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‘Success’ and ‘Failure’ in the Education Marketplace: An Example from New Zealand

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Abstract

This paper details the impact of market policies in New Zealand on one low socio-economic school, raising questions about the underlyingassumptions of the programmes designed to ‘turn around’ so called ‘failing’ schools. The impact of macro policies on disadvantaged schoolsin the market place is documented, as is recent evidence on the impactof schools entering a spiral of decline on their examination outcomes.It is argued that school success and failure cannot be understood inisolation but needs to be placed in the wider context of stateeducational policy. Consequently, change strategies which ignore thewider policy settings risk failure.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. International Education Consultant, 1/182 Oriental Parade, Wellington, New Zealand, 6001

    Sue Watson

  2. Education Department, University of Canterbury, Ilam, Christchurch, New Zealand

    David Hughes

  3. Department of Education, University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY, United Kingdom

    Hugh Lauder

Authors
  1. Sue Watson
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  2. David Hughes
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  3. Hugh Lauder
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Watson, S., Hughes, D. & Lauder, H. ‘Success’ and ‘Failure’ in the Education Marketplace: An Example from New Zealand. Journal of Educational Change 4, 1–24 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023040119945

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