The Tomorrow’s Schools Taskforce consultation: What was that all about? Martin Thrupp
Professor of Education at the University of Waikato
The public meetings and submissions are over, the What could have caused these problems in the report and interviews and blogs and opinion pieces have all but ceased, consultation? Perhaps the reforming zeal of some Taskforce and we await the updated version from the Tomorrow’s Schools members came to dominate their more critical, astute side. Taskforce and the Government’s response. The Taskforce has now Perhaps they got too caught up in the detail they were creating. been given until the end of June to report back. But as someone Perhaps wider Government expectations around the review outside the process, some aspects of the report and consultation and its timeframe led almost inevitably to the approach we still leave me baffled. saw. Perhaps senior policymakers were not very realistic either. First, I can’t understand why the Taskforce brought a report Perhaps some of those policymakers were quietly unconvinced to educators and the public that almost offered a blueprint for about what the Taskforce could achieve anyway. I expect insider the new arrangements, instead of accounts will come out eventually. just seeking agreement around the In the circumstances – asking key concerns and some possible for feedback on a big report that In an opinion piece on ways forward, and then going was too detailed/not detailed Education Central, Peter Lyons off to do more work. There was enough, as well as strongly far too much to grapple with in redistributive – holding public has written: ‘The inference the report, and digging into the meetings across the country was detail often just begged further of dubious value. But that was of the proposed reforms questions. It’s a bit like employing what the process required, and is that there needs to be a an architect to design a new house led by Bali Haque the Taskforce and having them come back to did it with admirable enthusiasm rebalancing. There certainly you at the first meeting not just and dignity when there was with concept plans but having does. But if this rebalancing so much to cover and so little done much of the detailed work time. In a wonderful account is a zero sum game at cost to as well. To make matters worse, of one consultation meeting in this case the house plans were in Kerikeri, the Herald’s David current winner schools, this will not to be questioned! Bali Haque Fisher described the Taskforce as remained adamant that the hub a ‘rocketship-on-rails’: ‘Having only invite conflict, dissent and idea would only work if all schools listed his Five Great Truths, stonewalling’. were included. Haque is off and painting a picture Second, I am puzzled as to why with words of a new system of the Taskforce sought feedback on recommendations that were schooling’. naïve in a ‘Turkeys don’t vote for Christmas’ sort of way. The It was predictable that the Taskforce would strike some central thrust of the report was redistributive, so why would it resistance and actually it was lucky not to have struck more. But get much support from schools and communities in better-off there were so many distractions: the death of Grace Millane, areas? As I told one journalist, New Zealanders might well be Christmas holidays and a long, hot summer, Nelson’s fires, concerned about poverty and inequality, but most of us seem to the mosque massacres in Christchurch, the Capital Gains Tax be able to live with it if we are personally doing OK. Given the debate, getting the new school year underway, and of course the tenor of my previous work it might seem two-faced of me not continuing campaign for teacher pay and conditions. Within to be more enthusiastic about the possibilities for levelling the the education sector we saw almost full agreement with the playing field. But there’s a big difference between highlighting recommendations by some, strong disagreement from others, the inequalities in our education system and suddenly expecting but both primary and secondary sector organisations kept their everyone to play by fairer rules. I’ve always recognised that many critique fairly restrained. Why open up strong criticisms when parents are not looking for an equal education for all children, you agree with much of the Taskforce’s underlying analysis and they want an advantaged education for their own child. In have been somewhat ‘within the tent’ through the cross-sector various ways, principals and teachers often get caught up in this advisory panel anyway? Besides, that group of mainly Auckland aspiration as well. principals was providing more than enough ‘feedback’ on the
recommendations they didn’t like. What will happen now? I think the Taskforce will be unswayed by the arguments of its most vocal critics but may be forced to capitulate significantly. Or it might present final recommendations that are not so different. How the Government will respond I don’t believe anyone can say for sure. The shelving of Capital Gains Tax, another redistributive policy, seems to show that this Government is unwilling to endanger its electionnight chances by bringing in controversial reforms. But it is also possible that having thrown out CGT the Government may be keen to proceed with initiatives like this one in order to demonstrate that it still does have a reform agenda. Whether or not the Tomorrow’s Schools Taskforce proposals will be regarded as ‘too controversial’ is also hard to say. Reform along the lines of the Taskforce proposal will undoubtedly be strongly contested within the sector but parents (apart from Board members) and the wider public didn’t get very involved in the consultation debates if the meetings were anything to go by. A judgement about whether, and to what extent, parents would become antagonised by changes if the proposals go ahead will probably be a big part of deciding how to proceed. In an opinion piece on Education Central, Peter Lyons has written: ‘The inference of the proposed reforms is that there needs to be a rebalancing. There certainly does. But if this rebalancing is a zero sum game at cost to current winner schools, this will only invite conflict, dissent and stonewalling’. I agree with him and that’s why I support a voluntary approach to hubs
as the path of less resistance. Although the Taskforce believe this approach would fail to address many concerns that need to be addressed system-wide, for me the more important question is whether voluntary hubs could still improve the support available to many schools and therefore reduce inequalities between schools in that way. In the end it begs the question: are grand symbolic reform programmes in education really worth it or would the Government have been better off putting its energies into numerous small but significant changes to the existing school system? As the previous Government demonstrated, a smallsteps approach has the advantage of not winding people up so much, and of not giving your opponents a platform either. Regardless of whether or not you supported the recommendations, two good things have come out of the Tomorrow’s Schools Taskforce consultation. In trying to think about the report and the debates around it, we have had to reflect on our own personal hopes and dreams for the school system and how best to match those up with today’s realities. Another legacy the Taskforce leaves us with is a great resource for characterising our current school system and its strengths and weaknesses. These contributions alone will have been very helpful.
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