School Network Reviews: A Framework of Questions for Discussion

Abstract

The fundamental issue faced by the Taskforce to Review Education Administration (which produced the Picot Report in 1988) was essentially the same issue that underlies the current School Network Reviews: Is school administration to be managed centrally or locally? How do we achieve a balance between national interests and local interests of schools? The current five-year Review moratorium provides a window of opportunity for considering fundamental aspects of our education system embedded in the Reviews, and some more time to examine their ramifications for families and whānau, communities and districts, early childhood centres and their partnerships with schools, and for student learning in general. This article examines the balance between centralisation and localisation, and frames some key questions about the Network Review process for discussion.