Fulbright New Zealand, IPANZ and the Ian Axford (New Zealand) Fellowships in Public Policy Board invite you to the second in a series of public seminars by this year’s three Ian Axford (New Zealand) Fellows in Public Policy.
Eileen Harrity is the former Director of Charter School Authorization at Chicago Public Schools. During Eileen’s seven month Ian Axford Fellowship exchange to New Zealand she has been based at the Ministry of Education in Wellington, researching the use of vocational pathways and business-to-education partnerships to ease student transitions into careers and further study.
The New Zealand Government has made “Boosting Skills and Employment” one of its five Better Public Service Targets, including the specific goal of increasing the number of students achieving a Level 2 National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA). New Zealand’s Vocational Pathways are designed to encourage more students to achieve that qualification by highlighting for students how the courses that make up their secondary school programmes relate to future study and career options in five industry sectors.
The report discusses the impact of Vocational Pathways on students and communities. More specifically, the Pathways make it easier for students to understand the relevance of their studies and also provide students with more tools to personalise their learning. In addition, the Pathways create a common language for educators, communities, students, and employers to use when discussing secondary education.
The report also discusses the implementation of the Vocational Pathways, focusing on the manner in which they were developed and what the Ministry of Education is doing to move the Pathways forward. The use of partnerships between policymakers, educators, and industry leaders has been key to the success of the Pathways, but also presents some challenges, which are discussed in the report.
Ian Axford (New Zealand) Fellowships in Public Policy are for outstanding mid-career professionals from the United States of America to research, travel and gain practical experience in public policy in New Zealand for seven months, during which time they are hosted at relevant government agencies in Wellington and work towards publishing a policy report. Their reports are launched at a series of seminars, and are subsequently available to download from the Fulbright New Zealand website.
There are three Ian Axford Fellowship seminars in 2013:
The seminars are jointly presented by Fulbright New Zealand and IPANZ. Tea and coffee will be provided.
Registrations are required, at www.ipanz.org.nz