Complex Education Policy for Complex Times?

Abstract

Any glance at education in New Zealand right now reveals a multitude of issues. In the schooling sector the declining rates of literacy and numeracy have been in the news, following a 2020 UNICEF report which found that only 64.6% of Aotearoa New Zealand 15-year-olds had basic proficiency in reading and maths (Hood and Hughson, 2022). Covid-19 has had a negative impact on students’ wellbeing and also contributed to significant declines in learning, especially for lower decile schools and children in Auckland (Education Review Office, 2021). While students’ wellbeing has improved somewhat in 2023, the loss of learning is still significant, with more than half of principals reporting concerns with writing, and growing behavioural issues and inequalities in student achievement (Education Review Office, 2023).