can be updated and progress toward the targets reviewedo separate reports on Māori and Pasifika participation and achievemento how providers are tracking to parityo narrative on provider approaches and practices which appear most effective

and how they relate to change in participation and achievement.

Expectations and consequences

For performance that is exceeding expectations:• fewer terms and conditions• funding paid in advance• less frequent monitoring• eligibility for future funding.

For under-performance:• increased frequency of contact / monitoring / engagement •with the TEO•a significant amendment to the TEO’s Plan• set conditions on funding approved for future Plans• suspend funding• revoke funding• funding recovery• consider the TEO’s past performance in future funding allocations (including any discretionary funding for which the TEO may apply).

Presentation

• Why have parity targets?• Approach underpinning the targets• Issues and intentions• Monitoring progress on the targets• Discussion:• ‘Parity’• Pasifika perspectives• When can parity be a reasonable expectation ?

‘Parity’

“It is the expectation of TEC that every tertiary education organisation will ensure that Maori and Pasifika learners participate and achieve at all levels at least on par with other learners”

• The targets cannot be a static number over time, delivery on parity targets

• Parity and the remaining need to address equality, equity, power

- Scott Metcalfe et al. (2007). “…a number of planning paradoxes.”

• Conceptual issues in fusing parity, equality and equity

- The dominance of an aggregated, system-wide approach - Interrogate whose interests are served by the funding

arrangements in education- Assert the interests of the least advantaged.

• Parity in tertiary education is parity in isolation- Locate the tertiary education challenge within the broader

context of Maori and Pasifika economic and social development in New Zealand, and integrate education reform with other essential policy measures.

‘Parity’

“It is the expectation of TEC that every tertiary education organisation will ensure that Maori and Pasifika learners participate and achieve at all levels at least on par with other learners”

• The targets cannot be a static number over time

• Delivery on parity targets

• Parity and the remaining need to address equality, equity, power

• Change in the tertiary sector is dependent on change in schools

Parity: School performance affects tertiary performance

‘Parity’

“It is the expectation of TEC that every tertiary education organisation will ensure that Maori and Pasifika learners participate and achieve at all levels at least on par with other learners”

• The targets cannot be a static number over time

• Delivery on parity targets

• Parity and the remaining need to address equality, identity, power

• Change in the tertiary sector is dependent on change in schools

• Parity to whose ends? Pasifika perspectives

Parity, Pasifika and success

Parity, Pasifika and success

Parity, Pasifika and success

• Successful transitions• Continued & accelerated

performance for Pasifika at all levels• Contributing to interagency

collaboration• Using research & evidence more

effectively

‘Parity’

“It is the expectation of TEC that every tertiary education organisation will ensure that Maori and Pasifika learners participate and achieve at all levels at least on par with other learners”

• The targets cannot be a static number over time

• Delivery on parity targets

• Parity and the remaining need to address equality, identity, power

• Change in the tertiary sector is dependent on change in schools

• Parity to whose ends? Pasifika perspectives

• When can parity be a reasonable expectation ?

When can parity be a reasonable expectation ?

• A rationale based on strategic alignment, economics, and system performance

• Responding to performance patterns to-date• An approach informed by evidence and analysis• Targets that are reasonable, fair, simple• Shaped by internal engagement and external engagement• Tracked through monitoring and a consequences framework• In an environment of willingness

Presentation summary

• Why have parity targets?• Approach underpinning the targets• Issues and intentions• Monitoring progress on the targets• Discussion: When can parity be a reasonable

expectation?

Acknowledgements

• Tertiary Education Commission- Frannie Aston, Helen Lomax, Lisale Falema, Annabel Lee and

Anne Broadbent- TEC Pasifika Tertiary Working Group

- Sina Aiolupotea-Aiono, Linda Aumua, Malakai Koloamatangi, John Kotoisuva, Jannitta Pilisi, Analiese Robertson, and Pale Sauni

• Faculty of Education, The University of British Columbia- Department of Educational Studies- Centre for Policy Studies in Higher Education and Training

Thank you. Kia ora. Fa’afetai tele lava.