Lower decile schools lag in many crucial areas

Students and teachers in high-decile and state-integrated schools are generally better off than their counterparts in low-decile schools, according to a national secondary school survey.

The survey, released by the New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER), is the first systematic survey of its type in more than a decade, and looks at a wide range of issues including funding, resourcing, governance, staffing and staff morale.

Senior researcher Rosemary Hipkins said a key finding of the survey, which was carried out last year, was the very different learning experiences for students in schools of different deciles.

"Students and teachers in high-decile and state-integrated schools generally have access to better resources, and are better funded.

"Parents of students in these schools are likely to spend more on their children's education, including after-school activities and tuition, and to be in better touch with teachers and trustees at the school.

"By contrast parents of students in low-decile schools are more likely to want more challenging learning for their children. Some parents mentioned they had not been able to send their children to their school of first choice, especially in urban areas where many larger schools have established enrolment schemes."

Ms Hipkins said most schools, and especially lower-decile schools, experienced difficulty attracting suitably qualified teachers and relieving teachers, particularly in the core curriculum subjects.

The study showed a consensus among principals, teachers, trustees, and parents that funding was one of the key issues facing boards and schools, with most schools employing and funding teaching staff in addition to their staffing entitlement.

"While many schools struggle to make ends meet ... the highest contribution to locally raised funds for larger high-decile schools is from international students," said Ms Hipkins.

Other key findings of the survey:

* Principals' work an average 67 hour week and morale is generally high.

* Teachers' morale is generally lower than that of principals - they work an average 17 extra hours per week above their class-contact time.

* Ease of student access to computers is seen as a barrier to the use of ICT for learning but teachers also need more time to build their confidence and skill levels.

* Parents are generally satisfied with their children's education. Areas in which they would like more information included their children's progress and achievement, assessment including the NCEA, and school planning.

* Direct parental involvement in school activities was generally low due to work commitments, and involvement was usually in one-off activities such as school trips.

* Most schools have an established process for school self-review.

Field-work for the survey was carried out in mid-2003 with 95 principals from a range of school types and deciles, 744 teachers from a range of curriculum subjects, 180 school trustees and 503 parents of students in some of the sample schools responding to comprehensive questionnaires.

NZCER has been monitoring the impact of evolution of education reforms in primary and early childhood education centres regularly since 1989.

The primary school report from this national survey series is due for release in the first quarter of 2005, and the early childhood education findings are due for publication release in term two.

Post Primary Teachers Association president Phil Smith said the survey provided clear evidence of the need to address the growing divide between the haves and the have-nots in secondary education. Mr Smith said the survey showed that decile-one and decile-10 schools were worlds apart.

"Decile-10 schools have a decided advantage because of the socio-economic status of the parents of the students who attend them. They have better resources, parents are more likely to be involved and students are likely to have better opportunities to learn because behaviour and discipline issues are less likely to be distractions.

"On the contrary, lower-decile schools struggle to attract suitably qualified staff, parents are less likely to be involved and the schools have higher numbers of transient and boomerang students, which can impact on learning."

Mr Smith said that although all schools struggled to make ends meet financially, high-decile schools were more likely to be able to raise funds from international student fees, donations, grants and sponsorship to make up for shortfalls.

"Clearly the Government has an obligation to ensure that low-decile schools are schools that parents and teachers can have confidence in. This survey shows that the Government is not putting enough money into lower-decile schools to make them schools of choice."

Mr Smith said PPTA wanted the Government to review how schools were funded and among its proposals was that the Ministry of Education undertake an independent investigation into the true funding needs of schools, establish a "Red Tape" commission to reduce compliance costs and develop a needs-based index on which to base Government grants.

"A review must address not only the extra costs that schools have had to cope with in the last few years but also the gap between the education that the 'have' schools can provide and what the 'have not' schools can provide."

Mr Smith said the survey's findings on teacher morale reflected one of the worst aspects of Tomorrow's Schools - managerialism, and the tendency to exclude teachers from significant professional involvement in school decision-making.

"It is hardly surprising that teachers who are involved in school decision-making are more positive than those who are not."

- NZPA