Other formats

    Adobe Portable Document Format file (facsimile images)   TEI XML file   ePub eBook file  

Connect

    mail icontwitter iconBlogspot iconrss icon

Salient: Victoria University Students' Paper. Vol. 26, No. 12. 1963.

Unequal Opportunity In Education

page 16

Unequal Opportunity In Education

It is time that New Zealanders consciously re-evaluated their unconscious philosophy of egalitarianism. (I take egalitarianism to mean equality—a general levelling process—a regression to the mean). Surely what we should be thinking of is equality of opportunity and not equality per se.

It would be quite legitimate to consider this question architecturally of the proliferation of acre sections, all with red corrugated iron roofed buildings, economically, of the topic of margins for skill, artistically of the ridicule that is heaped on the "sculpturally new" even to derogatory references such as a "cow's buttock."

However, I will be content to record just a few observations in relation to education egalitarianism.

New Zealand has exhibited no tardiness in providing schools for the deaf, the intellectually handicapped, the far-sighted, the nearsighted, for the inhabitants of outback districts, but directly the term "gifted children" was mentioned we, until recently, became socially myopic and shrank back in horror from making special provision. The same applies to another educationally under-privileged group the Maoris.

Parity of opportunity is seen as synonomous with equality of opportunity whereas nothing could be further from the truth. The sooner the powers that control education realise that special provision relates to all sections of the community, and not only to the handicapped, the better.

Recently the New Zealand University system has undergone changes which contradict the philosophy of equal opportunity: the revision of fees, bursary provisions, and similar legislation have all mitigated against the part-time student. Furthermore this legislation has not been taken sufficiently far as to allow the full-time student the benefit of full-time study (bursaries too low, pressures on passing too high), in short neither the part-time nor the full-time student are adequately catered for.

It has been traditional in New Zealand that University education should be open to all who can benefit from such an education. Many potential students can only take such opportunity on a part-time basis—this is now being made progressively more difficult. Equality of opportunity is being eroded and in some cases denied.

What is the solution to our collective problem? There is no short answer. What is needed is a re-orientation of our attitude toward differences in people, differences in their potential and differences in their gifts and shortcomings. In order to develop the gifts and help people to realise and overcome their shortcomings, differences in educational provision are a necessity.

In the early years of this century, New Zealand was a world leader in social reform. Since then it has rested on its laurels, rather like the over-confident hare who moves at a snail's pace. It is the task of all of us to see that the spirit of forthright and courageous criticism and experiment is revived again. Egalitarianism is the philosophy of the absurd, a philosophy of stagnation. Is this to be the philosophy of New Zealand education or more important does New Zealand have an educational philosophy at all?

P. J. R. Blizard.