Overview of the New Zealand Education System

　　新西蘭教育體系綜述

　　An overview of New Zealand (or Aotearoa, the Maori name for New Zealand – meaning land of the long white cloud) is situated in the South Pacific Ocean 2,000 kilometres South-East of Australia. It has a total land area of 269,000 square kilometres (3/4 the size of Japan). The capital is Wellington and the largest city is Auckland. The population is 4 million, with 4/5 of European ethnicity, 1 in 7 Maori (the tangata whenua or indigenous people), 1 in 15 Asian and 1 in 16 of Pacific Island origin. New Zealand is an increasingly multicultural society.

　　新西蘭在毛利語中有“白云之鄉“的美稱，她位于南太平洋與同在南半球的澳大利亞相隔2000公里。地域面積約為269，000平方公里（相當于日本國土面積的3/4）。首都是惠靈頓，奧克蘭是全國最大的城市。 新西蘭約有4百萬人口，其中4/5為歐洲后裔，1/7為毛利人，亞洲人約占1/15，其他太平洋島國人口約占1/16。 新西蘭已經逐漸成為多元文化交融的國家。

　　Introduction

　　簡介

　　Education is increasingly international in character driven by trends which include the Information Communications Technology revolution, employment markets transcending national borders and a geographically mobile population of students, teaching staff and researchers.

　　In this fast-changing environment, policy-makers, teachers, students and employers in all countries need access to relevant and up-to-date information about each other’s education and qualification systems.

　　在通訊技術的變革，逐漸消除國家界限的雇傭市場和地域流動性越來越大的學生，教師和研究人員等多方面力量的推動下，教育變得越來越國際化。

　　許多決策者，教職員工和學生都必須了解和不斷更新對其他國家教育體系的了解，以適應不斷發展變化的環境。

　　Central Agencies and Providers – A Devolved System

　　中央機構和 – 完善的管理體系

　　New Zealand education has moved from a centralised structure to one in which individual schools and tertiary institutions have considerable responsibility for their own governance and management, working within the framework of guidelines, requirements and funding arrangements set by central government and administered through its agencies.

　　新西蘭教育體制已經由從前的中央集權的管理模式轉變為由學校和高等教育學院各負其責進行管理，但是必須遵守由中央政府和其下屬機構所設立的法律法規及基金分配等諸項要求。

　　The Ministry of Education, established under the Education Act 1989 carries out the following function:

　　· Provides education policy advice to the Minister of Education and the Government;

　　· Allocates funding to schools and early childhood providers;

　　· Oversees the implemtation of approved education policies;

　　· Collects and processes education statistics and information;

　　· Monitors the effectiveness of the education supplier as a whole.

　　根據1989年教育法案要求而建立的教育部主要承擔以下職責：

　　· 為教育部長和政府提供教育政策建議和咨詢

　　· 為學校和幼兒教育機構合理分配基金

　　· 保障教育政策在海外的實施

　　· 收集匯總教育領域的相關信息

　　· 監管整體教育工作開展的效力

　　Separate education agencies have national responsibilities for qualifications and quality assurance.

　　各個教育代理機構在全國范圍內對教育質量和學歷文憑進行質量監控。

　　Administrative authority for most education service provision is devolved away from central government to the educational institutions which are governed (in the public sector) by individual boards (schools) or councils (ITP’s), members of which are elected or appointed.

　　絕大部分提供教育服務的管轄權已經從中央政府移交給各教育院校，這些院校通常受校董會，理事會（行業培訓組織的）或者通過選舉或者任命推選出得成員的管理。

　　The Tertiary Education Commissions’ (TEC) key role is to oversee the implementation of the Tertiary Education strategy and associated set of priorities.

　　高等教育委員會的職責是監管高等教育政策及舉措在海外的實施工作。

　　TEC takes an active role in facilitating collaboration and cooperation in the tertiary education system and a greater system connectedness to wider New Zealand businesses, communities, iwi (tribes) and enterprises is emerging.

