The Governance of Curriculum

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The Governance of Curriculum the Plight of
Maori
Edmund Husserl
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Abstract

• Possibly the most critical interface between
  indigenous peoples and western culture is
  democratic practice. In state-funded education,
  Maori are involved in democratic processes which
  determine the content of the curriculum and the
  resources available for schooling. These
  processes are pervasive influences on Maori
  children. Democracy holds an inherent
  disadvantage for minorities. To overcome
  democracy as a barrier to the reification of
  indigenous culture it is first necessary to
  understand the nature of democracy itself.
  Husserl's phenomenological method enables us to
  discern the inner nature of democracy, which is a
  method of decision-making with surprising
  features. This paper sets out the some of the
  phenomenological characteristics of democracy and
  suggests their relevance in the governance of
  curriculum and educational resources.

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Today
Preliminaries Method of enquiry An
enquiry Principal finding Implications for
education Implications for Maori
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Today
Preliminaries schools government Method of
enquiry - phenomenology An enquiry a search
for essence in UK,USA, NZ Principal finding
phenomena of the vote Implications for
education Implications for Maori
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Preliminaries

• New Zealand schools are part of a system of
• local government.
• Leading characteristic of the system is
• central control with local delivery.
• The most important determinant of what occurs is
  the relative influence of central and local
  actors.
• This shows in
• Resource allocation
• Curriculum
• Political actions
• Decision-making mechanisms
• Development projects
• Research
• .

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Models of local government
Prisons Courts Schools Hospitals Armed
forces Auckland Super City District city
councils Universities
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Perspectives
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Perspectives
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Local government(including education)

• Described through purposes
• Functions
• Structures (infra-structure)
• Products (includes trained innovative workers)
• Services
• Roles
• Rewards achievements
• Research
• Funded by the system
• To improve policy practice

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My search for another method

• Abhor the incremental
• See differently
• Not to explain, nor to fix
• Abandon fond hopes

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Phenomenology as method

• Edmund Husserl (1859-1938)
• 1907 Lectures The Idea of a Phenomenology
• Ideas General Introduction to Phenomenology
• Teach yourself to see
• The lived world
• Intentionality
• Making sense
• Bracketing (reduction)
• Essences
• Experience of truth

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Phenomenology as method

• Letting yourself be with phenomena
• Be with local government
• Follow your feet
• Let it dawn upon you

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The essence of local government

• The phenomena of the vote
• Found as the event/practice
• Not services
• facilities
• political theory
• buildings
• individuals

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Characteristics of the vote
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Characteristics of the vote

• Decision-making mechanism
• Compare it with other such mechanisms
• Vast majority of decisions are in committees
• Does not require rationality - mechanical
• Imperative is to make a decision - any decision
• Resolves incommensurable choice
• Communal not individual
• Operative decisions are
• second decisions

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The power of the voteSchools

• Deliver resources to the front line
• Central decision-making
• Vote under control in Parliament
• Weakening of regional decision-making
• Interim Professional Standards
• Professional standards describe the important
  knowledge, skills and attitudes that all
  principals, deputy/assistant principals and
  teachers are expected to demonstrate.
  Professional standards will form part of
  performance management systems in schools. The
  introduction of professional standards is part of
  the Government's strategy for developing and
  maintaining the quality of teaching and
  leadership, and improving learning outcomes for
  students. The professional standards reflect
  Government's interest in ensuring that students
  have opportunities to learn from high quality
  professional teachers and that schools are led
  and managed by high quality professionals.
• C.E. Beeby The Quality of Education in Developing
  Countries, 1966
• Hypothesis of educational stages

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The growth of the primary school systems
Stage Teachers Characteristics
I Dame School Ill-educated Untrained Unorganised, relatively meaningless symbols, ...
II Formalism Ill-educated Trained Highly organised, rigid syllabus, emphasis on 3 Rs, rigid methods, one-way is best, external examinations, inspection stressed, discipline tight and external ...
III Transition Better-educated Trained Roughly the same goals as II, but more efficiently achieved, more emphasis on meaning, but still rather thin and formal, little in classroom to cater for the emotional and creative life of the child.
IV Meaning Well-educated Well-trained Meaning understanding stressed, wider curriculum, individual differences catered for, internal tests ...
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The power of the voteAuckland local government
reforms

• Central initiative
• Auckland must deliver for the nation
• Need to strengthen the relationship with
  Wellington
• Directs resources at worthwhile goals
• Alignment of human effort
• Efficiency
• Modern technology
• Local government is about
• the delivery of services

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Maori the vote
Local government experience History of local
government in New Zealand Municipal Act
1860s Maori structures as local government Why
was the mechanism of the vote introduced? Maori
decision-making practices kaupapa Maori in
education and elsewhere You cannot be Maori
adopt democracy
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Maori the vote
Local government experience History of local
government in New Zealand Municipal Act
1860s Maori structures as local government Why
was the mechanism of the vote introduced? Maori
decision-making practices kaupapa Maori in
education and elsewhere You cannot be Maori
adopt democracy
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Pita Sharples

• It seems that these Maori principles that
  guaranteed that Auckland could survive and grow,
  would be far more important, even in today's
  times, than artificial political concoctions such
  as one vote for one person, or democratic
  elections which were the principles that were
  cited to decline the two seats on the super-city
  council. The Maori kaupapa were principles that
  promoted equity' and inclusiveness, surely the
  ideals of a civilised society. We must begin to
  recognise that democracy has many expressions,
  many ways of mobilising voices and
  representation, rather than statically holding
  onto dominant axioms.

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Research programme

• Decision-making mechanisms
• Concept of democracy
• Decision-making by iwi
• Decision-making in local government
• Policy and legislative change