Public education at the dawn of the new millennium: the New Zealand experiment

McGill Journal of Education, Spring 1999 by Hache, Denis

The New Zealand experiment forces us to reflect on our own Canadian experience with educational reforms. Most Canadian Provinces have borrowed pieces and components of the corporate model in their recent attempts to reform the system. However, the question remains how far our provincial governments are willing to go to satisfy corporate demands and, at the same time, protect citizen rights and public good. Major corporations and the media are mighty adversaries in the political arena and one has to wonder if our governments are willing to do, and capable of doing, what they were elected for. Not many Canadians will argue against the need for major changes in our educational system except a few teachers' unions which have hijacked public education for their own benefits. However, joining the posse created by media and the corporate lobby against public education would be suicidal for the future of our democracy and would open the door for consumerist brainwashing in an educational system mostly controlled by corporate values, where education is not viewed as a public good but as a market commodity. These are the enjeux of the next millennium.

Acknowledgement

The author would like to acknowledge the participation of government officials, professional associations and union representatives, university and college professors/administrators, trustees, principals, teachers, parents and representatives of the Maori people who so graciously and openly participated in the interview process.

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