　　新西蘭高教委在促進高等教育與商業，社區，種族以及企業之間的溝通和合作方面一直扮演著非常積極的角色。

　　It is also responsible for funding all post-compulsory education and training offered by universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, wananga (public tertiary institutions that provide programmes with an emphasis on Maori tradition and customs), private training establishments, foundation education agencies, industry training organisations and adult and community education providers.

　　新西蘭的大學，技術學院，教育學院，毛利傳統教育學院，私立培訓機構，教育基金，行業培訓組織和成人及社區教育機構為社會提供義務教育之后的各項教育服務，高教委也必須對此類教育教學工作給予扶持。

　　Education in New Zealand

　　新西蘭的教育

　　The New Zealand Education System is based on several guiding principles including; culturally appropriate early childhood services; primary and secondary education that is free for New Zealand citizens and permanent residents, equitable and affordable access to tertiary education and quality assured and portable education qualifications.

　　新西蘭的教育體系建立在以下幾個主要監管原則的基礎上，它們包括：文化包容性強的幼兒早期教育， 給予新西蘭公民和永久居民的免費初級和中級義務教育，平等的高等教育機會以及高質量的學歷文憑。

　　The provision of flexible pathways for study is also an important feature – for example students are not streamed or channelled through particular types of school from which future study options are determined.

　　靈活實用的學習途徑也是新西蘭教育的一個重要特點，例如學生可以以專業興趣為出發點選擇適合的橋梁課程為正式專業學習打基礎，這樣的學習方式可以保證學生不被分流。

　　Although there is diversity in the forms of institutions through which education is provided, national policies and quality assurance provide continuity and consistency across the system.

　　盡管根據所提供的教育類型，教育機構往往在形式上呈現多元化，但是國家的教育政策和對教育質量的監管保證了整個教育的高水平和延續性。

　　Early Childhood Education

　　早期幼兒教育

　　A wide range of services is provided which care for young children and infants from birth to 6 years of age.

　　新西蘭為從出生到6歲的兒童提供廣泛的教育和養護服務。

　　Primary and Secondary School Education

　　初級和中級教育

　　Schooling is available to children from age 5 and is compulsory from ages 6 to 16. In 2004 average teacher student classroom ratios ranged from 1:19 to 1:24.

　　The New Zealand School year usually runs from the end of January to mid-December and is divided into 4 terms. Both single sex and co-educational schooling options are available and state (public) schools are secular.

　　在新西蘭孩子5歲之后就可以進入學校接受教育，6歲到16歲是法定接受義務教育的年齡。2004年的統計表明教師，學生和教室的平均比率是1：19 到1：24。從1月底到12月中旬被分成四個學期。另外學生和家長可以根據自己的意愿選擇單一性別的學校（男校或者女校）也可以選擇男女混校。

　　Most schools are English language medium, but some schools teach in the Maori medium.

　　絕大部分學校采用英語授課，個別學校也會采用毛利語教學。

　　Tertiary Education

　　高等教育

　　The term ‘tertiary education’ in New Zealand is used to describe all aspects of post-school education and training. There are currently 36 public tertiary education institutions, including 8 universities, 21 ITPs and 4 colleges of education, three wananga (Maori tertiary education institutions). There are also 46 industry training organisations and approximately 895 private training establishments which include private English language schools registered by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority.

　　“高等教育”在新西蘭通常含蓋高級別學校教育和培訓的各個方面。 目前全國有36所公里高校，其中8所大學，21所行業技術學院，4所教育學院以及3所毛利高等教育機構。另外還有46所行業培訓機構和大約895所私立培訓教育機構在新西蘭學歷評審委員會注冊的許多私立語言學校。

　　Tertiary education providers meet the needs of learners of all ages, ethnicities, abilities and educational backgrounds. They offer courses at widely different levels from transition programmes to post graduate study and research. There are no fixed divisions between the types of courses offered by each classification of provider. The key focus is on their ability to offer programmes to the required quality standards, rather than on their organisation type.

　　高等教育機構必須要滿足所有年齡，種族，能力和教育背景的求學者的學習需要。學校要求提供從橋梁課程到研究生教育和課題研究等各種級別的課程，但是在課程種類的劃分上各個學校可以根據實際情況自行定度，關鍵是要對學生因材施教，并保證教育的質量。