NZ+Alt+Ed

= The New Zealand Case =

For students not enrolled in a mainstream or Kura Kaupapa school, there are three options available:


 * Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu  – The correspondence School is New Zealand’s largest school with up to 24,000 students enrolled either full-time or part-time in courses (Te Kura, 2010). The school delivers education through a mix of workbooks, CD-ROM’s, and other media to students who are not otherwise able to attend regular school. They may also work with both Alternative Education centres and parents undertaking Home education.
 * Alternative Education –  There are 3,400 students currently enrolled in alternative education centres around New Zealand. These 13-16 year old students are considered ‘at risk’ and have either been truanting for more than two school terms or have been expelled from mainstream schools. (Brooking, Gardiner, & Calvert, 2009) Brooking et al (2009) found that 75% of students studied in Alternative Education had become disengaged with school during the first year. They suggested that while the individualised help they received boosted their self confidence and improved performance, there was no pathway back to school, and so most students left with no qualifications.
 * Home Schooling or Home Education – Parents who choose to educate their students at home outside of the mainstream education system fall into three categories; those who are philosophically or pedagogically opposed to the prevailing school system, have particular moral or religious views, or whose students have either academic or social problems at school (Thomas, 2002). Home-schooled children may be enrolled fully or partially in the correspondence school, they may follow a special character curriculum designed by parents or a specialised organisation, or do informal learning.

It is important to note, that while parents who feel there child’s needs are not being met by mainstream school may apply to enrol their students in either home-education or the correspondence school, they may not ‘apply’ to have students attend an alternative education centre. Other alternatives are private institutions such as Montessori or Steiner which are not always accessible due to geography or cost, or remedial tuition centres such as Kit McGrath. In other words, there is little choice for learners who are financially constrained, or whose caregivers are unable or unwilling to support a home-education regime (both of which apply to most at-risk learners).