紐西蘭幼兒教育與初等教育改革：卓越與平等間的擺盪

Early Childhood Education and Primary Education in New Zealand: Excellence or Equity?

1980年代，紐西蘭政府為回應國家經濟發展萎縮、知識與資訊社會興起，遂推動巨幅經濟改革，從保護性、管控性與國家宰制的福利社會，轉向開放性、競爭性與自由市場的資本主義經濟體制，納入更多「新自由主義」的特質，國家整體政策逐漸由以往的「平等」追求轉向對市場、績效的強調。然而，以往的社會福利與公平正義的追求仍存在於政策制訂的理念中，尤其在幼兒教育與初等教育階段。本文概述紐西蘭教育體系、教育改革政策與近年重大教育政策，亦分別介紹在此教育改革下的幼兒教育與初等教育機構與政策。紐西蘭的教育改革不僅進行組織重整，以提升行政運作的效率；亦將權力下放，俾使學校有更大的自主空間發展其特色，因應不同文化、族群、社經背景學生的需求；同時則強調設立各種評鑑機制與成就水準，以確保各級教育的品質。

This is a general presentation of the education reform trends of early childhood education (ECE) and primary education in New Zealand. Since 1980s， New Zealand government has implemented neo-liberalist education reform so as to promote the efficiency of educational administration and the quality of education at all levels. In the sectors of early childhood education and primary education， the equality has been the main focus of reform. This paper consists of (1) a general presentation of the system， (2) the reform and (3) the main policies of early childhood education and primary education.