On 25 July 2024, Dr Michael Barbour and Derek Wenmonth presented their report ‘Tuia Te Hononga Tāngata, Tuia Te Hononga Ao: Taking the Pulse of Distance Learning in Aotearoa New Zealand‘ in a FLANZ webinar.
Their report provides a comprehensive national study that examines the regulation, governance, and scope of activity of distance learning providers in New Zealand’s schools sector. The findings reveal a diverse landscape of distance learning providers, categorised into two main types. The first type of provider includes schools defined under the Education and Training Act 2020, encompassing various public and private schools offering distance learning. The second type of provider, referred to as ‘programmes,’ includes providers not specifically referenced in the legislation and further categorised into non-profit programmes (i.e., charitable trusts) and for-profit programmes (i.e., private enterprises).
In total, the study identified 18 distance learning providers, with an estimated 36,084 to 36,283 students enrolled in one or more distance learning courses during the 2023 school year. This represents approximately 4.3% to 4.4% of New Zealand’s total school population of 831,038 students.
Watch the recording of the session to get a high level overview of the report and the implications of the findings for further research. Michael will be sharing different aspects of the report at an Kōtuitui Online Teachers Network webinar on 15 August 2024, Derek will be presenting on aspects of the report at our FLANZ conference in August, and Michael will be going more deeply into parts of the report in the upcoming Education Partnership & Innovation Trust webinar on 17 September 2024.